That did sound like Teela.
The four cohort members gathered, but Teela split off as Bellusdeo assumed her gold-plated, human form. Hope squawked.
Bellusdeo’s reply was offered in loud draconic. No doubt it was rude. Kaylin had a small collection of linguistic curses, but draconic curses were beyond her physical limitations.
Tiamaris, however, remained a Dragon. He roared; Bellusdeo roared back. In a normal, booming voice, Bellusdeo said, “Step away from the building but be prepared!” She followed up with a longer speech in the Norranir tongue. Kaylin assumed it meant the same thing.
Clearly, she was wrong. The drummers split off, heading to the very edge of the border. Oh. Here, the barrier seemed more amorphous. Kaylin didn’t understand why the Towers were so distinctly geographically separated. But the Norranir and their drums moved to stand—and drum—at that barrier. She was impressed that their arms were strong enough to continue without pause.
But some of the Norranir came to stand beside the drummers; they carried drums of their own, but they weren’t beating them yet. She guessed they’d pick up the beat when the first set of drummers was too exhausted to continue. For Kaylin, that would have happened on the walk, if she’d lasted that long. The man carrying Kaylin set her on the ground as she could no longer slow them down.
Hope stood on Kaylin’s shoulders, claws briefly digging into her collarbone. His voice, at this distance, was louder than Tiamaris’s warning.
Severn began to unwind his weapon chain—which was never a good sign. Terrano ran to her side, passing through the Norranir who were standing just ahead of her.
“Teela wants you to stay out of the building.”
“No one’s going in there yet.”
“True. She wants you to stay out when—and if—she and Bellusdeo head in.”
“And she sent you here to make sure I keepyouout?”
Terrano grinned. “She’s always optimistic.”
This wassonot true. “I could ask Hope for help.”
He grimaced. “I’m supposed to be keeping you here, not the other way around.”
“Whatever works, right?”
Tiamaris inhaled; the sound was louder than the consistent, continuous drumbeats. His exhalation was louder still as a gout of impressively hot flame splashed, like liquid, against the building that had caused Kaylin’s magical allergies to activate. As if it were that liquid, it dripped down the building’s face, burning nothing.
It’s stone, Severn pointed out.
Against Dragon breath. We’ve seen thatmeltstone in the city.She lifted a finger and poked her familiar; he batted her face with a wing and then left it over one eye.Some of the stone is beginning to heat up.
Not visibly.
“Terrano—tell one of your friends to tell Tiamaris to keep going.”
He gave her the side-eye but clearly did as she asked. On the other hand, it was left to Teela to tell the fieflord. Honestly, some people were cowards.
“What? She’s got the big sword. Nothing they’re wielding is going to even scratch a Dragon’s scales.”
Bellusdeo came over to Severn, who stood, weapons readied. “We’re going around the back. Terrano is allowed to follow us; Teela thinks he’ll be useful.” Two of the Norranir fell in behind Bellusdeo. Bellusdeo shook her head, and they bowed and stepped back.
“They might be helpful as well,” Terrano said.
“We need them on the border. Teela is going to stay at the front with Tiamaris and the Norranir. And your two brothers.”
Severn didn’t sheathe his weapons, but he didn’t take point. He would have, but Terrano was impatient—and permeable. Bellusdeo told him that she’d scout, and heblew a raspberryand scooted ahead.
“One of these days, I’m going to kill him,” the Dragon said, in a tone that almost implied affection.
“You’re probably going to have to stand in line. And no, I won’t be in it.”
“I believe he was supposed to stay with us in order to more easily communicate with Teela.” The Dragon exhaled steam.