Dragon Emperor 18, page 6
“I suppose that’s fair,” she giggled, but then she cleared her throat and averted her eyes. “I feel so comfortable talking with you.”
“Lord Evan has a certain charm,” Rebecca said and grinned. “He makes you feel at home.”
“One of my many skills.” I winked as I laid back on the bed.
“It sounded as though you have a few,” Nokomis murmured, and I glanced up to see a pink flush on her cheeks. “Not that I was, um, listening for, ah, a long time…”
“It’s okay if you were,” Rebecca laughed. “We often join each other in the bedroom. It’s just another way we show our love.”
“Really?” The snow leopard Demi-Human gaped at Rebecca and me. “I’ve never, ah, done such things.”
“It’s a whole new experience,” my bear lover said with a smile. “You’d love it.”
“I suppose I might,” the snow leopard princess agreed tentatively. “For now, could I spend the night with you both? I’d like to hear more about… love.”
“And we’d be happy to share,” I replied and gently dragged my fingers over her back.
A few minutes later, the three of us were cuddled under the blankets, and Rebecca and I told Nokomis the stories of how we’d met each of my lovers and how they all had an important role to play in our family. I told her about the battles we’d fought together, the children on their way, and the Lunar Palace back in Hatra with a room for every one of my women.
I could tell Nokomis was taken aback by the stories and how much I obviously loved my women, and when we finally all fell asleep, she had a content smile on her face.
I was happy as well, and I wasn’t sure if it was because we’d met a new potential member of our family or because we’d finally found a place where we were welcomed and didn’t have to fight for our lives at every turn.
My dreams were pleasantly boring. No Demon King, no fiery rooms, no demolished Rahma landscapes invaded my sleep, and I felt a sense of tranquility as I slept. It was the third night in a row that I’d been able to sleep without the Demon King showing up to threaten me, and I woke up feeling refreshed and renewed.
The sun seemed brighter as it reflected off the snowy rooftops across Narsglow, and I sat up to stretch and realized Nokomis and Rebecca were both sound asleep against me. I tried to inch my way up the bed to climb out without rousing them, but the snow leopard opened her eyes and sighed.
“Good morning, my lord,” she purred. “Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah,” I whispered. “Did you?”
“Wonderfully,” Nokomis replied as she glanced over at Rebecca. “It seems she did as well.”
“Indeed,” I chuckled and slid off the bed. “I’m starving. Do you think they’ll make enough breakfast for us, too?”
“Oh, of course,” she answered with a nod. “My mother is strict, but she is a superb hostess. She would never let guests go without a meal.”
“Good, I liked the food we had yesterday.” I grinned as I tugged on my boots. “I bet she’s hungry, but I don’t really want to wake Rebecca up. It’s been hard for her to come here without Aaliyah.”
“She seemed happier when she talked about her,” Nokomis mused. “They must have a close bond.”
“Yeah, they do,” I agreed. “But they’d always welcome you.”
Nokomis’ bronze cheeks darkened with a blush, and she turned away as she retied her robes and brushed invisible dust from the front. I didn’t want to be too forward with the princess, but it was obvious she was meant for something bigger than Narsglow, and there was no way her brother was going to let her be the warrior she was meant to be. I was protective over my women, but I’d never keep them from doing what made them happy.
Before the snow leopard could reply, Rebecca rolled over with her eyes still closed and patted the empty bed. Then the bear Demi-Human slowly opened her eyes and searched the room before her woozy gaze settled on me.
“My lord, is it time to get up?” she mumbled.
“Yeah, breakfast,” I said with a grin. “Come on, sleepyhead.”
“I’m coming,” Rebecca grunted and stuck out her tongue.
It only took her a few minutes to get dressed, and then the three of us headed toward the stairs. Nike, Aine, and the rest of my lovers were just making their way into the hallway when we walked by their rooms, and they joined us as we walked down the stairs to the dining hall. King Tecumseh and Queen Isi were already seated at the table, and their quiet conversation ended as soon as we walked in.
