Dragon Breeder 3 by Dante King (e novels to read online .TXT) 📕

next,” she said, her yellow eyes gleaming with anticipation. “If you require my help, Mike, I will be waiting.”

I raised my hand at the two dragonmancers. “Well fought today,” I said. “You proved your worth ten times over. It was a joy to watch.”

Penelope blushed navy and grinned shyly at me. Tamsin’s eyes narrowed delightedly, and she too smiled, a sharp white smile.

“You weren’t so bad to watch yourself, Mike,” the hobgoblin said.

Then, without another word, both she and Penelope dropped toward the ground on the backs of Fyzos and Glizbe.

I turned Garth with a telepathic command and pointed the young Pearl Dragon’s snout toward the old, innocuous arsenal tower that stood at the back of the lesser used upper bailey.

“Let’s go,” I said to Saya and Elenari.

The two women nodded grimly, no trace of the smiles that had lit their faces after our recent victory.

The old arsenal tower was where the Drako Academy’s armaments had once been stored, back when it was only a quarter or less of the size it was now. It stood like a broken, blackened finger at the very rear of the castle complex. It looked almost tumbledown in its appearance, though it was the quarters of the woman who ran the entire Academy: the Overseer. Not only that, but it was also where all meetings of the Martial Council were held.

If the training circles, parade grounds, archery butts, and sparring arenas were the heart of the Drako Academy, then the unremarkable arsenal tower was the brain center.

The tight, single dragon opening gaped in front of us as we approached the tower, yawning like a toothless mouth. Undeterred, I commanded Garth where I wanted to go, and the Pearl Dragon swooped through the opening like some breed of shimmering bat returning to its lair.

It had been tight inside the cave when last I had visited the Overseer’s Tower with Lieutenant Kaleen. This time, with three dragonmancers inside the dragon hangar, it was even closer, but thanks to our scaly companions being on friendly terms, the jostling was pretty short-lived and didn’t result in any bloodshed.

I dismounted first and quickly retracted Garth back into his crystal to make some space. Saya slid down from Scopula and did the same, while Elenari actually vanished Gharmon just before her claws hit stone. The elf landed like a cat, rolling across the cracked flagged floor and getting nimbly to her feet.

“Follow me,” I said to the two women and led the way out of the dragon bay.

As soon as we were through the dimly lit chamber, we came face to face with a trio of the Overseer’s private guards; the venerated and highly respected Overwatch Company. They were the women whose sole purpose was to see to the protection of the Overseer. They went where she went, shadowing her every move and vetting all those who came before her.

The three women, with their slightly disquieting purple, almond-shaped eyes, and identical red hair, were dressed in identical uniforms. It was the livery of the Overwatch Company: breeches, shirts, and mail hauberks all in the same deep crimson color, with black velvet cloaks and black tabards with a silver vertically pupiled eye stitched onto the front.

I was not much in the mood for being confronted, by friends or foes. I just wanted to get past or be brought before the Overseer so that I could ask the questions that burned in my mind like phosphoresce.

“Oh, look,” I said, “it’s Hanson. Gone for a new haircut though, fellas, I see.”

The three female Wind Nymphs did not get the reference. I doubted it would have bothered them even if they had. The foremost woman stepped forward, hand on her sword pommel, and smiled politely.

“Dragonmancer Noctis,” she said in a level tone, “you are not expected.”

“Oh, come on now,” I said. “All of us know that you guys saw us flying in from a mile away. You don’t become part of the Overwatch Company if you don’t have your head on a swivel at all times, I imagine.”

The three women said nothing.

“We may not be expected,” Elenari said, “but the only question you need to answer is this: are you going to let us through to see the Overseer?”

The Wind Nymph at the front of the trio blinked thoughtfully a couple of times. I knew that they were sifting us for lies—for malicious intent. That was the unique skill of the Wind Nymphs; why it was only their race that made up the Overwatch Company. They had the ability to detect lies and sniff out hostility as unerringly as a bloodhound can scent drops of blood.

“The Overseer knows that you are here,” the nymph at the front said abruptly. “We will take you to her. However, before we allow you to pass through into her chamber, we will have to look into your heart and into your mind once more. You are enigmatic, Michael Noctis. You are a hard man to read.”

Without further ado, the three members of the Overwatch Company led Elenari, Saya, and me through the dark winding corridors of the old arsenal tower. The nymph who had done all the talking led the way, while the other two silent female guards walked on either side of us. The corridors were narrow, and this formation meant that we were tightly bunched. Glancing over my shoulder, and peering between Elenari and Saya’s head, I saw that two more guardswomen had fallen silently in behind us.

Clearly, these women took the protection of the Overseer extremely seriously, if even dragonmancers were not beyond suspicion of betrayal.

Through the bare utilitarian hallways, we went up the narrow staircase that ascended the tower proper. When we emerged from this skinny staircase, we found ourselves in the main reception area outside the chambers of the Overseer and the Martial Council.

At least