Dragon Quest Page 18

  “There mun’ be a way,” Angus murmured.

  “I can’t,” Hazel whimpered. “Don’t ask me to.”

  “We’ll ask you to,” Elle snapped. “You did it to send yourself back, so you can do it again to save all our lives. It’s the least you can do after all the damage you’ve done.”

  “Tak’ it easy on her,” Angus replied. “She’s a harmless insect.”

  Elle stared at him in surprise, but no one was more surprised than Hazel.

  “We’re no gettin’ anywhere wi’ this tonicht,” Angus went on. “All o’ ye get tae yer rooms fer a few hours’ sleep, and that’s an order. We’ll meet back ‘ere at sunrise, and hopefully someone’ll come up wi’ some other brilliant idea. Go on. Get ye out o’ ‘ere.”

  One by one, the others drifted away. Elle stormed off, back to her room, and left Hazel’s lip quivering. Carmen stepped forward and took Hazel by the hand. “Come on. Don’t take it too much to heart. She just had a terrible time fighting those things. She’s on edge. She didn’t mean it.”

  Hazel sniffed. “She meant it. She meant every word.”

  The two women left the room. Ewan let out a shaky breath. “I best get down tae the armory and check on the Guard. Ye’re wi’ me, Jamie.”

  “Yes, Sir,” the young man replied. They left together.

  Callum came up to Robbie. He opened his mouth, but he shut it without saying anything. Robbie saw the emotion struggling in his face. He clapped his brother on the shoulder and pulled him into his embrace. “It’s awricht, lad. E’erythin’s awricht now.”

  Callum’s shoulders shook with emotion. He squeezed Robbie behind the neck and kissed the side of his head. Then he tore himself out of his brother’s arms and raced from the room.

  Robbie turned around to find Angus and Fergus standing together. Angus smiled at Robbie. “Ye’re back. That’s the best news o’ the day.”

  “It’s no the best o’ circumstances,” Robbie returned. “I’m sorry tae be the one tae deliver misfortune on ye. It weren’t me idea o’ a cheerful homecomin’.”

  Angus chuckled. “It’s the best homecomin’ we coulda hoped fer. Now get upstairs tae yer wife and dinnae let me see ye down here again afore mornin’. I’m still the King around ‘ere if anybody is.”

  Angus left the room still laughing to himself over the joke of being King over anything. Robbie watched him out of the room. He was still the same old Angus, but being King changed him. He no longer carried the burden of leadership. Being responsible for all these lives no longer oppressed him. He came into his power. He could give orders to his own brothers and laugh at himself in the same breath.

  Robbie started to leave the room, too, when he became aware of Fergus standing there. The young man regarded him with his huge dark eyes. For the thousandth time in his life, Robbie wondered. What did those eyes see that the rest of them could not?

  Robbie studied his younger brother. “Lad?”

  “Rob?” Fergus asked.

  “Yes, lad?”

  “That woman…’azel….” He stopped.

  “Yes, lad?” Robbie asked. “What aboot her?”

  “She…. uh….”

  Robbie took a closer look at the young man. He knew something. He just couldn’t get it out.

  “If ye ken ought that’ll defeat these things, lad,” Robbie told him, “ye mun’ tell me and Angus. It’s the ainly way we can survive this. Ye ken that, lad. Tell me what ye’re thinkin’.”

  “She can cast the spell,” Fergus blurted out. “She mun’ be able tae. She sent herself and the others here, so the spell worked. She just opened the door tae let those things through. She can do’t. She just ha’e tae do it in the richt way.”

  Robbie cocked his head. “Lad?”

  “She had allus mistakes and defeats,” Fergus went on. “She had…. weel, let’s just say she had a wee problem wi’ Angus when it cam’ tae castin’ that spell. Ye weren’t ‘ere when it happened, but it convinced her she couldnae do’t when she can. She can, Rob. Do ye see? She can, or she and Carmen and Elle wouldnae be here. Do ye see?”

  Robbie blinked at him. He never thought about it before, but now that Fergus pointed it out, he must be right. Hazel cast the spell that brought her here. She cast another one upstairs to let those ghouls through. She must be able to do it again. It only took a small adjustment to make it happen. No one knew what that adjustment would be. Hazel herself certainly didn’t know, but something in Fergus’s eyes gave Robbie hope.

