Her answer was to jump to his house—taking him with her. It was strange being her passenger. But also kind of nice. Like he could turn things over to somebody else, even if only for a minute, and it would still come out OK.

Chapter 16

16

“There have never been dragons,” said Lus, the old loremaster. “They’re a legend that originated in Mittlegard, but such creatures have never existed anywhere, least of all here in Mitherhame.”

Gerd only smiled—which, Hermia knew, was exactly the pose a person needed to strike if she was to be thought powerful. However, Hermia’s pose was not one of power; she wasn’t CEO of a powerful corporation, she was merely a consultant, and what she had to sell was her wisdom. Or at least her useful data.

“When we call it a dragon,” said Hermia, “everyone knows what to expect. It will fly. It will spew out fire and kill from a distance and up close. And it will be impervious to arrows and swords. But no, there has never been a living dragon, and that is not what Lady Gerd of the North will demonstrate here today. For instance, everyone knows that the only thing that a dragon cannot penetrate is stone. The city of Y was built here in these craggy hills precisely so that it could be built of local stone, which is very hard. What could a dragon—if there were such a creature—do against these walls?”

“Nothing, of course,” said Lus, because he was a lover of logic.

“Your implication,” said Queen Genoesswess, “is plain. This ‘dragon’ of yours will harm our walls, or why show it to us? Suppose that your claim is true. To harm our walls would certainly impress us. But then we would have to rebuild the wall.”

Hermia glanced at King Sorian, who, as usual, was listening to everything and saying nothing. “Have you no stonemages?” Hermia asked.

The queen smiled. “The walls of this redoubt were built by ancient Stonefathers, from the age when we passed between the worlds. It is all living rock, drawn up from the bowels of these hills and shaped according to their dreams. There’s no stonemage in all the world who can do any such thing.”

“Then perhaps,” said Hermia, “we could choose a different target. What do you think, Lady of the North?”

Gerd turned at the sound of the impressive title they had agreed upon. “I’ll see to it that it happens as you said.” She pointed to a nearby butte. “Perhaps if we show what the dragon can do to that.”

“We would consider that a perfect demonstration of its power against walls,” said Queen Genoesswess. “It’s also living rock, and it’s neither weaker nor stronger than these walls.”