Flamecaster (Shattered Realms #1)(108)

“Flamecaster.” Ash frowned. “Wasn’t that your street name in Delphi?”

Jenna nodded. “I . . . picked it because I was always setting fire to things and blowing things up.”

“Is that new? The voices?”

She nodded. “It’s always been images before.”

“Could it have something to do with the fighting in Delphi? Maybe your gift is letting you know about somebody in trouble.”

She shrugged. “Or I’m losing my mind. Anyway. Tell me about the emissary’s weapon.”

Ash took a fortifying gulp of wine. “I didn’t actually see it myself, but I’m told that it’s a dragon.”

“A dragon?” Jenna’s voice rose. “But . . . there’s no such thing?” She said this in the form of a question, as if she were no longer sure what was real and what was fantasy.

“That’s what I thought, too,” Ash said. “But Lord Botetort saw it—he was all excited about it, in fact, and he has the imagination of a slug.”

“How big was it?”

“They said that it was the size of a horse, but, you know, built differently. Strangward said it was young, and not fully grown—that a fully grown dragon would be too big to transport by ship.” He paused. “It’s being kept in the hold, and Lila said that it looked like it was sick.”

“It was sick?” Planting her feet on the floor, she leaned forward, her hands on her knees. “What do you mean? What was wrong with it?”

“I’m just going by what Lila said. She said it was listless. Strangward said that it was fine, that it always sleeps a lot when it’s had a large meal.”

Jenna pressed the heels of her hands against her temples, as if her head was in danger of splitting apart. She seemed to be getting more and more agitated as the conversation went on.

“Are you all right?” Ash said. “What’s the matter?”

“I don’t know,” Jenna whispered, fingering the magemark on the back of her neck. “It just seems like there’s something about dragons, something I should remember. Something that’s burned into my bones.” Her eyes were glazed, her breathing quick and shallow, and Ash guessed that images were flying through her mind.

He waited until her eyes refocused a bit, then said, “Could you have foreseen that the empress meant to trade a dragon for you? Is that why it’s familiar?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. Anyway. What does the king want with a dragon?”

“What he really wants is an army of mages,” Ash said. “That’s what the empress promised. Strangward is trying to persuade the king to accept a dragon as a kind of down payment or deposit so he can take you back with him. He claims that dragons could be useful in the war, to carry soldiers, and incinerate cities, that sort of thing.” It was an effort to keep his voice matter-of-fact. “Botetort was convinced, anyway. He was practically salivating, asking if he could have more than one.”

“What did Lieutenant Karn have to say about the dragon? Did he see it?”

Ash nodded. “He saw it. He didn’t say much, either way.” He paused. “What did you think of Strangward?”

“He’s such a mingle and a mix, he’s hard to read. My gut tells me he’s dangerous, he’s scared, and he’s telling a big, big lie.”

“I don’t believe him, either,” Ash said, “but he brought a big sackful of diamonds to prove he was in earnest.”

She rubbed her chin. “I wish I could get my hands on him.”

“What?” Ash’s stomach clenched.

She grinned at him. “Easy there, Wolf. Sometimes I have to touch a person to get a reading.” She paused. “So—what do you think? Is this going to happen?”

Ash shrugged unhappily. “He’s gone to a lot of time and trouble to get to this point. The empress must really want this deal.”

“There’s a solution,” Jenna said. “What if I died before the exchange is made?”

“What? No!” Ash felt a twinge of guilt, recalling his conversation with Lila. “That is not a solution.”

“Think about it,” Jenna said. “The only thing worse than the king we have now is a king with a dragon and a whole new army.”

“No one is asking you to—”

“You don’t need to ask. I’m volunteering,” Jenna said. “Thousands of Patriots have died, fighting for freedom. It’s a chance to do my part.” Her voice trembled a bit.

Ash cast about for options. “What if the dragon dies instead? Then Strangward has nothing to trade.”

“No,” Jenna said, lifting her chin.

“I don’t like it either, but when it comes to a choice between—”

“Look,” Jenna said. “If the dragon dies, it just delays things. The empress can always ship over another one. Besides, from what you said, Montaigne is really looking for an army. What we need to do is prevent Montaigne from forming an alliance with this empress, whoever she is.”

“A delay would help,” Ash said. “With a little time, the king could die. Or you might escape.”

“That’s a prayer or a wish,” she said. “It’s not a plan.”