Dragonchaser (The Annals of Mondia) by Stretton Tim

Author:Stretton, Tim [Stretton, Tim]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, mobi
Publisher: Thirst eDitions Fiction
Published: 2012-04-09T04:00:00+00:00

Sleep was elusive for Mirko that night; the day had contained too much to digest, and his mind raced through the small hours. A night-owl hooted with irritating irregularity, and eventually Mirko rose from his bed and poured himself a pitcher of ale.

All in all, he reflected as he sipped his drink, the race itself had not gone badly. Liudas aside, Serendipity had acquitted herself favourably. She was a match — or close to it — for both Dragonchaser and Excelsior in a straight line, and ahead of all the others. Dragonchaser came into her own around the rocks, and it was for this reason imperative that Liudas were dismissed; a question to ponder later. Given, by whatever means, a competent helm, there was no reason at all why Serendipity could not mount a serious challenge in the Margariad.

Dragonchaser, too, had revealed unexpected flaws which could only help his case. She had been fortunate to beat Excelsior today; the baulking manoeuvre could easily have backfired, and Drallenkoop’s subsequent conduct indicated how badly he had been discomfited. The ‘duel’ had served to undermine his popularity, previously unassailable, and created a valuable fund of malice between his two greatest rivals. Here too were fine grounds for optimism.

His relationships with both Larien and Catzendralle — Catzen — were no more straightforward. Larien was as inconstant as the wind: today, she had flared up on the slightest provocation, and then gone to great pains to soothe his feelings; and then tried to persuade him to make his future in Paladria. She was undeniably alluring, and he flattered herself that she was attracted to him; but he found her unpredictability unsettling, and she undoubtedly worked to keep him at a distance. On any number of occasions their relationship had seemed set to blossom, only for some impediment to appear between them. He sensed this represented an underlying pattern in their relationship.

Catzendralle was scarcely any easier to read. Their relationship was based — or had been — on the gold she paid him, but that seemed to be less and less the case. That was as much down to Mirko himself, he supposed: if he hadn’t rescued Minalgas Inisse to prove to Catzen that he wasn’t motivated by money, things would never have developed the way they had. But now he knew who she was and who she worked for; and as she’d implied, from that point onwards she had either to trust him or kill him. Fortunately she’d preferred the former option. Now it was ‘call me Catzen’, and she’d even considered giving him Liudas — perhaps. In some ways he felt a closer affinity with her than he did Larien. She was much more consistent in her attitudes, and she’d certainly saved him over Inisse, even if he didn’t necessarily believe her about the Animaxianites and his imprisonment. All it needed now was for her to give him Liudas. What had she said? I’ve already given you your answer. You just need to know where to find it.

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