Waking in Dreamland by Jody Lynne Nye

Author:Jody Lynne Nye
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780671878757
Publisher: Baen Books
Published: 1998-02-01T05:00:00+00:00

“Nothing,” Spar said, disgustedly, returning to Roan. The princess and Colenna huddled in the shelter of a small overhang at the edge of the path a dozen yards from the end, sharing a single umbrella. Ivy and other plentiful plant life on the mountainside gave them a windbreak as thick as a bower on the southwest side of the road. “They’ve got clean away.”

“It’s this rain,” Misha said. “We might be able to find them again when it stops.”

“We need to find a place to camp for the night,” Roan said. He looked around.

“Why not here?” Felan asked, sweeping a hand out. “It’s flat. And, look, there are grapevines. I can send a message back to the palace.”

“The flat part, as you point it out,” Bergold said, very patiently, “is a public thoroughfare, my friend.”

“It’s a dead end,” Felan said. “No one will come this way.”

“I’d rather not stay,” Leonora said, clutching the umbrella handle with both hands. “I don’t like the atmosphere. Something feels wrong. The steeds sense it, too.”

“I don’t like it much myself,” Spar said. Roan nodded, spattering raindrops. “Something evilish happened here, it feels like. I don’t like not being able to see all the way around. Let’s go.”

“Then we’d better move on,” Bergold said. “I’m wet through, and I’d welcome a chance to rest, but not here.”

Roan suddenly found that he couldn’t wait to continue. “Agreed,” he said, hopping onto Cruiser. “It’s uphill, but it’s fairly gradual.”

“But, the grapevines?” Felan asked, pointing back toward the curtain of leafy trailers.

“Send your message and catch up with us,” Roan said impatiently. “We should be easy to find. There’s only one road. Hutchings, you stay with him.”

“Yessir,” the guard said, looking miserable.

The party had no choice but to turn around into the teeth of the rain, and begin pedaling uphill again. The downpour had lessened for a time, but it had resumed in full force. Cruiser’s tires slipped again and again on the gravel path.

At the first crossroads, Roan turned them toward the right. According to the map they were heading roughly north by northeast. The leaden sky was no help to orienteering, showing neither sun nor compass points among the blue isobars. Both right and left paths seemed to lead further up. It felt as if the upward angle got sharper the moment he started climbing. The next turn offered only more rising slopes.

“I don’t remember mountains this high on the map,” Bergold said, panting.

“I think I’m right,” Misha said, after a while. “These hills are moving. We should be hitting downslopes, but we’re always pedaling uphill.”

“The landscape is playing with us,” Colenna said, stoically. “Press on. That’s all we can do.”

By this time, Roan didn’t know if he was soaked with rain or sweat. The others were tiring quickly, and the sky grew darker. Leonora held out heroically, but at last she ran out of strength to pedal her golden steed. Roan tied a rope to Schwinn’s frame and helped pull them up a steep stretch of road, until he couldn’t ride any farther, either.

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