Dealing with Dragons - Wrede Patricia Collins (бесплатные версии книг .TXT) 📗

"I always have this problem when I try to find something," Roxim confided. "Never know where to look. Gets frustrating, and next thing you know I'm pitching armor at the walls. Bad habit, but hard to break."

"Maybe I could help," Cimorene suggested. "After I give you Kazul's message, that is."

"Don't need help to put dents in things," Roxim said. "Comes to that, I don't really want it."

"I didn't mean help to throw things," Cimorene said patiently. "I meant help to find whatever you're looking for."

"Oh, that. Well, come in then."

Cimorene followed the dragon into a moderately large cave, similar to the one Kazul used as a living area. Roxim's cave, however, was full of clutter. Cimorene had to pick her way past bits of armor, one half of a pair of bookends, a box of tea, a pink scroll, three mismatched kitchen pots, a small wooden statue, a broken flute, and four partially burned candles.

Roxim walked straight over the mess as if it weren't there, squashing a mangy-looking stuffed pigeon and flattening a tin cup in passing. He dropped the shield on a pile of silk flowers and waved Cimorene to a seat on a large wooden chest near one wall. "Now, what's this message of Kazul's?"

"It's about the wizards," Cimorene said, settling gingerly onto the dusty surface of the chest. She made a mental note to find Roxim a nice princess as soon as she possibly could. "Alianora and I found one of them picking dragonsbane a few days ago, and Kazul thinks King Tokoz will listen to you if you tell him about it."

"So that's where they got it," Roxim said in tones of disgust. "Pity you didn't mention it sooner."

Cimorene got a sinking feeling. "What do you mean?"

"Somebody poisoned King Tokoz this morning," Roxim explained.

"Slipped some dragonsbane in his coffee. Fast-acting; nothing to be done.

Now we need a new king."

"That's awful!" Cimorene said. "Do you know who did it?"

"Those dratted wizards, that's who," Roxim said angrily. "It's obvious.

Stupid thing to do; has to be wizards, by George! But Woraug won't listen to me."

"Woraug? What's Woraug got to do with it?"

"He's in charge of the investigation," Roxim replied. "Taking his time about it, too, if you ask me."

"But if the King was only poisoned this morning…"

"What does that have to do with it?" Roxim said unreasonably.

"Besides, if Woraug doesn't hurry, he won't have the culprit in hand by the time the trials start tomorrow."

"Trials? You mean with Colin's Stone, to choose the new king?"

Cimorene said with some hesitation. She did not see how it could be a trial for the person who had killed the King if they hadn't caught him yet, but she was not completely certain that the dragons didn't have some way of getting around the problem and trying him anyway.

"That's it," Roxim said, pleased. "And before I leave I have to find that emerald I picked up fifty years ago. Coronation present for the new King."

"But you haven't got a new King yet," Cimorene said, feeling somewhat bewildered. "And what if you're the King?"

Roxim smiled broadly. "Knew you were a nice gal. Me, the King! I rather like the idea. I still have to find the emerald, though.

Wouldn't do to show up at the trials without a coronation present. Rum thing to do. Over-confident."

Though she was upset and more than a little worried, Cimorene helped Roxim as best she could. After about an hour of poking through the clutter, Cimorene found the emerald, wrapped in a gold-embroidered handkerchief and stuffed into the mouth of a large brass horn. Roxim thanked her and invited her to stay to tea, but Cimorene politely declined. She was eager to get back to Kazul, to tell her what had happened and decide what to do next.

Cimorene hurried back to Kazul's cave by the shortest route, thinking so hard about Tokoz's death that she forgot everything else. She found Kazul sleeping and was forced to wake her, despite her words about the dragon's health. She knew Kazul would want to hear about the King of the Dragons as soon as possible, and she wanted to hear what Kazul made of Woraug's involvement in the investigation.

"Back already?" Kazul said, opening her eyes. "Didn't Roxim get you in to see King Tokoz?"

"No," Cimorene said. She hesitated, uncertain of the best way to break the news. "It was too late."

"Too late?" Kazul raised her head, startled. She eyed Cimorene briefly, then said, "All right, let's have it. What's happened?"

"King Tokoz was poisoned this morning. Roxim said someone put dragonsbane in his coffee."

Kazul snorted. "Somebody knew Tokoz pretty well." Seeing Cimorene's surprised expression, she explained, "Tokoz drank Turkish coffee every morning. The stuff is strong enough to take the roof off your mouth.

It's why no one ever went to talk to him over breakfast. You could boil a whole field's worth of dragonsbane in Turkish coffee without changing the taste enough to notice. Or the texture."

Cimorene tried to imagine coffee, even Turkish coffee, strong enough to take the roof off a dragon's mouth and failed. "I told Roxim about the wizard Alianora and I met, and Roxim said I ought to tell Woraug because Woraug is in charge of finding the poisoner," she said. "But-" "But when you caught Antorell picking dragonsbane, he thought Woraug had sent you," Kazul said. "If Woraug's mixed up with wizards-" She broke off, coughing. Cimorene watched her anxiously, but the coughing spasm did not last long. "I don't like this," Kazul finished when she got her breath back.

"I don't, either," Cimorene agreed. "But what can we do about it?"

Kazul frowned and said nothing. For several minutes, the two sat and thought in silence. Then Kazul said, "We can't do anything until the new King has been chosen. Did Roxim say when the testing will be?"

"Tomorrow," Cimorene said.

"Tomorrow!" Kazul surged to her feet. "Why didn't you say so at once? If I'm to be at the Ford of Whispering Snakes tomorrow, I have to-" "Lie down!" Cimorene commanded. Kazul looked at her in surprise and collapsed in another fit of coughing. Cimorene waited until the dragon's coughing had subsided, then said sternly, "You're in no condition to go hauling rocks all over the countryside. I'd be surprised if you can even fly as far as the end of the pass. I think you're going to have to give up on the trials this time around."

Kazul made a choking noise. Cimorene looked at her in alarm, then realized that the dragon was laughing.

"It's not optional, Princess," Kazul said. "All the adult dragons in the Mountains of Morning are required to show up, no matter what condition they're in."

"But-" "There is no acceptable excuse for missing the testing of a new King,"

Kazul repeated. "None. And I have a great deal to do before I leave, so if you'll-" "If anything needs to be done around here, I'll do it," Cimorene said firmly. "If you don't rest, you won't be able to fly at all, and then how will you get to the ford?"

"A reasonable point," Kazul said, settling reluctantly back into place.

"Very well. The first thing I need is a coronation present for the new King.

There's a jeweled helmet on a shelf in the second storeroom that might do.

Bring it out so I can take a look at it."

Cimorene spent the rest of the evening running errands for Kazul.

Besides choosing a coronation gift (Kazul rejected the helmet and two crowns before deciding on a scepter made of gold and crystal), innumerable messages had to be delivered to various dragons who were in charge of arranging the trials. This one had to be informed of Kazul's ill health, so that it could be taken into account when the order of the testing was established; that one had to be told that Kazul would not be able to join the coronation procession. Substitutes had to be found to perform Kazul's various ceremonial duties, then their names had to be approved by a surly dragon in charge of protocol, and finally the substitutions had to be recorded on all the lists of all the dragons who were managing each of the events. It reminded Cimorene strongly of Linderwall and her parents' court.