The Balborite Curse (Book 4) (16 page)

“It’s not that simple,” Tallin explained. “It’s impossible to force a female dragon to mate. So many newborns were slaughtered during the war—the remaining females became too afraid to nest. Dragon fertility is a mystery, even to the dragons themselves.”

“Well, how about the dragons living with the elves? What’s stopping them? They’re safe over there. Those females could start laying eggs.”

“No, unfortunately, they can’t. Elf magic suppresses dragon fertility. A she-dragon will be unable to produce any eggs while she remains within Brighthollow’s borders.”

“Well, that’s a bunch of silly nonsense. Why don’t they just come back to the desert and lay their eggs there? They can always go back to Brighthollow later.”

Tallin pursed his lips and shot Duskeye a despairing look. Mating behavior was an unseemly topic to discuss around the dragons themselves, but Pinda carried on as though it was the most innocent conversation in the world.

Chua sensed his discomfort and spoke up. “Pinda, this is a delicate subject to discuss. Before a female will nest, she must choose a suitable male, and she-dragons are very particular about their mates. Dragon females must be courted first. Before the war, it was not unusual for a female to reject dozens of suitors before deciding on one. With so few males and females left, it makes all of this rather… challenging.”

“Why, they’re a lot like us women, then!” Pinda laughed. “Even when there’s nothing to choose from, we’re still a picky bunch. Maybe the easiest solution would be to encourage the she-dragons not to be so particular!”

Tallin smiled, despite himself. He liked this woman.

“Has anyone of you found any dragons recently?” asked Pinda.

“No, not for several years. Duskeye and I search the desert constantly, but we haven’t had much luck finding other survivors, I’m afraid,” Tallin said.

Pinda patted Tallin’s shoulder reassuringly, “Well, don’t lose hope. Those dragons are very clever. I’m certain there’s more, hidden out there somewhere! Maybe you just didn’t look hard enough.”

Tallin felt a dark flush creeping over his cheeks. Pinda continued to smile. She hadn’t intended for her words to sound condescending, but they did, and he cringed inwardly. “I assure you, Pinda, we’ve never stopped searching.”

A short distance away, Starclaw snorted loudly and jiggled her head. Tallin glanced over at the she-dragon curiously, waiting for her to speak, but she remained silent.

Pinda went on. “That’s good! Don’t give up! I’d so love to see the sky filled with dragons again... before I die.” She whispered the last part, but everyone heard. Pinda sniffed, dabbing her eyes with her tattered sweater.

Tallin cleared his throat. He knew it was a good time to change the subject. “Are either of you hungry? Chua set out fresh food for us.” He pointed to several bowls nearby. There was a variety of nuts, pears, plums, and plates of sliced vegetables to choose from. “There’s no meat, but everything is quite fresh. It will strengthen you both.”

Marron, who had been silent until now, tugged anxiously at his mother’s sleeve. “Can I, Mum? I’m really hungry.”

“Go ahead,” she replied. Marron grabbed handfuls of food and ate ravenously. He paused for a moment, looking at his mother. “Aren’t ye gonna eat anythin’, Mum?”

Pinda regarded the bowls dejectedly. Nothing looked appetizing to her now. “I feel a bit dowly, but I’ll try to eat a little bit.” Pinda selected a small plum and sank down on the grass to eat. Despite her layered clothing, one could see that she was rail-thin. Pinda’s illness curbed her appetite, and she nibbled at the plum, taking only tiny bites.

“Pinda, I know that you don’t feel well, but I need to ask you about the kidnappers,” said Tallin.

“Just a moment, please.” She turned to her son. “Marron, see that firewood over there?” She pointed to a pile of uncut logs. “These nice folks need help splitting and stacking it. Now run along and make yourself useful.” She swatted him playfully.

“All right,” said Marron. He tucked a few plums into his pocket and jogged over, grabbing an axe jutting from a stump. He started chopping wood immediately, thankful for something to do.

Once Marron was out of earshot, Pinda nodded. “Go on, then. I knew this was coming sooner or later.”