  Fergus had power. Everybody knew that. He never cast any magic spell before, but he must know something about Hazel nobody else knew. Robbie nodded toward the door. “Ye do’t, lad. Ye’re the ainly one as can.”

  Fergus nodded. He expected this, and he and Robbie left the hall together.

  Chapter 30

  Carmen came out of Hazel’s room to find Elle standing in the hall. Elle leaned against the wall with one foot propped up. “Is she okay?”

  “She’s okay,” Carmen replied. “She’s just sitting in a chain in front of the fire right now. She’s not ready to go to sleep.”

  Elle hung her head. “I screwed up, Carmen. I shouldn’t have been so hard on her.”

  “Don’t worry about it. You told her how you felt, and I’m sure you said some things the rest of us were feeling anyway. I wouldn’t be too hard on myself if I was you. She had to hear it, and she probably couldn’t stand to hear it from anyone else but you.”

  “You’re lucky to have Angus. He’s a good King. He’s very tolerant of her.”

  Carmen chuckled. “He’s had more trouble with Hazel than anybody, but that doesn’t matter now.”

  “She’ll be more reclusive than ever, now that Ewan and the others want to kill her.”

  “No one will kill her,” Carmen replied. “Angus will protect her. I can’t be certain she won’t try to cast the spell again, though, and that could be disastrous.”

  “I should go in there and talk to her,” Elle remarked. “I should apologize for saying those things about her. I didn’t really mean it. I just…. I guess I just overreacted to seeing those things in the castle.”

  “You didn’t overreact any more than I did. Anybody would have reacted the way you did. I wouldn’t talk to her right now if I was you. You both need rest. Go to your room and talk to her later after you’ve both had a chance to cool down.”

  Elle cast a sidelong glance at the door. “I don’t like leaving it. She always counted on me to support her before. I feel responsible for anything that happens to her.”

  Just then, Robbie came down the passage with one of the younger Cameron brothers—Fergus, Elle thought his name was. They stopped outside Hazel’s door.

  “How’s the witch?” Robbie asked Carmen.

  Carmen bit back a smile. “That’s not funny. She’s fine, but she’s a little fragile. I was just telling Elle to leave her alone. She’ll be better later.”

  “She’ll be better when she kens she can cast the spell that’ll save us all,” Robbie replied. “She’s got the power.”

  Carmen spun around to gape at him. “What?”

  Robbie pointed to the young man at his side. “Fergus is goin’ tae talk tae her aboot it.”

  “Is that really a good idea?” Carmen asked.

  “It’s the only idea.” Robbie waved Fergus toward the door. “Go on, lad, and good luck tae ye.”

  Fergus walked through the door and shut it behind him. The three of them stared at the plain wooden door until Carmen sighed. “I sure hope you know what you’re doing.”

  “I dinnae ken what I’m doin’,” Robbie replied, “but he does. That’s all I care about.”

  “What’s he saying to her in there?”

  “Heaven only kens.” Robbie turned to Elle. “Come on. Let’s get out o’ ‘ere.”

  Elle fell in at his side on their way back to the room Carmen gave her. Robbie stopped outside it and studied her. “Did ye hear what Angus said?”

  “What did he say?”<
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  “You didn’t hear. He said it after ye left. He called ye me wife.”

  Elle snorted. “That’s a joke. I’m about as far from that as it’s possible to be.”

  He put his arm around her shoulders. “Dinnae say that. Ye’re the closest thing I’ve got tae one, and ye’ll be one fer certain if I ha’e ought tae say aboot it.”

  She hid her face against his chest. “I hope so. I really do. I just hate to think about everything that could happen to stop it. I hope you understand that.”

  He hugged her head against him. “Trust Fergus to come up wi’ a way.”

  “What’s up with him? What’s he doing with Hazel?”

  “There’s summat about him.” Robbie shook his head. “I cinnae explain it tae ye. I dinnae think he can explain it hisself. He’s got summat. He’s like ‘azel that way. He says she’s got the power, and he should ken if anybody does.” He jerked his head toward the room. “Come inside wi’ me.”

