Read Online The Dragon Nimbus Novels: Volume I: Volume I by Irene Radford - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Irene Radford
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Tambootie and the essence of timboor that lingered in his mouth and groin.
The pursuer looked more closely. His head shifted right and left, above and below, seeking and sniffing.
Jaylor’s sheltering tree dissolved before his eyes. His eyes locked with those of his pursuer.
“Whaour!” Some beast above him screamed.
One-eye jerked his eyes away from Jaylor, looking up in fear. His arms flew above his head in protection. Piercing turquoise shafts of glasslike light became speeding arrows aimed at his one good eye. They made contact and splintered into a thousand bright shards of brilliant color. Rainbows arced and danced on every beam of light through the tree branches.
“No! No!” One-eye backed down the path, his arms still over his head and face. “Leave me alone. Go away. Go away.” He turned and ran back the way he had come. His shrieks of pain and terror marked his path. He left behind a lingering aura of evil.
Relief washed over Jaylor’s entire body in waves of coolness. He looked up at the one small patch of visible sky. The blue-green color shimmered with a magic distortion. Squinting with his extended sight, he could just see the outline of a wing and a long, lashing tail.
The lilting, feminine voice came into his head unbidden. You are safe for now. Hurry. They need you.
Had he just seen and heard a dragon? Startled and bewildered, he grabbed a branch of his tree for support. He jumped back, amazed that the tree hadn’t really dissolved. His hand came away with a clump of gray berries, dried and desiccated from the long winter, clenched in is fist.
Timboor. He’d used a Tambootie tree for shelter. Had the tree aided his magic sight or One-eye’s? The reek he had sensed was Tambootie smoke, not the crisp sap he smelled now. He needed to stop and think about this. But the dragon had urged him forward. He pulled off another handful of the berries and stuffed them into his belt pouch.
Jaylor pushed on. He pondered the significance of the tree, of the man who’d followed him, and the dragon, and how they were all related to the magic that came to him with increasing ease. He hummed a strange little tune that visited him on the wind, the vibration of the music swelling in his chest and tingling through his body.
Song burst from him in joy. Nonsense words flowed through his mind as he tried to find their meaning. None came. He just sang with uplifting cheerfulness over a narrow escape, a good quest before him, a firm road to tread, and fresh air to breathe.
The song grew in him. He built a harmony to round it out. His strides lengthened, his mind cleared. This grand adventure was the best part of his training. He reaffirmed his determination to enjoy it.
The path rounded a bend to reveal a wide clearing bathed in glimmering sunlight. Near the center stood a neatly thatched cottage. Before the home stood a beautiful red-haired young woman. Her song lifted and swirled around and around her.
A robin perched on her shoulder, chirping his own version of the song, while a rabbit nibbled at her toes. Squirrels chased each other about the garden area in a joyful dance. A mouse peeped out from the thatch, its nose twitching in greeting.
Jaylor had found the witchwoman.
Chapter 6
D arville trotted into the undergrowth. Each step brought new and interesting smells to his active nose. He sorted through them with care and delight. Dominating all, was that of Brevelan, just as she dominated the existence of all the forest creatures. Underneath her human scent he detected the familiar traces of Mica, the goat, a pair of squirrels, the flustercock and his mates. Darville disregarded the odor left by anyone who shared the clearing with Brevelan. She would never forgive him if he killed any of her special friends.
He tested the air to right and left. Nothing new. He trotted farther, delighting in the spongy surface beneath his feet, the cool air on his tongue, and the sense of power in his frame.
A stream
The pursuer looked more closely. His head shifted right and left, above and below, seeking and sniffing.
Jaylor’s sheltering tree dissolved before his eyes. His eyes locked with those of his pursuer.
“Whaour!” Some beast above him screamed.
One-eye jerked his eyes away from Jaylor, looking up in fear. His arms flew above his head in protection. Piercing turquoise shafts of glasslike light became speeding arrows aimed at his one good eye. They made contact and splintered into a thousand bright shards of brilliant color. Rainbows arced and danced on every beam of light through the tree branches.
“No! No!” One-eye backed down the path, his arms still over his head and face. “Leave me alone. Go away. Go away.” He turned and ran back the way he had come. His shrieks of pain and terror marked his path. He left behind a lingering aura of evil.
Relief washed over Jaylor’s entire body in waves of coolness. He looked up at the one small patch of visible sky. The blue-green color shimmered with a magic distortion. Squinting with his extended sight, he could just see the outline of a wing and a long, lashing tail.
The lilting, feminine voice came into his head unbidden. You are safe for now. Hurry. They need you.
Had he just seen and heard a dragon? Startled and bewildered, he grabbed a branch of his tree for support. He jumped back, amazed that the tree hadn’t really dissolved. His hand came away with a clump of gray berries, dried and desiccated from the long winter, clenched in is fist.
Timboor. He’d used a Tambootie tree for shelter. Had the tree aided his magic sight or One-eye’s? The reek he had sensed was Tambootie smoke, not the crisp sap he smelled now. He needed to stop and think about this. But the dragon had urged him forward. He pulled off another handful of the berries and stuffed them into his belt pouch.
Jaylor pushed on. He pondered the significance of the tree, of the man who’d followed him, and the dragon, and how they were all related to the magic that came to him with increasing ease. He hummed a strange little tune that visited him on the wind, the vibration of the music swelling in his chest and tingling through his body.
Song burst from him in joy. Nonsense words flowed through his mind as he tried to find their meaning. None came. He just sang with uplifting cheerfulness over a narrow escape, a good quest before him, a firm road to tread, and fresh air to breathe.
The song grew in him. He built a harmony to round it out. His strides lengthened, his mind cleared. This grand adventure was the best part of his training. He reaffirmed his determination to enjoy it.
The path rounded a bend to reveal a wide clearing bathed in glimmering sunlight. Near the center stood a neatly thatched cottage. Before the home stood a beautiful red-haired young woman. Her song lifted and swirled around and around her.
A robin perched on her shoulder, chirping his own version of the song, while a rabbit nibbled at her toes. Squirrels chased each other about the garden area in a joyful dance. A mouse peeped out from the thatch, its nose twitching in greeting.
Jaylor had found the witchwoman.
Chapter 6
D arville trotted into the undergrowth. Each step brought new and interesting smells to his active nose. He sorted through them with care and delight. Dominating all, was that of Brevelan, just as she dominated the existence of all the forest creatures. Underneath her human scent he detected the familiar traces of Mica, the goat, a pair of squirrels, the flustercock and his mates. Darville disregarded the odor left by anyone who shared the clearing with Brevelan. She would never forgive him if he killed any of her special friends.
He tested the air to right and left. Nothing new. He trotted farther, delighting in the spongy surface beneath his feet, the cool air on his tongue, and the sense of power in his frame.
A stream
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