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."What?" Rega asked."Ouch! Do you have to dig your nails into my shoulder? The blue fire remindsme of that Haplo, that's all.""Maybe.But look, Paithan! The fire isn't stopping the tytans!"The magical fire was flickering, dying out.The tytans continued theiradvance."But the two have almost reached the gate.They'll be safe enough."The three fell silent, watching this life-or-death race.The strangers the one in black robes and the other dressed in ordinaryhuman-type clothing had reached the metal gate.They came to a sudden halt."What's stopping them?" Roland wondered."They can't get in!" Rega cried."Sure they can," Roland scoffed."Any wizard who can work magic like thatought to be able to open a gate.""That Haplo got in," Paithan said."Or at least he claimed he did.""Would you quit yammering about Haplo!" Rega shouted at him."I tell you theycan't get in! We've got to go down there and open the gate for them."Paithan and Roland exchanged glances.Neither moved.Rega cast them each a furious look; then, turning, she headed toward thestairs."No! Wait! If you open the gate for them, you'll let the tytans in, too!"Paithan made a grab for her, but this time Rega was prepared.She darted outof his reach and was off and running down the hall before he could stop her.Paithan swore something in elven and started after her.Noticing he was alone,he stopped, turned."Roland! Come on! It'll take both of us to fight thetytans off ""Not necessary," Roland said.He waved Paithan back to the window."Drugar'sdown there.He's opening the gate."The dwarf took the pendant that hung from around his neck and placed it in thecenter of the runes as he had done once before, only this time he was insidethe gate instead of outside.The sigil on the dwarf's pendant burned with bluefire, expanded.Wherever its fire touched one of the sigla on the gate, thatsigil burst into blue flame.Soon a circle of magic burned brightly.The gates swung open.The two strangers darted inside, the tytans roaring ontheir heels.The magical fire daunted the monsters, however.They fell back.The gates shut; the flames died.The tytans began to beat on the gates with their fists."They're attacking the citadel!" Paithan exclaimed in horror."They never didthat before.Do you think they can get in?""How the hell should I know?" Roland retorted."You're the expert.You're theone who's read all those damn books! Maybe you should turn that machine ofyours back on again.That seems to calm them down."Page 111ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlPaithan would gladly have turned the machine on again, but he didn't have anyidea how.He couldn't tell Roland that, however, and for the moment, Rolandwas actually regarding Paithan with a certain amount of grudging respect.What the human doesn't know won't hurt him, was Paithan's theory.Let himthink I'm a mechanical genius.If I'm lucky, the machine will cycle itselfback up again.If not, and the tytans manage to break down the wall, well, thetruth won't matter much then anyway."The machine.uh.has to rest.It'll come back on soon." Paithan prayedto Orn he was right."It had better.Or we're all going to be resting resting in peace, if you knowwhat I mean."They could hear clearly, through the open window, the tytans roaring andbashing at the walls in a frantic effort to get inside.Rega was down therenow, talking with the human in the black robes."One of us ought to go down there," Paithan suggested, prodding Roland."Yeah, you should," Roland agreed, prodding Paithan.Suddenly an enormous shape filled the window, blotting out the sunlight.Adank, dark smell choked them.Frightened half out of their wits, the two grabbed hold of each other, draggedeach other down.A massive green-scaled body slid past the window, scrapingalong the outside wall of the citadel at tremendous speed."A dragon!" Paithan quavered.Roland said something not repeatable.A gigantic talon thrust through the window."Oh, god!" Paithan quit hugging Roland and hugged the floor.Roland flung his arms over his head.But the talon disappeared after breaking out a section of the marble wall.Thedragon had apparently used the window to give itself leverage.Thegreen-scaled body slithered off.Sunlight shone through.Trembling, the two clutched at the windowsill, pulled themselves cautiouslyback up, peered out over the ledge.The dragon was sliding down the tower, wrapping its wingless body around tallspires, then dropping onto the courtyard below.Those in the courtyard Rega,Drugar, and the two strangers appeared to be frozen with terror.None of themmade a move.The dragon lurched toward them.Paithan moaned and covered his eyes with his hand."Rega! Run for it!" Roland screamed out the window.But the dragon thundered past them without a glance, heading straight for thegates.The Sartan runes flashed blue and red, but the dragon soared rightthrough the magic and through the metal gates as well.Outside the walls, the dragon reared up to an astonishing height, its headnearly at a level with the citadel's tall spires.The tytans turned and fled,their enormous bodies moving with incongruous fluid grace."It saved us!" Paithan cried."Yeah, for lunch," Roland said grimly."Nonsense!" said a voice behind them.Paithan jumped, cracked his head on the casement.Roland whirled around, losthis balance, and nearly fell backward out the window.Fortunately Paithan,feeling the need to grab hold of something substantial, grabbed hold ofRoland.Both stood staring.An old man with a stringy white beard, mouse-colored robes, and a disreputablehat was stalking down the hall, waving his arms and looking extremely pleasedwith himself."Dragon's under my complete control.Hadn't been for me, you'd be guava jellyright about now.Showed up in the nick of time whoever Nick is.Dukes atemackinaw, you might say."The old man planted himself triumphantly in front of the elf and the human,folded his arms across his chest, and rocked back on his heels.Page 112ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html"What dukes?" Paithan asked feebly."Dukes ate mackinaw," repeated the old man, scowling."With ears as big asyours, you'd think you could hear.I flew down to save your lives, arrivedright in the nick of time.Dukes ate mackinaw.That's Latin," the old manadded importantly."Means.well, it means.well, that I showed up.inthe.er.nick of time.""I don't understand." Paithan gulped.Roland was rendered speechless." 'Course you don't understand," said the old man."You have to be a great andpowerful wizard to understand [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]