05 Dragon Blood: The Blade's Memory (46 page)

“I—what about General Ort, Sire? You’re basically describing his job.”

“I thought I would recommend his promotion to brigade commander. You would still report to him, and he could still come with you on any trips to the castle, so someone is there to kick you under the table and remind you of proper protocol.” Angulus’s eyelids drooped even lower.

“Er.”

Snickers came from the opposite side of the table.

Kaika nudged Sardelle. “Remind him that he would outrank Therrik. That ought to seal the wax on the scroll.”

Ridge snorted, though his eyes
did
grow speculative.

“Colonel Therrik shouldn’t cross your path for a while,” Angulus said. “Even though I understand that he did not lift his own hand to betray me, his silence was unacceptable. He’ll be contemplating his mistakes from his new command station, the Magroth Crystal Mines.”

Ridge grinned, far more excited by this pronouncement than he had been at the promise—or threat—of a promotion. “I’m sure he’ll enjoy his time there
immensely
, Sire.”

“I have no doubt.”

You better send him a gift
, Sardelle commented.
Since he did let you out of jail.

The only gift a man in those mines can use is a crate of alcohol. Or a mysterious sorceress.

“I’ll see to it that your new orders are on your desk in the morning, Zirkander,” Angulus said.

“Uh.” Ridge hadn’t said yes, but it was probably too late now. One didn’t truly have the option to refuse orders from one’s king. “Yes, Sire.”

The rest of the pilots clapped. Ridge looked like he was still worried about getting a desk. Sardelle patted his hand reassuringly.

“The last thing I would like to discuss before dinner is brought out is this dragon.” Angulus looked at Sardelle, as if she were a dragon expert.

“I understand it has Cofah leanings,” Angulus said, “and that Tolemek’s sixteen-year-old sister is the only reason it’s here in a non-predatory capacity.”

Non-predatory?
Jaxi snorted.
Phelistoth is hunting sheep in the mountains right now. It takes a lot to feed a dragon.

So long as he’s not eating people.

Since the king was still looking at her, Sardelle supposed she was the one who had to come up with an answer. “I haven’t spoken with Phelistoth since we left Owanu Owanus,” she said slowly, “but he did seem to have Cofah origins. And Tylie does, too, of course.” She nodded down at Tolemek.

“There’s nothing left for us there,” Tolemek said. “Our family… Tylie could never go back and study magic. Father wouldn’t allow that. She’ll stay wherever there’s a teacher willing to train her.” He nodded back at Sardelle.

Sardelle thought of Eversong and was glad the woman had never crossed paths with Tylie. Tylie didn’t need to know that there was a powerful Cofah sorceress she might turn to. Besides, Eversong might not consider teaching even if she knew of a potential student. Sardelle hadn’t sensed a nurturing quality in her; that was a certainty.

You would definitely be a better teacher
, Jaxi said.
Those overpowered sorcerers of the past had no sense of subtlety. Such as how to give people rashes.

“Considering that the Cofah seem to have achieved our level of technology, we have no advantage left over them anymore,” Angulus said, “no sure way to defend ourselves. I’d like that dragon on our side.”

He was still looking at Sardelle. Did he think
she
could make that happen?

“If you want to teach Tylie or anyone else who wants to come to the capital to learn from you, I will make sure you have that opportunity.” His eyes and voice hardened when he added, “And woe to he—or she—who tries to stop you.”

“I… thank you, Sire,” Sardelle said, not sure she could say anything else. She wanted to teach and to seek out others with dragon blood, but his implication that he expected her to get the dragon on their side… That made her nervous about the deal.

It’s like a desk
, Ridge thought.

What?

You get a dragon you don’t want. I get a desk I don’t want. Rewards from the king come with stipulations. It’s the perk of working for royalty.

Sardelle leaned back against him, feeling dazed. Ridge chuckled and kissed the side of her head. At least she had been offered protection, sanctuary even. Even if she felt daunted about the future, it was a far more promising future than she’d had a few weeks ago.

