Page 83 of Queen's Griffon

“Why not? Why are you torturing Avera?”

“Hardly torture,” scoffed Basil.” Just taking a few pints of blood. It won’t kill her.”

“You have no right,” Avera huffed. “You monster.”

“Is that any way to talk to your father?” Basil rebuked.

“A father doesn’t drug his daughter, tie her down, and drain her blood,” Avera spat.

Basil pursed his lips. “So dramatic. This is why you had to be restrained. I knew you’d argue, and I don’t have time or patience for that. It will be over soon and then I can get to work with it.”

“What kind of work?” Griff questioned, wondering how he could get Basil to move away from Avera.

“As if I could explain it to you. You and your father never did understand the finer intricacies of science. But I do. I just wish I’d grasped what the scrolls meant before Lance died.”

Griff stiffened. “My father is dead? How?” Having seen the hazards, he could imagine many scenarios.

“He fell into the lava.”

A reply that had Griff blinking. “How did he fall?”

“Because I pushed him.” Stated so matter of fact it took a moment before Griff processed what Basil claimed.

His jaw dropped. “Why would you do that? He was your friend. Your best friend.”

“Not after he stole my greatest achievement.” Basil’s lips twisted. “I was the one who deciphered the hidden scrolls. Who retrieved the Dracova stones. The one who worked tirelessly with them, attempting to discover their secret. Lance never understood. He kept telling me to abandon my research, and when I refused, he tossed one of the Dracova stones into the magma. Next thing I knew, not only did a dragon hatch, it bonded to your father. Not me, the one who went through all the trouble,” Basil exclaimed, waving his hands. “So, yes I pushed him into the volcano.”

“You killed my father.” Disbelief tinged his statement.

“Oh, don’t get that look. I did him a favor. His injuries pained him daily. He never fully recovered from the chunk a beetle took from his leg, and not knowing if you’d survived left him depressed. When I saw the chance, I put him out of his misery. Ipromise it was quick and painless, even if it didn’t achieve what I’d hoped.”

“What did you think you’d gain killing my father?” Griff growled through gritted teeth.

“I’d assumed death would break the bond between him and the beast that should have been mine. I thought with him gone the dragon would latch onto someone new. Only instead, it became completely uncontrollable. I didn’t understand why until I read something in that scroll.” Basil pointed to a table layered in paper. “It said only the blooded can speak with the dragons. Whatever that means, it must have applied to your father, hence why the dragon eventually allowed him to get close.”

“What does this have to do with Avera and what you’re doing?” Griff queried tersely. He didn’t like seeing the jar that was filling with blood.Herblood.

“Because she is Voxspira. The oldest lineage ever recorded and the guardians of the Dracova stones. Or more aptly, the Dracova eggs. I saw how the dragon looked at her, not with its usual malice. I knew then she was the one I needed.”

Avera had been listening and scoffed. “You’re insane. My blood isn’t special, and it most certainly can’t tame a dragon.”

“Don’t be so sure of that. I already ran a test while you were asleep.”

“Don’t you mean drugged?” she spat.

Basil ignored her. “I placed you somewhere the beast would notice and then observed at a safe distance. It didn’t take long for the dragon to emerge and sniff you.”

“You put your own daughter out as bait?” Griff yelled. “What is wrong with you?”

“I had to be sure. Hence the experiment,” stated a very unapologetic Basil.

“So what if it smelled me? That means nothing,” Avera rebutted. “I reek. It most likely thought me rotted.”

“You aren’t the first unbathed person I presented to it. It killed everyone else I tried that experiment with. It recognized something in you, hence why you’re alive.”

“Wait, are you saying you’ve murdered others?” Griff wanted to scream but it emerged almost as a whisper. Who was this man? Because Griff didn’t recognize him.

“Murdered is a harsh word.” Basil’s lips pursed. “They were sacrificed in the name of science, and in a sense, for the good of others. Fewer people meant more food for the rest of us.”

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