Into Chaos by Toby Neighbors

Author:Toby Neighbors [Neighbors, Toby]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Fantasy
Publisher: Mythic Adventure Publishing, LLC
Published: 2015-12-23T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Dinner with the duke’s family was a pleasant affair. There was no pomp and circumstance, just a happy family, Jax, and Zollin. The duke had several daughters but no sons, and Zollin could see that he was grooming the orphan to take his place one day. And there were long, lingering glances between Jax and the duke’s oldest daughter, making it clear that marriage joining Jax to the duke’s family would not be unwelcome.

Zollin performed a few simple tricks, levitating the bread around the table, igniting the duke’s wine so that blue flames jumped up several feet out of his goblet. Jax begged to know what happened in Zollin’s search for the huge black dragon Bartoom that had terrorized the countryside before being enslaved by the master of the Torr.

Zollin told his tale, doing his best to sound like a bard, but his modesty made the story less thrilling than it actually was. Zollin had broken his back during the fight, and he found himself focusing more on Brianna’s exploits than his own. When he came to the part about Brianna leaving her weapons and approaching Bartoom, Jax took a particular interest. Zollin thought the story was over when Brianna healed the dragon with her fire and then flew away with the massive creature, but Jax had more questions.

“What did you do then?” he asked.

“I returned to Orrock, but by the time I got there, Offendorl had taken control of the dragon.”

“What happened to your lady love?” asked the duke’s eldest daughter.

“She was fine,” Zollin said. “In fact, she created many more dragons. Her abilities are a mystery, but she is drawn to the beasts.”

“I can’t imagine,” the duke’s wife said.

“We could use a few to patrol the border,” the duke said. “Are they trainable?”

“Dragons are different,” Zollin said. “They are extremely intelligent, but they are different from other animals in many ways. For instance, they have no gender, so mating is incomprehensible to them.”

“How sad,” said the duke’s daughter.

“They form bonds around their pride mates,” Zollin went on. “And they sometimes bond with humans. Ferno is my dragon companion, and I’ve never met anyone as loyal as the dragon.”

“But what about the bow you made for Brianna?” Jax asked. “What did you do with it?”

“Our young companion has become quite skilled with the bow,” the duke said.

“I honestly don’t remember,” Zollin said. “I didn’t retrieve it, I know that.”

“So it’s still in the Highlands?” Jax asked, aghast.

“I suppose so.”

“A good soldier never neglects his weapons,” the duke said.

Zollin wasn’t sure if the duke was explaining Jax’s comments or making a judgment of his own. But Zollin didn’t feel slighted. The bow he’d fashioned for Brianna wasn’t his weapon, and when Brianna discarded it, she had no need for the weapon.

The duke eventually dismissed his wife and daughters, asking Zollin to join him in his private office high in the castle’s keep. They went up many flights of stairs and finally stopped in a room with a large map-covered table.

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