THE END

Bonus Extras

Interview with Jaxi

I asked on Facebook if anyone would be interested in an interview with one of the characters from the series, and Jaxi nudged out Tolemek. Actually, she may have poked him in the backside to make sure she was the most prominent choice.

Here are answers to the questions readers asked:

Kantami asks: Have you ever been tempted to annoy your companions by beaming images into their minds when they are being intimate?

I see this is an interview about the important things in the world. Tempted, perhaps. But there are lines one does not cross. Not many of them, mind you, but I try to give my handler her privacy when she’s being intimate. Otherwise, I get locked in the closet. Besides, you can more easily mock a person later if they’re not on guard against your comments during the moment…

Meera asks: How would you feel about getting romantic with a dragon?

I don’t know. Is the dragon going to shape shift into a sword? I’m not sure we would be compatible. And dragons are such tedious know-it-alls. I’ve only met one, mind you, but I’ve read plenty of books. I’m practically an expert. Those people who had liaisons with dragons back in the day probably had stars in their eyes. Or horny itches in their pants. Dragons are pretty, and I’ve heard they shape shift into fine-looking humans.

Averill asks: Are you lonely? Or content with your choice?

Now? Or in the past? The three hundred years I spent entombed in rock with nobody to talk to was slightly lonely.

I’m glad to have Sardelle back, and it’s even better now that I can share my whimsical but insightful thoughts with Ridge too.

I do miss all the other sorcerers and soulblades I used to speak with all the time back before our home was destroyed and everyone… went away. It was difficult to be lonely then. Sometimes, there was so much chatter going on that you wished for the opportunity to be lonely.

Now, I’m hoping Sardelle and I can find some new people with talent and with whom I can converse. I’m sure there must be young would-be sorcerers out there who are in need of my wisdom.

Bekki asks: Is it possible for you to have romantic feelings for someone?

I don’t know. Send me a handsome young man prepared to polish my blade and worship me appropriately, and we’ll see.

Heidi asks: If you could regain a body and live as a person, would you choose something else? Like a cat or a dragon?

A cat?? Who would come back as a cat? With nothing to do but lie around and lick your nether regions and rub fur on people’s trousers?

I suppose a dragon would be all right, but they’re tediously arrogant. I wouldn’t want to be like that.

Excuse me. I see Sardelle smirking about something. I’ll be right back.

Mirian asks: Does it ever get old? Being cognizant forever?

Not really. I take naps if I need to. Three-hundred-year ones, sometimes.

All right, honestly, it’s tough because the world changes so much and so fast, especially now, and you can get tired trying to adapt to everything. Magic seems less and less important, and I wonder if there will be a time when I’m buried in some tomb like Kasandral, and I’ll continue going on but no longer have anyone to talk to. Even a sword could go mad like that, surely?

It’s even tougher getting attached to people and having them die. I’ve had nine handlers now. My memory is better than it was when I was flesh and blood, but the details still grow fuzzy over time. I hate the idea of forgetting anyone who was so close to me for so long.

Sarah asks: What magical skill do you wish you had but you don’t? What do you miss about having a body? What don’t you miss?

I have every magical skill that I could possibly need. I’m a powerful sorceress, you know. I’ve mastered all that’s important.

But maybe sometimes, it would be handy to have a knack for healing. There have been times when Sardelle or my previous handlers were injured and unconscious, and I couldn’t do much more than float some bandages over to wrap around them. And I wasn’t even that good at that. Did you know you can cut off a person’s circulation if you tie a bandage too tight? And that circulation is apparently important? I’m fair at cauterizing wounds, at least…

As to what I miss, it’s been so long since I had a body that I don’t remember much about it. Swords do not have female concerns, so that’s a perk. We can’t have children. Also a perk. I suppose I miss eating quite a bit. We had this dessert called almond honey cakes. Do they still have those? Fabulous. And maybe I lament that I didn’t get to do more with the ah, moist achy bits, as Sardelle calls them. But mostly I miss the almond honey cakes.

