Kathir's Redemption (Book 6) (18 page)

Kathir understood. At some point, the High Council expected him to step aside and let Skemtun die, so that he could be replaced with a leader more to
their
liking.

Delthen reached into his robes and drew out a large pouch that clinked with coins inside.
“
Here
’
s your payment.
”
Delthen handed him the pouch, and Kathir shoved it into his pocket. For the first time ever, taking the money made him feel dirty and deceitful.

Delthen cleared his throat and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.
“
Thank you, Kathir. I believe we can find our way beyond this point.
”
He gave Kathir a wave of dismissal and turned his back.

Druknor walked past him without so much as a passing glance, as did Komu
’
s aides, but the old man himself paused. Slowly, with the discomfort of age, Komu bent to pick up a coin that had fallen, and placed it in Kathir
’
s palm.
“
You dropped something, boy.
”

“
Thank you,
”
Kathir replied.

“
Oh, think nothing of it,
”
said the ancient mage. His eyes were cloudy with cataracts, and Kathir wondered how much he could actually see.
“
So
…
you spoke to Delthen?
”

Kathir struggled to understand why Komu was even speaking to him.
“
Actually, our chat was quite brief.
”

“
I see.
”
For a second, Komu
’
s bewildered look dissolved and his gaze become sharp and focused.
“
Listen to me, boy. Delthen forgets that he doesn
’
t speak for the whole council.
”
Komu patted him on the wrist.
“
Consider this payment for saving the dwarves. You did a good job.
”

“
Thank you,
”
Kathir said, looking at him strangely.

“
You know,
”
Komu said.
“
Things aren
’
t always what they seem. This isn
’
t where it ends. The future is falling into place.
”

“
What do you mean by that?
”
asked Kathir, taken aback.

Komu didn
’
t answer. His two aides rushed back and grabbed him gently by his arms, guiding him away.  Komu started babbling about the weather again, and his aides nodded vaguely.

Kathir just stood there, unsure of what all of this meant.

Tallin and the elves flew over the Death Sands. They flew without rest until finally, at sunset on the second day, they saw the city of Parthos ahead in the distance. The landscape had changed in the short time that they were away.

“
The desert
’
s in bloom,
”
Tallin whispered. A sea of flowers reflected the brilliant sunlight from the sky. Bright purple cactus blossoms struck a brilliant contrast to the ruddy color of the sand. The scenery was magnificent, but the elves said nothing. They stared ahead and did not speak to anyone.

F
ë
anor and Amandila flew close to their queen but remained respectfully behind her.

“
It
’
s odd to see F
ë
anor defer so much to his queen,
”
Tallin said.

“
Elves don
’
t have a high opinion of mortals, but their own queen is another story,
”
said Mugla, sitting behind her nephew.

“
Her dragon is huge
—
Atejul is the largest emerald dragon that I
’
ve ever seen. He
’
s almost as large as Nydeired.
”

“
Atejul flies very fast
,
”
Duskeye blurted out proudly.
“
Just look at that wingspan of his!
”
Dragons didn
’
t usually discuss their offspring, but it was clear that Duskeye was proud of having fathered such a large and powerful son.

“
I wonder why they don
’
t just fly on ahead,
”
Mugla said.
“
With Duskeye carrying both of us, their dragons could outdistance us easily.
”

“
I was wondering that myself. We
’
ve nearly reached Parthos,
”
Tallin said.

The desert city sparkled like a bright green jewel on the horizon. Its hanging gardens were an engineering marvel, maintained by underground wells. The city supported a population that was much larger than one might expect given its location in the desert.
“
The elves will probably stop in Parthos before they return to Brighthollow.
”

Through their telepathic connection, Tallin could sense that Duskeye was eager to see his current mate, Shesha, and her clutch of eggs.

“
Shesha is waiting for us,
”
Duskeye added.
“
I told her to seek refuge in Parthos so that her eggs would be safe. She resisted the idea at first but eventually agreed. I gave her my saddlebags to carry the eggs.
”

When they originally left for Balbor, the wild dragon Shesha had been guarding her eggs in the forest. The whole reason for their trip to Balbor had been to protect her eggs from the High Priest, who desired to steal them. Now that the Balborite threat was gone, Shesha
’
s eggs were safe. When these eggs finally hatched, the dragon race could begin its recovery.

The city of Parthos grew larger as they approached. Finally, the four dragons crossed into the city perimeter and flew down to land on the castle ramparts. They were greeted with cheers by the Parthinian guards. Tallin slid down from Duskeye
’
s back and then helped Mugla climb from the saddle.

