A Dragon's Tale Ch. 44

"But you're worried about your daughter since he might not stand up for himself, and thus perhaps not her either." Ethan finished.

"Plus, you love that boy like he's your own son." Ketura added, and her husband didn't disagree. She continued. "Arven and I have talked about it a lot, and I hate to admit that he's right."

"He isn't spineless." Arven clarified. "But he doesn't have enough confidence that hecould be right to challenge the Luminar, at least not in public."

"And you think I can help because I'm reputed to be the prophet of Illuminar?"

"I would simply ask that you talk to him." Their host said. "And without mentioning this conversation. I want him to get there on his own."

"I can do that." Ethan nodded. "When?"

"How about you stay for dinner tonight? Ketura suggested. "Matthew and Yalia will be in there all afternoon translating, with many breaks for theology discussions."

"I suppose I could do that." He replied. They had already been served a light lunch,

*We should interrogate that soldier we have on the Argo soon.* Kendra thought to everyone. *If we'll be here for dinner, that's a fair bit of time and it would be better to interrogate him now while the memory from the battle is still fresh in his mind.*

*Um, okay.* Ethan thought to everyone, then spoke to Ketura. "If it's okay, could some of my wives stay here for a bit while the rest of us run an errand?"

"Of course." Arven replied.

* * *

Kendra followed Ethan through the streets of Dotmier with Selene beside her, noting that he glanced back at Arven and Ketura's house regularly.

"Ethan, Taloni will be fine." The dragon huntress assured him. "Alana, Beth, and Rachel are there, and she probably won't wake up for a while. Her body had quite a shock and she needs some rest to recover."

"I know." He sighed, but didn't stop glancing back occasionally.

She considered asking him about her decision to send Taloni to the Argo, but thought better of it. That really was a better question for Serif; Ethan would just comfort her and she wanted the brutally honest truth.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Selene asked from beside her.

"Good cop, bad cop, and extremely pissed-off dragon." Ethan growled.

"I assume I'm the good cop?" The Brazilian woman asked.

"Beautiful women make men more compliant and more likely to talk." Kendra said, and managed to keep any hint of jealousy out of her voice. Selene was a wonderful person and the dragon huntress was glad she was so beautiful. However, she wanted to be beautiful too.

"Also, she's psychic." Ethan said, the previous growl not having left his tone completely.

"You want me to read his mind?" She raised her eyebrow.

"You need the practice for your mission to Earth; can you think of anyone better to practice on than that piece of shit?" Ethan replied as he rounded a corner that led to the ramp up to the Argo's docking berth.

Hmm.

Kendra had to admit that he had a point.

"I'm really not sure about the ethics of reading someone's mind without his permission." Selene countered.

"That bastard tried to kill my wives and he hurt Taloni; he deserves it." Ethan growled in response. He was also flexing his fingers and his claws were partially sliding from their sheaths.

"I see your point, but still..." The caramel haired beauty frowned.

"If you prefer, I can beat it out of him." The dragon growled in response.

"Ethan, stop a moment." Kendra said, stopping to stand where she was. "You need to calm down before we do this."

He stopped and looked at her. "I'm trying, but I can't get the image of Taloni with an arrow--" He stopped, growled, and then looked at her. "I have a real problem with cold blooded murder; that's the only reason that bastard will still be breathing come nightfall."

"Ethan, look me in the eyes and promise me you won't do something you'll regret." Kendra said firmly. "I once had a teammate who went down that road, and it doesn't end well."

"I won't kill him." Ethan promised. "I might beat the crap out of him, but I won't use claws or teeth except to intimidate."

"Promise?" She pressed.

"Yes."

"Okay, then let's make a plan." Kendra said.

* * *

Selene wasn't particularly happy with how this was going, but she had to admit the plan was good. For that matter, she made a mental note to never make an enemy of Kendra. The dragon huntress might not know much about family life, but some of her ideas had been... Well, she didn't want the dragon huntress as an enemy. They finally settled on one of her less scary ideas.

Well, less scary for everyone but the prisoner.

"LET ME AT HIM!" Ethan bellowed for the benefit of the prisoner. "I WILL RIP HIS FUCKING HEAD OFF!" Ethan continued, and punctuated the statement by banging his fist on the door with his strength-enhancing armor active.

The door rocked on its frame.

They were outside of the small supply room underneath the captain's cabin, which was the only place on the lower deck that had a door besides the latrine. The prisoner was on the other side of the door. Given Ethan's acting performance, Selene was very glad that Anthiel had offered to take Thor for a walk; she doubted the kitten would've stood for this and would've been worried that he'd bolt.

"Ethan, calm down!" Kendra said in an urgent tone that belied her relaxed posture. "He can't talk if you rip his--"

"I DON'T FUCKING CARE!!!" Ethan bellowed again, his voice carrying the edge of a dragon's roar.

"Please!" Kendra said again, and loudly. "Let me pull his fingernails off first, or something else that will let him actually talk."

"Fuck the nails!" Ethan said, a little less loudly but still plenty loud enough. "Rip the fucking fingers off, or start with his dick and balls!"

