After she spoke, her body broke apart, becoming a swarm of insects. Everyone coughed and covered their mouths as whirlwinds of iridescent green bottle-flies spun through the air for several minutes before dispersing.
Afterwards, Adam stood and guided Trisky as she rose. Everyone stared at him, as if expecting him to explain everything with one sentence.
"I told you," he said, with a knowing smile. "The goddess."
Chapter Sixteen:
Merciful
Pet sat up, mildly disoriented. He blinked his eyes, feeling as if he'd moved back in time a year to his old life of comfort and privilege. He was in room with a vaulted ceiling and a stained glass window similar to the ones that had adorned Chakthalla's castle. He was sleeping on a large red silk cushion, the sort of cushions Chakthalla used to sleep upon with him curled up beside her. As he rubbed the sleep from his eyes he remembered he was in Shandrazel's palace. As leader of the human diplomats, he had been granted these plush accommodations.
It was just after dawn judging from the soft light coloring the high windows. He was freezing, naked upon the cushions without an inch of blanket. The thick wool covers were all pulled off to the side of the cushion and wrapped around the slender figure of a sleeping woman. Pet stared at her for a long moment. Who was she? How had she gotten here?
She had her back to him. Her long brown hair was tousled from the night's activities. Pet started to wake her, but his fingers stopped inches from her shoulders. He decided to let her sleep. He couldn't recall her name, but the memory of meeting her was beginning to resolve from his mental fog. After the fiasco of the previous day's talks, when the valkyries had stormed out, Pet had decided it was time to get out of the palace and run far, far away. He'd only made it as far as Richmond when he'd decided to fortify his resolve with an ale or two at the local tavern. A trio of musicians had been performing and the girl beside him had been their flute player. He recalled how she reminded him of Jandra in the color of her hair and the shape of her jaw. Yet, while Jandra was never impressed by anything Pet did or said, this girl had been quite enamored by Pet's claims that he was an advisor to Shandrazel. He vaguely remembered inviting her back to his room, deciding he could put off fleeing the talks at least one more day. His memory grew cloudier after that. In truth, he hadn't drunk enough to affect his memory, though it was possible she had-she'd accepted his generosity in buying rounds readily enough.
Pet suspected the real reason he couldn't remember the further details of their encounter was that he'd simply found it boring. His true pleasure in seduction came in the early stages, when women were attracted by his smile, his wit, and his fine breeding. The sun-dragons who found it fashionable to keep humans as pets engaged in selective breeding to exaggerate certain desired traits. Pet's lineage was that of a purebred, and he enjoyed being admired for his physical perfection.
Pet rose and went to the mirror. His body was a work of art; he knew that women enjoyed feasting upon him with their eyes, and more. It was the rare woman who could resist reaching out to touch his flowing golden locks, or feel his broad and well-formed shoulders. He was proud of his appearance, and took care with his diet and exercise to hone its finest details. His face possessed the same perfection. He paid attention to the smallest items that could detract from his appearance. He tried to maintain even numbers of eye lashes, for instance, and was ferocious in seeking and snipping any split ends in his hair. He possessed an array of fine brushes he used to clean and polish his teeth after every meal; he even washed his tongue three times daily to ensure the freshness of his breath.
Yet, staring into the reflection of his brilliant blue eyes, Pet wondered if all his outer perfection had left him tarnished on the inside. He'd witnessed purebred dogs. The prettier the breed, the crazier they tended to be. Had breeding him for physical perfection left him with a damaged personality? He frequently seduced women he didn't truly desire. He only wanted Jandra, he suspected, because she didn't want him. Was this perverse? To impress her, he'd repeatedly risked his life. This couldn't be healthy. And as irrational as his behavior was around Jandra, his actions around dragons were becoming outright insane. Why had he yelled at Shadrazel over the whole bow thing? What did he care if men had bows? Perhaps his long years of subservience to sun-dragons had left him with a pent-up need to yell at one?
Or perhaps he could only summon passion when he was pretending to be someone else. He embraced the role of Bitterwood because the man was a hero. Pet was only, well, a pet. He was the exact philosophical opposite of a hero. If he were honest with the other humans at the talks, he would tell them what he truly believed: Humans would have better lives if they just worked harder to make dragons happy. Treat a dragon with flattery and obedience, as he had Chakthalla, and you would be rewarded with a life of ease.
Would he dare march into the Peace Hall and speak the truth to his fellow men?
He sighed, shaking his head. If the truth ever came out of him, they'd lynch him. Better to be praised for a lie than hung for the truth.
Feeling he'd had his fill of introspection for the day, he dressed himself quietly and crept from the room, careful not to wake his guest.
As Pet entered the Peace Hall for the third day of talks he noticed that the room seemed empty. None of the dozen sun-dragon representatives had arrived yet. Shandrazel, Charkon, and Androkom were huddled together in conference. A few of Pet's fellow humans were gathered across the room, murmuring among themselves, looking worried. Only a handful of the biologian representatives were present, and there was no sign that the valkyries had returned.
Pet bypassed the humans and walked straight to Shandrazel. The giant dragon looked agitated. Before Pet reached the throne pedestal, a trio of earth-dragon guards stepped into his path, blocking him. They barked out, "Halt!"
Pet stopped, confused. "Are you new or something? I'm supposed to be here."
"No humans are to approach the king!" one of the guards snarled, lowering his spear until the point was aimed at Pet's neck. "Any closer and we'll run you through!"
Fortunately, the commotion caught Shandrazel's attention. "Lower your weapons!" he commanded. "I gave no such order!"
"I did," Androkom said. The high biologian was less than half Shandrazel's size, but somehow this morning he looked more composed and in charge than the young king. "I felt it would be a logical precaution."
"A precaution against what?" Pet asked as the guards lowered their spears.
"It may be nothing," said Shandrazel. "But, during the night-"
"During the night all of the sun-dragon representatives vanished," Androkom said.
"What do you mean, vanished?" said Pet. The word "vanished" had taken on subtle shades of meaning ever since he met Jandra. Just because something couldn't be seen didn't mean it wasn't there anymore.
"No messages were left," said Shandrazel. "And there were no signs of struggle. I've sent out members of the aerial guard to try to-"
"We believe it was the work of Blasphet," said Androkom, sounding impatient. "And there are signs of struggle; there are seven dead earth-dragon guards."
"I meant we've found no signs that any of the sun-dragons were harmed," Shandrazel said.
"The guards died from puncture wounds crusted with black poison," said Androkom.
"The sisters attacked again?" Pet asked. "Why didn't anyone hear them? They were sort of loud last time."
"No one heard anything," said Shandrazel. "We still have more questions than answers."
"It doesn't make sense," said Pet. "I mean, yes, they could sneak in during the night and kill some guards. But how could they kill a dozen sun-dragons without making a sound? What could they have done with the bodies? I don't see how the Sisters of the Serpent could be responsible for this. Maybe the sun-dragons learned that Blasphet had assassins in the palace once more and fled?"