Dragons of the Watch (13 page)

“Four hundred years.”

“Exactly?”

“No, approximately. Rumbard City’s been around for four hundred years. Old One’s journal recordings did not give a year until later on, so I estimated by how many earlier journals I found.”

“You really have learned a lot in the two months you’ve been here.”

“Necessity. Desperation. Boredom. Three instigators of industry.”

Ellie mulled that over in her mind. She could see how that was true. But the poor children and lonely Old One crowded out other thoughts of Bealomondore.

“Do you know what I want to do?” she asked.

“Eat noonmeal?”

“Yes, that. I’m starving. But after noonmeal I’d like to look into making daggarts. These children don’t ever have daggarts, do they?”

“Not that I’ve seen.” He smacked his lips. “Daggarts. Our cook
used to bake daggarts in the early afternoon, and we’d have them with milk. Now
that
was a treat.” He shook his head. “An excellent idea, but where are we going to get the ingredients and a working oven?”

“We could look in the bakery.”

Bealomondore smiled at her, the twinkle in his eye gleaming. “That sounds like a reasonable place to start.”

They emptied the box on the butcher’s stoop and hurried through their meal. After disposing of the leftovers, they went to the other side of the fountain to the bakery. Ellie had full confidence that Bealomondore would be able to gain entry to the closed shop. However, his skills were not needed. The back door lay on the ground, and the state of the interior testified to ransacking done by the roving horde of six-year-olds.

Tak meandered around the room, sniffing and sneezing at carelessly tossed flour. Ellie crossed her arms over her stomach, looking down at the white piles of flour on the floor and childish footprints marking trails in every direction. “Well, the supplies used to be here.”

“Maybe we can find something on a top shelf.” Bealomondore began to climb up to a counter. “What kind of daggarts did you want to make?”

“I know recipes for oatmeal, chocobit, and butter daggarts.”

Bealomondore took hold of a book with two hands and lowered it over the side of the counter. “A recipe book. Watch out. I’m going to let it fall.”

The book landed flat and poofed the old flour into the air. Ellie waved a hand in front of her face and backed away. When the air cleared, she returned to the book and opened the cover. “There’s a section on desserts.”

“Good,” came Bealomondore’s answer from high above.

Airon chittered wildly, and Ellie interpreted her distress. She looked up and gasped. Bealomondore climbed a long, thick string of garlic that looked brittle and ready to break.

“Be careful!” she shouted.

He reached a cabinet, wedged his fingers under the door, and opened it. Once inside, he gave a hoot he must’ve picked up from living with the kimens. “We hit the mother lode! I see baking powder in a tin, an unopened bag of salt, a box that has spices in it, and some colored sprinkles you put on top of birthday cakes. You know, the kind that goes on the icing.”

She put her hand over her eyes, shielding her sight from the glare coming in the big front window. “Any sugar? Flour? Lard?”

“Nary a speck. Are eggs in your recipe?”

“In the oatmeal and chocobit.”

Bealomondore came to stand on the edge and leaned out to speak to her. “We’ll have to go to the outskirts and see if there are any wild chickens. We might find a house with an oven and supplies.”

“It took a long, long time to walk into the city.”

Bealomondore sat on the edge of the cabinet. “I’ll ask Det to scout out a house so we can go straight to it instead of searching.”

Tak stood at the door, looking out of the building and into the alley. He stamped his feet and glanced over his shoulder at Airon. The dragon let out a shrill whistle. Bealomondore grabbed the rope of garlic and hurried down.

“They’re coming!” said Ellie. “They’re coming down the alley. We’ll have to go out the front.”

Bealomondore hopped down and ran to the big window. He ducked and peeked through the displays. “I don’t see anyone out here.”

He crouched as he approached the door. Ellie also stooped as she
joined him. Tak and Airon stayed at the back and kept their eyes on the alley. Bealomondore manipulated the large deadbolt.

As the door swung open, Ellie whispered loudly, “Come on!”

They raced past the fountain and down the street that would lead to the library. Airon flew in front. Tak brought up the rear. Ellie kept pace with Bealomondore.

