Page 94 of The Death King
The fog is very dense, and one can never be too careful. When you’re this close to the mountain, who knows what you might run into.
“Can you still feel the dragon’s mind?”
Yes. It’s a distant haze. He’s trying very hard to deflect me.
“Can you say something to him?”
Not when his mind is closed off like this. The closer I get, the easier it’ll become to break through his defenses. But I’m wary of doing that because it’s very rude.
“Rude?”
It would be like someone walking through your front door after you chose not to answer. Very rude.
“Then you think this is the best way to go about this.”
I don’t see another option.
“It just seems like a bad idea to force someone to talk who doesn’t want to talk. And then to ask them for a huge favor…”
Perhaps he’ll feel differently once he realizes we mean him no harm. We’ve spoken to him before, so he understands we aren’t a threat to him. If he refuses to help us, we wouldn’t share his location with anyone. We wouldn’t force him to serve.
“Can you even force a dragon?”
Yes—with dark magic.
I remembered Talon mentioning that before. It was different from the source of his power as a necromancer. “How does dark magic work?”
Shamans use it to break in to a dragon’s mind and force them to yield.
“Shamans?”
Vile creatures.
“I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
Because they don’t occupy these lands—thankfully.
Even though I wasn’t a target of the shamans, I felt a shiver anyway. To have your mind stolen from you for nefarious purposes was disturbing.
Inferno knows we’re the good guys.
“The good guys?” I couldn’t restrain the scoff.
We mean no harm to dragons and wish to free those in captivity, is what I mean.
“And the way to do that is by putting innocent people in captivity… Got it.”
Khazmuda stared at me, his dark eyes devoid of expression.
I’d said what I said and wouldn’t take it back. I stood my ground—for better or worse.
Talon returned to the clearing, his cape lifting in the breeze that blew through. “The mountain is surrounded by marshes, which makes a mountain cave a good choice for a home. That must be where he resides. We just have to find the cave.”
“Should be hard to miss, right?” I asked. “If it’s big enough for a dragon.”
“Khazmuda, the fog should start to burn off in an hour. Glide around the mountain and search for the cave. Whatever you do, don’t land.”
I understand. Khazmuda stepped away then opened his wings to take off. He launched into the sky and disappeared.