“Nokomis, your ladies-in-waiting said you didn’t return to your chambers last night,” Tecumseh said as he narrowed his eyes on his daughter. “They were quite worried about you until one of the servants said he saw you go into Lord Evan’s room.”
“Yes, I fell asleep in there while we were talking,” Nokomis answered with a shrug. “Nothing untoward, Father.”
“Not at all,” I confirmed.
I snuck a glance at Isi, but the queen remained silent. In fact, she didn’t even look at me or Nokomis during the king’s questioning, though he seemed satisfied with our explanation. Isi stared off into space and only seemed to start paying attention when the kitchen staff entered with breakfast.
“Thank you,” she murmured as an arctic fox Demi-Human set a plate of pancakes down in front of her.
I kept a cautious eye on the queen as I poured a sweet-smelling syrup over my pancakes and began to take bites.
“So, Lord Evan, I think our conversation ended rather, um, abruptly yesterday,” Tecumseh finally said. “Could you tell us more about this Breach?”
“Sure,” I replied as I swallowed a large bite of fluffy pancake. “What do you want to know?”
“Well, you said there’s a king of some sort on the other side, right?” he asked. “What does he do? Is he magical?”
“He has some sort of power,” I answered. “I’m not sure what all he can do yet. He can project, which is freaky, and he seems to be able to create or control creatures from the Underworld. He uses miasma to poison the living, and if he uses it on the dead, they become corrupted. Either way, their only goal is to kill.”
“That’s terrible.” Nokomis grimaced and shook her head. “He certainly doesn’t need to find his way to our world.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” I said. “He’s sent hellbeasts that can control lava, creepy fairy things that kidnapped our friends, and the gods know what else. My people and I have killed dozens of his minions, but he never seems to run out.”
“And he wants to bring these creatures to our realm and wreak havoc?” Tecumseh pressed.
“It seems so,” I confirmed. “From what I’ve gathered, he intends to destroy everything in Inati and replace it with his own beasts.”
“Basically, he wants the Underworld here.” Ravi’s blue eyes lit with fiery rage at the thought, and I figured she was imagining the fight with the corrupted phoenixes she had thankfully only been told about.
When I’d fought the corrupted dragons, it had felt like I ripped a piece of my own soul from my body, and I was glad Ravi had been spared the same feeling.
Suddenly, Tawa strolled into the dining hall and sat in the empty chair next to his sister with a grim look on his face. Tecumseh’s attention immediately focused on his son, and he put a hand on the warrior’s arm with concern.
“What’s wrong?” the king asked.
“Father, we have a problem.” The younger snow leopard looked at me with apparent suspicion, as though he waited for me to be sent away before he gave his news.
“Speak freely, Tawa,” the king replied with a wave of his hand. “What’s going on?”
“There’s another report of a dead creature in the forest,” Tawa said after a brief hesitation. “This is the fifth one this week.”
“Is it abnormal for animals to die in the forest?” Alyona wondered.
“In this manner, yes,” Tawa grunted. “Eaten by other animals, even killed by hunters who don’t know how to properly clean up after themselves, those are normal, but this is barbaric.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“The animals’ bodies are drained of blood,” he explained with a grimace. “And they’re usually hung up in some odd fashion with markings all around the ground and trees. It looks like…”
“A ritual?” Alyona offered.
“Yes, but that’s impossible,” Tawa said and shook his head. “There’s no way someone could be sacrificing them.”
“But this is the fifth one this week you’ve found that was killed in this violent method?” I leaned back and crossed my arms over my chest. “Why would blood magic be impossible?”
“It just is,” he insisted.
I glanced over at Alyona, who met my stare evenly, and I knew we were on the same page. It sounded way too similar to the things Olivier had done when he was trying to open the Breach. He’d performed plenty of blood sacrifices to try to gain favor with the Demon King, and the bodies of animals and people alike had been left in his wake.
“Have they all been killed in a ritual?” I asked.
“I obviously haven’t seen the one from today yet,” he snorted. “I’ll get Bobo in here to tell you what he found a few days ago.”
