LeRoy Clary
The Last Dragon: Book Four
CHAPTER ONE
The Slave-Master caught my eye from across the flickering flames of the small campfire. He said, “You look very satisfied with yourself.”
“More like trying to figure you out and getting nowhere.” My tone was not unfriendly, just cautious and truthful, considering the circumstances of our meeting.
His laughter rumbled in the cold night air. “Me? What’s there to figure out? I’m just a simple Slave-Master trying to earn enough gold for my next meal or two.”
I snorted in derision. “Liar. You buy and sell slaves, ruin the lives of people, and yet we find you are seemingly willing to help us kill the Young Mage and re-establish order in the three kingdoms. If that happens, we will abolish slaves, no matter how much mineral wealth lies underground in the mountains of Kaon, nor how many hands are required to dig it.”
I had kept my tone civil and calm despite my inward anger at his flippancy about a subject so vile. Somehow, we’d come to respect each other, if not become friends. Our beginning, with me the slave and him the owner, hadn’t eased the process.
The news that Avery, the personal servant of the Heir Apparent of Dire, had brought earlier stirred the entire camp to discuss those matters deep into the night. The lull in the conversation was because everyone was tired and still considering the impact of his revelations. He’d told us a minor revolt had begun in the small city of Vin, grown within a few days, and was rapidly spreading throughout Kondor. Troops supporting the rightful king’s heir were already marching across the mountain pass to the burned city of Trager to retake that city and restore a king to rule from the last surviving members of the royal family.
Avery had also told us that Prince Angle, the man who owned the duplicate sword of the one I wore, the sword that “sang” when near mine, had seized his rightful place as the crown prince. We had called him Fielding when we first met, and before we knew who he was. His real name was Prince Angle. When his father’s brother, King Flan the Revealer, had been murdered, along with the rest of the royal family of Vin. Believed to be dead, he changed his name and cleverly joined the army that chased him. He had hidden within their ranks as he watched and planned to overthrow the bastard government headed by the Young Mage.
The Slave-Master said, “I was hoping for a game of blocks with you tonight.”
“Have you been practicing? I would hate to spend a boring evening playing with a man that I’ve beaten every time we played.”
It was his turn to snort. He didn’t have to reply. We’d only played once—so my statement was the truth and he knew it.
My attention shifted to more immediate matters, although I was glad for Fielding and looked forward to meeting with him again and comparing stories about our swords, the only two in our kingdoms, or anywhere, that sang. When close to each other in battle, they emitted a keening so loud and distracting the two opponents couldn’t cross swords. Oddly, nobody else heard the sounds.
Those few seated around the campfire were the only people to know most of what was happening in the three kingdoms, Dire, Kondor, and Kaon—and they were our friends. I felt warmer than the lingering heat thrown from the orange coals of the campfire.
Anna’s words sprang into my mind and we spoke without using our voices, *The Slave-Master likes you, you know. Also, I think he has a crush on your sister.*
*Kendra?* I shot back.
Wry amusement came with her mental response, *Do you have any other sisters to confuse the issue of which one?*
I glanced Anna’s way to find a wide smile awaiting and couldn’t help returning it with one of my own. For days, the Slave-Master and Kendra had argued extensively over which of them was the strongest, the toughest, the most ruthless. His huge body concealed muscle and a mental toughness few realized. She exceeded his toughness by being canny, intelligent, and brutal when required. The idea he felt affection for her hadn’t occurred to me. I wondered if she reciprocated any feelings.
Turning to Avery, I said, “Say, how did you escape and find your way here? You didn’t know where we were. The Young Mage said he took you captive and had his men escort you out in the desert.”
Avery adjusted his worn and tattered Wandering Priest robe. He had used it to disguise his feelings in a similar way that he used to do with expensive brocaded tunics in Crestfallen Palace. The slight sneer he used to wear was missing, but I had no doubt it would soon return along with his superior attitude when we arrived back home.
He said, “I didn’t. The two Kaon warriors sent by the Slave-Master emerged from the near dawn as if by magic. They came out of the darkness with skill and silence. Those great curved swords were already swinging in huge arcs when I woke. The guards sent by the Young Mage never noticed the invaders until the battle was almost over. One Kaon warrior leaped to my side as I lay there, and he stepped on my head to keep me from standing and getting it removed, while his blade sliced through at least three of them with one massive swing. The other Kaon warrior was free to kill many more since he didn’t have to worry about protecting me.”
“Only two Kaon did all that? How many were guarding you?”
He glanced at the pair of warriors who were sitting on either side of the Slave-Master, their eyes always roaming, alert. They remained mute. He shrugged when they didn’t answer. “Twenty? Maybe a few more than that. After they freed me, and we began our journey here, we encountered a man traveling alone in the desert. It was Will, the hero appointed by the king to guard our princess. He recognized me, even in my priestly disguise. He was searching for Elizabeth to take up his duties again. So, we brought him with us.”
My attention drifted back to the fat Slave-Master who was eating again, stuffing his mouth full of food before chewing. His girth was twice mine. He’d told me once that the only way to become a leader of Kaon Warriors was to challenge and defeat one of them in single-battle to the death—and he was a leader, if not the leader of the Kaon. They didn’t respect any others.
His belly was larger around than my chest, his chin had another jiggling under the first, and even his fingers were fat like country sausages. I’d once played a game of blocks with him and knew he was relentless, conniving, sly, and unforgiving. Yet, how he managed to defeat one of the massive warriors in a contest to the death was beyond me. I’d make it a duty to find out when we defeated the Young Mage.
The man who called himself Flier sat on the ground beside Princess Elizabeth. Will, the protector that the King of Dire had ordered to watch over her, sat watchfully nearby, as always. My quirky mind made a list of us while trying to be brutally honest. We were a slaver, a princess, her protector, a former messenger for the King of Vin, a servant for the princess—actually two of us—the head servant for the Heir Apparent of Dire, and a little girl of about twelve or thirteen who talked to me in my mind without words.
There were others, of course, but they were not directly involved. The Kaon warriors might be of service to us as protectors, but the slaves chained together wouldn’t, unless we used them as decoys or misdirection.
That made eight of us in the ragtag “inner circle” that intended to battle and defeat the strongest mage who had ever existed. Of the eight, I might be referred to as a micro-mage with my meager magic abilities. Anna and I communicated without words, which was an advantage. And there was Kendra. She communicated in much the same way as Anna, but she did it with the last dragon in existence.