Read Online The Dragon's Lair by Elizabeth Haydon - Free Book Online

and wonderful things. I think it would be a horrible waste not to look around at least before I go back to the sea."
    Ven's heart leapt. He looked back to the south and saw that Tuck and the wagon were at the closest street corner.
    "Then let's go," he said excitedly. "This is our wagon, and it will get us out of here and away from these cats."
    " Lovely ," said the merrow.
    Ven looked over at the alley where he had seen Madame Sharra, but the golden woman was gone.
    Along with his chance to ask her anything else.
    Ven looked down at the thin black stone in his hand. He turned it over curiously, but his attention was drawn away by the merrow's pinching fingers as Tuck and the wagon approached. Amariel backed away behind him as the horses clopped nearer.
    "How awful," she whispered in his ear. "What happened to those poor hippocampi?"
    "Hippocampi?"
    Amariel pointed at the team of horses. "Where are their tails?"
    Ven hid his smile. "Those aren't sea horses, they're land horses," he said. "That's what they are supposed to look like. They have legs, not tails—er, well, they have tails, too, but not like yours—their tails are more like your hair."
    "Hmmph," said the merrow. "That's just plain unnatural ."
    "And just like hippocampi, you can ride them in races, too," Ven continued. "Didn't you tell me you want to be a hippocampus rider when you grow up?"
    "Maybe," Amariel said. "I'm not so sure now that I've seen those things. I might want to teach a dolphin school instead. The dry world is very strange."
    Her words were lost in the rumble of the wheels as the cart rolled to a stop. The Lirin forester pushed the brim of his hat up and looked down in surprise at the cats swarming around Ven's feet.
    "You ready?" he asked.
    "Yes, thanks," Ven replied. "Tuck, this is my friend Amariel." He felt her shrink down behind him, and turned around.
    "Don't worry," he said quietly. "He's not human—he's Lirin."
    Amariel peeked out from behind him and looked up at the forester.
    "Hold still," said Tuck to the two children. He clicked to the horses, and they stomped their feet in unison, rattling the sides of the wagon and vibrating the cobblestones.
    The cats scattered.
    "Hop aboard," Tuck said.
    Ven took hold of the merrow's arm and helped her climb into the back of the wagon. When he reached out his hand, he realized he was still holding the black stone Madame Sharra had given him. It was almost as if he had forgotten it was there.
    He held it carefully and clambered in beside her, then settled down next to her amid sacks of carrots, oats and potatoes. He nodded to Tuck, who whistled to the horses again, and the wagon lurched forward over the cobblestones and northeast through the waking streets toward the main town gate.
    Ven crouched low at they passed the massive walls of the Gated City, pulling Amariel down with him. He looked back to the place where he had first seen the rainbow flash that seemed to be a sign of Madame Sharra's magic, but there was nothing there but sunlight on the wall.
    It was not until they had passed through the gate and were well away from Kingston that the thin black stone in his hand exploded with color in the light of the rising sun.

6
Black Ivory

    I N THAT INSTANT, BOTH HORSES REARED AND SCREAMED IN FRIGHT .
    The wagon rocked violently from side to side, spilling carrots and apples over onto the roadway, and sending Ven and Amariel up into the air. They landed heavily on the floorboards with a thud .
    Tuck was up on his feet on the wagon board immediately, speaking quietly to the horses, gentling them down. It took him a few moments to calm them, but once they were settled and standing steadily again in the road, he sat back down, turned and leaned over the seat board into the wagon bed, where the two children were trembling.
    "Well, Ven, that was certainly a lot of fun," he said acidly. "What was that ?"
    "I—I don't know," Ven stammered. He held out the oval of thin black stone. "I—I got this in