Dragon Whisperer by Vanessa Ricci-Thode

Author:Vanessa Ricci-Thode
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Iguana Books
Published: 2013-11-12T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 8

Reiser stood impatiently at Ondias’s door, waiting for her to answer. He had spent the last week, since Nandara’s visit, pacing his house, mucking his stables, and doing his best to go on with his life, but he had to know what had happened to Dionelle before he could decide what the rest of his life would be. Ondias had been her confidante and he would see if he could get any useful information from her.

“Reiser! What’s going on?”

“I need to talk to you about Dionelle. May I come in?”

“I’m afraid it’s a girls’ residence and the mistress doesn’t permit men—she doesn’t want anyone getting the idea that this is just some kind of brothel.”

Reiser smiled wanly. “Very well, will you come back with me then? I need your help.”

“Is it about Dionelle? I hear things about her, but nothing solid.”

“What have you heard?”

“Silly things, mostly. Is she dead?”

“No one knows.”

Ondias cringed and let out a sigh. “Give me a moment to collect some things and I will come with you. Would you like me to stay long?”

“As long as you like. I feel like I’m going mad and maybe you can help me stay grounded.”

“All right, just give me a moment.”

Bundled against the cold and carrying a fair-sized bag, Ondias walked out of the city and across the fields with Reiser, back to his farmhouse. As they walked, Reiser explained to her what Nandara had revealed. The more he thought about it, the more he was sure it had something to do with Dionelle. Nandara had even suggested that the attack was targeted, and why, after all his life, would someone choose such a late age to target Boidossen, when Dionelle had just appeared in the wizarding world with her fire immunity and dragon whispering.

“I’m sure this kingdom has enemies with connections to wizards powerful enough to command elemental demons like that,” Ondias agreed.

“Dionelle hasn’t said anything to you? She always insisted that the dragons weren’t a danger, but that humans might be. Did she mean something by that? Someone other than that awful Lady Karth?”

“Never. Her only complaint about the job was the nobles. She never named anyone specific other than the Dunhams though. There must be something. She’s the one missing now, so it had to have been a targeted attack, or she’d just be dead alongside Boidossen.”

“The demons couldn’t harm her with fire, but if they chose to possess a stone, they certainly could have beaten her with it. Or possessed her and made her fall on a sword. The more I think about it, the harder it is for me to believe that she’s dead. We would have found her—she would have been in that house if she were dead. Or do I just want to believe that?”

“It’s perfectly reasonable. The sorceress made it quite clear that they’re investigating Boidossen’s death exclusively and hope to find out about Dionelle through that. But I think we need to sift through her life and see what we can come up with separately.

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