Page 90 of Dragon Strike (Age of Fire 4)

Two would be better, the Copper thought. They’ll spend their time talking to each other.

“There’s one other arrangement I’d be happy to offer for the comfort of your warriors,” the Copper said.

“What would that be?”

“Dragons, I know, hate being long away from mates and hatchlings. I suspect it is the same with demen.”

“What is propose?”

“That such of your people”—the Copper was careful to observe Gigrix’s reaction to the phrase your people—“as wish to visit and cheer your warriors may come and live at some intermediate distance where they might make the trip in a day. I’m afraid I can’t allow any of your warriors to leave their area to go visit them, but I will allow free traffic by whatever mates and spawn wish to visit. They could settle at the river ring, as long as they take care not to try to steal any griffaran eggs. What say you to that?”

“I—I give that think.”

“You do that. Evidently there is no hurry. At least Paskinix is of that opinion. Perhaps I’m not offering the right guarantees of his safety. Would you advise me on that?”

“Yes. Yes,” Gigrix said.

>“Great Queen. Yes, I do seek another dragon. But we have other matters between us. Years ago a counselor of yours promised me lands in your Dairuss province if I performed a war-service against the Wizard of the Isle of Ice, the Wyrmmaster. This I have done. I come to claim Hischhein’s bounty.”

DharSii looked a little startled at this speech.

“Well done, dragon,” the Queen said. “We are pleased. You come right to business.”

“On which point I will receive satisfaction first.”

“As to your comrade, you’ve met two-thirds of our Drakine retainers. Imfamnia still sulks in the hot springs on the western slopes, nursing her bruises.”

She put a curved speaking trumpet to her lips and pointed the bell behind her.

“Pish, a reign cup, to wash out our mouth of the dust.”

The servant hurried forward with a clay vessel over his shoulder and a thick carved horn cup in his hand. AuRon smelled hot copper and blood.

Which was what the reservoir within the clay and padding contained. It steamed in the cold air as he poured it.

“Hot calf-blood,” she said. “Will you have some, AuRon? An arrival tonguefull is all I could carry, I’m afraid.”

“I prefer mine still inside the meat,” AuRon said.

“Ah, well, yes. We suppose a full stomach in back balances all that wing weight to the front.”

She drank from the fragrant cup. AuRon noticed that it had a little channel in the lip shaped like a bird-neck that allowed her to insert it in the hole in her mask. The blood smelled warm.

“Ourselves, we hate the feeling of a gorged stomach. It makes us entirely too sleepy. Most of the digestive system is devoted to turning ordinary food into blood. We save ourselves the trouble so that we may think more clearly.”

“The Great Queen is scientifically minded,” DharSii observed.

“I’m afraid we have bad news, dragon. The lands Hischhein promised you were put under the supervision of your old friend, whose name has since been stricken from the rolls of Ghioz and become outlaw. They reverted to the Empire. Though as this had nothing to do with you, we will see to it that you are given their value in coin, though timberless grazing-slopes may not bring as much as you would like.”

“That does not sound like justice to what was promised me.”

“I’m afraid our counselor who made that promise has fallen into disfavor. I asked him to make an alliance with the Wyrmmaster, and the fool sent a dwarf to negotiate and instead made an enemy. I asked him to keep the peace on my borders and offer succor to ancient Hypatia, which sadly no longer seems able to control her destiny, to the misery of all, and instead we had war and throngs of impoverished refugees, elf, dwarf, and man. Finally he promised lands of Imperial Title in exchange for your services, dragon.”

“None of this is through fault of mine,” AuRon said.

“We will satisfy your claim. But first, satisfy our curiosity. What does a gray need with coin?”

AuRon bowed, trying to remember how the dwarves used to speak to the Ironrider princes on the plains. “Your majesty is a scholar of dragons?”

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