The chase reminded Ellie of the first morning she had spent in Rumbard City. Every time she thought they had lost the boys and girls, another group popped up and sent their little party of visitors fleeing again. Someone ought to take these children in hand and teach them how to be civilized.

While she and Bealomondore panted from the exertion of escaping, the hunters giggled, shouted, laughed, and called out the despicable things they planned to do when they caught the two wee ones, the bird, and the dog. Ellie didn’t believe a word of their cannibalistic plans. They didn’t know how to cook, for one thing. For another, she suspected they had never actually caught anything and had no idea what to do if they should, by chance, take prisoners. The children seemed woefully ignorant.

One of the reasons the countryfolk didn’t encourage reading was the expanded imagination that resulted from books. She dreamed of going to a big city and seeing the royal wedding celebration and dancing in the streets at the coronation. Books describing such things had awakened a longing in her heart. Many of the older folk saw this as a danger, not a blessing.

But Gramps said, “Education means you can think bigger. Thinking bigger is a good thing, more fun than having thoughts that are pinched and scrawny.”

Ellie read to her younger siblings, and they developed wild schemes,
much wilder and more detailed than those proposed by these children. Her brothers made up grand stories and acted them out. Her sisters staged operas, even though they had never seen one. And they imagined wearing ball gowns, even though they’d only seen black and white sketches. This bunch of six-year-olds didn’t go much further with their devious plots than “catch ’em,” “tie ’em up,” and “eat ’em.”

Bealomondore found a break in a building wall, and they climbed over a pile of bricks and into a cool, dark room with no windows. After Tak climbed in and Airon swooped through the hole, Bealomondore pulled some of the loose bricks closer to make a barrier. They sat back in the darkness and listened as the hunters stormed right past their hiding hole.

“Can we stay here for a while?” asked Ellie. “My shins hurt. And Tak looks all in.”

The goat had collapsed near a sidewall. Ellie could just make out his shaggy white coat. Airon perched on a box and chittered. She heard the dragon’s agreement in her mind.

“Yes,” said Bealomondore. “If they don’t spot us for a while, they will probably lose interest.”

For a long time, no one spoke. Various groups of children passed from time to time. They no longer ran but trudged past. Disparaging remarks about the wee ones, the bird, and the dog became softer, less vehement. The last pack made muttering sounds and dragged their feet. When no more came by, Ellie wondered if they had found comfy spots to nap. She could have used some water, a more comfortable room, and a good sleep.

“How far are we from the library?” she asked.

“Not far, but these little brutes can be intuitive. They probably have guards along any route we would take. If we can get past a certain
point, we’ll be safe. They don’t like to get too close to Old One’s territory.”

After some time, Bealomondore suggested they make a dash to the library. Ellie agreed. Airon went out to scout and came back to report the main street clear. Ellie beamed.

“What?” asked Bealomondore.

“I hear almost everything she mindspeaks now.”

He returned her smile, and she basked in his approval. Not everything about being stuck in a bottle city was bad.

They entered the alley and made their way to the corner and the main street. Tak lagged behind, and Ellie wondered if he was hurt. She asked Airon, who related that Tak wanted food, water, and no more running. That sounded like a good plan to Ellie. Airon added that Tak was being particularly grumpy.

She put her arm around the goat’s neck. “As soon as we get to the library, we are going to rest a great deal.”

After they moved two blocks closer to their sanctuary, Airon again scouted ahead and brought back a report that several children sat in an alley they would have to pass, but they looked very sleepy.

“Shall we try it?” asked Bealomondore.

Ellie nodded. “I’m game.”

They tiptoed down the street, keeping an eye on the alley Airon pointed out as the trouble spot. They passed on the opposite side of the street and could see the slumping forms in the shadows. When they were clearly out of danger, Bealomondore quickened the pace.

The library loomed at the end of the street. Ellie couldn’t take her eyes off of it. She strode beside Bealomondore, forgetting how tired her legs had been only moments before. Far ahead of them, Airon flew into a third-story window. She smiled when Tak offered a “Maa!” He
was happy to see home too. But the second “Maa!” had a different tone.

