The other man gasped.
He blinked open his eyes, looking up at Jason, beyond him, and then something changed.
“Don’t try to harm the dragons,” Jason said.
He had no idea whether the Dragon Soul would even be able to do so without a dragon pearl, but he didn’t want to risk it.
“Who are you? Are you with the rebels?”
“Rebels?” Jason smiled to himself. “I think you’ve got it wrong.”
“Where did you find this dragon?”
“How did you know about this dragon?” Jason said, nodding to the iron dragon.
The Dragon Soul turned his head slowly, and when he saw the iron dragon, his eyes widened.
The iron dragon glowed softly, the heat undulating along the surface of his scales, radiating along his body, the metal seeming to flow as it often did when he used his heat.
“He lives.”
“He does, and he will live free.”
“There is no free, not when it comes to these creatures. You don’t understand how dangerous they are.”
“I think he’s dangerous, but I also don’t think he deserves to be controlled by you. Now, where are the other Dragon Souls going?”
“You wouldn’t even begin to understand.”
“I understand better than you think. I met Therin.”
Jason watched the other man as he said Therin’s name, curious whether that would elicit much of a response. There was a part of him that wondered whether Therin lived and if he did, then perhaps this Dragon Soul would know; but the man didn’t show any emotion, so it was possible that Therin had truly disappeared.
It would be best if he had. That meant that the village would be left alone.
“Therin is but a part of something much greater,” the Dragon Soul said.
“And by that, you mean placing dragon eggs where they can take on characteristics of their environment?” When the Dragon Soul’s eyes twitched, Jason realized he was right. “How many others are there?”
“There have been many attempts.”
“And yet, you knew that this one had succeeded. How?”
“We were sent word.”
“There isn’t a Dragon Soul presence here. There would’ve been no reason for them to get word.”
Jason hadn’t visited Varmin very often, but there had been no Dragon Souls, so for them to be here, and for them to have someone they could count on to get word to them, suggested they had more influence than he realized.
Would it be like that in other places?
“As I’ve said, you can’t begin to understand.”
Jason sat back on his heels, staring at the man.
They needed answers, and he had no way of finding them short of tormenting him, but that wasn’t something he thought he could do.
“I guess we leave him here,” Jason said.
He got up and the ice dragon shifted, twisting in the cave, and they started away.
A sharp cry told Jason when the Dragon Soul was trying to move.
He swallowed back the nausea rolling through him. He couldn’t imagine trying to move with a broken leg like that, and couldn’t imagine how much pain the other man experienced when he did so, but with everything the Dragon Soul was willing to do, he thought the man deserved it.
“You will find you won’t get very far with that leg,” Jason said. He had a sense that the ice dragon could have healed even that, and yet leaving the man broken made it easier for them to walk away. “If you would like to live, then perhaps you could share with us where the other Dragon Souls are heading.”
“I’m prepared to die,” the Dragon Soul said.
“I am sure you are.”
Jason continued through the tunnel, resisting the urge to glance back. As he reached the iron dragon, he pushed on the creature. He moved forward, slithering ahead, and the ice dragon pulled up the rear.
“Wait!”
Jason tensed.
“Bring me with you and I will share what I might know.”
“I thought you were ready to die,” Jason said.
“I would like to see these creatures.”
“You can see them now.”
“I would like to understand them better.”
“Why?”
“Because there have been none like them before.”
Jason frowned, and yet he understood. It was the same thing Therin had said. They were accustomed to a specific kind of dragon, the typical ones, and that was part of the reason they’d brought the eggs out here, to a different part of the world. And Jason doubted this was the only place where they had brought dragon eggs.
As he looked at the man, he debated what he was going to do. He wanted information, and he thought the only way he could acquire what he wanted was to bring the man with him.
The idea of having one of the Dragon Souls traveling with him troubled him. Jason didn’t care to allow that, but at the same time, he didn’t know that he could do anything differently. He needed the Dragon Soul in order to find what he wanted.
“You aren’t going to do anything to harm the dragons.”
“You fear for them?”
“I’m determined to keep them safe.”
The Dragon Soul stared at him, and there was a strange look in his eye, but Jason continued to watch him carefully. He held on to the power of the dragon pearl, pushing outward with that cold energy, ready for an attack were it necessary.
The broken man lay there, watching, and finally, he took a deep breath. “You have my word I will not harm the dragons.”
Jason smiled. “That’s not going to be good enough for me.”
“Then what will be good enough for you?”
“I need you to make a vow.”
“Is that not what I did?”
There had to be some way to have the man commit to not harming the dragons. Would there be any way to use his connection to the dragon pearl?
“You are going to promise not to harm them. You’re going to promise not to attempt to use them. And you will help us in any way that we need in order to succeed.”
The man watched him, and for a moment, Jason thought that he might refuse, but then the silver-eyed Dragon Soul pressed his fingers together and brought his arms up to his chest. He bowed his head slightly. He touched his lips to his fingers and said, “I, David Arnson, speak the words of the flame to you. I will make no attempt to harm the dragons. I will make no attempt to train the dragons. I will make no attempt to abuse them in any way. I offer you my help, at the price of my life.”
A surge of energy washed away from David at the words, and Jason frowned. He had never experienced anything like that before, but he had to believe that whatever David had done was powerful. And it was a vow, the kind Jason had asked of him.
“Will that be sufficient for you?”
Jason stared at him for a moment. “We will see.”
David regarded him with a frown. “You don’t understand what I just did.”
“I don’t, but that doesn’t matter. What I do understand is that I want to make sure you won’t do anything to harm the dragons.”
“The rebels would have… no matter. I have given you the promise you asked for and much more.”
He glanced over at the ice dragon. There was something to his blue eyes that was difficult for Jason to read, but he thought that the dragon could discern something.
Turning toward the dragon, Jason frowned. “What is it?”
“When he spoke those words, I felt… something.”
“He called them words of the flame.”
What was it about the words of the flame that was significant to the Dragon Soul? Was there anything that would be useful in understanding that?
“We can’t bring him with us like that,” Jason said, nodding to the nearly naked man.