Free DragonSpell by Donita K. Paul Page B

air through her mouth and into her lungs. Her breathing came rapidly and took a minute or two to regain a natural rhythm. Dar guided her to a log and had her sit.
    Gradually, she noticed the rich and varied greens of trees and underbrush and the lush display of giant wildflowers on prolific vines. The vivid colors made her blink. The roar in her ears separated into birdsong—sharp caws, twitters, chirps, whistles, and melodious trills. A legion of forest insects added to the din.
    “We’ll eat our noonday meal here,” said Leetu, lowering her pack to the ground. “After a little rest, we’ll begin our trek to The Bogs.”
    “Where are we?” asked Kale.
    “Fairren Forest,” answered Dar. “About five miles west of Bedderman’s Bog. Granny Noon wouldn’t put us down in the swamp. Too easy to step right out of the gateway into something nasty.” Dar chortled. “Or even some
one
nasty.”
    “What kind of creatures live there?”
    “Not as many flesh-eaters as you would think.”
    “Dar!”
Kale heard Leetu’s reprimand given directly to the doneel’s mind.
    His response was muffled as he ducked his head and rummaged in his pack, “Well, it isn’t completely terror-free. But there’s a good chance we won’t be accosted by gruesome bisonbecks or odious mordakleeps.”
    “Dar…” Leetu glared at the little doneel.
    “What?” He spread his hands in a gesture of innocence.
    “Eat your lunch,” she commanded.
    “Fine, if you see no reason to worry about bisonbecks who do the bidding of Risto”—he sat down on a log and pulled out his lunch—“or mordakleeps who team up with anything nasty and currently have a wonderful working relationship with that same evil wizard Risto, then why should I worry? Why should we warn Kale?”
    Leetu’s scowl turned darker.
    Dar lifted his sandwich to his mouth, but had one more thing to say before he bit into it. “Actually, I agree with you. Worrying now over an encounter that might occur later would only ruin our digestion.”
    Leetu threw her hands in the air in a gesture of exasperation. She turned away from the doneel and faced Kale.
    “Just eat,” she commanded. “We have a long way to go. It isn’t necessary to conjure up visions of disaster. Paladin has equipped us to handle whatever comes.”
    The emerlindian sat down and pulled out a book as well as a packet of food. She glared once more at Dar, who chewed contentedly without showing the least concern that he had upset the leader of their expedition.
    Kale reached into the left-hand hollow inside her cape and pulled out one of the packets Granny Noon had provided. When she opened the bundle wrapped in a gauzy cloth, she found a sandwich made of tasty jimmin poultry. The lettuce popped with freshness when she bit into it, and tomato juice ran down her chin.
    Her stomach rumbled in appreciation, but her mind dwelt on something other than her hunger. She firmly ignored Dar’s hints at danger. She didn’t want to think about whether or not he was teasing. Or how much was teasing and how much was real. The fact that she had “overheard” Leetu admonish Dar was much more comforting to think about.
    I heard Leetu mindspeak to Dar. She called his name, sharp and angry. I heard the tone as well as the words, and it was definitely with my mind and not my ears. She wasn’t mindspeaking to me, but to Dar. I didn’t know I could listen like that to another’s conversation.
    Probably, I couldn’t before.
    Granny Noon said my talent would develop by being around Leetu. I guess this is the kind of thing she meant would happen.
    Kale watched the emerlindian turn the pages of her book while she ate.
    I wonder if I can listen to Leetu’s mind while she reads.
    Kale chewed her own sandwich slowly as she reached with her mind to Leetu. For an instant, printed words flashed in her mind. The page from Leetu’s book blurred, and Kale saw Leetu’s thoughts, images of mighty urohm soldiers mounted on gigantic horses