She whirled around and saw two urohm boys standing between Tak and her. Tak stood his ground, lowering his head a trifle and staring. He looked too angry to be captured, but she didn’t trust the boys to have good judgment. She tiptoed back and felt Bealomondore close behind. Two boys lunged out of the side street.

“Tak, run!” she called.

Tak bounced back and forth, pivoting on his back legs, unsure which way to go. The two boys in front of the goat let out a screech and tackled him. The other two piled on top.

“Let him go!” She ran forward.

Bealomondore snatched at her arm, but she shook him off. “Let him go!”

Three more children rushed her from one side and grabbed hold of her arm. She tried to wrench herself free.

Another child came out of nowhere and locked on to her other arm.

“We got the dog!” screamed a child from the arms and legs twisted together on top of Tak.

“We got a wee one!” yelled her captors.

“Where’s the other wee one?” cried a child with curly hair and pouty lips.

Ellie struggled to look behind her, but still another child appeared, fell at her feet, and locked its arms and legs around her.

“He ran in the castle,” said one of the boys holding her arm.

“Old One’ll get ’im.”

Ellie closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of resignation. She’d been caught. Tak was captured. For some reason Bealomondore had deserted
them. She’d welcome Old One appearing on the scene and roaring at the naughty boys and girls.

“You look funny,” said one of the children in a nasty voice.

“
I
am a tumanhofer.
You
are a urohm.”

“You don’t have a stink,” said the child wrapped around her legs.

Ellie frowned down at the top of its head. She wasn’t sure, but she suspected the child was female. “I would assume no stink is a good thing.”

“Nah,” said the tallest child as he got off the top of the Tak pile. “We’ll stink you up some before we take you into our secret fort.”

“You don’t need to do that on my account,” said Ellie. “I’m perfectly content to be at odds with your traditions.”

Several children said, “What?”

To Ellie’s ears it sounded like a perfectly natural response from small children.

Small children? These children were taller than she was.

She made her face stern and used the voice that made her younger siblings cringe. “You will let me go. You will let Tak go.”

“Why?” The tall one sneered.

“Because you are a child.
I
am an adult. Your behavior is unacceptable. You will treat me with respect.”

Ellie didn’t like the tone of the laugh that spread through the captors.

“Maybe we’ll respect you,” said the tall one. “After we eat you.”

That pronouncement raised a round of snickering and wicked giggles.

“We gonna eat the dog?” asked the child at her feet.

“No, dummy. You’re supposed to play with a dog.”

“Tak is not a dog,” said Ellie. “He is a goat.”

Tall One looked at her with squinty eyes. “He better be a dog, or we’ll eat ’im. And if you give us trouble, we’ll eat you twice.”

“We could eat the bird,” said the vocal child now sitting on her toes.

“Stupid, we didn’t catch the bird.”

Ellie refused to inform them that the bird was a dragon.

The child below sniffed. “I wanted to hold the bird.”

Tall One threw a disgusted look at the whiny child, but answered with unexpected compassion. “You can hold the dog.”

Ellie felt the clamp of arms and legs loosen, and the child darted off to join the pile on Tak.

Ellie wondered if Tak would come through this encounter with wild children without harm.

“You be nice to Tak,” she admonished the children in general.

One of the boys pinched her.

“Ouch!”

“You shut up.” He glared at her from just an inch away. “We’re going to wrap you up in ropes and drag you to our fort. Then we’re going to hang you. Then we’re going to eat you.”

“Can we do all of that before bedtime?” asked a familiar voice from the Tak pile.

“Sure we can,” said the boy, twisting the bit of Ellie’s flesh he held between two fingers. “We’re the bad guys.”

Ellie put on her most intimidating big sister face and growled at the six-year-old. “You need someone with a stiff brush to scrub the dirt off of you. And that same someone might put a bar of soap in your mouth if you aren’t careful. I don’t like your tone of voice. I might just be the one to teach you some manners.”

“Are you going to do that before or after we eat you?” he asked with a sneer.

Ellie pasted a sweet smile on her lips. “Before.”