Lindsay answers questions about the books

Over the last few months, I’ve received a few questions multiple times via email. I thought I would answer them here in case you’re interested, as well.

How many books will there be in the Dragon Blood series?

It depends. Oh, did you want a better answer than that? Hm, let’s see…

When I wrote
Balanced on the Blade’s Edge
, I squeezed it in between other projects and didn’t have any plans to turn it into a series. But by the time I finished, I realized I wanted to spend more time in that world. I had never written about pilots and air battles before, so it was a fun change, and we got to see so little of Iskandia in that first novel, I was curious to explore it further. When the sales and reviews of the first book were promising, that cemented it.

Looking back, I’m surprised I didn’t continue Ridge and Sardelle’s story, but at the time, I thought it would be interesting to do all of these adventures (and romances) that centered around the pilots in the flier squadron. I came up with the idea for
Deathmaker
when one of my beta readers said something to effect of, “What if that Lieutenant Ahn, the one who inadvertently caused all of the Book 1 adventures for Ridge, turned out to not be dead?”

I had fun writing that book, but by the end, I realized I was more interested in writing more about Ridge and Sardelle again rather than introducing a third couple or continuing with the idea of Wolf Squadron Romances. The world had expanded, too, and we had this war going on in the background. I figured I should focus more on that and liked the idea of using the aggression between Cofahre and Iskandia as a backdrop to make the story bigger.

When I started Book 3,
Blood Charged
, I knew that story would span two or three novels. I wrapped up a lot of the threads that I had introduced in that one here in Book 5, but clearly left myself some options for going forward with a few more stories. At the least, I would feel bad leaving Cas where she is now without some resolution.

So, while I haven’t committed to anything yet, I’m open to doing more if there’s an interest!

Who are your favorite characters? Have any of them surprised you?

I have a lot of fun writing Ridge and Sardelle (and Jaxi… making this my first threesome, I guess!). They come the easiest for me, probably because I share a lot of Ridge’s humor. (I shouldn’t confess to sharing Jaxi’s sense of humor, since she’s had an inordinate number of pee lines lately.) I would have loved to be that irreverent when I was in the army. The things you thought but could never say…

Tolemek is too broody to be a favorite for me, but he’s certainly got the most interesting background to work with. I want to explore more of Cas’s background, too, if I keep going with the series, put her face-to-face with Dad again.

Captain Kaika has been my surprise character in that she and Nowon were both supposed to die in Book 3. I had designed them to be red shirts from the beginning and even asked the readers on Facebook to throw out names for them (and Therrik), because I wasn’t invested in them. When Kaika and Nowon went off to the volcano laboratory, neither was supposed to come out again. You can imagine my surprise when Cofah started showing up dead, and Kaika walked out of the shadows at the end. I had to go back and rewrite the scene where the team found the bodies hanging on the doors and make sure it was impossible to be sure Kaika was one of them.

Will there be more about the dragon?

As you could probably guess from the epilogue, I would like to do more with the dragon and Tylie. I’ve even been kicking around the idea of having our guys find some more dragons, but we shall see. The sheep population of Iskandia might be in danger if that happened.

Will you go back into the past and do any stories about Jaxi or Sardelle before their world collapsed?

I’ve thought about doing a Jaxi story, perhaps the one about how she ends up in a sword, but that would be a sad tale to write. Also, it’s tough going back in time and writing things that happened in the past, because you have to worry about contradicting the facts that have been presented in the existing timeline. There’s also less suspense, because the reader already knows what happens to the hero. You’re not too worried that someone might die when he or she has already shown up in the future!

I never say never, but right now, I doubt I’ll jump back in time.

Will we see any more soulblades? There must still be some buried in the rocks under that mountain, right?

Well, we got an introduction to a new one at the end of this story, but in general, they’re sturdier than humans, so there should definitely be some left in the world. Maybe Tylie will have to go on a quest to find one as part of her training. I may have to bring Ridge’s dad back to Iskandia to help with some archaeological digs.