The Salamander Spell by E. D. Baker Read Free Book Online

you did. It would jusst be my bad luck again. But I should be fine. I wass hatched in a tree, after all. You know, you’re the firsst human I’ve ever talked to. Mudine talked at me, but she never tried to talk to me.”
    “And you’re the first snake I’ve ever wanted to talk to,” Grassina said, still amazed that she could converse with an animal.

Five
    W hat are you doing?” demanded Grassina, ducking out of her sister’s way.
    Chartreuse waved the broom handle, swatting at a web and ripping it down the center. A spider dangled from one of the broken threads. “Vandals! Thieves!” it shouted in a voice no louder than a whisper.
    “That should be obvious,” said Chartreuse. “Mother told us to collect spiders’ webs. Do you know of a better way?”
    Grassina put her hand on the broom so that her sister couldn’t swing it again. “You don’t have to be so rough. We could try asking for them.”
    “Ask who?” Chartreuse glanced at the stable boy mucking out a nearby stall. “I’m not asking him, if that’s what you mean.”
    Grassina shook her head. “Ask the spiders, of course. The webs belong to them.”
    “You want to talk to spiders?” Chartreuse sounded incredulous.
    “You could do it if you’d like. I think talking to animals is fun.”
    “You would,” said Chartreuse. “But I don’t. It’s beneath a royal princess to talk to animals. We have a responsibility to our subjects to maintain some decorum. If you’d paid attention to Lady Sophronia, you’d know that we are supposed to set examples for our less fortunate subjects.”
    “Something awful happened to you when Mother turned you into a chicken, didn’t it? You never did tell me what it was like.”
    Chartreuse gave her such a venomous look that it could have wilted plants. “I told you never to mention it again! It was a nightmare, and I don’t want to talk about it!”
    Soon after returning home, Grassina had discovered that she hadn’t been the only one to have a transformation spell cast on her. Holding up her hands in surrender, she said, “All right, I’m sorry! But if you won’t talk to spiders, at least let me try.”
    “Even you can’t think that—”
    “We shouldn’t use a stick anyway. Did you see how it tore the web? We have to be gentle with them. Mother wants us to keep the webs intact.”
    Chartreuse sighed. “Then go ahead and do it your way. I want to get this over with so I can go to bed. I have plans for the morning and need to get up early.”
    “I just bet you do,” muttered Grassina. Spotting another web near the ceiling, she waved her hand at it, calling, “Yoo hoo! Over here.”
    The spider crouching in the center of the web glared down at them. When it spoke, its voice was scarcely louder than the breathing of the horses in the closest stalls. Grassina wouldn’t have heard it if she hadn’t been trying her hardest. “Stay away from me, you monsters,” said the spider. “I saw what you did to Inez’s web.”
    “I’m sorry,” said Grassina. “That was a mistake. It won’t happen again.”
    “You bet it was a mistake,” the spider said, waving a leg in the air for emphasis. “That was a beautiful web! Inez is known throughout the stable for her craftsmanship.”
    “I’m sure she is. I’ve never seen such lovely webs as the ones I’ve found here. That’s why my mother sent us to get them. She said they were the best in all the land, and she needs them for a very special project.”
    “I thought we came to the stable because we didn’t know where else to look,” murmured Chartreuse.
    “Shh!” said Grassina, darting an angry glance at her sister. Turning back to the spider, she smiled and said as graciously as she could, “We’ve come to ask if we might have a selection of your finest webs.”
    “What sort of special project?” asked the spider, sounding interested in spite of itself.
    “Don’t you dare listen to her, Corinne,” whispered the spider named Inez.