  At that moment, before either could move, footsteps came hurrying down the passage behind them. They turned around to see Fergus and Hazel coming toward them. A bright smile lit up Fergus’s face. “She’s goin’ tae do it! She agrees.”

  Elle glanced at Hazel. Hazel didn’t look all that happy about it. She hung back and kept her eyes fixed on the floor. She wouldn’t look Elle in the face.

  Robbie patted Fergus on the back. “That’s fine, lad. Get ye downstairs and roust Ewan and Jamie tae the conference hall. I’ll round up Angus and meet ye there tae discuss how we’re goin’ tae do it.”

  Fergus hurried off one way and Robbie went the other. They left Elle standing there staring at Hazel. She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry I was so hard on you downstairs, Hazel. I shouldn’t have said those things about you.”

  “This is all my fault,” Hazel murmured. “None of this would have happened if I hadn’t messed around with the spell in the first place.”

  Elle came close to her and touched her arm. “It’s all right. Maybe Carmen’s got a point, and this is all a good thing.”

  “How could it be a good thing?” Hazel asked. “Do you know how many people have died because of this curse?”

  “Just look at me and Carmen,” Elle replied. “Carmen wouldn’t have Angus, and I wouldn’t have Rob if you hadn’t sent us here. In that way, I guess it’s a good thing.”

  Hazel lifted her eyes to Elle’s face. “Do you think so?”

  “Listen, Hazel,” Elle replied. “Carmen told me you have a problem with the Urlus. You should give them a chance. They’re good people.”

  Hazel blinked at her. “You love him, don’t you?”

  Elle blushed. “Yeah. I guess I do.”

  “I know they’re good people,” Hazel replied. “I’ve seen it myself, and Angus has been a lot kinder to me than I deserve. I just don’t seem to be able to make the first move.”

  “It looks like Fergus made the first move,” Elle remarked. “What did he say to you in there?”

  “He didn’t really say anything. He just said I could do it. He…he has a way of working on your mind. His eyes did something to me. I can’t explain it.”

  “I think I understand. If this works, we’ll all be saved. I’m sure the Urlus would be very grateful to you for that.”

  “It’s the least I can do to make up for this curse. You were right about that.”

  “Never mind. Let’s get back downstairs.”

  Hazel accompanied her down the passage. “I still don’t think I can do it.”

  “You don’t? Why did you agree to it, then?”

  “I didn’t, really. Fergus…. well, he didn’t really ask. He just sort of stood there and looked at me with those eyes of his. It just sort of happened that I knew I really could do it. It just sort of became obvious that I would do it. I don’t know how, but as long as he’s standing there, I guess I’ll do it. I’ll have to.”

  Elle regarded Hazel with her head on the side. She didn’t understand half of what Hazel said, but something in Fergus’s manner made people trust him. Robbie trusted him, so Elle could go along with this. The situation couldn’t possibly get any worse.

  They came to the great staircase leading down to the castle’s main entrance. Ewan and Jamie crossed the foyer below. Elle and Hazel started to descend when an almighty blow struck the castle walls. The floor vibrated under Elle’s feet. Hazel stumbled and fell down a few stairs.

  Ewan and Jamie stopped in their tracks and looked around. Elle hurried to Hazel’s side and tried to raise her to her feet. “Are you okay?”

  Another concussion hit the castle. The edifice rattled, and a chip of plaster dislodged from the ceiling. Ewan shouted, and he and Jamie raced away somewhere. Elle groped for Hazel’s arm. “Come on.”

  Hazel got to her feet when another shivering blow struck. Elle hustled her down the stairs. “Come on. We have to get out of here.”

  “What’s happening?” Hazel cried.

  “They’re attacking again,” Elle shouted over the noise. “They’ve started another bombardment.”

  Hazel screamed, but Elle didn’t give her a chance to hesitate. She shoved Hazel down the stairs and across the foyer. Elle’s mind turned in a thousand directions at once. They had to rendezvous with the men in the conference hall. She had to get to Ewan. He would give her some weapon to fight those things out there.

