After a brief, shocked silence as the clouds gathered overhead, wails rose from piles of brick and wood. This screaming was drowned out when those clouds unleashed their torrential bounty upon the slums. I stood there as the rain fell, washing away this affront not only to me personally, but to all dragonkind.

  Chapter 16 - A New Nico

  All that remained for several blocks in each direction was a desolate wasteland of rubble and debris. My might had transformed the once sprawling slum into a graveyard of crushed dreams and memories. If there were any humans I could feel sympathy for, it would have been these who’d been cast off by their own kind. And who now suffered because of the foolishness of many of those who’d ignored them.

  They lived in the shadow of the castle, trading freedom for protection. Such was not the dragon way, but it was a good lesson—seeing how humans were so willing to trade independence for safety. If presented with proper rulers, the dragons of Ileria, they would have no trouble falling under my rule.

  I towered over the devastation, my scales gleaming in the aftermath of the purifying rain. The remnants of the human forces that had attacked me lay scattered, broken, and in many cases, lifeless. I felt the weight of hundreds of eyes upon me, watching from hidden corners just beyond the constrained reach of the storm I’d unleashed.

  Amongst a host of innocents, those who had survived my wrath were too fearful to move or make a sound. Perhaps they thought that the fury of the storm was so intense that I wouldn’t be able to see them. If that was the case, they were woefully ignorant of my capabilities. This storm was but an outward reflection of the one which raged inside me.

  For a moment, I was lost to the thrill of my triumph. But then the realization hit me—the extent of the damage I had wrought was far more than I had intended. I had wanted to assert my dominance, not devastate an entire section of the city. In my rage, I had lost sight of my original goal.

  While the humans had indeed provoked me, the devastation I’d caused affected hundreds who had not been party to their sins. How many innocents had lost their lives, caught in my storm's fury? Shaking my head, I tried to clear my mind and refocus.

  My primary concern was Cami. I reached out with my senses, trying to feel her through our bond. The sensation of loyalty I felt was still strong, though now tinged with a touch of anxiety. She must have felt the cataclysmic forces I had unleashed.

  As my fury waned, so too did the storm.

  Taking flight, I quickly made my way back to the castle. As I flew, the storm I had let loose began to spread, casting a gloomy shadow over the capital. Wind howled and the clouds released their rain in a downpour, dousing flames and washing away the ashes with the remnants of my wrath.

  Vox caught up to me in the air as we rose high above the clouds.

  “Nico?”

  “Human slavers attacked me,” I growled. “Things got out of hand.”

  I didn’t wait for her reply but dove straight for the courtyard outside the castle. As I’d expected, archers and mages lined the walls—but Galbrecht and Lisella were also there.

  I came to a stop in the air, hovering over the castle walls. “Do we still have a truce?” I hissed.

  Lisella shook her head. “You make messes wherever you go, Nico. Just answer me this… what happened?”

  I explained about the attack and what they’d been shouting at me. We discussed the matter only for a moment before Lisella bowed and pledged that neither the King nor anyone in her family had anything to do with this assault.

  After further assurances, I landed. After I’d transformed into my human form. They led me inside the castle.

  Galbrecht frowned at me as we walked down the hall. “You’ve grown quite a bit stronger since we met. I hope that strength is being tempered with wisdom. You are likely to get such a response from some of the nobility. Luckily, the King believes it is far better to ally with you than to make him your enemy.”

  He paused, stopping in the hall. “But I suppose humanity are already your enemies, aren’t we? This is only a truce.”

  I, too, stopped and turned, but then shrugged. “It is what it is. I won’t forget those who opposed me or supported the enslavement of my kind. Nor will I forget those who allied themselves with me. The final tally is still to be counted.”

  We continued walking and soon I was at Cami’s room. When I walked in, she still lay in bed, but was sitting up. She looked stronger, even if whatever injury that kept her from being able to use her legs still afflicted her.

  Checking the bond, I sensed she was a bit agitated. Under that there was a sense of excitement combined with an odd hesitation.

  “What happened?” she asked. “No one would tell me what was going on and I was afraid to interrupt you in the middle of a fight.”

  “Some humans objected to me freeing the enslaved dragons,” I replied. “They attacked me and paid the price for their crimes.”

  I now spoke dispassionately of what had happened, conscious that I had let my emotions get the better of me. I truly didn’t feel anything about killing the humans who had attacked me. But having been driven from my home, I was sympathetic to the humans in the slums whose homes were now piles of debris.

  Cami asked me a few questions, which I answered.

  At one point, Lisella interjected, “The theory right now is that it was a nobleman named Baron Thistle who organized the attack. Nothing points to him directly, but that is being further investigated.”

  “I will hold your uncle responsible until he can provide me definitive proof that it was someone else.” I turned cold eyes on the priestess. “And even then, he bears some of the responsibility. A leader is always responsible for what their minions do.”

