The Dragon Nimbus Novels: Volume III: Volume III

’mote and the machines behaved as she expected. He obeyed her instructions, remembering to keep the ’mote pointed at the control panel. The lights gradually brightened. He continued to hold the button. More lights flickered on.
    For the first time, Powwell felt a lightening of the weight on his chest that came from being underground in the dim caverns. The wraith hadn’t helped him as Kalen had.
    “Will this ’mote do anything else?” Rollett asked, inspecting the device.
    “What do you want it to do?” Yaala turned to look at him, hands on hips.
    Powwell wondered why she looked so exasperated, so confrontational with Rollett. She loved talking about ’tricity and her machines. But she seemed almost afraid to give Rollett any more information than she had to.
    Afraid of Rollett? They were on the same side, weren’t they?
    “Will it make the altar stone rise up from the floor of the Justice Hall?”
    “Probably.”
    “Will it allow me to appear on the dais without prior warning?”
    “No. But I think it is tuned to a bank of lights in the ceiling to create a blinding flash in front of the dais so you can get through the tapestry of the waterfall before dazzle-blindness wears off anyone in the Justice Hall.” Yaala took the ’mote back from Powwell and fiddled with it. “Yaassima liked all her ’motes tuned to the same frequency so she could use them interchangeably. This one should work on everything.”
    “Then let’s go above,” Powwell said. He started walking toward the exit before he finished speaking. He couldn’t get out of the pit soon enough. The wraith floated close by.
    You’ll help me get my body back now. He can’t have it.
    I’ll do my best.
    Yaala’s ’motes wouldn’t help him evict Hanassa from Kalen’s body. He needed magic, strong magic. Only magic would save Kalen and get them all out again. He’d make Yaala come back to Coronnan with him and Rollett. She didn’t really belong in Hanassa. No honest person did.
    The next few hours could get very messy. Probably bloody, too.

    Afternoon, the pit beneath the city of Hanassa
     
    “This is just a reconnaissance mission,” Rollett stated firmly. “We don’t take any chances and we stay hidden as much as possible.” He fixed a stern gaze on Powwell and Yaala in turn. The men of Hanassa usually flinched in fear when he stared at them like that.
    Powwell and Yaala returned his gaze steadily. Each nodded briefly, decisively. They’d obey him this time because his plans coincided with their own.
    “At the first hint of trouble, or if anyone recognizes you, head back here immediately. Don’t wait. Don’t try anything. Just come back here where it’s safe.”
    “We know, Rollett. You’ve repeated it a dozen times,” Powwell said impatiently. “Repeating it isn’t going to help me find Kalen.”
    Rollett almost grabbed Powwell by the throat to intimidate some respect into him.
    And hated himself for his instinctive reliance upon violence. What good could he do back home if he had truly succumbed to the violence inherent in Hanassa?
    “Let’s go. No sense wasting any more time with old instructions and older arguments.” Yaala moved between the two. She placed a restraining hand on the chest of each man.
    Rollett mastered his violent reaction. New respect for the woman cooled his temper further. She’d make an admirable leader in a civilized land. But here, among the lawless, she’d need help. His help. Should he stay?
    He indulged in a closer examination of Yaala’s face. She had washed off some of the journey grime and combed her blond hair, leaving it flowing free and soft rather than hiding behind the ugly kerchief knotted Rover style over one ear. Striking rather than beautiful with her long features and pale skin. He looked forward to seeing her dressed as a woman rather than a sexless ruffian. And hoped his desire would fade with the realization she had little or no figure to entice a man.
    He didn’t have the time or energy to waste on a woman.
    He didn’t know how much longer he could tolerate the city or the way the city had shaped him this past year.
    “Our first task is to try the ’mote on the gate.” Rollett marched forward, holding the ’mote in the palm of his hand. “Is there a way we can keep Piedro from opening the gate with magic or a key, Yaala? If he can’t get to the food, he’ll be in big trouble in the city. That will shift the balance of power. Food and escape are the only