  People rushed in every direction at once. Women screamed and men shouted orders, but no one could hear them over the din of one concussion after another. Elle tightened her grip on Hazel’s arm and propelled her forward. They only made it a few paces when an enormous boulder crashed through the roof. Beams and stone and plaster rained down on Elle’s head. The boulder plunged into the floor and shattered the stones underfoot.

  The shockwave knocked Elle and Hazel off their feet. Dust and smoke filled the foyer. Elle coughed plaster dust out of her throat. She couldn’t see a thing through the debris. Screams rent the air. The low pounding of more strikes echoed in the distance, and the floor vibrated with continual tremors.

  Beams, rock, and destroyed chandeliers piled all over the floor around the two women. The rubble blocked their passage to the conference hall. A few servants and yeomen struggled through the disaster, but Elle couldn’t see Rob or any of his brothers anywhere.

  She took hold of Hazel. “Come on.”

  She couldn’t see any avenue of escape except the huge front entrance. Black night crowded close beyond the open door. Elle headed that way. Hazel limped after her, but they only got a few steps when another massive projectile collided with the door. It smashed the wall in.

  Brick fragments and mortar pocked Elle’s face and stung her eyes. She threw her hands in front of her face to protect herself. A block struck Hazel in the forehead, and she crumpled at Elle’s feet.

  Elle blinked the dust out of her eyes and fell on her knees at Hazel’s side. “Hazel! Hazel, are you all right?”

  Hazel didn’t answer. She lay still and pale on the carpet white with plaster dust. Blood streamed from a gash in her forehead and ran into her red hair. Elle cast her eye around the foyer. She couldn’t stay here, and she couldn’t leave Hazel behind, either.

  Deep groans and rumbles of more falling missiles sounded all over the castle. Elle couldn’t think of anywhere in this castle where she would be safe. She only knew she had to flee. She had to get out of here before the whole castle caved in on her head.

  If only Hazel would wake up, she could tell Elle how to navigate through this strange castle. Elle prayed for Carmen or just about anybody to tell her where to go, but she was alone. She seized Hazel around the waist and heaved her off the floor. She flung the frail woman over her shoulder.

  Only one thin passage of open space led to a dark hallway behind the sweeping staircase. Elle followed it. It curved behind the conference hall into a kitchen. No light burned in that place. Only the fire flickering on the hearth illuminated a path to a double door leading out to the castle gardens.

 
Elle pushed the door open and stopped. A solid wall of those ghouls flew in a steady circle past the door. They flowed over the garden wall and around the other side of the castle. Elle caught sight of individual ghouls. Their hideous faces showed through the eerie glow. They rode ghost horses and waved their hellish weapons in her face.

  Elle’s spirit quailed. She couldn’t go out there, and she dared not go back. She was trapped.

  Chapter 31

  Robbie knocked on Angus’s door. “Angus, mon, ye mun’ come richt away!”

  Angus appeared in the door bare-chested. Robbie caught sight of Carmen stretched out on the bed behind him. She wore her old pants and down vest the way she did when the brothers found her on the road. She rested her black head on her arm, and she kept her eyes closed.

  Angus snarled in his brother’s face. “This better be pretty bloody good.”

  “He’s done it, mon,” Robbie breathed. “Fergus ha’es come up with a way tae cast the spell tae send the ghouls back.”

  “What?” Angus snapped. “How could he?”

  “He an’t tae do it. It’s ‘azel.”

  “That snipe!” Angus turned back to his room. “Tell me another one!”

  Robbie grabbed his arm. “Fergus says she can do it, and he convinced her tae try. Ye mayn’t think so much o’ her, but ye can trust him. Ye ken ye can. Come on. He’s collectin’ Ewan and Jamie. Ye mun’ come back tae the conference room. There’s no a moment tae lose.”

  Angus didn’t budge until Carmen stood up and came to the door. “What’s this about Hazel casting another spell?”

  “I wouldnae believe it meself,” Robbie stammered. “It’s Fergus I believe in. Ye ken what he looks licht when the power comes o’er him. He says she’ll do’t, and I believe him. I’m goin’ downstairs. Come as soon as ye can.”

  He turned his back on them. He didn’t want to think about what they were doing in there before he interrupted. He delivered the message. Now he had to get away from them. He headed down the passage when the first concussion hit. The castle shook, and the doors rattled in their sockets.