"Could we pleasenot mutilate the prisoner?" Selene interjected as planned.

That was followed by the planned dragon's roar.

The Brazilian woman had been covering her ears, but it was still deafening. Now that she was bonded to Ethan, it was both more and less terrifying. Less because she knew him better; more because she could also feel the emotion behind it, which was frighteningly real.

"Let me try, it'll be faster and we won't need to hurt him." Selene pleaded when her heart had unfrozen from the panic-inducing sound.

"Neither is necessarily an advantage." Kendra said. "I can keep him alive for a long, long time." Her tone left no one in doubt about the pain level during that time.

Wow.

That woman could be ruthless.

"Please." Selene pleaded again, onlymostly sure she was acting.

"You have five minutes." Ethan snapped at the door. "After that..." He snarled loudly, and it sounded like he was about to tear the door off. He probably wasn't -- hopefully -- but the prisoner didn't know that.

Selene opened the door, making sure to open it wide enough that the prisoner could see Ethan's snarling face before she closed it behind her.

She could smell urine.

The man was cowering in a corner, his arms around his legs as he sat upright, huddled in the fetal position. His pants had a wet spot on them in the front. His face was white as a sheet and his knuckles were white as they gripped his legs tightly. He was shivering slightly and his hands were shaking like a leaf in the wind. He didn't look that old now that she was looking at him properly. He seemed younger than she was; maybe late teens or very early twenties.

"Hi." Selene said, giving him a small wave.

His hand made a movement, but it wasn't a wave back. Perhaps an attempt at a wave, but it was a failed attempt.

"What's your name?" Selene asked, trying to remember what they'd covered in FBI training about interrogations. Establishing a rapport was very important, she remembered that much, but everything else seemed to fly out of her head.

Fortunately, there was alwayshis head.

When he didn't answer -- probably because he was terrified -- Selene opened a window in her mental defenses and for the first time on her life, intentionally tried to read someone's mind outside of combat.

It wasn't what she expected.

She had sort of been expecting to hear words. You know, what was running through his mind at that moment. Instead, she got a rush of thoughts, images, and emotions that were too jumbled to make sense of. It was like a movie that was playing at ten times the normal speed with the volume turned up to eleven. It was chaotic and messy, and didn't yield anything remotely useful.

Hell, forget useful; she didn't get anything that wascoherent

She shook her head and closed her mental defenses again. She guessed that was because of his current state of mind, and if he was calmer she would be more successful. She remembered Lord Borden's mage Valten who was a telepath, and he had been able to do this. Obviously she needed some practice, but now wasn't the time. It looked like she needed do this the old fashioned way.

"What's your name?" She repeated, going closer and crouching down next to him.

"It... it..." He swallowed, then looked fearfully at the door.

"It's okay, they won't be in here for a few minutes yet." She assured him. "It's just us right now. Take a deep breath."

He did.

"Okay, now take two more."

He did, and he seemed to be trembling less.

"What's your name?" She asked again, smiling at him.

"Taral." He said.

"Okay Taral, I assume you heard what my comrades were discussing?"

He gulped and nodded quickly. "I..."

"You... what?" She asked as gently as possible.

"The... the squad leader said that dragons didn't care about women, that our men could..." His face went even whiter. "They're all dead."

"Yes, but you survived." She said. "How did you know where to find us?"

"Everyone knew." He replied, a tremble still in his voice. "I think the dragon told someone after he confronted that Reeve and I guess word got around."

*Shit.* Ethan thought to her. *I should've kept my mouth shut.*

"Why did you come to find us anyway?" Selene continued.

"The... th-the Reeve that was attacked." He gulped. "The duke of the region heard about it the morning after it happened and sent orders to our outpost by carrier pigeon."

"Orders to... what?"

"Capture or kill, but..." He swallowed hard. "I'm just a soldier. I joined up because my folks couldn't afford another mouth on the farm. I didn't sign up for..." He gulped.

Shit.

Selene kept her face neutral, but thought to Ethan. *Are you hearing this?*

He didn't reply.

Now that the Brazilian woman was looking at him properly, he looked pretty young. Honestly, he looked like he might be Beth or Taloni's age; maybe slightly older. He was just a kid. True, a kid who'd tried to kill her and Ethan's wives, but still a kid.

"What did you think being a soldier would be like?" Selene asked.

"Um, I thought it would be lots of training and a lot of boring watch duty." Talar replied, and he had stopped clenching his arms around his legs so hard. He was also taking more normal breaths instead of near hyperventilating. "I know the Ivernian military has a reputation, but not all of us are... we're not all..."

"What about your squad commander?" Selene asked, remembering that he hadn't exactly been the reasonable sort.

"He's not-- well, he wasn't a good guy." Talar replied. "That fucker was knee deep in whores and... and other things." He stopped. "I swear most of us weren't like that though. But in the Ivernian military, refusing to follow orders can get you killed."

*Ethan, tell me that you're hearing this.* She thought to him.