“I’ve already questioned your husband. Tell us your version of what happened,” said Tallin.

Pinda inhaled deeply. “Please understand… Endrell, he’s not a bad man. I’m dying—you can see it. Endrell was desperate to find a cure. Marron’s a hard worker, and he never complains about anything, but his mind’s like a toddler’s and it isn’t ever going to get any better. I love my son, but I worry about his future, especially now that Endrell got himself in trouble.”

“So you know why we came to find you?” asked Tallin.

Pinda nodded. “I figured it out. The bounty hunters talked a lot, and they didn’t seem overly worried about us overhearing what they said. They were always planning to kill us, whether Endrell settled his debts or not. They’re bad people, those outlanders.”

“Start at the beginning, and tell me everything that happened. How did Endrell start smuggling in the first place?”

Pinda sighed. “We needed money. When my husband found out I was dying, he went crazy trying to find a cure. I begged him to just accept our fate, but he wouldn’t listen. Everyone told him that there wasn’t any hope for me, and we should just enjoy the time we had left. But Endrell kept searching for someone who would give him the answer he wanted. He found some sleazy Shadow Grid mage that promised a cure, but the mage wanted twenty silver crowns to make a healing potion. It may as well have been a hundred crowns—for all we could afford it! Endrell gave up for a while after that, but then, those two bounty hunters came to Starryford, and Endrell talked to them.”

“Tell me about the outlanders. Don’t leave out any details, no matter how trivial.”

“When the outlanders first came to Starryford, they rode in flashing empire coin—stomping around like real braggarts. They didn’t hide the fact that they were bounty hunters, and everyone could see the blue tattoos on their necks.”

“What happened next?” asked Tallin.

“They snooped around the marina for days, then made a few shady deals to transport some goods. They stayed in town for a fortnight, causing trouble and spending lots of money. Well, Endrell found out about all their money, and he went to see them, begging for work. When my husband came back home that night, he told me that our problems were over. Endrell never told me what he agreed to do—I only found out about the smuggling after the kidnappers took us.”

“How did they capture you?” asked Tallin.

“The outlanders came to town in the middle of the night and banged on our door. I refused to open it, but they kicked the door down like it was nothing. Marron tried to defend me, but he’s never fought anyone in his life. They smacked him down fast. Then they tied us up, and took us to Hwīt Rock in a covered wagon. Even though they had our faces covered, I could tell that’s where we were going because of the sounds coming from the dock. There’s a horn at Hwīt Rock they use when the coastline is foggy. I recognized the sound.”

“Did you overhear them talking after you were captured?”

“Aye, a lot. I fainted a few times, but I remember most of what they said. Most of the time, they just sat around drinking and telling bawdy jokes, but sometimes they talked about business. They all worked for Druknor. Apparently, their boss is buying gemstones and smuggling them all over the continent. Even the elf queen has purchased a lot of them, or so they said. Druknor skims his profit off the top, keeping the biggest chunk for himself.”

“Did they mention what Druknor was doing with the money?”

“No,” she replied. “They did talk about the dwarf clans, though—they had a lot of nasty opinions about them. The dwarves need money fast—they’re hoarding coin in order to finance a war against their rebels, or something like that—I can’t recall all the details.” She rubbed her temples.

Tallin could tell that she was exhausted, and he decided to cut the interview short. “Thank you, Pinda, that information is very helpful.”

He looked over at Marron. The boy was still chopping firewood, whistling happily to himself. “Do you think your son remembers anything?”

She shook her head. “No, I doubt it. The bounty hunters roughed him up pretty good—knocked him unconscious twice. I told him to just stay quiet and pretend to be asleep, so they would leave him alone.”

Pinda looked off into the distance and then down at her shoes. She twisted her thumb into the fabric of her frayed sweater. “Endrell’s not coming back, is he?” she whispered.

