mirror in Meverin’s saddlebag vibrated nervously, as if it were about to explode. The skeleton advisor seemed to want to have a conversation with the princess. Graymore didn’t want Donata to notice the magical object in her bag. Some gut feeling told her that Donata could not be trusted. Or could she? Donata resembled a beautiful fairy. She seemed about to turn the leaves fallen from the yew tree into gems.
«I can do it!» Donata read Graymore’s thoughts, and picked up the fallen leaves from the ground. In her hands the leaves turned into nuggets. «Take them if you want them. It’s payment for killing the dragon.»
«I only want the treasure from the dragon’s cave, not yours,» Graymore blurted confidently, and immediately regretted it. Honestly, she didn’t want the dragon’s treasure at all. Livellin’s treasury is piled high enough as it is. What she needs is the thrill of the hunt.
«Then I can heal you in gratitude,» Donata promised.
«From what is it?» Graymore wondered. «I am not ill of anything.»
«You are bewitched! Your blood seems to sprout whenever you smell a dragon.»
«That’s right.»
«And you like that?»
«It is not so much. It’s like I’m on fire inside. It’s very unpleasant.»
«Oh, I know what it’s like to burn at the stake.»
«But you’re not a witch.»
«What makes you think that?»
«Only witches burn at the stake.»
«It’s not just witches! You, for instance, feel like you’re burning at the stake as soon as a dragon flies close to your kingdom. It’s so excruciating!»
«Yes! You know what I mean.»
«I can see into people’s hearts,» Donata said smugly. «Fairies and elves are my clients too.»
«Are they your clients?»
«They are my debtors, actually.»
«You’re mysterious.»
«That’s right!» Donata smiled in a way that sent a chill down her spine.
«Who are you?» said Grahamor, curious.
«You know my name. That is more than enough.»
Donata leaned over and kissed her forehead.
«You have my blessing on the dragon.»
«So far I’ve managed without fairy blessings.»
«Your reaction to dragons is already a blessing.»
«I wouldn’t say that. It makes me uncomfortable.»
From the arches, the silent song poured out again. Donata looked wary.
«I must go,» she said. «You are so fresh and smell like a rose. When it begins to rain, you will be surrounded. It rains magically in these parts. Try not to stay out in the open when it starts raining. Otherwise, the ghosts of the rain will drag you into their world, and no one will be able to tame the dragon anymore.»
«What has the dragon done to you?»
«It is nothing in particular!» Donata shrugged her shoulders.
«Did it burn you? Are you a ghost?»
«I am not!»
«Then what harm has he done to you?» She asked.
«It is practically nothing.»
«Then why do you want him dead so badly?»
«I will be fair!»
The conversation came to a standstill. Graymore was tormented by suspicion, but there was nothing more to ask. Donata avoided a direct answer. Her words sounded like echoes. Nothing could be understood.
Graymore noticed a strange enamel locket on a gold chain around Donata’s neck. On the lid of the medallion hung symbols like those scrawled on the ground.
«Will I see you again?» Graymore asked as Donata stood up and walked out of the arches into the city at the sound of singing. The singers were out of sight, but the song was pouring forth.
«It is quite likely!» Donata lifted her green hem, stepped over the line on the ground, and disappeared as if she had never been there.
Ghosts of Rain
The rain began suddenly. Graymore hadn’t expected the downpour to catch her on her way. Her clothes and hair immediately got wet, and it was raining cats and dogs. At home, the princess was accustomed to travel in carriages or palanquins, but now she had not even brought a walking tent. She would have to do without it.
«A little more, and the trip to the dragon will cost me a cold,» the princess dismounted and left the horse under a sprawling oak tree. «Hold it right there, Maverin!»
The stone city was still visible in the distance. One could go back to it and hide there under the archway. Only it was scary to go back. The arches would start collapsing again, and the stone statues would come to life. The half-human, half-dragon figures had an ominous look.
The skeleton counselor advised Graymore to bring along a sort of fringed awning, stretched on long spokes. The contraption resembled a ladies’ sun umbrella. Now Graymore tried to unfold it and could not. Apparently, the spokes were rusted from the moisture. And the rain kept getting heavier.
Now would be the time to find the dragon’s cave and finally defeat the proverbial dragon. Graymore was already hissing at him with anger. Dragons were usually quick to fall for her summons. As soon as the fiery beasts sensed her aggression, they burst out of hiding. Another dragon was cunning. He hid. To challenge it to open combat would seem next to impossible. She wished she could find his lair! He must have a cave or grotto, or even a swamp, somewhere. Most dragons made their nests in the mountains, but there were also some at the bottom of large lakes, in peat bogs, in mounds, in gorges, and even in the sea. Graymore has captured dozens of dragons, maybe even hundreds. Thanks to her excitement as a dragon hunter, Livellin’s coffers have been enriched by tons of gold and precious stones. Even if the last dragon she did not capture was not the richest, she would not be disappointed. She has already brought fame and fortune to her kingdom. She is a heroine! Should she fear the rain?
Suddenly voices called out from the thick rain:
«Graymore! Graymore! Graymore!»
The princess was alarmed. Had they called her by name? Or had Donata conjured it.
In the rain ghosts Graymore did not believe, although frightening stories were told about them. Allegedly, people who encountered them were found strangled on the road. The impression was that the unfortunate people had drowned, even though the bodies of water were far from the place where the corpse lay. The last time some peasant woman was found on the road many miles from the well. She looked like a drowned woman, though it was dry
