“Pack and paws,” whispered Lisabet.
“Sparks and scales,” Ellukka replied, just as quiet. “This is why it was easy to solve the riddle.”
Rayna groaned. “It’s not the only piece of the scepter.”
Chapter Ten
EVERYONE WAS SUBDUED AS THEY FLEW BACK TODrekhelm. At least they had one piece, Anders told himself. Even if the next riddle was even less clear than the first.
Rayna and Ellukka were both tired when they landed, transforming out on the mountainside in the setting sun, so the foursome could make their way up to the doors of the Great Hall and check that the coast was clear for them to creep inside.
“It wasn’t just wading through the cold water,” Ellukka said. “The weather was cold today as well.”
“I feel like I can’t think properly,” Rayna agreed. “Though it’s getting better since we got back here.”
Anders bit his lip as he climbed up to the doors. This had to be the effect of the Snowstone. Had Hayn run out of excuses? Had Sigrid gotten her hands on an augmenter? Once she had, she might be able to easily spread the cold they’d felt in Holbard as far as Drekhelm.
He stopped by the door, which was slightly ajar, and put his eye to the crack. He froze at what he saw, and held his hand up to bid the others keep quiet behind him. The Dragonmeet was assembled at the table at the top of the hall, clearly in the middle of one of their endless debates.
Saphira, one of the young members who’d come to their class yesterday, was speaking. “Well somebody lit those fires in Holbard, even if we don’t know who it was.”
Torsten snorted behind his big, bushy beard. “I’d congratulate them, if I could.”
Valerius shot him a quelling look, which surprised Anders—he’d thought Valerius and Torsten agreed on everything. Perhaps it was only most things. “We have reports from our spies,” he said. “They witnessed the fire at the port, and they say it was white and gold. It was dragonsfire.”
Mylestom leaned forward from his place beside Saphira. “Are we completely sure the spies didn’t light it?”
Leif answered, raising a sheaf of paper he held in one hand. “I trust them. There’s more bad news, though. I have here a new report of a small fire three days ago. It broke out in the warehouses of a mercher who supplies Ulfar Barracks and Academy with most of their vegetables. He stores his goods near the city, and the word here is that a white-and-gold fire was lit there three nights ago.”
“And our spies have nothing?” Valerius demanded. “No idea how this happened?”
“What matters more is that it did,” Torsten growled, sounding as fierce as an angry wolf. “The wolves need reminding that we’re not defenseless.”
Voices rose all around the table, as everyone began to speak at once.
“You can’t possibly—”
“We have to remember—”
“The wolves will—”
Leif raised both hands, and eventually it all died down. “Let’s adjourn for dinner,” he said. “We will hear everyone’s voice, but one at a time.”
The Dragonmeet left the hall in twos and threes, all twenty-five of them continuing the conversation.
As soon as they were gone, the children crept inside, Rayna last of all and pulling the door shut behind her.
“I’d better go find my father,” Ellukka said. “I’ll pretend I’ve been around all day, and I’ve been waiting for him for dinner.”
“We should eat too,” Lisabet said.
As she, Rayna, and Anders fetched food and went in search of Mikkel and Theo, Anders wondered if he should speak to Leif about his theory on faking dragonsfire. But he wasn’t even sure if it was possible on such a large scale, let alone whether it had happened.
They found the boys and filled them in on the day’s events while waiting for Ellukka in Anders and Lisabet’s room. Mikkel and Theo were more enthused than overwhelmed—they reminded Anders that the second riddle might be difficult, but that they’d already solved the first one, and that it hadn’t even taken them that long.
“I’m pretty sure Leif was suspicious today,” Mikkel said. “We both thought he knew we were covering forsomething, but he didn’t ask what.”
“We also think maybe he wanted us to keep covering,” Theo said. “Better than Torsten and Valerius finding out.”
