The Last Dragon: Book Three

CHAPTER THIRTY

Princess Elizabeth

Not knowing what else to do, I sat on the pillows the Slave-Master indicated, using the scant time to think. The instant I’d revealed my identity, his entire demeanor had changed. At a flick of his finger, the ropes were removed, and I was free.

He said, Does Damon cheat at blocks?”

“He’s not above it,” I admitted, not knowing if he’d used his small-magic or why the question was asked. “But he is a very good player with few equals, so there is little reason for him to cheat.”

The man roared with laughter, his fingers interlaced over his fat belly.

“You find this funny?”

He quieted, then flashed a smile that appeared genuine. “I do. Have you ever noticed the gods are crazy? I’ve heard there is no such thing as a coincidence, but that cannot be true.”

“In what way?”

“First, let me clear up our relationship. You are not my prisoner and are free to leave at any time. You will not be harmed, and I will provide an escort. If you choose to remain, I will feed and protect you, and I will send my men into the desert in search of your servants.”

“You can sell me for a ransom to Dire.”

“I can probably get more for you from the Council of Nine in Kondor—but then I’d have your servants hunting me down for the rest of my life.”

He’d said servants, not assassins or soldiers. Odd. “Isn’t that true of the others you take for slaves? I mean, don’t their families come to rescue them or to fight you?”

He shrugged. “A few. We deal with them. Sometimes they find themselves sold on the auction blocks as well, but I do not want Damon and Kendra—especially Kendra, upset with me for not helping you. That is a very mean person. I only buy and sell people—and now and then I kill one or two. But she is in a category all to herself.”

His statement was completely unexpected and hard to imagine. The answers must lie in when and how they had met. Yet, that made little sense because they had left Trager at the same time I had, and we’d all made our ways to Vin. When and how had they become so intimately acquainted? And why was he frightened of Kendra?

A servant approached with a pot of warm tea, in the manner it was served in the Brownlands which was poured from a metal jar that had sat outside in the sun to warm. She dipped a cup after the Slave-Master, an honor he readily accepted. Deferring also established her position as lofty enough to do so.

The servants and slaves took notice.

He lifted his in a silent toast and sipped.

I said, “You talk as if you know my servants?”

His booming laughter came again. He said, “I’ll tell you the whole story, soon. But first, I must tend to a chore.”

He motioned to the Kaon Warrior standing at his side to move nearer and issued a series of commands, all of which had to do with a reward to the man who located and returned the former prisoners. The warrior turned and departed, only to return later and take up his usual post.

The Slave-Master recounted how his men had taken Damon captive in the mountains, the challenge in the block game, and how Damon had used the rules to his benefit. He then told me of Kendra’s arrival, the dragon, and how the two of them argued over who was the most proficient in throwing knives, wrestling, and a dozen other things.

By our fourth cup of tea, both of us were laughing at his stories, of how he’d rather fight his bodyguard than Kendra, and how she had repeatedly set him up to fail in his boasts. When he bragged he had ten Kaon Warriors at his command, Kendra had sat silently, as if impressed until the dragon flew over them so low to the ground the tent nearly collapsed from the beat of the wings. She had one dragon.

The mention of the dragon reminded me that all I really knew of it came from others. Kendra and I had shared a minimal amount of information on the Gallant, but for most of the voyage, we’d tried to keep our relationship hidden. That reminded me of another person that had kept hidden: Will.

Since my capture that night on the ship, I’d neither seen nor heard from him. If he had followed me, I believed he would have let me know in some manner. He would never have allowed the bounty hunter to take me away. That reminded me of another question.

“The bounty hunter I was with? What happened to him?”

The Slave-Master said, “Ah, he had an unfortunate accident. Nothing to do with your actions, Princess. But he resisted us taking you as a slave. There was a fight, and he lost.”

I was expected in Dagger. “The Council of Nine sent for me. When I don’t arrive, they will search.”

“Good to know. Hopefully, you will be on your way long before that happens.”

“And you?” I asked.

“We will also be gone.”

“They may chase you,” I warned him.

He said softly, “They may catch me and wish they hadn’t.”

“You’ll go home to Kaon, I suppose?”

“I will.”

A thought occurred to me. He was not afraid of me and from the number of slaves he’d gathered, and the obvious wealth he displayed, the Slave-Master was rich. If he could provide an introduction, I might talk to them about a treaty. “Do you know any of the royalty of Kaon?”

“Know them? I have met a few.”

“Kaon still has a king? One not replaced by a Council?”

He hesitated.

“That is a simple question.”

He hung his head. “We have neither.”

That gave me pause, too. Other kingdoms were losing their kings and royal families to unfortunate deaths, accidents, and illness. All had been or were being replaced by councils that I believed were controlled by mages. All but Kaon. That begged the question of why.

I allowed my thinking to review what little I knew about Kaon and believed it had a king. Or it had one in the past. Now it had neither?

He let me stew before telling me, “We had a king years ago. Now we have no ruler, no council, and it seems our kingdom should fail—but instead we flourish.”

“How can that be? Without leaders to make and enforce laws, how can Kaon exist?”

“Those who kill, or steal large sums are found dead. No wounds to explain their deaths. They are simply dead. There are several cutpurses missing hands. Farmers with cattle that are found dead. A known man who set fires to buildings died in the middle of the street—by a fire that consumed him. In Kaon, we understand that breaking the civilized laws may mean immediate punishment.”

His explanation stilled my heart. It sounded like an unknown mage ruled from behind a curtain. “You are allowed to take and sell slaves without punishment?”

“There is work to be done. Roads repaired, metals mined, farms to plant and harvest.”

It sounded strange. “There are no sheriffs, constables, or army?”

“To do what? We don’t need them. People either do what is “right,” or they are punished.”

I sensed there was more, but he didn’t wish to speak about the subject. However, I felt the need to explain. “A treaty between Kaon and Dire would benefit both. The kingdoms sit beside each other and can help protect from foreign invasion.”

“Dire would do well to sign such a treaty with other kingdoms to protect itself against Kaon.”

“Kondor is expanding and threatening to swallow Dire,” I countered. “We need a partner.”

He emptied his goblet of wine in a single gulp and stood. With a last look at me before storming from the tent, he said, “Kondor is not your enemy.”