Tallin felt pity for this woman, but he would not lie to her. “No, Pinda. Despite his noble motives, your husband committed a serious crime. He smuggled kudu oil into Parthos—enough to kill hundreds of people. King Rali takes a dim view of smugglers, and he’s the one who will decide your husband’s sentence.” It was a harsh truth.

Pinda’s chin trembled. “Endrell only did it to save me.” Tears welled up in her eyes.

Tallin’s expression revealed what Pinda already knew. “I’m sorry, Pinda… I have no words of comfort for you.” She covered her face with her hands and sobbed.

Tallin walked away, feeling defeated. There was nothing he could do for this poor woman, except offer her a safe place to die.

He gritted his teeth in helpless frustration. These two people weren’t Druknor’s first victims, nor would they be his last.

Tallin walked over to Chua and sat down, calling Duskeye and Starclaw over so they could speak privately. They all sat down in a circle on the grass. Tallin kept his voice low. “Chua, do you still have contacts in the Shadow Grid?”

“A few. Some of the older journeymen remember me. Falenrith leads the southern guild, and I know him well enough.”

“Good. Could you send Falenrith a messenger? Marron and Pinda have an active bounty on their heads, and I need to take them to a safe house while I figure out what to do about Druknor.”

“Of course, I would be happy to help, but they’re also welcome to stay here.”

Tallin’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Are you certain? It isn’t too much of an imposition for you?”

Chua laughed. “Of course not. I may look frail, but I’m still a capable spellcaster. No harm shall come to them here, as long as they remain within these groves.”

Tallin hadn’t thought of that possibility. Despite his ill health, Chua had lived independently for years. He managed well enough on his own. “Whatever you wish, Chua. I’ll defer to your judgment.”

“Where will you go now?” he asked.

“I’m going to the Highport Mountains.” 

“The rebel dwarf colony?” 

“Yes, and I’ll be going alone. Duskeye, I want you to fly me to the Orvasse River, and I’ll book passage from there. I have a friend in Highport—she doesn’t know it yet, but she’s going to help me bring down Druknor. I’m going to stop him, once and for all.”

“Good! It’s about time we did something about that old snake! Druknor’s underlings have been causing trouble up and down the Orvasse River for years.”

Tallin sighed. “I know that now. The years following the war were difficult for everyone, especially the dragon riders. There was so much for us to do—so many people needed our help. With so many other pressing issues to attend to, we turned a blind eye to Druknor’s shady business dealings. But no longer. By the gods—I swear that Druknor’s rule in the north is over.”

Duskeye looked confused. "
If you are going to travel alone, what should I do here?"

“You, my friend, are going to search for females. Just use your nose. This is your chance to find a wild female and not be bothered with all the duties that come with being my partner.”

"It
’s a waste of time. We’ve searched high and low and haven’t found any wild dragons in years."

“Don’t be so hasty. Between Haluk and Pinda, we’ve already heard two accounts of wild females nesting in the south—something I never thought possible. Let me deal with Druknor—I want you to stay here and search.”

Duskeye rolled his eyes in exasperation.
"Fine! I
’ll do it—but I’m telling you, it’s useless. Those stories are years old. There’s no chance that any of those females survived."

Starclaw, silent up until now, cackled loudly. "
Young fool! You should heed the advice of your rider!"

Duskeye swung around in shock. Starclaw had never spoken to him like this,
ever
. What did she know? "
Tell me, sister."

Starclaw stretched herself up to her full height. Despite her injuries, she was still a beautiful creature, and as an emerald dragon, she towered over Duskeye by at least a third. "
Your rider is right
—you are a hasty fool. Do not disregard my counsel, if you want to save our kin."

Duskeye and Tallin both gasped. The very possibility of females nearby made Duskeye
’s heart beat faster.

"Listen to me, Duskeye. You are still healthy enough for mating; I can smell it."
She leaned down and started a careful, sniffing inspection of Duskeye
’s body. "
My body is broken, but I recognize the musk of a bull-dragon as well as any female. The mating game is a game for the young, and you are already past your prime
… but who knows? With so few males to choose from, you might get lucky."