Weis, Margaret - The Dragon Corsairs 01 - Spymaster by Weis Margaret

Author:Weis, Margaret [Weis, Margaret]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

TWENTY-THREE

Sir Henry Wallace was meeting with Simon Yates on a matter of extreme urgency. Despite the fact that Welkinstead was floating about a half mile over the city of Haever, Henry fancied he could still hear the shouts and cries of the rioters that were clogging the street in front of the palace. The people of Freya were protesting the arrival of the Travian dragons.

Henry blamed himself. He could not help feeling that he had bungled this situation badly. In this he was in agreement with the queen, who likewise blamed him and told him so on a daily basis.

The furor had started with an anonymous letter, published three days ago in the Haever Gazette following the successful vote in the House of Nobles to permit the dragons to live in Freya. The letter detailed every atrocity committed by dragons against Freyans from the time of the Imhruns down to the Siege of Denar and concluded with the prophecy of the mad priest: the seventh sigil and the return of the ancient evil (dragons), and heralding the return of the true king. The letter was signed “The Faithful.”

The next day, people could talk of nothing else. Lurid illustrations of marauding dragons holding screaming infants in their slavering jaws were splashed across the front pages, side by side with illustrations of Prince Tom standing upon the neck of a dead dragon. Trade unions called upon their members to strike. The Fundamentalist Church spoke out against the dragons, denouncing them from the pulpit, calling them “minions of the Evil One.”

“Fulfillment of the prophecy! The return of the ancient evil!” Henry raved to Simon. “These so-called Faithful must be lunatics. As if any rational person would believe such a thing.”

“Quite the contrary, Henry,” Simon said seriously. “These so-called Faithful are really quite clever. Whether they truly believe in the prophecy or not, they are playing upon the fear and loathing of the populace in regard to dragons to advance their cause.”

“Her Majesty is going to speak to the House of Nobles in the next hour. She will explain her reasons for inviting the dragons, reassure the people that the beasts will live in the northwest and they will be of no threat to anyone,” Henry said. “Hopefully that will quiet the unrest.”

Simon was doubtful. “I am not certain Her Majesty should make that speech, Henry. I know inviting the dragons was my idea, but then I had no idea we would be playing into the hands of those who want to put Thomas Stanford on the throne. Perhaps you could suggest to the dragons that they might wait a year, let all the furor die down.”

“The dragons would be deeply affronted,” Henry said. “More to the point, their first payment is already in the royal coffers. Or rather, it was in the coffers. We have spent it. Have you found out anything more about these Faithful? Who the devil are they? They took the bait we dangled in regard to Phillip. We leaked

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