Blood of Dragons

The creature dared to knot his fists as he advanced on his knees. Ellik jerked on the leash he held and the Elderling gave a wordless cry of pain. Ellik spurned him casually with a booted foot, pushing him over on his side. The creature glared up at him. The Chancellor set his boot on the chained Elderling’s throat and for a moment the Duke recognized the warrior Ellik had once been.

‘You had best find some courtesy, Elderling, or I will teach you some myself.’ Ellik spoke severely, but the Duke wondered if it was truly out of respect for him, or if he wanted to silence the creature before his ‘gift’ could deny his bloodlines again. It didn’t matter. The fine scaling, the blue colouration, even the gleaming eyes proved he was not human. A clever lie, to pretend his father was Chalcedean. Clever as a dragon, as the saying went.

‘How long have you been ill?’ the Duke demanded again.

‘I don’t know.’ The Elderling had lost his defiance. He did not look up at the Duke as he spoke. ‘It is hard to tell the passage of time from inside a dark ship’s belly. But I was already ill when they sold me, and sick when the pirates took the ship I was on. For a time, they feared to touch me, and not just because of my appearance.’ He coughed again, curling inward where he lay.

‘He is down to bone,’ the Duke observed.

‘Such, I believe, is their natural shape,’ Ellik suggested cautiously. ‘To be long and thin like that. There are some few images of them in old scrolls that depict them that way. Tall and scaled.’

‘Has he fever?’

‘He is warmer perhaps than a man, but again, such may be the way of his kind.’

‘I am sick!’ the creature declared again, with more force. ‘I’ve lost flesh, I cannot take a deep breath, and yes, I burn with fever. Why do you care to ask me such questions? Will you or will you not let me send word to those who would ransom me? Ask what you wish for me; I wager it will be paid.’

‘I do not eat the flesh of sick animals,’ the Duke said coldly. He fixed his gaze on Ellik. ‘Nor do I appreciate having one brought into my presence, to give off contagious vapours. Perhaps you meant well, Chancellor, but this does not fulfil your portion of our agreement.’

‘Your Excellency,’ Ellik acceded. He had to agree, but there was the slightest bit of stiffness in his voice. ‘I apologize for inflicting his presence on you. I will remove him immediately from your sight.’

‘No.’ The Duke gathered his wits carefully. The tiny sample of flesh that Ellik had given him weeks ago had been invigorating. For almost two days after he had consumed it, he had digested his other food well, and been able even to stand and walk a few steps unaided. Then the sense of well-being had passed and his weakness had returned. So the flesh of a dragon-man had not cured him, but it had given him strength for a few days. He narrowed his eyes, appraising. The creature was valuable, and to disappoint Ellik too much at this juncture would be a serious mistake. He needed to accept the Elderling as a gift, to let Ellik feel he remained high in his favour. He knew that Ellik’s strength was what currently supported his throne. But he must not give too much power over to the Chancellor. He could not yet surrender his daughter to him in marriage. For once Ellik had got a belly on the daughter, what need would he have of the father?

The Duke pondered his options, taking his time, not caring how his guardsmen shifted in the heat or how Ellik’s face darkened with shame and perhaps anger. He considered the Elderling. One could become ill from eating a sick animal. But a sick animal could be cured and become useful again. The Elderling’s vitality seemed strong even if he was ailing. Perhaps he could be cured.

He considered putting the creature in Chassim’s care. Among his women, her skills as a healer had been well known, and it would certainly keep Ellik off-balance. At present, his daughter was securely confined and isolated. Daily she sent messages to him, demanding to know what she had done, to be treated so. He had not replied to any of them. The less she knew, the fewer weapons she had to turn against him. The Elderling would have to be confined in similar circumstances to keep him safe and reserve him for his sole use. And he certainly would not entrust his care to his bumbling healers. They had not been successful in healing him; why give them the chance to sicken this creature further? Pure jealousy that the Chancellor had procured for him what they had not might lead them to poison the dragon-man.