The dragon looked bored. It just lay there in the middle of the snow and ash, its long neck and head resting on the ground, eyes open only a slit. Somehow, it was more intimidating this way.

  Closeness was a factor, but even though he was fairly close to it now, Rudiger had been closer. No, it was the fact that it just didn’t care. The presence of this little man—and as tall as Rudiger was, he was tiny in comparison to this beast—meant nothing to it. It could swipe out and crush him with little effort.

  The last time Rudiger had seen the dragon, he had been in a fight for his life. Those kinds of situations made him think less of how intimidating or not his opponent was. But now, the dragon was supposedly not going to kill him. It could, but Lidda had commanded it not to, and it just didn’t seem to care. Rudiger meant nothing to it, despite the fact he had inflicted injuries on it previously. The dragon had no fear of him.

  It didn’t help that he was still unsteady on his feet. If the dragon did attack him, he’d never be able to get out of the way. He would just have to stand there and let it squash him, or swallow him, or whatever it chose to do. Maybe Slay’s powers would protect him somehow, but given even lifting the sword was a task at the moment, he didn’t want to put any trust in that.

  Of course, testing Slay’s abilities was exactly why he was here. At Lidda’s order, the dragon was going to breathe fire at him, but unlike the dragon attacking him physically, he was reasonably confident he would be okay. It was against the fire that the sword had protected him previously, not the dragon’s physical attacks.

  Two guards stood near him, one to either side. They wore chainmail and helmets, and carried shields, but they clearly knew none of that would be any help. They shifted positions nervously constantly, and even though they were supposed to be watching Rudiger, they frequently turned their heads to look towards the dragon. Rudiger didn’t blame them. He’d be scare shitless in their position too.

  His crutches lay on the ground at his feet, and at the moment, he held Slay with the point resting on the ground. This was the first time he’d held the sword in a month, and it was already a bit of a strain to lift and keep lifted. He’d spent too much time stuck in Felit?a’s apartments, unable to do much with his arms. He needed to somehow impress upon Lidda that he needed access to Slay or something with the same balance and weight distribution if he was to keep his upper body strength at a level to be useful to her—and, of course to eventually kill her, but he wasn’t going to tell her that part.

  Much farther back and to the side stood Lidda and a contingent of guards and courtiers. Rudiger was fairly certain the moustache man, Lama?n was with her too, though it was hard to tell from this distance. When it came to killing Lidda, she was not really the main problem. Moustache Man was. With Lidda, he just had to make sure she didn’t set him on fire. But Moustache Man was a much greater threat with his ability to throw people across the room without physical contact. And what he had done to Captain DeSelo?n...that still sent shivers down Rudiger’s spine. Plotting to kill Lidda meant getting past Lama?n first.

  Lidda yelled something, but it was unintelligible at this distance. The dragon clearly understood, though, as it opened its eyes fully and raised its head.

  Rudiger turned the sword over and raised it up, holding it out at a slight angle. “Right, here we go, boys. Hope you’re paying close attention.” Of course, he had no idea what he was doing, but he hoped he looked like he knew what he was doing. Keeping Lidda happy required that.

  The two guards looked nervously towards the dragon again, then back at Rudiger. Then, one of them turned and ran screaming.

  “No!” Rudiger called after him. “I don’t know the range of this. If you’re outside—”

  It was too late. The heat of the flames washed over him. He knew it wasn’t the full heat, but it was intense nonetheless. The flames themselves parted and licked around the invisible shield that sprung up around Rudiger and the remaining guard. He couldn’t tell if the running guard was within the shield or not, but the screaming stopped, so probably not.

  Rudiger kept Slay raised for several seconds after the flames passed. As far as he was concerned, he couldn’t be too careful here. He certainly didn’t trust the dragon not to breathe a second time without warning.

  The dragon rose to its feet and took a few steps forward.

  “Oh gods oh gods oh gods,” the remaining guard muttered.

