“Are you the only one who knows the truth about dragons?”
“I am one of three following the original mandate of the Ušum-galAbarakkum.We are the keepers of the lore, as well as protectors ensuring Alistair and Nessie remain safe from those who would hurt or exploit them.”
“According to Alistair, dragons went extinct because they fought each other and were hunted by people.”
“He is correct.What he probably didn’t mention was, for a long time before that, dragons and humans cohabited peacefully.”
“What changed?”
“The arrival of a female who thought dragons deserved more.”
I took a guess and said, “The one who betrayed Alistair.”
Oliver gave her a sharp look.“He told you about Tiamat?”
I shook my head, even as I noted the name.“Astaria mentioned something, and Alistair shut her down.I guess he’s still really hurt.”
“Hardly hurt, more like still annoyed her beguilement worked.Tiamat had several abilities, fire being her first.However, over time, she gained others, including the ability to insidiously enter thoughts and order living beings to act upon her command without them realizing.”
“Alistair can also do that.”
“Her power was worse,” his grim reply.“While Alistair can project commands, he can’t shift a living being’s way of thinking, say make a gentle person kill.Nor can he manipulate emotions.Tiamat could, and not just with animals or humans.She could even get into the mind of dragons.”
“I take it she tried with Alistair and he caught on.”
“While I don’t know all the details, I think it’s safe to assume he came to the realization that some of his emotions weren’t organic in nature.”
“Is Tiamat the one that hurt Nessie?”
Oliver’s brows lifted.“You know more than I would have thought.”
“Just putting together the tidbits I’ve learned.Alistair never mentioned Tiamat’s name, just that Nessie had been hurt by her twin.”
He nodded.“That was Tiamat’s doing, and quite a shock.You see, she and Nessie are the only known instance of a single egg producing two hatchlings.Despite sharing the same shell, they emerged entirely different.According to the histories we’ve managed to preserve, and what Alistair has sparingly divulged, Nessie used to be a kind and gentle dragon.Sweet and loving with the humans who served her, unlike Tiamat.Tiamat always possessed a darker side.She didn’t thank, she expected.She didn’t praise, she chastised.The humans in her domain, fearful of her wrath, didn’t dare complain.They accepted the abuse.Accepted the fact she demanded sacrifice.With her ability to sway minds and control their emotions, she convinced those serving her that they deserved her displeasure.”
“Someone must have managed to fight off her mind games since she ended up being killed.”I paused before asking.“Was it Alistair?”
Oliver shook his head.“No.After he discovered her perfidy, he went into a deep seclusion.If the accounts that survived can be believed, it was Tiamat’s dragonmaid who killed her.”
“I’m surprised she didn’t have that woman brainwashed to the point she’d do no harm,” I replied.
“Oh, Tiamat likely thought she did,” Alistair drawled as he reentered, his damp hair slicked back, his expression blank.“But Tiamat’s power over the mind could be undone by strong emotion, like grief.In her greed and depravity, Tiamat ate her maid’s baby, right in front of her, by my understanding.And then mocked the woman’s trauma.Told her she could have another.So the maid did, and Tiamat ate that one too.”
“Dear lord,” I gasped.
“That was the beginning of the end for Tiamat’s reign.You see, the dragon stewards had noticed the shift in dragon behavior.Tiamat wasn’t the only one who began killing servants wantonly and expecting sacrifice.Disillusioned stewards, and the maid who joined them, began plotting the demise of their charges and, when they were ready, hunted the dragons with the sole goal of killing them all.”
“All but you and Nessie,” I murmured.
“I would have died in that purge had I been around, but I proved to be in an inaccessible area.When I did emerge and discovered what had happened, I knew better than to show my true form,” Alistair stated, his expression grim.
“Which begs the question, why hook up with the dragon stewards?I would have thought you’d have avoided them, given they had a hand in exterminating your kind.”I glanced at Oliver.“No offense meant.”
“None taken,” the lawyer replied.
Alistair grimaced.“I had no intention of ever engaging with the Ušum-galAbarakkum again.However, a few centuries ago, Astaria manipulated me into meeting Helios, a steward who still believed dragons were creatures worthy of serving, despite not having ever met any.At first, I refused to have anything to do with him.I’d changed since the purge of my kind.I no longer sought veneration.Didn’t want servants.I just wanted to live quietly.Despite wanting nothing to do with Helios, he didn’t give up.He had a stubborn streak.”A faint smile crossed his lips.“Eventually, I began to listen because it turned out he could be of aid.He showed me how I could live in society without being caught.Helped me manage my wealth.”
“And became a friend,” I blurted out.
