DRAGON GAMES by P.W. CATANESE

Author:P.W. CATANESE [CATANESE, P.W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-08-19T07:33:02+00:00

CHAPTER

10

The four glass objects sat in a row on the desk in the archives. None of them was a perfect sphere, Hap could see; there was a slight irregularity to their shapes, and the milky color varied widely from one to the next. Smudge—the boorish and mildly crazed fellow who kept Umber’s archives—bent his shaggy head to read the message scratched on each:

UMBER

HELP

DESOLAS

C

“Yes. Brother Caspar wrote this,” Smudge whispered hoarsely. He looked at Umber with red-rimmed eyes. “Will you help him? Will you find him?”

“I’ll find him, all right,” Umber said, grinding a fist inside his other palm. “If we can figure out where he is. What is Desolas, Smudge? It must be a place, but none of the captains has heard of it.”

Smudge tugged his beard with both hands, splitting it. “Desolas. Desolas … I’ve heard that name before. But when?”

“Your brother knew I’d ask you,” Umber said. “He’s counting on you to remember, Smudge. Look, maybe this will help.” Umber spread a wide parchment across the desk. It was a map of the Rulian Sea. “This is where the spheres were found,” Umber said, tracing the map with his finger. “Our captains say the prevailing currents would have brought the spheres from the west, over here. That doesn’t narrow it down much. But does that tickle your memory at all? Think, Smudge!”

Smudge squeezed his eyes shut as he concentrated. He rocked in his seat, tugging his forked beard with one hand, then the other. “Desolas. In the Inferno.” He opened his eyes. “That’s the place! Brother Caspar is there.”

“The Inferno,” Umber said. He leaned back and patted his stomach, digesting the thought.

“Before Brother left, I saw him with scrolls and maps. One map showed the Inferno, and an island in the middle named Desolas. Brother was angry when he saw me looking. I asked what was on Desolas, but he told me there was nothing.”

Hap didn’t like the direction of the conversation. “What is the Inferno, Lord Umber?”

Umber smiled. “Never been there myself. It’s on my to-do list, though! The Inferno is a ring of volcanoes in the Rulian Sea. Mariners don’t like to get too close, with all the fire and smoke and molten rock.” Hap’s face must have lost all its color, because Umber quickly added, “But I’m sure it’s not as bad as it sounds!”

Smudge leaned over and seized Umber’s wrist. He choked out his words. “I know you are angry at Brother Caspar. But please. Bring him back. Please, Lord Umber.”

Umber put his hand on top of Smudge’s. “Oh, you know me, Smudge. If he needs rescuing, I’ll do my best. Now if you don’t mind, you’re squeezing a bit too hard.”

When Umber and Hap left the archives and stepped into the grand hall, they found Welkin and Barkin, two of Umber’s trusted guards, waiting for them. They looked dusty and tired.

“Back already?” Umber said. He turned to Hap. “I sent these two to talk to that woman we met in the forest. So, boys, what did you learn?”

“Hard to say,” Barkin said.

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