Dragonhaze: A Dragonhall Chronicles novel (The Reasoner Trilogy Book 1) by Mirren Hogan

Author:Mirren Hogan [Hogan, Mirren]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-02-24T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Del paced back and forth across his small office in the manufactory. It was typical of any space he occupied for any amount of time. A table to one side was stacked high with sketches. Another was piled with pieces of various gadgets, the purpose of many, he didn't even remember. He'd often start working on something, then set it aside and forget it. The age of each item was discernible by the extent of the dust on its surface.

On a chair sat a pile of plates. Some day he'd remember to take them back to the kitchen, or one of the staff would come and rescue them before they grew a layer of mould.

"Maybe I imagined it," he muttered to himself. "I had a bit of wine and saw—what did I see? A man on fire, who wasn't badly hurt. It happens." Absently, he worked his finger under the plaster over his nose to reach an itch.

He thought back for the hundredth time, trying to make sense of what had happened. No matter how many times he went over it, he couldn't make it fit with what he wanted. Daven had touched that man and his skin had healed. Daven had done magic.

He stopped pacing for a few moments, hand on his cheek. Even that small amount of touch hurt, but it was slowly healing. In a moment of narcissism, he wondered why his son had helped the chef, but not him when he'd broken his nose.

Maybe Daven hadn't wanted to. Or maybe, he added, thinking rationally, he hadn't been about to die. Daven had saved the chef's life. There was no doubt of that in his mind. But—he'd done magic, and that was illegal.

He resumed pacing and scratched the other side of his nose. He had to reason this out with logic, like children were all taught in school.

The man was on fire, he should have died. That was how life worked. People and animals were born, got sick, and died. Even dragons died eventually. He frowned and shoved thoughts of Risper away. Now was not the time to be bothering with him.

He stopped and turned unseeing eyes toward the window.

If the chef was supposed to die, then Daven had toyed with nature. Logic dictated that doing so was wrong. And yet, what harm was there in saving a life?

He placed his hands on the sill and drummed his fingers on the wood.

The chef would still die some day, and now he'd be living with horrible scarring. What sort of life was that? People staring, whispering, pointing at him when they thought he couldn't see. Discomfort from tight and peeling skin. That sounded like a miserable existence.

No—Daven should have left the matter alone, or used his medicinal concoctions to help the man die. And he, Del, had no choice but to speak to the government about it.

He felt a flutter of guilt. He focused his eyes and looked out the window. It wasn't much of a view, just a street and a few buildings; a tanner and a blacksmith.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.