The Dragon Knight's Soul by D. C. Clemens

Author:D. C. Clemens [Clemens, D. C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Fantasy
Published: 2017-10-15T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Odet

Minutes after the boys left, Clarissa’s efforts to tidy up their piled possessions revealed Gerard’s deck of cards stored inside a pouch he carried other paper items.

“Do you want to start our own chance house?” Clarissa asked me. “We can pretend to gamble against each other. Or are you too tired?”

I sat up on the bed and curled my unbooted legs underneath me. “No, we can play. Get my coin pouch. We’ll split it up and pretend we’re putting our entire fortunes on the line.”

Going to the drawer I put my smaller possessions in, she replied, “Well, for me that’s closer to the truth. Be prepared to lose your palace, princess.”

“I fully expect to lose. Gerard has taught me a few games, but I am by no means proficient in any of them.”

Jumping on to the bed, she said, “I doubt that. I doubt you’re bad at anything.”

I dumped the leather purse’s contents in front of me. “A perception I have no problem proliferating if it means greater leverage in war or trade, but I’d be lost without the advice of my parents and advisors. Anyone with an average mind can do and learn much with such support.”

Clarissa shuffled the deck. “I suppose you have more advantages than most. Still, I don’t think your mind is average.”

“Thank you. I don’t think your mind is average either.”

She took her half of the divided coins. “See, you’re being nice. There’s no proof I’m anything but average.”

“You’re a vampire who resists drinking human blood. I’d say that’s not average. You’re also the closest friend of the first dragon knight in five centuries, and this dragon knight does not humor the average for long.”

Her rising and dipping shoulders disregarded my words, but her smiling lips did not. “I suppose he doesn’t. Which game do you want to play?”

For its simple rules, the first game we ended up playing was called kraken’s luck. It had not been created with only two people in mind, so the game turned out to be long and somewhat tedious. We thus moved on to six spirits, a faster paced game that saw the vaults of my palace empty in less than ten minutes every game. I did not enjoy losing so quickly, so we moved back to kraken’s luck after a few games.

In the middle of this second round, Clarissa asked, “Can I be a tad rude?”

“You’ve earned the right to be moderately rude with me.”

“Um, okay. Have you and Gerard… you know.”

“Consummated our relationship?”

“Yes.”

“Yes. Why do you ask?”

“I was wondering why you and he don’t buy a room together.”

“Oh, well, to be honest, in the midst of saying my goodbyes and preparing my gear, I forgot to bring sariff with me. I also forgot my hairbrush.”

“Right, sariff. Vampires can’t have children, so sariff is pointless for me. Can’t you go buy some?”

“I could, though I’d have to take the time to find a reputable vendor first. At any rate, traveling so intimately with others already had me expecting to forgo further consummations with my green knight.

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