Page 47 of Dragon Heir

“Then the sneak was hiding on purpose,” Vargas sneered.

A faint smile slipped onto Will’s lips. “There’s no need for concern. We met some of the Tenky at the end of our journey and I instructed them to search the woods for the human. They should find him very-”

“I said let me go!”

The shout came from outside. We all scrambled to our feet and raced to the windows overlooking the front yard. A couple dozen Tenky drove down the driveway and thick vines were wrapped around their handlebars. The other end of the vines was wrapped around the flailing figure of a man whom they dragged behind them. The vines protected him from the worst of the ground rub but his hair was disheveled and his clothes were both torn and sullied.

“Let go of me, you monsters!” he yelled at his captors.

A crooked smile curled onto Will’s lips. “It appears we have a guest.” He grasped my hand and his eyes twinkled down at me. “Let us go greet him.”

We hurried outside and were in time to meet the Tenky at the threshold between the lawn and the gravel driveway. They drove up and passed us, stopping only when the man reached our position. The stranger took one look at us and his eyes widened. He flailed harder in their tight bonds.

“Release me at once, you fiends!” he insisted.

Sir Slechtic was the leader of the kidnapping party and he looked to Will. “Is this who you’re looking for?”

Will’s attention fell on me. “Is this the man you saw through the window of the pub?”

I squinted my eyes at the disheveled figure before I finally nodded. “He looks like the guy.”

“I am no one to you!” the man protested as he squirmed in the tight binds.

“Where did you discover him?” Will questioned our short visitors.

“He was slinking around in the woods behind the village,” Slechtic told us as he stared in disgust at the man. “The slimy worm tried to run when we shouted at him but he didn’t get far.” A twittering of laughter rose from the hunting party and was silenced only by their leader’s stern gaze. He looked up at Will. “So you want to keep him?”

Will nodded. “Release him but stay close. We wouldn’t wish for him to leave without a proper goodbye.”

Slechtic saluted and twisted around to catch the eyes of his people. “Let him go!”

The Tenky tapped the vines on their handlebars and the plants withered and shrank into the leaves behind their seats. The man didn’t wait but the moment he was free he tried to make a break for it. He scrambled to his feet and took off toward the woods, but Allard stuck out a long leg. The man tripped and fell face-first onto the grass. He tried to get up but we surrounded him.

The stranger flipped onto his back and shrank beneath our accusing glares. “W-why are you doing this to me? How have I wronged you?”

“Are you Donald Wrecan?” Will questioned him.

The man winced before he nodded. “That is my name, and you must be Lord Thorn. I thought from the words of the locals that you were kind and gentle, but now I see that they were terribly wrong.”

“If they are wrong then it’s because your snake tongue poisoned their minds against me,” Will countered.

The man feigned surprise. “Me? Whatever do you mean?”

“What brought you to this area if not to stir up trouble?” Ware spoke up.

Wrecan shook his head. “I didn’t come here for any nefarious purpose. I was told this place was a fount of natural beauty and the people were very friendly.”

Vargas crossed her arms over her chest and scoffed. “Friendly enough that they opened their homes to you and you tried to turn them against their lord.”

His eyebrows crashed down. “You have no proof of that! Show me your proof or let me leave!”

Will nodded at the Tenky who waited on the sidelines for any commands. “I could have my friends here fetch any farmer you spoke with and they will tell us what you told them.”

A little bit of color drained from the man’s face but he stuck his chin in the air. “I will deny any false accusation against me! I will demand a fair trail of-”

Will bent down and wrapped his hand around the man’s throat. Wrecan let out a startled squeak as Will lifted him off the ground and held the captured man so they were face-to-face. Their height difference meant Wrecan’s feet dangled a few inches above the ground.

The stranger grabbed Will’s hand with both of his and tried to pry himself free. “Release me! You have no right to-”

---