the whip, apparently forgotten by the stable boys, and rushed at the freaks.
Janet looked at her surprised and angry.
«Go and mind your own business!» She said as if she were an adult. «My brothers and sisters have a right to visit me.»
These things have indoctrinated her that they are her brothers and sisters! The horror! Many of them have scales stretching across their skin and wretched wings fluttering behind their backs. Can’t Janet see that these are creatures from another race – from a non-human race!
One creeping monster sprang up, wrapped its claws around Janet’s shoulders, and whispered something in her ear. Its breath was black smoke. But the ball they were playing with was a real golden apple.
Is there such a thing as a tree that grows golden apples? It must have been made by a jeweler from Rhodolith. After all, the nearest town to the county, Rhodolith, is famous for its jewelers. But a gold object must be very heavy. You’d have to have a lot of strength to toss it around like a light ball. Janet had that strength. She was a child, but she could probably lift a sword without help.
The game with the monsters continued on the sidelines. The whole company quickly moved away from Gloria. Gloria did not even notice how they crawled away. They were just suddenly a few meters away from her, as if they had been transported there by magic.
Should we leave them alone? One of the monsters playing with Janet crawled into the well and hid there. One thing to keep in mind for the future was not to drink the water. Gloria had gotten used to drinking wine on her voyage, because there was not enough drinking water aboard the ship that had brought her to Ilior.
Suspicions about Amaranta’s so-called daughter only grew stronger. What if it wasn’t Amaranta’s daughter at all? First of all, she’s not blonde. Secondly, Angus is too cool towards her, as if he is not her father at all. Thirdly, she looks like a changeling, of which there are so many scary stories. But changelings are usually ugly, and this girl is beautiful. Janet has silky red hair, curly at the ends. She has red eyelashes, iridescent eyes, and bright freckles on her heart-shaped cheeks. This really is a child of fairies! All that’s missing are the wings behind her back.
«Hey! You forgot something!» Janet tossed Gloria a ball, not gold, but red and blue, covered with sharp scales.
Gloria ducked, caught it, and gasped. It was not a ball, but a miniature cannonball. It looked like it had been taken out of the dragon’s mouth and was about to explode.
«It is a dragon’s apple!» Janet explained.
«What is it?»
«It helps innocent maidens defend themselves against castle storms, and it can help someone get an annoying companion out of the castle.»
Janet laughed contagiously. Maybe she was trying to get Gloria into the game. She should throw the ball back to her. But as Gloria swung the ball, sparks flickered across the scales. No, we shouldn’t throw it. It could be explosive and hurt the baby. It might be a good idea to teach those freaks around Janet a lesson, but there was a risk of hurting her, too.
Gloria decided to keep the scaly ball. It was about the size of an apple, and its skin was like dragon scales.
«So, you are a dragon’s apple! Is that what Janet called you?»
The ball sizzled in her hand like a real dragon and got hot. Should she throw it down the well? Gloria pondered, but her hand burned. She couldn’t stand the heat any longer. Gloria unclenched her fingers and the ball fell into the well water. A pillar of fire erupted from the well.
«What did you do?» Janet stared at the explosion, which was part water, part fire. Something huge and flexible, like the scaly body of a dragon, crawled up from the well toward the windows of the towers. Gloria did not immediately realize that it was not a dragon, but a tree. It was covered with branches and scaly fruit like the ball Janet had given her.
«You gave it to me!»
Gloria felt like a fool. She’s a grown-up dolt accusing a little kid of something! That’s ridiculous! Except that the child, judging by the eyes, looked more like an ancient dwarf creature from the world of fairies, which was not the first hundred years old.
«From one apricot seed grows a whole tree, and from one dragon apple a whole dragon!» Janet whistled, looking at the scaly tree stretching from the well to the spires of the castle. «That’s what Iveyna told me!»
«Who’s Iveyna?»
Naturally Janet did not answer, but ran off laughing. And Gloria was left alone to give explanations to the sentries already rushing into the castle courtyard with pikes and halberds. Apparently, because of the trembling in the ground, they thought that a giant was breaking into the castle. And there was only a scaly tree growing here, looking like a gaunt dragon. For some reason, even the guards felt sick at the sight of it. Gloria suddenly realized that she’d done something that would get her kicked out of the castle. Maybe she should blame it on Janet. The child can be forgiven. But blaming her mischief on a child, even a supernatural one, was too mean. Gloria prepared to take the blame. Only no one blamed her for anything. No one even realized that the dragon tree growing out of the well was her doing.
The guards were whispering about the elves’ jokes and some guest still upstairs. Gloria hadn’t seen a carriage or riders ride up to the castle. So where had the guest come from? The guards certainly didn’t mean her. Taking advantage of their confusion, Gloria quietly left. Let them deal with the dragon tree themselves.
Magical threats
«Hey, mortal come here!» A familiar voice called out from somewhere above. The tone was mocking, as if the name «mortal» meant something insulting.
Gloria looked up at the ceiling. No one was there. Only a shiny cobweb stretched across the ceiling paintings. What did she expect to see? Was it an elf floating beneath the ceiling? Or was it a fairy with wings? The voice was most definitely male, though. After a moment, he spoke again.
«Take your sword with you, mortal! You’re about to need it!»
Naturally, there was no sign of the speaker. Gloria was used to listening to the invisible man half-heartedly. She didn’t care what he’s saying! His warnings were useless. And he could not be seen at all. And if you can’t see him, you can’t see him.
«Ouch!» Gloria felt someone pinch her. Probably someone was there after all.
«What do you want?» She snapped, trying to see who was attacking her.
«You can’t fight, but it’s dangerous to walk around the castle without a sword right now,» the voice laughed.
Gloria even took offense. No matter how many times she turned on her axis, she couldn’t see anyone around her. Though she could feel someone’s breathing nearby: above her head, behind her back, or at her side. An invisible spirit was taunting her.
«You’re a ghost!» Gloria guessed.
There was such deafening laughter that the walls shook. Gloria even covered her ears. It felt like the giant was laughing.
«I don’t hang out with jesters,» she said as the laughter died down.
Gloria had just reached the floor of the castle, where she could see the branches of the scaly tree through the window. The fruit on them was uncountable. They were all as scaly as the trunk itself.
«Don’t touch it!» The invisible man warned.
Why was he so concerned?
Gloria approached the large, high arched window. The branches of a dragon tree poked through the window. One scaly fruit could be plucked, but Gloria didn’t dare. So these scaly fruits are called dragon apples. That’s what Janet called them, anyway. And they’re as hot as a charcoal fire. You could burn yourself on them. She didn’t want the castle on fire because of them. If they stick through a window in the library, for instance, the whole