Before I could ask who Bobo was, Tawa stomped out of the dining hall and reappeared moments later with a Demi-Human who looked like he’d rather be anywhere else. His nose was pointed with a sprinkling of whiskers on either side, and his hair was stark white and stuck out in every direction. He held his hands in front of him with his fingers dangling limply, and it took me a second to realize he was a weasel Demi-Human.
Tawa shoved him forward, and Bobo’s teeth clattered together before he dropped to his knees and bowed to the king and queen.
“Bobo, come now,” Tecumseh sighed. “Tell Lord Evan what you found in the forest.”
“Ah, yes, Your Majesty,” Bobo muttered and stood up. “It was a cold evening, and I was hunting for my family in the forest northeast of the city walls when I stumbled upon a horrific sight.”
“Go on,” I said and waved my hand when he paused dramatically.
“It was a creature whose natural form I could not distinguish.” Bobo threw his hand up to his forehead and sighed. “The skin had been stripped from the bones, and the bones were scattered in a star pattern while the fur hung from the trees nearby. Blood had been sprinkled in the snow next to the bones, and I nearly threw up from the smell.”
“And you didn’t see anyone around it?” I pressed.
“No,” he said and shook his head. “A-And I didn’t stay long enough to look, Your Grace. I’ve never been so scared in my life.”
“Then he came to the castle and reported it immediately,” Tawa finished. “I verified what he saw, and my men and I cleaned up the sacrifice and got rid of the poor creature.”
“You couldn’t tell what it was, either?” Nike wondered.
“No, it was too badly mangled,” Tawa answered with a grimace before he turned to Bobo. “You can leave now.”
The weasel Demi-Human dipped his head at the prince and then sprinted out of the room. He was an odd combination of scared and dramatic, but his information had been helpful. Someone was definitely trying to do blood magic, but we couldn’t be sure if they had been successful yet.
“Okay, how about you let us take a look with you?” I suggested. “Alyona and I have experience dealing with dark mages, and we could help you determine the best way to get rid of the problem.”
“I know exactly how to get rid of a dark mage,” Tawa retorted. “It’s not very difficult.”
“Tawa, you can’t just go around killing people you think are doing dark magic,” Nokomis said as she clenched her hands into fists. “Death is not always the answer!”
“For anyone who does blood magic, it is,” he replied in a low voice. “They have chosen a deadly path, and they always get what’s coming to them.”
I sensed another sibling argument coming on, so I stood up to get their attention before Nokomis tore into her brother, and we were left to figure out how we’d go find the sacrifice ourselves.
“Okay, listen,” I said. “I find blood magic to be completely sick and twisted, and there’s no one in their right mind who would want to use it. That being said, it’s also a complicated type of magic that can point the blame in many directions before you figure out who’s really responsible for it. So, I don’t think we should just go in guns blazing, but I do think we can go figure out who’s behind the sacrifices and capture them to find out more information.”
“Are you insinuating you know more than I do, so you should go with me to handle the dead creature?” Tawa arched an eyebrow at me.
“Yes,” I confirmed with a nod. “We do know more about blood magic because we already defeated a dark mage. He called himself the Sage.”
“You… you defeated the Sage?” Tecumseh asked in a breathless voice. “We heard whispers of his dark deeds, even here all the way across the sea.”
“Yeah, it took a while to catch him, but we did it,” I said. “I didn’t have to capture him for a confession since I’d already caught him in the act of torturing more creatures, but he openly admitted to several of his crimes. He was beheaded in Hatra a couple weeks ago.”
“And this is why you are brazen enough to fly freely,” the king murmured. “I wondered how a dragon felt safe to fly across the ocean after everything the Sage had done to your kind.”
“He should have had a much slower, more painful death,” I growled. “But I gave my dragon mate the opportunity to avenge her family in whatever way she saw fit.”
“Now, that is a result I can support,” Tawa grunted. “But how does that help with the blood magic here?”
