“If you’re that low on dried feverfew, take some of mine,” Cimorene offered. “Kazul’s not particularly irritable. I only need to keep a pinch or two in case of emergencies.”

“Thank you!” Alianora said fervently, and Cimorene turned her soggy cuffs back and went to get the bottled spices.

11

In Which Kazul Is Unwell, and Cimorene Makes a New Acquaintance

ALIANORA DECIDED TO RETURN HOME by way of the path outside instead of through the tunnels because it was such a nice day and she hoped the sun would dry her skirt. Cimorene watched her go, swinging her basket happily and humming a little, her confidence and good humor completely restored by the possession of the fat little packet of dried feverfew in her pocket.

“I wish I had as little to worry about,” Cimorene muttered, thinking of Woraug and the wizards. She held the burned patch at the end of her sleeve up to get a better look at it in the sunlight and shook her head. Even the magic wardrobe would have a hard time fixing that. A puff of wind made her shiver in her wet clothes, and she turned to go back into the cave to change.

A dark shadow fell over Cimorene, and she stopped and looked up. “Kazul!” she said as the dragon landed on the open path beside her. “Am I glad to see you. Wait until you hear what’s been happening!”

“You do appear to have had a rather strenuous day,” Kazul said, eyeing Cimorene’s wet, stained skirt and the blackened end of her right sleeve. “Nothing serious, I trust?”

“I’m not sure,” Cimorene said. “Alianora and I went out to pick some feverfew, and we ran into that wizard Antorell.”

“Where was this?”

Cimorene pointed. “Up that way. There’s a little round valley off to one side that looks as if dragons never go there, and—”

“You found a wizard there?” Kazul sounded deeply disturbed. “How did he get in? How did you get in?”

“We climbed through a crack in a boulder,” Cimorene said. “I don’t know how Antorell did it. When he left, he was heading for the far side of the valley.”

“This is serious,” Kazul said, getting to her feet. “I’d better warn the King. He’ll have to use the crystal now.”

“You’d better hear the rest of it first,” Cimorene said. “Antorell wasn’t too happy to see us, but when he found out that Alianora was Woraug’s princess, he relaxed. He seemed to think that Woraug had sent us.”

“What?”

Cimorene involuntarily stepped back a pace at the anger in Kazul’s voice. “He thought Woraug had sent us,” she repeated, and gave a quick summary of her conversation with Antorell.