Calandra sniffed, and said nothing.
“Callie, really.” Paithan winked at his irate sister. “This man’s our honored guest. Here, sir, allow me to pass it to you. Anything else? Some tohahs?”
“No, thank you-”
“Yes!” came a voice that was like the rumble of thunder stalking the ground.
The others at the table appeared alarmed. Zifnab cringed.
“You must eat your vegetables, sir.” The voice seemed to rise up from the floor. “Think of your colon!”
A scream and piteous wailing emanated from the kitchen.
“There’s the maid. Hysterics again,” said Paithan, tossing aside his lapcloth and rising to his feet. He intended to escape before his sister figured out what was going on. “I’ll just go-”
“Who said that?” Calandra grabbed his arm.
“-have a look, if you’d let loose-”
“Don’t get so worked up, Callie,” said Aleatha languidly. “It’s only thunder.”
“My colon’s none of your damn business!” The old man shouted down at the floor. “I can’t abide vegetables-”
“If it was only thunder”-Calandra’s voice was heavily ironic- “then the wretch is discussing his colon with his shoes. He’s a lunatic. Paithan, throw him out.”
Lenthan shot a pleading glance at his son. Paithan looked sidelong at Aleatha, who shrugged and shook her head. The young elf picked up his lapcloth and subsided back into his chair.
“He’s not crazy, Cal. He’s talking to … uh … his dragon. And we can’t throw him out, because the dragon wouldn’t take it at all well.”
“His dragon.” Calandra pursed her lips, her small eyes narrowed. The entire family, as well as the visiting astrologer, who was seated at the far end of the table, knew this expression, known privately to younger brother and sister as “pinch-face.” Calandra could be terrible, when she was in this mood.
Paithan kept his gaze on his plate, gathering together a small mound of food with his fork and punching a hole in it. Aleatha stared at her own reflection in the polished surface of the porcelain teapot, tilting her head slightly, admiring the sunlight on her fair hair. Lenthan attempted to disappear by ducking his head behind a vase of flowers. The astrologer comforted himself with a third helping of tohahs.
“That beast that terrorized Lord Durndrun’s?” Calandra’s gaze swept the table. “Do you mean to tell me you’ve brought it here? To my house?” Ice from her tone seemed to rime her face with white, much as the magical ice rimed the frosted wineglasses.
Paithan nudged his younger sister beneath the table with his foot, caught her eye. “I’ll be leaving this soon, back on the road,” he muttered beneath his breath.
“Soon I’ll be mistress of my own house,” Aleatha returned softly.
“Stop that whispering, you two. We’ll all be murdered in our beds,” cried Calandra, her fury mounting. The warmer her anger, the colder her tone. “I hope then, Paithan, you’ll be pleased with yourself! And you, Thea, I’ve overheard you talking this nonsense about getting married . . .”
Calandra deliberately left the sentence unfinished.
No one moved, except the astrologer (shoveling buttered tohah into his mouth) and the old man. Apparently having no idea he was a bone of contention, he was calmly dismembering a baked chicken. No one spoke. They could hear, quite clearly, the musical chink of a mechanical petal “unfolding” the hour.
The silence grew uncomfortable. Paithan saw his father, hunched miserably in his chair, and thought again how feeble and gray he looked. Poor old man, he’s got nothing else but his wacky delusions. Let him have ’em, after all. What harm is it? He decided to risk his sister’s wrath.
“Uh, Zifnab, where did you say father was leading . . . er … his people?”
Calandra glared at him, but, as Paithan had hoped, his father perked up. “Yes, where?” Lenthan asked shyly, blushing.
The old man raised a chicken leg toward heaven.
‘The roof?” Lenthan was somewhat confused.
The old man raised the chicken leg higher.
“Heaven? The stars?”
Zifnab nodded, momentarily unable to speak. Bits of chicken dribbled down his beard. •
“My rockets! I knew it! Did you hear that, Elixnoir?” Lenthan turned to the elven astrologer, who had left off eating and was glowering at the human.