“I am adept at interrogation,” he said. “I know all the right pressure points.”
“You’re scary.”
His grin seemed to contain too many teeth. “Glad you think so. Because I have questions.”
Every hair on my body stood on end. My skin felt like it wanted to walk away from me. “I’m not sure I’m up to that.”
“Tough.”
I reared and blinked at Boutros. “Aren’t you the healer who’s supposed to be helping me?”
“No, I’m a Rider who’s pissed off with being lied to and more pissed off with being consigned to this particular level of hell. Something I believe you understand.”
I did.
“I’m going to take your silence as acquiescence,” he said. “You were stationed in Pasaocea for a while, weren’t you?”
“Six years.”
Boutros glanced at the open door, then back to me. “Was it really silver?”
I blinked. “I’m sorry?”
“Was the dragon you saw really silver?”
I had to take a breath. “Wingman Boutros, be very careful, the Church is very clear on the matter. While they accept that there was once a golden dragon, the mention of a silver dragon is blasphemy.”
“And that was the blasphemy that sent you here, wasn’t it?”
“This really isn’t a conversation I want to have. Now or ever.”
“Tough,” he said again. “Growing up in Terrusia, I heard stories, they called it the Glittering Dragon. Because the sun glittered from its scales. Then I was stationed north of Mount Ailast, one of the tallest mountains in the world, in the Forbidden Mountains. That is where the stories of Flying Stones come from. Only they aren’t stones, they’re…” he stood and started pacing. “They’re flying men with grey skin and wings. And tusks. No hair.” He shook his head. “Strange things. If they exist.”
He returned and sat back on the bed at my side. “Even in the foothills of the Forbidden Mountains of Tengoseki, they are just a rumour. But the stories say they are awaiting the ultimate warrior. One who will appear in multiform. Man and dragon. Asilverdragon.”
“What exactly are you suggesting?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Boutros said. “But when I got to Pasaocea, eighteen months ago now, I heard that there was a dragon who appeared there. It did something marvellous and was never seen again. When I asked about the dragon, I got nothing much beyond people wittering, ‘I’m not ending up like the Segasts.’ That’s you and your son. Right?”
“Boutros, you’re trying to hold water in a bucket made of paper.”
“Then it must be clay-coated paper, because it’s holding water just fine.” He stood up. “If you won’t answer my questions, I’ll go ask your son.”
“No.” I was probably too quick with that answer. It pretty much screamed I had something to hide. I sighed and sank back into my pillows. “Ask what you want.”
Boutros sat back down, ran his hand through his thick blond hair. He licked his lips. “I’ve travelled from the deepest south to the furthest west, now I’m as north east as it gets, and if rumours are true, never likely to get posted away from this fortress. In every other region I have lived in, I have heard stories of a silver dragon. Hidden, archived, and suppressed stories. Some just out and out censored. Every alleged appearance of the beast in the last three hundred years has been followed by a … cleansing. Often a whole town or village just gets wiped off the map. The only incident I have found where that didn’t happen was with the one in Pasaocea, the one that you and your son witnessed.” He sighed. “So? Did you see a silver dragon?”
I took a breath. “Yes.”
* * *
Eventually we got back to work. Ang was ahead of me in that department, but he was apparently used to being struck by lightning. And my healing powers came back, with a little kickstart from Boutros. If ever there was a man who knew too much, it was him. You could see it in his eyes. Haunted eyes.
After another soaked patrol, I commanded the Wing to enter the nest from the leeward side launching area and used Salvadora to tell Fin to warn Fenwick. I didn’t know what we’d do when we lost that ability to advance warn.
We on the other hand had no warning that Flight Captain Ang Shi would be waiting there for us. He was braced in hisusual waiting stance, hands crossed behind his back. As Flight Sergeant, I dismounted and walked up to him. Stood to attention and saluted.
“Nothing to report, sir,” I answered his query. “Just more sea all around, full of rain but no seafarers.”
