The Prophecy by Hilari Bell Read Free Book Online

place.”
    “They were kind to us.” Perryn returned his eyes to the road ahead. “That’s all.”
    “Speak for yourself. And that’s no reason to keep spinning around like a top. If you have another reason, don’t tell me, I don’t want to know. I’m enjoying myself too much. South, here I come!” He strode off so fast that Perryn had to run to catch up.
    “You have a task to perform for me first, remember? That’s why you’re out of jail eighty-two days early.”
    “Very true. I am eighty-two days in your debt, and I’ll pay you with pleasure. What is this task you need a true bard for?”
    Perryn stopped and waited till Lysander turned to face him. “I want you to slay the dragon.”
    Lysander laughed.
    Perryn didn’t.
    Lysander stopped laughing.
    “Dragon’s teeth! You’re serious. You’re crazy, but you’re serious. Good-bye, Perryn. It’s been nice knowing you.”
    “Wait!” Perryn hurried after him. “You promised to help me. You swore an oath!”
    “Oaths are but words, words are but wind, and wind just blows away. An oath is made of air. The black dragon is as real as real gets. I thought you needed me to serenade your sweetheart or something!”
    “Please,” said Perryn urgently. “I can’t make you. But will you at least help me find a true bard who will? And a unicorn? And the Sword of Samhain?”
    Lysander stopped and stared at Perryn. “I think you’d better tell me all about this. From the beginning. Take your time. Either you’re crazy, or this may be the best story I’m ever going to hear.”
     
     
    NIGHT HAD FALLEN BY THE TIME PERRYN FINISHED . He’d decided not to tell Lysander about Cedric just yet. The dragon was enough.
    “Well, I’ve decided,” said the bard, feeding sticks into the fire he’d built in the center of their camp. “It is the best story I ever heard, and you are crazy!”
    “But the prophecy—”
    “Is probably cow flop, just like your father said. And your father is King Rovan? Of course he is. What are you then, prince muddy boots? Should I call you Your Highness?”
    “Just Perryn, please.” He pushed up his spectacles. He couldn’t blame the bard for not believing him—Perryn couldn’t imagine anyone looking less like a prince.
    “On the other hand,” Lysander went on, “crazy or not, I owe you something.”
    “So?”
    “So I’ll go unicorn hunting with you. It might be interesting. And after we’ve failed to catch a unicorn, we’ll go south and find a nice doctor to help you recover your wits.”
    Perryn’s heart leaped. As long as Lysander agreed to help, he didn’t care what the bard believed! “If we do catch a unicorn, will you go after the sword?”
    “Absolutely. Why not? And once we’ve done that, we’ll sprout our own wings and fly over the moon. But forget the dragon. By the way, how do you plan to catch this unicorn?”
    “I was hoping you’d have an idea,” Perryn confessed. “Aren’t there songs and things about it?”
    Lysander had a very unnerving smile.

“Let us proceed in our great endeavor,” said the bard. “I know where a unicorn might dwell.”
     

5
     
    “ WHAT ELSE ?” PERRYN ASKED THE GRINNING BARD . The flickering campfire lit Lysander’s face and the tips of the branches above them.
    “Pearls. Or more precisely, pearl dust. That’s from The Ballad of the Captured Queen . You take a whole bunch of pearls, grind them up, and sprinkle—”
    “Not that either.”
    “Moonstones are supposed to work. You get enough moonstones to make a unicorn-size necklace, drop it over their heads, and—”
    “What else?”
    “That one’s in The Lay of the Loving Maid. It’s a good song. You see, this girl—”
    “What else?” Perryn demanded.
    “There’s whitethorn seed. You dry it, grind it into powder, and blow it into the unicorn’s nostrils. Of course, it doesn’t say how you’re supposed to get that close to the unicorn in the first place.”
    “You blow it into his nose?