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“Out for a moonlit stroll?”
“I’ve seen blighter children jump into a pile of leaves or cornstalks much the same way,” AuRon said.
“There wasn’t a clearing nearby,” she said. “I wanted to warn you away from this gully. It leads to the camp of some of our forces. The Protector’s bodyguard, to be exact. It would be tragic if there were a misunderstanding.”
“I smell blighters.”
“You’re aware of the principle of always using foreign soldiery as your bodyguards? They’re less likely to betray you.”
AuRon had, but wasn’t used to hearing Imfamnia speak of matters other than scale care or grooming.
“You spend a lot of time worrying about being betrayed?” he asked.
“When you grow up in the Lavadome, it becomes a habit.” She reached behind with her elegantly shaped claws and began to clean twigs and bits of canopy detritus from her scale.
“Do you know much about the wildlife around here, Imfamnia?”
“I know the rats in our resort come in three colors, all ugly, and the birds make far too much noise before it’s decently light out. I’m no Ankelene.”
“I saw a big—it must have been a mammal. But winged, and not feathered, with claws—”
“Oh, that’s one of NiVom’s snaggletoothed bats. He’s hard at work breeding them into gargoyles. He found the method in one of those dusty old books we took from the blighters in Old Uldam before that DharSii could get his greedy sii into it.”
“How does one breed gargoyles out of bats?”
“I’m not sure, something to do with dragonblood and certain choice organs. CuRemom knows more about it than even NiVom, perhaps you should ask him.”
“Is that wise?”
“They’re loyal as dogs, always in hope of the next drop of blood, but you can’t really trust them without evidence. They’ll lie like a rug to get the next feeding. Your brother almost got there before us, feeding some bloodsucking cave-bats, but he just lucked into it and didn’t breed for effect.”
“Why?” AuRon asked.
“For the same reason your brother does, to have spies. Clever of him, using vermin that way. You can never have too many eyes looking out for you, but I hope he stops at four with these gargoyles.”
The more he learned of the Lavadome and its ways, the less he liked it.
“I hope my brother’s Grand Alliance doesn’t turn into a vast version of the Lavadome. Sounds as though it could end badly.”
“You’re a droopy drake, to be thinking of endings with a new world just begun.”
“It’s my nature, I suppose. When the sun is shining I wonder how long until the next rain.”
Imfamnia gave up on her scale, muttered something about leaving it for the thralls, and went snout-to-snout with him. “What kind of ending do you want, AuRon?”
Growing up in the Lavadome must also give one different ideas about personal space. AuRon lifted his head away. “For me?”
“Yes, and for dragons in general.”
“I’d like to avoid an ending. That’s why I believe that the farther we stay away from humans, the better. I don’t like binding our fate to theirs.”
“You think humans are the real threat?”
“My father did, and nothing I’ve experienced has caused me to change my opinion. The deadliest nondragon I ever met was a human. He killed many of our kind.”
“Are you speaking of the Dragonblade?” Imfamnia asked.
“Yes.”
