The Dragon Nimbus Novels: Volume II

than before.
    “I said ‘move,’ s’murghit. We have to get to the surface before Yaassima finds us,” Televarn hissed through his teeth. Impatiently he moved beyond Powwell. He strode ahead of the dozen Rovers to the first man in line who carried a heavy sack over his shoulder.
    Amaranth was in that sack. Powwell remembered how fiercely the flywacket had fought imprisonment within the dark canvas. From the wriggling within the sack, Powwell guessed that Amaranth still fought for freedom. But his talons and teeth didn’t seem to penetrate the heavy canvas.
    “Follow me, Piedro. I don’t want you getting lost down here and betraying the entire plan,” Televarn said.
    Piedro—the man who carried Amaranth—flashed the Rover chieftain an evil sneer, but he yielded the lead. His scalp wounds from Amaranth’s claws had clotted messily in his sleek hair.
    The black-and-gray landscape resolved into a long tunnel broken by small caverns. Powwell didn’t know of any cave system near the village and the clearing, other than Shayla’s lair. The big female dragon would never allow Televarn to hold them hostage in the lair.
    Powwell tested the strength of his bonds with a small magic probe. The ropes remained firmly knotted, sealed with a magic he couldn’t understand. They didn’t move against his sweat-slick skin. If he could break a single strand of rope, he could wriggle free and take care of Myri and Kalen. He’d promised Nimbulan he’d protect them. He’d never broken a promise before!
    Who would help Myri when the baby decided to enter the world? He had to get her back home before then. Nimbulan depended upon him to protect the family while the Senior Magician was detained in the capital.
    “Quickly. They’ll change shifts in the pit in a moment. We have to cross the big cavern in just a few heartbeats,” Televarn directed his people.
    Powwell took a longer than normal step so that his hands were closer to his chest without changing the pressure on the lead rope. Thorny, he probed the hedgehog with his mind. He knew better than to touch his familiar without warning. Thorny hunched and rolled in response to the mental caress. Then he relaxed his spines and wiggled his nose. He relayed a series of scent impressions to Powwell. This place was strange beyond new. The hedgehog had never smelled anything like this before. No plants. Few insects. A lot of fear. And too much noise. Yeek kush kush. Yeek kush kush.
    Thorny, can you talk to Kalen’s familiar? Have the beast wake her up a little. He couldn’t see Kalen’s pet on her shoulder; perhaps it was hiding beneath her skirts.
    Thorny hunched again and remained firmly locked in a defensive ball. He wanted water and quiet. So did Powwell.
    A flicker of white moved at the edge of Powwell’s vision. Lumbird bumps raised on his arms and back. He risked turning his head to see what threat he and Thorny both sensed.
    Nothing. Just more black and gray stretching in all directions. He almost gave in to the feeling of hopelessness. For Myri and Kalen, he had to fight the emotions that pressed against him from the outside. He had to appear bewitched for a little while longer.
    The tunnel walls narrowed again and lowered. Powwell resisted the urge to duck beneath the heavy ceiling. Myri didn’t duck in her unconscious movement. Televarn didn’t either and he was only a finger’s length taller than the witchwoman. To maintain the illusion of sleepwalking, Powwell couldn’t cower away from the rocks that seemed ready to drop and crush him.
    They passed through a large cavern. The path seemed clearer, well-trodden. He breathed a little easier, less aware of the tons of dirt and rock above him.
    Televarn pointed toward another narrow tunnel. Piedro stepped confidently into the darkness with the now quiet Amaranth still in the sack upon his back. The older Rover woman yanked Myri’s rope and followed. So did Kalen’s leader. Powwell gulped uneasily.
    “They’ll wake up soon.” Televarn inspected Kalen. The girl swayed as she walked. Her head bobbed. “We have to be aboveground before they come to. We can’t have them suspect the dragongate exists.” He prodded the lead Rover harshly in the back.
    Dragongate? What was that? The alluring, unknown song lingered in his memory. He needed to go back to it, to join with the intense forces that threatened to tear him apart—at the same time the vortex hinted at joining with the great secrets of the universe.