  Her face grew pale as I spoke, but Lisella quickly gathered herself. “You’ve become accustomed to command a bit faster than I would like. Galbrecht and I have a lifetime of training in leadership, so please listen to our council. We all want the same thing here.”

  “I was born to leadership. It is my birthright as a dragon.”

  “Baron Thistle probably believes the same thing,” was her quick reply. “If you ever listened to me about anything, Nico, listen to me now. Nobles or dragons may be powerful and have the right of rule by birth, but that right carries with it a responsibility.”

  I used her favorite human facial expression on her, allowing an arched eyebrow to express my skepticism—though my silence also told her I would hear her out.

  “You talk about how Ileria belongs to dragons?” Both sleek blonde caterpillars above her eyes crept towards her hairline. “Well, then where are the dragons? Why aren’t they taking care of the planet? Owning something means caring for it, safeguarding it, and driving out invaders. Obligation and authority go hand in hand.”

  “As though some uppity monkey’s authority could be compared to a dragon’s. Most of these so-called nobles haven’t lived as long as I have—and by my natural age, I’d barely be considered an adult.”

  Lisella let out an exasperated sigh. “You sound like too many nobles I grew up with. You didn’t bother responding to the core of what I just said, you simply asserted your natural right.”

  She huffed again, planting her fists on her hips. “Dragons may be Ileria’s rightful rulers. So what? What will it matter if you rule over a dead world which has been sucked dry by the horrors?”

  I was standing beside Cami, but something about Lisella’s challenge agitated me. I started to step toward the priestess, but Cami’s hand suddenly clasped my arm.

  Inside my head, I heard her voice. “Remember, patience. You said you wanted to take more time to think things through, rather than being controlled by your instincts.”

  I was annoyed by the reminder of my own words, but I didn’t jerk my arm free. My annoyance was mostly because I knew Cami was right. So, instead of telling Lisella that I still hadn’t decided how many human leaders I was going to leave alive after we dealt with the horrors, I simply nodded and said, “I’ll think on your words.”

  Then I ignored her and turned back to Cami.

  “Your soul feels different. To my Soul Seer ability it looks… somehow… less human than it did before.”

  “Nico…” Lisella began to say, but Cami cut her off.

  “I’m glad you could tell. It cost me most of my DKP, but I gained a new ability,” my bonded explained. Then, she shared the description with me.

  Soul Surgery. Cost: 150 DKP.

  Soul Surgery: This ability is a natural extension of your Soul Forger class combined with your bond to a dragon. Soul Surgery allows you to do with living beings much as your class allows you to do with the items you craft. You now have the chance to restore soul damage to yourself or others. Working on your own soul will ever be more difficult than working on others. The ability includes a limited form of Soul Seer, to enable you to see what you’re working on. You may use Soul Surgery in conjunction with your Soul Forger class to create soul bonded items for others using slivers of their souls.

  Note: With this ability, you can now perform soul grafts.

  “That sounds impressive,” I said, “but why are you still in bed?”

  Cami then explained about the curse and how I had passed a tiny bit of it on to her when the lich had attacked her while controlling my bones. She’d realized that dragon souls—or at least my soul—possessed a resistance to the curse. My bonded theorized that it had something to do with me being a Balance Warden, but also that it might be something to do with why I was so different from other dragons we encountered. A spike of unease surge within me, talking about such things in front of Lisella, so Cami quickly dropped it.

  But then I asked, “So, were you trying to shape your soul to be more like a dragon’s?”

  She ducked her head, blushing. “Yes, but it’s… difficult.”

  I felt a bolt of inspiration, but then the weight of what I was considering settled on me. I carefully considered the idea for a moment as time seemed to stand still. “What if you grafted a piece of my soul onto yours?” I eventually asked. “Would that make it easier?”

  Lisella gasped. “Nico, souls were created by the gods. You can’t just combine two of them.”

  I spun to face her. “None of your gods created dragons,” I snapped. “We were here before the gods tried to usurp our authority on this world. We were here long before you humans… before elves, or dwarves, or any of the other lesser races.”

  “How could you possibly know that? You keep hinting some source of knowledge, but if you can prove those assertions, it would alter everything we know about Ileria.”

  “Ask your goddess. She knows. After what she tried to pull when was weakened and needed an ally, she owes me enough that she should provide an explanation.”

  “What did my goddess…”

  I held up a hand to cut her off. “ For now, you need to leave. Thank you for trying to heal Cami, but my bonded and I have things to discuss which are not for human ears—actually, never mind. I’m taking Cami with me.”

  Then, I leaned down and scooped Cami up in my arms. She was grinning ear to ear as she threw her arms around my neck.

