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“Wistala and Shadowcatch, you’d better let your gold gizzards make what you can of this,” the Copper said.
“So much for a peaceful exile,” AuRon said.
“Well, the civil war was at least brief,” Wistala said, crunching a shield down into an easy-to-swallow size.
“It’s only begun,” the Copper muttered.
“Where can we go?” Shadowcatch asked. “This isn’t a big enough island to hide us. Not many caves, as I remember.”
“They’ve made an enemy today,” AuRon said.
“Two enemies,” Wistala said.
“Three,” the Copper added, his good eye alert and intelligent for the first time during their trip.
“Five,” Miki squawked, either assuming Shadowcatch made four or employing the wrong word of Drakine.
“In any case, we need to go somewhere safe, where we can to lick our wounds and have a moment’s peace to think. Hypatia is barred to us. From the Isle of Ice they’ll be able to watch all the shores of the northern part of the Inland Ocean.”
“The Great East?” the Copper asked.
“I’ve been there,” Wistala said. “Dragon bones are a much-prized item for their medicines.”
“Old Uldam is big, with many valleys and caves,” AuRon said. “My daughter might be willing to hide us, at least for a little while.”
“That’s a long way off,” the Copper said.
Wistala lifted her head and dropped a piece of chain at a sudden thought. “I know a place. Food, it is remote, there are even a few dragons there. We may even have a friend.”
“What’s that?” the Copper asked.
“The Sadda-Vale,” Wistala said. “It’s ruled by an old white dragon-dame named Scabia. She said something once about being distantly related to us. Our grandsire may have come from the Sadda-Vale.”
“I thought that was a legend,” the Copper said. “Some bit of Silverhigh everyone’s forgotten.”
“There are still dragons there. DharSii, for one. He lives there at least some of the time.”
“If we are to leave, we should go soon,” AuRon said. “Im-famnia might be back with more griffaran, or those gargoyle creatures.”
“I can’t make it,” Shadowcatch said. “My wing’s torn up.”
“Can you swim?” AuRon asked.
“I think so.”
“If you can make it to the shore in the east, there’s a tower—”
“Yes, I know it. The Dragonheight. That woman’s place. I know her, she’s gotten me jobs in the past. She’ll stitch me up in a trice. Didn’t occur to me to swim all that way, though. Hope I don’t sink.”
“Will you be all right?” Wistala asked.
“I can buy you some time. Make them think we’re hiding on one of the outer islands. I can make enough racket to make them think the whole Lavadome’s squatting in those sluice-caves. Do a bit of bellowing at anything that comes close. Besides, I could do with a little fresh crab. That’s the one problem with the Lava-dome, no shell-carriers. Keeps the digestion clean.”
AuRon forgot his unhappiness for a moment. Shadowcatch’s thoughts rarely moved far from his stomach or fighting.
“More might come than you can handle,” AuRon said.
“You know me, NooSh—err, AuRon. I’m not a bad fighter when the blood’s up.”
