"I'm not sure," Cimorene said in a considering tone. "It will take at least a week to dry thoroughly, but you might be able to use it in the spell before then. The directions don't say how dry the feverfew has to be. We could try it every day with a pinch of leaves from one of these bunches if you like."
Alianora nodded. "I really do need it."
"I wonder if it would work without being dried?" Cimorene said. She pulled a leaf from one of the hanging plants and shredded it carefully between her fingers, then tossed it up in the air and recited the rhyme. "There! Now, light a candle or another lamp or something."
Alianora had already lit a candle and set it on the table. Cimorene moved over and stuck her finger in the flame.
"I think it's working," she said, and moved the rest of her hand closer.
The sleeve of her dress caught fire. Cimorene hastily pulled her hand away from the candle and slapped at the flames, while Alianora snatched up a bucket of water from beside the sink and poured it over Cimorene's arm.
The fire went out and so did the candle, and both Cimorene and Alianora got thoroughly soaked.
"Oh, dear!" Alianora said, ignoring her soggy skirts. "Cimorene, did you burn yourself?"
"No," Cimorene said, looking at her arm with a puzzled expression. "I didn't feel a thing. I thought the spell worked, but nothing caught fire when we tested it before."
"It must be because the feverfew is fresh instead of dried. And I had hoped that I'd be able to use it right away?"
"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 runnels 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.
"Woraug!" Kazul's tail lashed, sweeping a small boulder from one side of the path to the other. "But Woraug's not a fool, and only a fool would let a wizard into that valley. Unless he was sure that they didn't know…
What was Antorell doing?"
"Cutting plants," Cimorene said. "Or rather, cutting a plant. It didn't look as if he took more than one."
"He wouldn't need more than one, if it was the right one," Kazul said tensely. "What did he pick?"
"It was a prickly looking purple thing, with saw-edged leaves," Cimorene said, reaching into her pocket. "I didn't recognize it, but I thought you might, so I brought a piece back for you to look-" What?"
Kazul roared.
Flame spurted from the dragon's mouth, enveloping Cimorene. Steam hissed from her wet skirt, and the thinner material of her sleeves vanished in a crackle of sparks. The handkerchief-wrapped spray of purple leaves, which she had just taken out of her pocket to show Kazul, disintegrated into a dark, greasy-looking cloud of smoke.
Cimorene stared at the ashes in her palm: feeling very, very glad that she had decided to test the way fresh feverfew would work in the fireproofing spell. She felt a little warm, and her clothes had been reduced to a few charred rags, but that was nothing compared to what might have happened.
"Now I understand why Alianora ran out of feverfew," she muttered.
A puff of wind brushed Cimorene's arms, and she heard a choking sound from Kazul. She looked up, expecting to find the dragon laughing at her remark, and her eyes widened. Kazul's head was thrown back, and her mouth was wide open, giving Cimorene an excellent view of the dragon's sharp silver teeth and long red tongue. Cimorene skipped backward out of reach; then she realized that the dragon was gasping for air.
"Kazul! What's the matter?"
"The smoke? Kazul coughed. Her voice was so hoarse that it was hard for Cimorene to understand what she was saying.
"What can I do?" Cimorene said, trying not to feel frightened.
"Green jar-shelf in last treasure room," Kazul managed between coughs.
"Hurry."
Cimorene was already running through the mouth of the cave as fast as her feet could carry her. She did not even pause as she snatched up her lamp from the floor just inside the door. It seemed to take forever to get through the twisty passages and the first two caves full of treasure. She skidded to a halt in the doorway of the third room and stood panting, scanning the walls for the shelf and the right jar.
She found it quickly and ran back at once, the jar clutched tightly in her right hand.
The sound of Kazul's coughing grew louder as Cimorene sped back the way she had come. At the mouth of the cave, Cimorene paused and set down the lamp, then unscrewed the top of the green jar. Inside was a thick, emerald-colored liquid about the consistency of honey. She looked out at Kazul. The dragon's head jerked with each cough, and the scales on her neck were beginning to turn pink around the edges. For a long, careful moment Cimorene studied Kazul's movements. Then she leaned back and threw the emerald liquid, jar and all, into the dragon's open mouth just as Kazul took another gasping breath.
The jar landed on Kazul's tongue. The dragon's mouth closed, and she swallowed convulsively. Sudden silence descended.
"Are you all right now?" Cimorene asked after Kazul had taken several deep breaths without a renewed bout of coughing.
"I will be," Kazul said. She sounded exhausted, and her movements as she slid into the cave were slow and uncertain.
"What happened?" Cimorene said, backing out of the way so that Kazul would not have to exert herself to go around.