  “Stay put,” Rudiger said. “Do not run.”

  The guard kept muttering, “Oh gods oh gods,” but didn’t move.

  The dragon stopped mere feet in front of them and reached over them with its long neck.

  Rudiger had a pretty good idea what it was doing. Gods, he’d told the kid not to run. He completely understood why the kid had done it, but still…

  There was a sickening sound—a mixture of bones crushing and metal tearing. The dragon raised its neck again. Bits of limbs stuck out of the side of its mouth as it chewed. After a moment, it turned its head to the side and spat what remained of the guard out. It must not have enjoyed the metal much. At least Rudiger had that as a consolation if it ever tried to eat him. He just had to make certain he always wore his armour.

  The dragon then turned around and wandered off a short distance before lying down again, and laying its head on the ground.

  Rudiger slowly lowered Slay and turned to face Lidda’s direction. She and her attendants were on their way over. Rudiger stuck Slay’s point in the ground again and waited. There was no way he was walking to her. He’d make her come the full way.

  Sure enough, Moustache Man was with her, walking just behind her and a little to the side. Rudiger kept his eyes on him.

  “Well?” Lidda said when she got close.

  “He...uh...he didn’t do anything, your Ladyship,” the guard said. “No words or phrases or magical incantations. No special actions I could see. All he did was lift the sword up and point it out, just like the others tried before they...uh...before they died.”

  “Why did the other one run? You were under strict orders to stay and watch him.”

  The guard gulped. “I...uh.. He just screamed and ran.”

  “He was fucking terrified, that’s why,” Rudiger said.

  Lidda held up her hand, palm directed at Rudiger. “I’m not talking to you.”

  “I...uh...think he’s right, your Ladyship,” the guard said. “He was terrified.”

  Lidda spat on the ground. “Amateurs! And what is that smell? Is that you?”

  “I...I’m sorry your Ladyship. I…”

  “Get out of my sight.”

  “Yes, your Ladyship.” The guard ran off in the direction of the Palace.

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  Lidda stomped her feet. “Gods damn incompetents!”

  “That’s your fault,” Rudiger said.

  She glared at him. “What?”

  “You killed most of the guards in your gods damned coup. Now, you’re forced to hire untrained boys with no experience. Of course he fucking shat himself. I practically did myself. And yeah, the other one ran because he was fucking terrified. His death is on you.”

  She sneered at him. “You think I care about that?”

  “No, but it doesn’t change anything.”

  She sneered again, but turned away, looking to Moustache Man. “What did you think?”

  Lama?n stroked his moustache several times before replying. Rudiger decided he would cut that thing off him when he finally killed the man.

  “It was an interesting display,” Lama?n said eventually. “It doesn’t prove anything though.”

  “How can you say that?” Lidda said. “It has power. You saw it.”

  Lama?n nodded. “Yes, I did. I didn’t deny that. But as I have told you, there were many decoy swords made as well.”

  “But it has power! It must be the true one.”

  “Do you truly think a decoy would be effective if it was powerless? The decoys had to be given some power in order to fool people into believe they were the real thing.”

  “Enough power to hold out against Ezuna’s fire?”

  Lama?n sighed and stroked his moustache again. “Admittedly, that is harder to say, but if it isn’t a decoy and is the true sword, that would mean the Delam monks have been fooled, and that is incredibly hard to believe. Their whole purpose is to protect the sword.”

  “Care to let me in on what you’re talking about?” Rudiger said.

  “No!” Lidda snapped. “Remain quiet.”

  “Actually, I wouldn’t mind asking this potential Sword-Bearer a few questions.” Lama?n walked up to Rudiger. He actually stopped stroking his moustache and pointed at Slay. “Please hand that over.”

  As much as Rudiger really wanted to tell him to fuck off, he complied. He held the hilt out, making a point to lift the sword up so it was no longer resting on the ground. He couldn’t stop Lama?n taking it, but he could make sure the man experienced the sword’s full weight.

