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stretched, and moved to their favorite perches on their Dragon Keeper.
Botzy gasped with her eyes wide and her lips in a perfect O. She closed her mouth with a snap. I ll be
getting your dinner stew and puddin .
Her skirt twirled in the speed of her turn. She darted away. Even over the lively tune played by the band,
Kale heard a strident, Doxden! as Botzy stepped through the open kitchen door.
Perhaps Doxden is the innkeeper and the owner of the establishment, said Sir Kemry.
Are we in trouble?
I think not. I detected no ill intent from our hostess.
I m blocking so much of the chatter from the minds of all these people, I missed her reaction. Other than
what I could see, of course.
This is a varied populace, is it not? Sir Kemry studied the crowd. I see at least two of each of the high
races. I wonder what s the attraction of this out-of-the-way town. He paused for a minute or two and
looked as if he was listening.
Kale kept quiet, content to rub the scales of the little dragons and exchange pleasantries with her friends.
Trade routes, her father said. This is the crossroads of three main trade routes. Three-quarters of
these people are travelers, and the remainder are townsfolk who love to hear of their journeys. This place
is a gold mine of information.
Her father s face took on a pleasant expression, and she knew he was unabashedly eavesdropping on
one conversation after another. Kale had been taught that listening in on others thoughts was rude. She
still found deciding when it was acceptable and when it was offensive to be ambiguous territory. Her
father didn t seem to have any such problem. He bent his ear and stretched his mindspeaking ability to
satisfy his curiosity.
Their food arrived, and Sir Kemry ate without a word to his daughter. Kale s scruples strangled her
pleasure. She wouldn t probe her father s mind nor listen to the most easily heard conversations around
her. She concentrated on the music, the delicious, steaming stew, and the artless interchanges with her
dragons. She noticed the look other patrons of the tavern cast her way. Obviously, minor dragons were
not common hereabouts.
Dibl finished off his portion and flew to perch in Kale s hair. Metta came to sit on her shoulder and sing.
The purple dragon enjoyed the entertainment of the evening.
At one end of the large room, several people played instruments and sang lively songs. Sometimes, the
tunes escalated into noise rather than music, depending upon how many of the customers joined in the
singing. Metta, of course, knew all the words. She sang in trills, but Kale heard the lyrics Metta sang in
her head.
When the current song came to a rousing end, Botzy yelled to the leader of the small band, a man playing
a stringed instrument that lay in his lap.
Colly, there s a singing dragon here tonight. I ve heard more about dragons than seen em. Ask the
young woman to let her friend entertain us.
A singing dragon, you say? The burly marione hollered back. Have ye been drinking something
stronger than your cider, Botzy?
Nay, look beyond your own nose and see what s before ye.
Botzy bustled over to the table with a lantern and plopped it in the middle of the empty dishes. Here
they be. Four dragons with a father and daughter traveling through Black Jetty.
The minor dragons fluttered their wings, pleased with the attention.
Singers? asked Colly.
Showing what you don t know, said Botzy. The purple one s the singer. The others do& Botzy
stalled over a lack of information. Well, they do other things, of course.
Laughter rippled through the room. A woman shouted, Maybe one of em is a dancer.
Sir Kemry stood. We have derived much pleasure from the jolly company we ve shared tonight, and
we d be glad to entertain you.
He extended a hand to Kale. Equal measures of fear and anger flowed through her veins, with a dash of
embarrassment spicing the mix.
What are you doing? she demanded.
We re going to dance.
Dance? Kale looked around the room to see if anyone had heard the thought she had shouted at her
father.
Of course no one heard. Sir Kemry s pleasant, calm voice in her mind did nothing to slow the rapid
beat of her heart. Come on, Kale. He held his hand out to her. And try to make your face look
like this is a delightful experience.
Kale stood and plastered a smile on her face she was sure wouldn t fool a drunken porcupine.
Her father led her across the room to where the band waited for them. Metta flew to perch on his
shoulder.
You can t be in favor of this scheme. Kale fussed at the dragon while trying to keep her eyes from
straying to the door. Her heart wanted her feet to bolt. However, escape into the storm didn t seem to be
a good plan.
Sir Kemry addressed the gathering. If you would enlarge this dance floor. Double it if you can. Men
dragged chairs and tables away from the open area. Yes, that s good. Now, Metta, let s introduce
these good players to a rollicking Meerzanian folk tune. He eyed the fiddler. May I borrow your
instrument for a minute?
Father, I don t know how to do any but the most simple folk dances.
You can do this, dear. Be confident.
I can t do this, Father. Be reasonable.
Sir Kemry addressed the musicians. Have you worked with a singing dragon before? No? He
responded to the negative shakes of their heads. You re in for a treat. I ll play the tune for you once, but
by the aid of this marvelous little beast, you will never forget this song as long as you live.
Kale watched her father tuck the fiddle under his chin and pull the bow across the strings. A burst of
energetic music filled the room. She knew enough about melodic form to know the tune had a
one-two-three rhythm and that the refrain had an emphatic beat. Her old friend Fenworth would have
called the song a toe-tapper.
In her mind, she saw two dancers stamping, twirling, and kicking their heels in fancy, complicated steps.
That s you and Mother.
Right.
I can t do that.
Watch closely, Kale. You do these movements when you go through your fighting forms.
Kale concentrated on the vision she caught from her father as he played the music. Yes, I can see the
similarities, but forms are certainly not that fast.
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