Kathir's Redemption (Book 6) (37 page)

“
Perhaps
…
but it won
’
t make any difference in the end, will it?
”
She said with a gleam in her eye.

She pulled a small knife from her belt, twirling it with her thumb. She sent the dagger flying toward Druknor
’
s neck, but swatted it from the air with his sword.

Druknor gathered up the strength he had left. Skera-Kina wasn
’
t invincible. One well-placed strike was all it would take. He charged forward, throwing attack after attack. Skera-Kina shifted and parried, dodged and blocked, never striking back, absorbing everything that Druknor had. She was mocking him. Then, finally, Druknor got lucky.

Skera-Kina
’
s foot slipped.

It must have been a patch of ice hidden under the snow. Whatever it was, Skera-Kina slipped and fell to one knee. Druknor didn
’
t hesitate. He threw himself forward, his sword raised for the blow that would finish her. There was no way she could dodge or roll away. Druknor cried out savagely in triumph as he raised his sword for the final blow. By the time he saw the twinkle in Skera-Kina
’
s eyes, it was too late. It was a trap.

She thrust her dagger up into his ribcage from where he knelt. He struck empty space, while fire exploded in his chest. In an instant, he was on his back, staring up at the evening sky while a puddle of blood expanding underneath him.

Skera-Kina
’
s face was calm as she leaned over him. Druknor wanted to reach up to choke her, but he couldn
’
t bring his limbs to move.

“
You
’
re lucky,
”
Skera-Kina said.
“
For you, this is the end. My life will be much longer and filled with drudgery. When you see the death god, tell him that he will have to wait a long time for me.
”

Druknor opened his mouth to speak, but the blackness closed in before he could.

Skera-Kina looked down at his body. She felt no elation. There was no joy in this kill. She had an island to rule, and Xiiltharra would not let her dodge her responsibilities. Already, the shadowkey ached inside her chest. It had been prickling constantly since she left the island
’
s borders, and it just got more painful as time passed. She knew that she would never be able to leave Balbor for long periods. She was trapped like a fly in a spider
’
s web. She had traded one prison for another. 

Skera-Kina cleaned her family
’
s sword on Druknor
’
s tunic and stood there, letting the crisp cold of the evening seep into her. Then she started to make her way through the snow without looking back.

The return to Balbor would be a long journey.

The dragon riders returned home as heroes and as symbols of hope. They all received special recognition from the king for their service. There was a great celebration, and an enormous feast was planned for all the riders and the citizens of Parthos. The people certainly needed such an event; it would help to raise their spirits after months of living in fear.

Although great numbers of orcs perished during the destruction of Mount Velik, many survived to return to their lives at Mount Heldeofol. No one knew for sure if the orc king survived, but the greenskins kept quiet and stayed away from the human cities while they licked the wounds of their defeat. It would be many years before their numbers recovered enough for them to even consider another attack.

A period of quiet followed, and within a few months, things had returned to normal. In fact, they were even a bit better than normal. All of Shesha
’
s eggs hatched on time, and every single one of her hatchlings survived. Shesha found a small cave near the city where she could care for her brood. All of the dragons worked together to ensure that the ravenous hatchlings always had enough to eat. Within a year, the young dragons were learning how to fly.

Brinsop quietly disappeared into the desert in order to prepare her own nest and to lay her eggs in private. Sela kept their contact to a minimum, respecting the dragon
’
s need for seclusion. As they waited for news, the riders could hardly contain their excitement.

A few weeks later, Brinsop sent an abrupt message to Sela; she had finally found a suitable nesting site and had laid a clutch of six eggs. Two of the eggs were onyx, and the rest were carnelian red. Sela sent a short reply, and then left her alone again.

It was wonderful news. The dragon race was finally recovering.

Soon, Nydeired, Karela, and Orshek would be old enough to mate as well, and everyone was hopeful that they would also help the dragons to survive.

Tallin split his time between Parthos and Highport, flying back and forth between the two cities as the dwarves rebuilt their lives in their new home.  Whenever he returned to the tranquility of the desert, he found himself wondering how he had been chosen to become a clan leader at all. He found his new role incredibly challenging. The job was just as, if not more, demanding than being a dragon rider.

He wondered if his life would ever  be calm again, but he also took pleasure in noting that all the changes were for the better.

One evening, Sela met him outside while he was looking over the city walls from the castle rooftop. The moon was rising, and it cast silvery shadows on the dunes below.

“
Are you leaving for Highport tonight?
”
she asked. Her voice was soft.