  To Rudiger’s great amusement, Lama?n grunted as he took the sword and had to rebalance himself. He didn’t rest the sword point on the ground though, but instead turned it around and held it up to look closely at the blade. The writing on it, which had flared up from the dragon’s fire, had mostly faded again.

  “It has the etchings,” Lidda said.

  Lama?n looked over at her with a raised eyebrow. “As would all of the decoys. Neither you nor I have the knowledge or means to test the sword properly.” He turned the sword around again, and rested the point on the ground. Although he was trying to hide it, his arms were clearly strained. “Tell me, how did you come across this sword?”

  “I didn’t,” Rudiger said. “It’s been in my family for generations.”

  “Hmm, so I understand,” Lama?n said. “But when did it first pass on to you?”

  “My father passed it on to me shortly before he died.”

  “And how did he die?”

  “Bandits or thieves or something. Probably Darkers. They broke into our home while I was away. Killed my parents. Pretty sure they were looking for Slay. They didn’t take anything else.”

  “Why do you call it Slay?”

  “That’s what the family’s called it for generations. Supposedly, it had another name once, but don’t know what that was.”

  “It’s an obvious diminutive of Daemonslayer,” Lidda said.

  “Have you heard that name before?” Lama?n asked.

  “A couple of times from her,” Rudiger said. “Before her, no.”

  Lama?n sighed and stroked his moustache some more. “He has managed to become an associate of the Will-Breaker. That does strengthen the possibility he’s the Sword-Bearer.”

  “I’ve been saying as much for ages,” Lidda said.

  “But even if he is, that still does not mean this is the true Daemonslayer. However, we can’t be too cautious. Kranian and his crew are already active in Quorge. We need to make certain the Sword is kept away from the Will-Breaker.”

  Lidda gasped. “They are? Who summoned them?”

  “Aylor, I presume,” Lama?n said with a shrug, “though I don’t yet know for sure.”

  “It is too soon, surely.”

  “Most sources give this as the year, though I confess, I didn’t expect it this early in the year.”

  What the hell were these two talking about? Rudiger resisted asking though, as they would probably shut up on the topic. If he let them go on, maybe he could learn something.

  “So, how do we know for sure if this is the sword or not?” Lidda asked.

  Lama?n stood there for several seconds stroking him moustache more. “We go to Singea. Get the monks to test this one and the one they have there. It’s the only way to be certain.”

  “That would take ages,” Lidda said.

  Lama?n nodded.

  Lidda turned to one of the courtiers with her—an older man Rudiger had seen in the past, but didn’t know the name of. “How long would it take?”

  After a moment of thought, the courtier replied, “Depends a bit on the route taken and on weather conditions, but the quickest route would probably be to go by ship around the northern tip of Arnor, then south along the east coast before crossing the Lesser Ocean. Then it would be an overland trip. At an estimate, two months by ship, followed by two months overland. Alternatively, you could—”

  “That’s enough,” Lidda said waving him off. “Four months there, four months back, plus however long we remain. I can’t be gone from here for over eight months.”

  “You don’t need to go,” Lama?n said. “I’ll go myself and take the sword with me. I won’t need quite so long on my own.”

  “Absolutely not! I am not letting the sword out of my sight for that length of time, even if you’re back quicker.” She began to pace back and forth. “No, I must go too.”

  “Except, as you said, you can’t leave for that length of time. You are in a volatile period. You must be here to maintain control.”

  She held up her hand. “I’ll figure something out, but this is one area in which I am not giving you the say, and I am not backing down.”

  Lama?n lowered his hand and actually stopped pulling on his moustache. He peered down at her through narrowed eyes. “We shall see.”

  “If you’re going to pout, do it out of my sight.” She motioned to a couple of guards. “You, you, see Lord Fonivan back to his apartments.” She glared back at Lama?n. “We shall talk of this later.” Then she marched off, followed by a train of guards and courtiers.

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