So, slipping his hand into Rayna’s, he walked out with his sister until they reached the circle of lamplight where Leif, Mylestom, and Saphira stood.
Leif hurried forward to meet them. “Are you both all right?” he asked. “Are you safe?”
“We were so worried,” Saphira said, wheeling toward them quickly.
“Andwhatwas that you unleashed above Holbard?” Mylestom said. “None of us had ever seen anything like it.”
Anders opened his mouth, then shut it again, not sure how much to admit or where to begin.
“We’re not going to tell anyone we saw you,” Leif said, glancing across at the other two, who nodded. “Let me guess: you’re not here alone.”
Anders exchanged a look with Rayna. There was no point trying to hide it, and he wasn’t even sure they had a reason to.
Rayna walked back toward the entrance to the hallways and called out for Ellukka and Lisabet to come join them. They weren’t long in arriving, coming at a run, and they both stopped short when they saw the three members of the Dragonmeet. Relief was written all over Ellukka’s face as she walked forward. Lisabet looked almost as happy.
“Oh, Leif, it’s good to see you,” Ellukka said. “How’s...”
“Your father’s healing,” Leif said, and her shoulders dropped as some of the tension went out of her. Though she knew he’d survived his injuries—thanks to Leif catching him as he fell above Holbard—she hadn’t had any news since that first day she’d returned to Drekhelm with Theo to steal books from the archives.
“We saw him just now,” Anders added. “He was walking.”
“His burns are nasty,” said Saphira, “but he can fly.”
“And how are things at Drekhelm?” Rayna asked.
There was a long pause before Leif replied. “Complicated,” he said eventually. “Some of the dragons areangry, some feel betrayed. Some want to attack Holbard. Others want to cut off all contact with the outside.” He paused, and when he continued, his voice was grim. “I’m losing control of the Dragonmeet.”
His words were met with a shocked silence. All four of the children had seen Leif at the head of the Dragonmeet, and though the adults argued and debated endlessly, in the end, they always listened to him.
“What were you doing here?” Anders asked.
“We were looking for weapons,” Saphira said quietly. “Though we are very divided on whether or not we should use them. We thought we should at least come, so we knew if they found anything.”
“And you?” Leif asked. “What brings you to Old Drekhelm?”
“We’re looking for the place where our”—Anders caught himself in time and changed the words he had been about to use—“where Drifa used to sleep.”
Mylestom’s eyebrows went right up. “Drifa the dragonsmith? Why?”
None of the children answered him—nobody wanted to lie, but nobody was quite prepared to tell the truth, either. They all trusted Leif, Mylestom, and Saphira, but it was difficult to know whether—in an attempt to keep thepeace—the adults might feel it was better to share something the children didn’t want them to share.
“We’re not here looking for a weapon,” said Anders eventually. “I promise.”
Leif nodded slowly. “I think I remember where her room used to be, but she was gone even before the dragons left Drekhelm. Her things might have ended up anywhere.”
“You show them,” said Saphira, “and we’ll follow the others home. We shouldn’t let them spend more than a few minutes at Drekhelm without at least one of the three of us there.”
“She’s right,” said Mylestom. “Don’t be too long, Leif.”
With a nod of farewell to the children, the two of them made their way toward the great gaping mouth of the cave, Saphira wheeling her chair up to the edge of it as Leif led the children away.
“What does she do with her chair?” Lisabet asked curiously.
“She takes off,” said Leif, “and then Mylestom picks it up and carries it if she’ll need it at the other end. She has several, so often one is waiting for her. This way, come.”
He led them through the dark corridors of Old Drekhelm, and as they made their way past the roomsthey had already searched, Anders realized Leif might be able to answer another question for them.
“Did you ever know two dragonsmiths called Tilda and Kaleb?” he asked.
