Gaal the Conqueror by John White Read Free Book Online Page B

know how to wag it until after
I first met Gaal. When I saw him he looked at me so kindly and
said, `You can come with me if you like.' That was the nicest
thing that ever happened to me. And suddenly I didn't even
mind being a dog. I could tell he liked me. So I followed him
around."
    The dragon nodded. "His capacity to make one feel appreciated is quite remarkable," he said gravely.

    "I was too scared to let him touch me at first. I wouldn't even
let him get near me. But I was hungry, and he would toss me
bits of things he was eating. Only he kept throwing them closer
to himself. And one day when I wasn't looking, he stroked my
head. It sounds funny, but he smelled so good! And oh, to be
touched by him! That's when my tail first started to wag."
    "Who is this Gaal person?"
    "He's the most wonderful person in the world." Eleanor said
the words with a rush. "I don't even want to go back to Canada
if I can't get to see him there."
    "Did he know you weren't really a dog?"
    "He seems to know everything. I didn't realize it at first. But
one day when he had me on his knee, stroking me and tickling
my ears, he said, `You're not always going to remain a dog, you
know!' I could hardly breathe!"
    "What happened next?"
    "Nothing. I couldn't talk then, so I couldn't ask him what he
meant. And he was like that. He'd just say something exciting,
and then leave you hanging for a while. It wasn't as though he
was teasing. He just seemed to want to let it sink in. Even when
he made me a talking dog he didn't always answer my questions
immediately. But he never stopped caring for me. I used to lick
his sandals after he fell asleep."
    "He sounds a bit like the Changer," John said.
    "Who's he?"
    "Oh-it's kind of complicated. But how did you know about
the treasure?"
    "Well, one day he said he had a task for me. He said he had
the power to turn me into a girl again at any time, but that there
were things I had to learn first. He seemed to know about my
dad and about where my fears came from." She sighed, and her
face darkened. "You saw a bit of it when you came-but you
don't know a quarter of what went on. There are some things
that make me sick-and so ashamed. Once when Gaal was stroking me, I looked up and saw him crying. I knew that he
knew then. And then he said I had to begin by not giving in
to my fears. There would be a dragon, he said. And I had to
dig the treasure up, even if I was terrified, while the dragon was
there. He said that real treasure is always dug up in the face
of terror.

    "I was still scared of everything and everyone-even of him
at times. And he said he wanted to teach me to do things even
when I was afraid. Then when I'd dug the treasure up, I was
to ask the dragon to put me to death. `His fires are my fires,'
he said, `and my fires from his nostrils are going to bum the
whipped dog in you to ashes. Then the real you will come
forward, the girl I always planned you to be.' And that's what
happened."
    John nodded. "He is like the Changer."
    "Ah, yes, the Changer," the dragon murmured. "The Unchanging Changer. The Uncreated Creator. And so on. Invisible. Never seen by anybody."
    "I saw him," John said, "when I was here last time. Well, I
didn't exactly see him. But there was this blue light-and he
spoke to me. He has a voice like Niagara Falls. Only kind of
gentle. But scary."
    Eleanor was staring at him with an expression on her face
that he found hard to read. "So what happened to you?" she
said. "I mean after you left us yesterday. You seemed real
upset."
    Authentio turned to the dragon. "You never told me he might
be invisible. There was a fearful commotion in the village, but
I could not see what it was about. Shagah the Sorcerer directed
them. Therefore I knew that matters of moment were afoot.
The Regenskind seemed to be trying to stop something from
reaching the water. But in the end there came a splash and
movements in the water. I knew it was not a fish-"
    At