Talking to Dragons Read Online Free Page B

pulled it out and offered it to her.
    After a couple of sniffs, she took it and mopped her face, but she didn’t say anything.
    â€œI’m sorry,” I said finally. “I didn’t mean to make you mad.”
    â€œWell, you did,” she snapped. She crumpled the handkerchief into a little ball and threw it at me.
    I caught it and stuffed it back into my pocket. “I
said
I was sorry.”
    â€œI can’t
help
having a temper,” Shiara said crossly. “All fire-witches do.”
    â€œReally? I’ve never met one before. I’ve met heroes and princes, but no fire-witches. Does your hair always do that when you get mad?”
    â€œNo,” she said. She looked like she was going to cry again.
    â€œWhy are the wizards chasing you?” I asked hastily, hoping it was a safer topic.
    â€œI burned the Head Wizard’s staff,” Shiara said matter-of-factly.
    My jaw dropped about a foot. A wizard’s staff is the source of his power, and furthermore, most wizards store spells in them. Sort of an emergency reserve. A lot of the staffs get passed down from one wizard to the next, accumulating magic as they go. They’re practically indestructible. Sometimes they get lost or stolen and then found in the nick of time under peculiar circumstances, but I’d never heard of one being destroyed before. And the Head Wizard’s staff . . .
    â€œYou
burned
a
wizard’s staff?
” I managed finally.
    â€œYou bet.” Shiara’s eyes glinted at the memory. “He deserved it, too. But the rest of them got mad. So I ran away while they were arguing about what to do with me.”
    â€œAnd you came to the Enchanted Forest? On purpose? Isn’t that a little extreme? I mean, you could get, well, enchanted. Or killed or something. This place is dangerous.”
    â€œHaving the whole Society of Wizards mad at you isn’t exactly safe,” she snapped.
    I thought about it. She was right. “Why did you burn the Head Wizard’s staff?” I asked after a minute.
    â€œI didn’t like him,” Shiara said shortly. I got the distinct impression she didn’t want to talk about it, so I decided to change the subject again. Besides, my feet hurt.
    â€œWould you mind if I sat down?” I asked. “I’ve been doing a lot of walking today.”
    â€œGo ahead.”
    I moved the sword out of the way and sat down. This time I didn’t fall over the sheath; I was starting to get the hang of it.
    Shiara saw the weapon and frowned. “Are you sure you’re not a hero or an apprentice hero or something?”
    â€œI don’t think I am,” I said cautiously. “I’m not really sure.”
    â€œYou’re not sure? Don’t you know who you are?”
    I blinked. I’d never really thought about it that way. “I know who I
am,
” I said. “I just don’t know what I’m supposed to be
doing.
Except finding out what I’m supposed to be doing.”
    Shiara stared at me. “I don’t believe it. Nobody comes to the Enchanted Forest without some kind of reason.”
    â€œWhat’s yours, then? Besides running away from wizards.” I was getting a little tired of people and animals and things not believing me.
    â€œNone of your business!” Shiara glared at me again. Then she jumped up and glared down at me. “I want to leave,” she announced. “Right now.”
    â€œAll right,” I said. “But I thought you couldn’t get through the hedge.”
    Shiara stamped her foot, and a little flame flared up from it. “I can’t! Open it for me! Right now!” She was really mad, but at least this time her hair wasn’t burning. I was glad. Watching someone glare at you with her hair on fire is a little unnerving.
    â€œI don’t want to open the hedge yet,” I said reasonably. “I don’t even know if I can. Besides, it would be