Dragon Assassin 4_Bitterwaters by Arthur Slade

Author:Arthur Slade [Slade, Arthur]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dava Enterprises
Published: 2019-05-03T22:00:00+00:00

12

Not Caves

It was a few more hours before light grew brighter in the east and the tendrils of fog withdrew, revealing a land of tall grasses and wide plains. The sun was rising on country that few mortals had ever seen. Although, that was wrong, because with Dyn beside me it was clear mortals had been here, enslaved, for hundreds if not thousands of years.

“So,” I said. “The first time Brax mentioned Dreki, you seemed—how shall I put it?—disturbed. What is Dreki? Some sort of nest or caves where dragons live?”

“Nest?" Dyn stared at me for a long time as if I was the stupidest girl he'd ever seen. "Dreki is the greatest of the dragon cities where the greatest of the dragon lords live. It's the capital."

“Dragons live in cities?” I said. “But… but I thought—”

“You thought what?” Brax interrupted. “Oh, let me explain your feeble thoughts, Carmen. You believed that dragons were uncivilized and only lived in caves?”

“Well, I found you in a cave. And the white dragon was in a cave and… in books they mention caves…”

“Your books? You have spent most of your life inside those books." Brax turned his head toward me and part of the tarp came off, revealing what I recognized as anger on his face. "The outcast or adventurous dragons who came to Ellos had no other place to live. It’s not like you mortals would invite them to take up residence in one of your castles. But because of what you read and saw, you assumed that dragons only live in caves? That we are not capable of building our own society? That these talons couldn’t shape stone?” He lifted an arm, displaying a shining talon.

“It was a valid conclusion,” I said. “There was nothing in the literature to suggest you could build cities. Are they like… like anthills?”

“Now you compare us to insects?” Brax spat.

"Oh dear," Dyn said. "Oh, dear."

Ugh! I had stuck my whole boot in my mouth. Perhaps the only thing worse than riding an angry dragon was having to share a barge with one. He swerved his tail and bumped me again, and Dyn caught me before I went over the side. He held me straight, then backed away in case the tail snapped out again. “Brax! Was that on purpose?” I asked.

“Was what on purpose?” Brax said. "Oh, no, not at all." I noted that he’d failed to say sorry. “But you need a bath.”

“What?” I glanced at Dyn, who somehow had perfect hair and continued to smell pleasantly of sandalwood. Then I shot a glare at Brax. “I don’t.”

“Well your mind does,” he said. “At the very least.”

I didn’t know what he meant by that, but I decided not to pursue the conversation any further. He got riled up much easier now that we were in his homeland.

“I have only seen Dreki once,” Dyn said a few minutes later. There was a tone of wonder to his voice. “When the great lord dragon Darius was summoned to the city for his assignment to the northern wards, I traveled with him.

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