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"Greetings, Ancient One. We're truly sorry for the interruption. We were searching for someone and were led astray." Morio's voice was smooth and silken. He couldn't be trying to use his illusion to deceive the wyrm, could he? Dragons were immune to most charm. I forced myself to keep my mouth shut. Morio knew what he was doing. At least I hoped so.
The dragon hiccupped, and another cloud of smoke emerged, smelling decidedly like roast meat. Definitely, I did not want to meet his last meal on a face-to-face basis. I just prayed that Tom Lane wasn't down there in his belly, along with the spirit seal. Gutting a deer was hard enough; gutting a dragon was a full-blown expedition into monster surgery, and first we'd have to kill him.
After another moment's pause, the dragon said, "Fox-man, you'd better cease your attempts to enchant me, or I'll start with your head and pick my teeth with your bones. Now, tell me the truth, why are you in my territory?"
Morio glanced at me, a question on his face. We had all of about three minutes before old Smoky here was going to start blasting. If the dragon was in league with the demons, we were dead. If the dragon was out for himself—a distinct possibility—then who knew? What I did know was that dragons were terribly clever at sniffing out liars.
I finally shrugged and said, "We're looking for a man named Tom Lane. We need to talk to him."
Smoky's eyes lit up. "You want to talk to that meddlesome idiot?"
Uh-oh. By the tone of his voice, it was obvious he wasn't Tom's friend, but I didn't sense a demonic aura around the dragon. Maybe he and Tom just had issues. But why hadn't Smoky already resolved them with a puff of fire? I couldn't be sure, and I didn't think it was diplomatic to ask.
"We need to find him," I said. Then a stroke of genius hit me. "If you tell us where he is, we'll take him away, and he'll never bother you again."
The dragon shifted, hunkering down on the mound. His neck bobbed like a king cobra in a snake charmer's basket before stretching out to zero in on my face. Those glittering, glacial eyes were about ten feet away, the dragon's head huge in comparison to me. He was scrutinizing me. I did my best to appear wide-eyed and innocent.
"Witchling, what's your name?"
Another no-no. Never give a dragon your real name. Not a good idea. I shook my head. "I'm not that stupid. You know I'm not going to give you my name, so don't even bother."
A deep rumble filled the air as he huffed and then laughed. "I like you. Funny and brave, a rare combination. Your quarry ran into the cave early in the day. I chased him as far as I could, but he got away. If you take him with you, I'll let you live and walk in my forest. If you fail, then I'll eat you for breakfast."
I sighed. I was starting to feel like the universal stooge on the end of the baddeal train. Bring me a demon's finger bone, or I'll take one of yours. Terminate the demons, or they'll destroy the world. Get Tom Lane out of my sight, or I'll eat you for breakfast.
"I guess that's our only choice. It's a deal." What more could I say? "But you have to let us into the cave so we can go find him. And no scaring him off while we're trying to catch him. And no funny business."
Morio suppressed a snort, and I knew what he was thinking. We'd really dug ourselves in with this one. I still couldn't sense where Delilah was.
The dragon gave his best imitation of a shrug. "My word of honor, on my smokestacks and whiskers, little witch."
Word of honor indeed. Dragons were good at twisting words, and I didn't trust Smoky's jovial nature. But it was the best we were going to get, barring the protection of a wizard or a witch far stronger than I.
He dipped his head and pointed toward the cave in the mound. "I chased him in there. Just get busy and find him. I'm feeling irritable today."
As Morio and I cautiously approached the cave, I forced myself to stare straight ahead. I wanted to look for Delilah, but the dragon would suspect something. We were at the mouth of the dark tunnel when I glanced back.
"So tell me something. Why didn't you catch Tom yourself? Why haven't you eaten him yet?"
Smoky's eyes sparkled, scintillating and brilliant. "I didn't fancy a bout of indigestion," was all he said.
As we passed by him, I could feel his hot breath warming the air. Actually, compared to the rain it was pleasant, and part of me wanted to stand there for a moment to dry off from the downpour, but then I thought the better of it. After all, a dragon giving you a pet name like Witchling only spelled trouble. The smell of charcoal and meat was so thick around him, though, that I shuddered and hurried past.
Morio followed close behind, his hand on my shoulder. As we came to the entrance of the cave, I forced myself to walk sedately. No use in exciting the dragon into a mistake that we'd regret. Once inside, however, I slumped against the wall, shivering.
"That was one encounter I never expected to have. Nor do I fancy a repeat. Okay, where the hell is Tom? Let's find him and get out of here." I shook my head and looked around.
The walls of the cave glistened. Phosphorescence, perhaps? Faerie fire? I closed my eyes and reached out, searching for any sign of life. There—a flicker, just a mind's touch, down the tunnel and to the right.
"Someone's in here, that's for certain," I said, not exactly keen on the idea of tramping through the dark. I didn't like caves. I preferred the open sky or at least a house where I knew I wouldn't be falling down any mine shafts or tripping over rocks or getting squashed by rockslides.
Morio glanced at me. "You're claustrophobic, aren't you?"
Shrugging, I stared at the floor. "Kind of. And I've got vertigo, and I'm squeamish when it comes to babies' diapers. I'm just a mess, aren't I?" I let out a sigh and reluctantly leaned against the wall of the cavern. "Actually, I'm not claustrophobic in the truest sense of the word, but my magic comes from the moon and stars. I don't like being trapped under the earth. I never went to visit the dwarven city back in Otherworld because most of it's buried in the mountain. My father took Delilah and Menolly, but I couldn't face it."
"Did your mother go?" Morio asked.
"No, she didn't want to go either, so I stayed with her, and we went on a weeklong shopping spree in Aladril, the city of Seers by the ocean." We'd come away with some pretty good deals, too, although Father had choked when he saw the bills come in. But he paid them without a word. He never denied Mother anything she might want.