“
Yes, the stable hands are preparing Duskeye
’
s saddle. I
’
ll leave as soon as they
’
re finished. He
’
s been enjoying the extra travel.
”

“
How is everything going with the clans?
”

Tallin shrugged.
“
As well as can be expected, I suppose. The caverns are cramped and crowded, but they are working hard to expand them. There
’
s a great deal of work to be done. But there
’
s good news too. Mugla succeeded in finding an apprentice
—
a distant cousin on hers tested positive for mageborn powers. He
’
s only a third-degree mage, but at least it
’
s something.
”

“
How are you managing your new responsibilities?
”

Tallin smiled.
“
My days are full. It
’
s a lot of work, being a leader. I have a whole new respect for the position.
”
He laughed.
“
It
’
s much easier to simply follow along with people who enjoy doing this sort of thing. But life is too short to be unhappy over trivial things, so I
’
m enjoying the adventure as much as I can along the way.
”

“
That
’
s good news. Did you hear about Druknor? I just got word from the capital today. He never made it back to Sut-Burr after leaving Highport. He
’
s been missing since he left Highport. His people were too afraid to contact the king, but they finally did. A report has been filed, but no one seems to know where he
’
s gone. There
’
s no trace of him anywhere. It
’
s like he
’
s disappeared. Vanished.
”

Tallin shook his head.
“
Ah, I
’
ll bet he
’
ll turn up soon. But if he doesn
’
t, I can
’
t say that I
’
d be that upset about it. Druknor
’
s made a lot of enemies over the years. He
’
s a wicked man, and there are many people who would like to see him dead.
”

She was silent for a moment.
“
It
’
s been a difficult year,
”
she murmured,
“
but things are getting better.
”

“
Yes, they are,
”
he said.
“
I
’
ve never felt so focused on what I
’
m doing, and my purpose in life has never been clearer to me. I realize now that I am meant to help unite my people
—
to help them create a new life and kingdom for themselves.
”
He shrugged.
“
It feels good to have a purpose.
”

Suddenly, she moved to embrace him, but then she stopped. Tallin saw her hesitation and moved in close, wrapping his arms around her. His warmth and strength seemed to soothe Sela, and she allowed herself to be comforted by Tallin
’
s embrace. She inhaled deeply and blew out a long breath. When she finally pulled away, her lashes were lowered and her cheeks pink.

Tallin was unused to seeing her so vulnerable.
“
Do you feel better?
”

She nodded, looking a bit ashamed.
“
You
’
re smiling,
”
she said.

“
I guess I am,
”
he admitted. Then he laughed and reached down to kiss her. They were interrupted by a shout, which was followed by the appearance of the twins, Galti and Holf, bounding up the steps to the rooftop. Sela and Tallin pulled away from each other abruptly.

“
Did we interrupt something?
”
Galti asked loudly, looking at both of them with a rather curious expression.

Sela and Tallin glanced at each other and laughed.

“
No
…
not really. We were having a conversation that can wait,
”
said Tallin.
“
We needed to take a break anyway. What do you need?
”

Holf reached out and handed Tallin a scroll sealed with purple wax.
“
This just arrived for you by messenger.
”

Tallin recognized the stamp
—
it was the official seal of Balbor.
“
Who left this?
”
he asked, trying not to sound concerned.

Holf shrugged.
“
I didn
’
t recognize her
—
the woman rode off as soon as she left it.
”

“
A female messenger dropped this off?
”
he asked.

Holf nodded.
“
It was a woman, I could tell from her voice, but her face and body were completely covered. At first, I thought she was a nomad. She didn
’
t say much
—
she just dropped it off in the receiving room and left. Why
…
does it matter?
”

“
No
…
it doesn
’
t matter.
”
He broke the seal and scanned the scroll
’
s contents. As he feared, the message was from Skera-Kina.

“
Dear brother, I hope this letter finds you alive and in good health. I would have written earlier, but my schedule had been fairly hectic lately. I
’
m pleased to inform you that Druknor Theoric has been permanently dispatched
—
he will no longer trouble either one of us. I rarely find pleasure in executions, but this one was actually quite enjoyable. Now that Druknor is gone, however, I have realized that Balbor has lost an important source of goods and labor. Because of this, I would like to propose a pact of amity and commerce between my people and yours. This agreement would benefit us equally. It would be of great assistance in stemming the famine on Balbor and would strongly encourage me to stop sending assassins to the mainland. Consider my proposal and let me know your answer before the next full moon. Signed on behalf of the High Priestess of Balbor, Her Grace, Skera-Kina.
”

“
What does it say?
”
asked Sela, growing concerned as Tallin
’
s brows knitted together.

He handed her the scroll. Her eyes widened when she read it.
“
We cannot accept a treaty of this kind. Not with Balbor.
”