seymoure | "Heart of the Crown" Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Messenger Dragons

Sandor’s eyes were clear before The Count entered the circle by the fire. The man looked sure of himself; he looked like he was born to lead.

“My friends,” he began in a tone so sweet bees would have been overcome with high blood sugar, “I do not want us to be enemies. You have shown yourselves to be worthy combatants, and that is the kind of men I am always in need of, the kind of men I need to make the advances I need to make.”

Gerathio walked to Slip. “Your name is Eric Janus, but everyone calls you Slip.”

The little man did not react in the slightest.

“Your mind is always at work. You are a valiant fighter, but your ability to think on your feet is your greatest asset.”

He turned to Hawk, “We know each other slightly, but I have been won over by your commitment to this quest. You are an able warrior; but more than that, you do not know the way to surrender. That outlook makes you a valuable member of a team or a single paladin. Either way, I want you on my side.”

Hawk was looking at Slip rather than at the Count.

Count Gerathio now strode to Sandor. “You are the most amazing engine of destruction I have ever had the honor of seeing in action.”

With a flourish the man turned around and addressed all three again. “The child is about to leave for his return to the people who hired me. After that, there would be no reason for you not to join my campaign to put down the rebels in my country. Do not make a decision yet. Let the burden of the baby out of your mind. I will be returning from dropping the child in the hands of those who want him, and then you will be released on your own accord. You can join us or not. You are far enough away from my homeland that you could not be involved unless I brought you back.”

“How will you take the child back?” Sandor asked.

“How do you think we got here before you?” was the answer. “Months of travel accomplished in days?”

“Messenger dragons?” Slip advanced.

“Exactly, the only two left in the world,” Gerathio boasted. “Robez had control of the last pair of the fastest beasts in the world. Twenty men could ride each of them, but I will return with only a trio of guards. You have thinned our ranks badly.”

The Count began to walk away. “When I return, if you have joined our numbers, you will be riding the second dragon back home with us. If not, you will have to find your own way, or you will have to find your way in this remote part of the world.”

With that the man walked away and left them alone.

They could hear a few men talking around another fire, and then they heard a sound they had not heard before.

It was the beating wings and bray of a giant reptile. They heard the thing fly away.

They were left with the sound of their own fire crackling.