Xiiltharra, F
ë
anor, and Amandila also dismounted.

The teenage twins, Galti and Holf Thallan, ran up to greet them. Galti and Holf were the youngest of the dragon riders, and they had almost completed their mageborn training. They usually stayed behind to help guard the city when the other dragon riders were away.

Shesha, who before hated cities and feared humans, was lying calmly near Orshek and Karela, the two black dragons that were joined to Galti and Holf.

Shesha
’
s tail was curled protectively around her eggs. Duskeye crawled over to Shesha, purring softly. He moved slowly despite the fact that Shesha was his mate, since nesting females were often unpredictable. Duskeye touched his snout against hers, and she snapped at him playfully. Duskeye hopped back, but he was smiling.

Galti and Holf greeted Tallin with a warm handshake.

“
How were things while we were away?
”
asked Tallin.

“
Exciting!
”
Galti said.
“
We caught a Balborite assassin in the desert a few weeks ago. I spotted him when we were on patrol. We alerted the guards and sealed all the city entrances. We waited a few days and then decided to go out and find him ourselves. Shesha came along too
—
she
’
s the one that found him the second time.
”

Tallin
’
s eyebrows shot up.
“
That was a very risky thing to do.
”

“
The painted human was coming here to steal my eggs!
”
Shesha said in the dragon tongue.
“
I knew it was true, so I offered to help. We caught him in the canyon nearby.
The young fleshlings fought the painted human and killed him.
”

Tallin looked at Galti and Holf with stunned approval.
“
You managed to kill a Balborite assassin by yourselves? I
’
m impressed.
”

“
Orshek and Karela did most of the work,
”
Galti said.
“
They trapped him in a fire circle.
”
The two black dragons raised their heads and chuckled.

“
We persuaded Shesha that the palace rooftop was the best place for her and her eggs,
”
Holf added.
“
It
’
s so warm up here
—
look how happy she is!
”

Shesha sent a small flame bursting from her nose.
“
Humph!
I was not persuaded by the fleshlings. I made the decision myself to stay up here, because it
’
s nice and hot on the roof
…
plus there are always chickens to eat.
”
She
jerked her chin toward the palace chickens pecking away at their feed nearby.

F
ë
anor edged toward Shesha to catch a quick glimpse at her eggs, but Shesha snapped at him.
“
Get back, elf! I don
’
t trust your kind.
”

F
ë
anor looked at his queen, who shook her head slightly.

Tallin
’
s eyes narrowed. It was an odd exchange. After everything that had happened, maybe the elves were still hoping they could take some of the eggs back to Brighthollow.

Xiiltharra seemed to know what he was thinking, because she said,
“
There
’
s no need to worry about the eggs now. The Balborites have been dealt with, so there
’
s no danger to the nest.
”

“
So you
’
re going to allow Shesha to keep her eggs?
”
Tallin asked.
“
How thoughtful of you.
”

If Xiiltharra heard sarcasm in his voice, she decided to ignore it.
“
Yes, of course. I
’
m pleased that we were able to work together to protect this nest.
”

Galti decided that it was time to interrupt so that he could play host.
“
Is everyone ready to eat? We sent a message to the kitchens for food when we saw you coming. They
’
ve set up a buffet downstairs.
”

“
Great!
”
said Mugla.
“
I
’
m starvin
’
!
”

After such a long journey, they were all famished and exhausted.
“
Do you have meat for our dragons?
”
asked F
ë
anor.

“
The cook slaughtered a camel for them,
”
said Holf.
“
They
’
re dressing it now. I
’
ll have the meat brought up.
”

Tallin looked at the elves.
“
You are all welcome to dine with us of course.
”
He tried to be friendly, but he couldn
’
t keep the edge out of his voice.

“
Thank you, halfling,
”
Xiiltharra said with a sharp smile.
“
We accept.
”

The elves seemed happy enough to follow them into the dining hall. Galti and Holf excused themselves and notified the kitchens that their guests were ready to eat.

As they walked through the palace, the servants greeted Tallin, but gasped in surprise when they saw the elves walking behind him.

When they reached the hall, Xiiltharra headed to the front and took the seat at the head of the table. The elves sat next to their queen, talking in low voices.  Tallin and Mugla sat several seats down from them. Servants brought the food out in two or three courses, and each course included several dishes.

Mugla reached out and grabbed a chicken leg and began to eat it with relish.
“
The elves are so aloof, even after everythin
’
that
’
s happened,
”
she whispered between bites.