Dragon Master (Dragon Collector Book 2)
Page 43
“I’ll take that as a yes.” I leaned closer, putting my hand on the ground between us for balance. “How do we eradicate the corruption?”
“You will never be able to rid the kingdom of it,” Em spat, “and if you think I am telling you anything, you are mad.”
A sudden and unfamiliar rage pulsed through me. This bitch had put me through hell for her own selfish reasons. While I had defeated her and she was going away for a long time, there were still a lot of people I had to heal. There were undoubtedly other servants dedicated to Hennar and his mission for a better world. Or whatever lies he had fed them to get more people on his side, to spread his sickness. I had to defeat this at the source. Something in my fury told me there was no other way.
Worst of all, the answers were right there, locked away in Em’s mind. Her stubborn loyalty wasn’t going to get her to talk when all of her information was so valuable and could give me a leg up. It was infuriating to think that the answers were so close and yet so far.
Maybe, a tempting voice said in the back of my mind, they aren’t as far as you think.
I had a way to get into Em’s mind. I could force her to tell me everything I wanted to know. I didn’t have to waste time trying to coerce it out of her. I could simply make her tell me.
My hand lurched forward and clutched Em’s shirt. It was a violet tunic with a red button that indented my palm as I gripped her. I gazed into her eyes and licked my lips, ready to command her. To use Jin’s gift and force Em to bend to my will.
For the second time that day, a sense of déjà vu overwhelmed my senses. I saw the purple and red and blinked. My vision swirled with images of the flower and of a young black-haired girl speaking words that my rage wouldn’t let me comprehend. Instead of trying harder to listen, I evened out my voice and spoke directly to Em.
“You will tell me how to defeat the corruption,” I commanded. My words came out as smooth as velvet and slipped along my tongue like cold water.
Em’s eyes, once full of malice and hatred, instantly glazed over. A glassy sheen glossed over her pupils and placed a permanently dazed expression on her face.
“You must defeat Hennar,” Em said, her own voice more staccato than her normal tone. “He is the source of the darkness, and you must defeat the darkness to eradicate the corruption.”
“You will tell me where Hennar is,” I prompted, keeping the intoxicating tone.
“I always believed he hid in the remnants of the mountain,” Em said, still monotone, “but I am not sure. He never told me.”
Suddenly, the hand clutching Em’s shirt began to shake. My fingers glowed, and the light appeared on its own. Never before had the light come of its own accord. The sight frightened me, and I released Em’s shirt, falling back on my behind. A brilliant flash burst forth like a flare and blinded me for a solid six seconds. I tried to blink the sensation away, but it took longer than normal, leaving little black dots in my vision.
At that exact moment, Maji’s words rushed into my ears, as loud as a waterfall: You should not open your hand. Do not release whatever you are holding. For when you do, there is no turning back.
“Well, shit,” I exclaimed. “I guess we’re in the endgame now.”
Epilogue
As I stopped to take a sip of my now cold coffee, I felt a ghost of that adrenaline and apprehension that had filled me back then.
“Wow, so King Atlus’s own cousin was behind the court’s corruption?” The voice of Gina brought me back to the present. I looked to see her eyes sparkling as she gazed up at me from her spot on the floor.
“Yeah.” I chuckled and rubbed the back of my head. “It was definitely a shock for the court to deal with.”
The brother, Mort, more interested in the battling and adventuring, spoke up from his chair. “So, now that you knew where Hennar might be, did you and the dragons surge in with that sword…” He paused, digging up the name before triumphantly shouting, “Rainwright! And destroy him?”
A snort off to the side drew everyone’s attention to where Rebekah sat, pouring some Antigvilian liquor into what little coffee remained in the cup.
Rebekah was the one who snorted as she looked at us. “What sort of person just dives in with no plan to attack a dragon killer?”
Bailey-Sue chuckled from her spot near Ffamran. His eyes were closed and seemed to be asleep on his couch, though I knew better as he laughed along with Bailey-Sue in my head.
“Yeah, Martin, who would do that?” Bailey-Sue asked sarcastically.
I gasped, affronted, though my wide smile showed it was all in good fun. “I’ll have you know that I had a perfectly good plan.”
“Martin?” I looked up at where Alona stood with one of my paintings hung up on the wall beside her.
This particular painting was vibrant, the flora and fauna seeming to jump off the canvas as bees pollinated them. Seven distinct shapes of dragons could be seen in the distant background, flying above the plants. It was one of my more colorful paintings and one that depicted my range of emotions towards what occurred with Em and the corruption she carried with her, as seen by the inky darkness bleeding into the painting from the two bottom corners, slowly turning the plants black.
I stood up and placed my coffee cup on the mahogany bar top as I walked over to her, wrapped my arms around her waist, and tugged her to my chest. “Yes?”
Her giggle was absolutely beautiful as she told me, “Don’t forget you promised the Dyers that you would go visit them today.”
“Thanks.” I blinked and then gave Alona a kiss. “I haven’t, but I should get a move on.”
Alona slapped a playful hand on my chest. “Then go! We have it covered here.”
Murmurs of agreement came from Bailey-Sue and Rebekah, so I turned to Mort and his group, including the pretty Gina, and offered them an apologetic smile.
“I guess the rest of the story will have to wait.”
Mort looked around at his friends before shrugging. “This place is actually pretty cool. Mind if we rent a room so we can stay and hear the rest of the story when you get back?”
Raising an eyebrow over the man’s head at Rebekah, I saw her look of surprise as well. I offered the man a shrug in response before turning to let out a sharp whistle. Ffamran shook his head as he raised it to glare at me.
“Sorry, Ffamran, but you promised to come with me to the Dyers, so you have to get up, anyway,” I reminded the dragon.
He sighed but didn’t dispute me as a head of soft blonde hair came through the doorway, and a soft feminine voice called out, “Someone wants to rent a room?”
A Note from the Author
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