Free Calling on Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

toward the castle, and her lips twitched. “He’s not going to like that at all.”
    â€œI’m certain that Morwen, Telemain, and I will be able to handle it,” Kazul said.
    Cimorene frowned. “Don’t
you
start fussing at me, Kazul. I’m perfectly capable of—”
    â€œI’m sure you are,” Morwen said. “But the Queen of the Enchanted Forest shouldn’t go tearing off any more than the King should. You have responsibilities.”
    â€œBother my responsibilities!”
    â€œIf I thought you meant that, I’d be worried.”
    â€œRetrieving the sword is much more important than anything else I have to do right now. Thank goodness it won’t be hard to find.”
    Morwen frowned, puzzled. “Why do you say that?”
    â€œWell, the wizards have taken it out of the forest, haven’t they? Otherwise Telemain’s antiwizard spell would still be working.” Cimorene smiled briefly at Telemain. “The last time that sword was outside the forest, it started leaking magic the minute it crossed the border.”
    â€œLeaking magic?”
    Cimorene shrugged. “I don’t know what else to call it. And it gets worse and worse the longer the sword is outside the forest. By the end of the week, anyone with any magical ability at all will be able to find that sword with his eyes closed.”
    â€œI don’t think we can afford to wait that long,” Telemain said slowly.
    â€œWhat? Why not?” Cimorene looked at the magician in alarm. “You don’t think the Society of Wizards will try to destroy it, do you?”
    â€œIt’s not that.” Telemain began to pace up and down beside Kazul. “It’s the magic leakage. I’d forgotten about it, and of course it didn’t matter as long as the sword was inside the forest, but now—”
    â€œNow the wizards have it,” Morwen said. “And wizards’ staffs absorb magic. If they absorb all the magic the sword leaks, and the leak keeps growing, it won’t be long before they’re more than we can handle.”
    â€œThat, too,” Telemain said, nodding. “But the real problem is the source of the magic the sword leaks.”
    â€œThe source—oh. Oh, dear.” Morwen looked at Telemain. “You mean the Enchanted Forest itself?”
    Slowly, Telemain nodded again. “I’m afraid so. Mendanbar and I linked the sword directly to the heart of the forest’s magic. The defensive enchantment will inhibit the, er, leakage for a while, but after a few days—”
    â€œâ€”the pressure will build up and the sword will start leaking. And all the magic of the Enchanted Forest will drain out of the sword,” Morwen finished.
    â€œBut that will kill the forest!” Cimorene said. “We have to get that sword back right away.”
    â€œNot quite,” Kazul said. A thread of smoke continued to trickle angrily out of the corner of her mouth, but otherwise she seemed to be in complete control of herself again. “From what Telemain said, it will take another day or two for the sword to start leaking. Right?”
    Telemain nodded. “As near as I can tell.”
    â€œThen we don’t have to learn to fly by jumping off a cliff. There are still a few things I want to know before we go chasing off.”
    â€œSuch as?” Morwen asked.
    â€œHow the Society of Wizards got inside the castle to steal the sword without anyone noticing, whether they’re likely to be back soon, and what we can do about it if they are.”
    Morwen, Telemain, and Cimorene looked at each other. Then Telemain looked at Kazul. “Commendably methodical. And now that you mention it, I’d better teach all of you the wizard-liquefying spell before we leave.”
    â€œYou mean you’ve come up with a better way of melting wizards than soapy water with lemon juice in it?” Cimorene’s smile was only a