  “I’ll return tomorrow morning. Hopefully, your uncle can provide me with proof he isn’t my enemy. Make sure all of the formerly enslaved dragons are ready to go and do whatever Lady Vox instructs you to. Oh, and tell your uncle that I expect him to provide transportation to all of those humans whose homes were destroyed.”

  Lisella suddenly seemed more flustered than before as she scowled at me. She seemed to be doing that a lot here in Forlay—both the scowling and being flustered. “You can’t just…he’s a King… the King is not your… oh, why do I even bother?!”

  She threw her arms up in the air, which I took to be a sign she had seen the wisdom of what I was saying. Finally, she managed to get a complete question out. “Transportation where?”

  “That will be up to them, but I intend to offer them shelter in exchange for service on my island. They will have more than they had here—unlike your nobles, I know how to properly care for minions.”

  “Initial reports say that there are hundreds of displaced people. You want to make them all your minions?”

  “Not all, just one per family—and only if they have something to offer. Service goes both ways. If they want my provisions and protection, then they’ll have to serve the greater good of my lair and the Scale Nation.”

  Without waiting for a response, four quick strides took me to the large window in Cami’s convalescence room, and a fifth propelled me out it. I started my transformation even as I was clearing the windowsill.

  My bonded squealed in delight as we fell.

  Her True Rider ability might have allowed her to stay on my back even without the use of her legs, but I wasn’t going to take the chance. I held her in my claws as gently as possible while gaining altitude.

  Chapter 17 - Bare Bears

  Once we were a fair distance from the castle, Cami asked, “Will Vox know what to do while you’re gone?”

  “She only has to keep the freed dragons under control. She has made mistakes with them in the past, but I believe she will honor her oath.”

  Cami laughed inside my head. “That isn’t what I meant, Nico. As your ambassador to Forlay, isn’t she going to have to deal with all the political fall-out from the devastation you caused?”

  I would have shrugged, but that was difficult to do while flying—and frankly, it didn’t pass on the same sentiment as it did when in my human form.

  “She’s an ancient dragon. If she can’t figure that out, then what use do I have for her? Besides, what right does King Forlay have to be upset? I am the aggrieved party here. His kingdom enslaved dragons for nearly three hundred years, and then his minions attacked me.”

  “And was your response proportional?” she pressed.

  I snorted. “It was a dragon proportioned response.”

  Cami laughed again. The sound actually helped me relax.

  “Fine… I’ll admit I didn’t mean to destroy all those minions’ homes. I grant you that most of them haven’t personally taken any actions against dragonkind. I’ve decided to limit my justice to the humans in control, but let’s not talk about this. The King of Forlay will either figure this out and get control of his subjects, or they will be my enemy. I won’t be less than I am just to make them feel comfortable.”

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Cami soothed. “We just have to fly a narrow line. We want to protect this world since it is our home, but sometimes making a statement is necessary. You still think the humans will be essential to fighting the horrors, right?”

  “Yes,” I allowed, “not all of them, but certainly some are going to be necessary. Enough about my dealings with humans… I want to talk about helping you.”

  Cami went still, though I didn’t know if that was because I’d clearly differentiated her from humanity or because of what I’d offered.

  “I can’t ask it of you. I don’t know what complications there might be,” she all but whispered in my mind.

  “You aren’t asking. I’m suggesting. You are only in this condition because I wasn’t strong enough to protect you. You suffered because it took me too long to fight off the curse.” I paused. “I hate to think what might have happened if that lich had been a little less sadistic. His desire to torture me is the only reason you’re still alive. Besides, who wouldn’t want a piece of my soul in them?”

  We flew on in silence. I knew Cami didn’t want healing her to come at a risk to me, but we were already bound together. Eventually, I felt her come around to accepting my help.

  It was a several hour flight to reach our destination, even with Haste and my Sphere of Controlled Speed active. They combined to increase my speed to 250% of normal, which meant that we flew at just under 500 mph. It was just about the same speed as Storm Rush, but the mana cost was less and the duration of the combined spells longer than that ability. I briefly considered trying to combine all of my spells and abilities together but decided it wasn’t worth the risk, especially with Cami at less than full strength.

  When I saw my island come into sight on the horizon, I felt a sense of relief. My hoard was there, waiting for me. I could almost imagine my gold’s relief when I returned, even if I couldn’t stay for long.

  I made a loop around the island and saw my minions had been busy. It pleased me to see how much progress they’d made. Fences had been built to hold herds of cattle. Crops were being planted to feed them. The small town was starting to look like a proper human settlement.

  It tickled my memories that I was concerned about such things, but I’d already realized that safe and satisfied minions were motivated minions. That truth was hidden within the Dragon Dream. Even as I’d realized the truth of this fact, with time and experience, I knew many of my kin had forgotten it.