“Olivier-- that was the Sage’s real name-- used blood magic to perform all kinds of spells in his efforts to open the Breach,” Alyona answered. “We had to use many different counter-spells to keep the seal in place, so none of the demons would be released into our world.”
“Which means they’ve seen a lot of freaky stuff,” Skye chimed in. “It was before I joined them, but I’ve heard the stories. Trust me, you want Lord Evan on your side, Your Highness.”
“I’m inclined to agree with the dragon and his people,” Tecumseh said as he turned toward his son. “Is there a specific reason you don’t want their help? Or are you being too proud to accept it?”
Tawa’s cheeks flushed a dark pink before he shook his head and crossed his arms over his bare chest.
“I’m not too proud,” he argued. “I only want to make sure this is the best option for handling the possibility of blood magic. There are… other things at play.”
I narrowed my eyes on the prince as he spoke and wondered what it was they weren’t telling us. It didn’t seem like the king had been keeping secrets up until now, but there was clearly something neither of them wanted to say aloud.
“Like what?” I asked abruptly.
“You wouldn’t understand,” Tawa grumbled. “Fine, Lord Evan. It seems I am outnumbered here. You can go with me to investigate the sacrificial sighting, but remember, I’m the one in charge.”
I felt like we were arguing over jurisdiction like every cop show I’d ever watched, but I didn’t have any claim in Odrein. I simply wanted to help, so I nodded my agreement and looked toward the king.
“If we find the dark mage, how do you want us to handle it?” I asked without risking a glance at Tawa.
“Capture him first,” Tecumseh answered. “We will deal with the situation at that point.”
“As you wish.” I dipped my head and glanced around the table. “Is everyone ready?”
I was answered by a series of chairs scooting back from the table as Nokomis and the rest of my people rose to their feet. Miraya and Aine disappeared from view to enter Nike’s and my spiritual seas, and everyone else trotted after Tawa to begin our journey to the blood sacrifice site.
We walked out of the castle, and Nokomis and Tawa took a sharp right turn toward a small outbuilding near the palace. I arched an eyebrow with curiosity but followed them without a word.
They led us into the building, and I blinked at least four times as I absorbed what I was looking at.
The building was a stable, but instead of horses, the stalls were filled with huge rabbits. They were a little smaller than horses, but their floppy white ears and long flat feet confirmed they were rabbits.
A stable hand looped reins over one of the rabbits and guided it out of a stall while Tawa pushed a sled out of the back toward the large open doors at the front of the stable. Then the two men tied the reins to the sled, and Tawa climbed on and looked at us with confusion.
“You don’t want to take a sled?” he asked. “It’s much faster than walking in the snow.”
“It’s pulled by a rabbit?” I couldn’t seem to take the bewildered look off my face.
“They’re arctic hares,” Tawa corrected me as his sister pulled her sled up next to his. “They’re faster than any other animal on snow.”
“I think I’d rather fly,” I murmured. “Anyone else?”
“Uh, I’ll ride the sled with Nokomis,” Rebecca offered.
“I’ll take my own, if that’s alright,” Nike said, though he seemed almost as uncomfortable being pulled by a rabbit as he was riding on dragonback.
“I’ll stay with you,” Alyona giggled.
“Me, too,” Skye agreed.
I grinned as I took their hands, and Ravi and Isabella followed us outside, where we took our winged forms. Within seconds, Ravi, Isabella, and I hovered above the stable until the hare-led sleds popped out of the stable.
Tawa took the lead and zoomed across the white snow toward a smaller gate, which narrowly opened just in time to let him and the other sleds through to the open space outside the city. Ravi, Isabella, and I flapped our wings while Alyona and Skye held tight to one of my spikes, and we took off after the sleds.
I soon realized I had no idea where we were headed, but we followed the snow leopards north along the western edge of the forest. The snow began to fall harder and harder until Ravi and I had to float closer to the ground to see where the others were going. The wind screamed past our ears, and if anyone on the ground had said anything, I didn’t think even my dragon hearing could have picked it up.
