“The game of blocks was played fair, sir. Only how I left your caravan was at risk.”
“That’s not what I meant,” he growled.
I watched his face again, looking for the same tell as in the game. When I didn’t see he was bluffing, I said, “You had no intention of allowing me to buy my freedom.”
“I did,” he wailed, but it didn’t ring true.
But the facial tic was back. He was lying and expected me to believe him. He was not done playing with me, yet.
I said, “Here is what’s going to happen. You will send word with your trussed-up guard to release the slave called Flier, and he will be escorted back to where we are. Unharmed. I will purchase his freedom at a fair price that you decide.”
“In return for what?” he said, the slyness in him returning.
Kendra stepped forward. “In return, you will not be the evening snack for my dragon today. You will also answer our questions fully, and we will release you unharmed. When we are ready.”
“She’s right,” I agreed. “We don’t care about your slavery or where you’re taking these wretched people. At least, not yet. We do want to know more about that, and other information about your homeland and the rulers. And mages. When we’ve educated ourselves to our satisfaction, you are free to join your people. You have my word.”
“If I don’t cooperate?”
Kendra must have communicated with the dragon in the way we were slowly becoming used to. It stood on its hind legs and roared, then stomped the ground, its forefeet landing uncomfortably close to me—and to the Slave-Master. The nearby bodyguard strained to roll away and break free, his face pale and scared as the feet landed.
“Send him to get your friend. I agree to do as you ask,” The Slave-Master drawled as if agreeing to do as we asked. He was lying again.
I didn’t believe the Slave-Master at all. However, Kendra cut the ropes free from the bodyguard, all but those on his feet. She replaced the knife in her scabbard and said to him, “I can kill you a dozen ways before you take a single step. Do you believe that? I am a Dragon Tamer.”
Her use of the term was not the first time I’d heard it from her. Others had briefly called her the Dragon Queen, but that didn’t sit well. She decided ‘tamer’ better suited her relationship. I knew she didn’t know what either meant any more than me, but it sounded more ominous. It was one of the many things we needed to know and understand—but not today, at least not yet.
His hands shook, and his voice trembled as his eyes remained on those of the dragon that looked back. He was so close the stench of the dragon had to be overpowering. Rotted meat and a reptilian body that hadn’t been washed since last rain, whenever that was. He stammered, “Y-yes.”
She continued speaking to the guard, “The Slave-Master requires the presence of the slave known as Flier. You will find him and return him here. Treat him well. Now, I’m sure you’re an honest man and all that, but just in case there are any problems, my dragon is going to fly above as your escort. She will protect you. She will also tell me if there are any problems or if you betray me, in which case, I’ll allow her to snack on as many of you slavers as she wants. But you will be first.”
His trembling increased.
Kendra was not finished. “My dragon now has your scent. It knows you. There is no place in Kondor or the Brownlands where you can hide that she cannot sniff you out. I want you to know that. If I order her to kill you, she will find you. If I were you, I’d cut my throat—however, my dragon also enjoys food that has been dead a day or two. She will eat you one way or another.”
“If I send your friend back?”
“You will not send him back because if he is attacked or harmed in any manner, you forfeit your life. Being a reasonable man, you will return with him to see that he arrives here safely, and I will then release you from this bond. If he is unharmed and arrives here alone and promptly, I give you my word to allow you to live. I will have no reason to be upset with you, and I may even toss a coin or two your way.” Kendra talked in a businesslike manner as if negotiating for the purchase of a wooden bowl in a public market. The directness of her discussion intimidated the bodyguard far more than if she had shouted and brandished a knife.
The guard’s eyes were still on the dragon. He nodded once. That was enough. Kendra cut the remaining ropes on his legs with a slash of her knife and stepped away. The guard backed off, then turned and ran. My sister looked at me and then at her dragon. It unfurled its wings and flew.
The Slave-Master said, “Gods, what have I done to deserve this?”
Kendra turned to face him.
He scooted back, putting a little distance between them.
She advanced and asked in a reasonable voice as if speaking over a friendly dinner, “Do you like children?”
“I-I suppose so.”
She looked at me. “Ask Anna to bring Emma here.”
*Anna, bring your sister and join us.* The mental touch was unreciprocated, although I believed Emma could have heard me as well if she allowed me to touch her mind. However, I couldn’t blame her for being reluctant to touch my mind.
They emerged from the edge of the forest, wearing their backpacks, and smiling. They rushed me as if we hadn’t seen each other for weeks.
Kendra sat facing the Slave-Master. “Do you ever think about the lives you ruin?”
“Farmers in my homeland need field-hands to work the crops. Cities need cleaners and servers, so they don’t live in filth. The army needs slaves to advance as the first line in battle.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” she persisted. “We agreed you would be honest with us or face my wrath. Tell me, do you ever think about the lives you ruin?”
“No. Never.”
“What about the lives of those who miss them? A wife? His children? Parents? Friends? What you do affects them as much as the men you take for slaves.” Kendra was growing angry.
He curled a lip and said, “I take women, too. Those are not my problems. I supply laborers. Nothing more.”
Kendra scooted so near to him he drew back again. Her voice grew so soft it caressed the air, “Do you realize how very lucky you are today?”
“Right, I’m a prisoner, I lost at blocks and had to turn a valuable slave loose, so I’m lucky,” he snarled the words as he spoke while trying to intimidate her.
For me, it was a test of wills between them. I was standing with the girls at the side of the clearing and watched their interplay, knowing the Slave-Master would lose the contest—but he wasn’t aware of it. Not yet, but soon.
Kendra said, “Yes, you are lucky because my stupid brother gave you his word. However, you need to consider this: You accepted his word about not harming or killing you. I led you to believe I gave mine too, but I didn’t, did I? And beyond that, my two little sorceresses who are now playing games with my brother promised nor implied anything.”
He spun to look at them, their sweetness and innocence clear.
However, she said before he gathered his thoughts, “Do you know that the small one, the one with the impish expression, once faced down my dragon? And another time, just using the power of her mind, she struck at the mind of a full-grown man so hard he was unconscious for a full afternoon?”
“That little girl?” the Slave-Master asked. His voice didn’t tremble or break with fear because he clearly didn’t believe her. He was interested.
“It’s true. She struck a blow inside his mind so hard that he woke up stupid and remains so to this day.”