Page 48 of Dragon Sword

I shook my head. “The elves promised-”

“To hell with the elves!” she snapped. Her cheeks reddened and she balled her shaking hands into fists at her sides. “It was they who got us down there in the first place just so we could be food for those. . .those things!” She waved one hand in the general direction of the dungeons. “Now something’s happened to him and what’ll they probably say? That he deserved it for trying to get out of that hole and. . .and-” Tears flooded her eyes and a sob escaped her. “And that damned fool just had to protect me.” She shut her eyes and cupped her face in her hands. Her shoulders shook as she slumped to her knees. “That damned fool! That stupid, stupid fool! What was he thinking?”

I hurried over and knelt beside her where I grasped her quivering shoulders. “We’ll figure out some way to help him and then we’ll come back and get him right. You’ll see.”

She shook her head. “Why did I have to pick up that bounty? It wasn’t worth it.”

I looked questioningly up at Will. “Who is Mother Dunn?”

“A sorcerer who has cheated death many centuries over,” he explained as he looked with pity at our sobbing companion. “She has used her dark magics to extend her life and cast a web over wealthy men whom she would seduce before taking their wealth, and their lives. Their families have offered a large bounty for her.”

The door opened and caught our attention. Sylvia lifted her tear-stained face and we all looked to the entrance. Madam Kipu stood in the doorway with her indifferent expression still on her face. She stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

The old elf’s sharp eyes darted over to Will. “It has been quite some time, Lord Thorn. I had heard you were returned but I never thought you would have caused enough trouble to be captured.”

He smiled and bowed his head to her. “Thank you for seeing us on such short notice.”

She sighed and walked over to take a seat at the table opposite where he sat so she faced Sylvia and me. “How could I refuse an old friend?” Her eyes settled on us. “Your friend appears to be very distraught. What has happened down in the dungeons?”

Will lifted an eyebrow. “How do you know where we were?”

Kipu pointed at our attire. “You have the dust of those hateful tunnels on you, and those-” She nodded at the suits of armor, “-are only kept in the weapons storage adjacent to the dungeons. Since I had not heard any tales of your adventures around the city I assumed you had been detained.”

Will inclined his head to her. “You are partially correct. We have been detained and exiled.”

She scoffed. “That, I suppose, explains the poor disguise. Why have you come to me? You wish to rub your troubles off on my manuscripts?”

“We need all the information you have about the first king, his battle with the great evil, and the stones that mark his burial,” Will told her.

Kipu lifted an eyebrow. “That is a tall order, Lord Thorn. Those books are ancient indeed and are restricted to all but those allowed by the king.”

“You make up that small number, do you not?” he inquired.

She carefully examined him. “Why do you wish to see those tales?”

“Surely the troubles outside the city have been heard by your ears,” he commented.

The librarian lifted her chin slightly and pursed her lips. “They have.”

“Then you know the dire straights which we fight against,” he continued. “In order to fend off this new trouble we must look to the old for guidance. For that reason, may we look at the tomes and manuscripts?”

She shook her head. “No.”

The color drained from my face. “Why not?”

“By the king’s orders, they are not to be viewed by anyone other than His Highness and myself,” she explained.

“When did he ask you to view them?” Will wondered.

“Six months and a fortnight ago,” she revealed as she clasped her hands in her lap. “Both times he also requested that I seal the documents after my perusal so that no other eyes could view them.”

“And they’re sealed where?” I chimed in.

“Within the vault below the archives,” she told me. “Only the king has the key.”

A bitter laugh erupted from Sylvia’s throat. “Then you can’t help us get them out of there?”

A mischievous smile slipped onto her lips. “There is no need.”

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