Again, he didn't answer.

"And you were supposed to capture or kill Ethan and his wives??" She asked aloud when he hadn't replied.

Taral nodded. "Or at least just make sure he didn't leave until the main force arrived."

"Main force?" Selene raised her eyebrows.

He nodded. "Our orders said that the duke had dispatched two airships with a whole platoon of marines on each one."

Her eyes widened. "A whole platoon? Each?"

He nodded. "If the duke sent them when he sent our orders, they'll be here soon; probably tomorrow morning."

*Fuck!* Ethan growled, then thought to everyone. *Ladies, we're going to have company in the morning; we need to leave town as soon as possible.*

*Actually, might be better to wait until just after nightfall and before the moon rises.* Kendra suggested. *That way it'll be hard for the townspeople to see where we go if they're asked.*

*Okay, we can do that.* Ethan agreed after a moment.

*What about him?* Selene asked.

It took several seconds for Ethan to respond. *I'm coming in, and I'm not as upset as I'll seem.*

Moments later the door opened and Ethan entered wearing his armor. Instantly the prisoner froze. Ethan walked over to him, reached down, and lifted him into the air with one hand.

"Let me make somethingperfectly clear." He hissed in a quiet but deadly tone. "If anyone touches my wives, I'll rip him limb fromfucking limb. I'm letting you live for one reason: you are going to tell everyone this. You are going to tell everyone what happened and exactly what I did to the men who attacked my wives. Then you're going to tell everyone that I'll do the same toanyone who touches them."

The man went white as a sheet.

"You're going to tell everyone who will listen." Ethan snarled. "You're going to spread the news as far as you possibly can. Understand?"

He nodded vigorously.

Ethan growled, and it looked like his grip tightened slightly. "Do. You. Understand?"

"Yes." The man managed to whisper.

"Get out of my sight." Ethan hissed, then dropped him.

The man scrambled to his feet and ran out of the room as fast as his legs could carry him.

* * *

Ethan took a deep breath as what he'd just heard ran through his mind. No matter how you looked at it, he wasn't happy with how things had happened. He had been justified in killing the men earlier; they had been trying to kill his wives and he'd kill them again in a heartbeat without hesitation or mercy to protect his wives. Yet as he thought back on his many battles, he had always been pretty sure his enemies were terrible people with no exceptions.

Now...

Now he wasn't so sure.

How many of the men he'd killed were just following orders, or believed that he and his wives were evil? How many of them were like the kid who'd just ran out of the room?

"Ethan?" Selene said.

"Hmm?"

"Are you okay?"

He hesitated. Was he?

"I don't know." He finally said. "The world all seemed so black and white up until a few minutes ago. I'm not sorry I defended my wives, and I'd do it again without hesitation or mercy."

"But?" The Brazilian woman asked.

"But if some of them are like that." He nodded his head to the door through which Talar had just bolted. "It's just not so black and white anymore. I've never been very comfortable with shades of gray, now..." He frowned. "Now the world is looking grayer by the hour."

"It's less gray than I'm used to." Kendra countered, leaning on the doorframe. "The Aldmiri lived in shades of gray. Frankly, living with you has made the world less gray for me, and I'm not just talking about morally."

He gave her a half-hearted smile.

"I'm just thinking..." He frowned again.

"Thinking...?" Kendra prompted.

"How many of the men I killed were like that?" He indicated the door through which Talar had fled. "Maybe some of them were good people -- good soldiers -- who were just following orders."

"And that's a fair point, but not an excuse." Selene countered. "Many of the guards at Auschwitz or the other Nazi concentration camps were 'just following orders'. That doesn't excuse them, though I realize that's an overblown comparison."

"Yeah." He rubbed his hand over the top of his head, where his hair would be if he was human. "I'm just thinking about something that Rachel once said, about the possibility of Lord Delmar chasing me because he thought I was a necromancer. So what about -- for example -- the men Lord Delmar sent after us those first two days I was here? Sure Hermair is evil, but what about the soldiers? Were they good people who thought they were hunting an evil necromancer? How could I fault them for that?"

"I don't know." Selene conceded.

"I could see Lord Delmar's men being innocent if they thought you were a necromancer." Kendra said. "But that kid that we just let go was willing to help kill five innocent women. He knew that the only thing you did was challenge a corrupt Reeve, and he was willing to help kill your wives for that non-crime. Not even you, your innocent wives. That makes him anything but innocent in my book."

"You won't even give him the benefit of the doubt?" Selene asked.

"For someone who didn't know, absolutely I would." The dragon huntress replied. "Again, Lord Delmar's soldiers right after Ethan arrived would fall into that category, especially if they thought he was a necromancer. I myself even fell into that category once. But for someone who knew that what he was doing was wrong and did it anyway, no."

She shook her head.

"We'll have to talk more about this later." Ethan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Anyway, we should get back to Arven and Ketura's house. If the airships aren't coming until the morning, then we can do dinner, but I want to be on the Argo and ready to leave at nightfall."

"You go ahead, I'll tell Anthiel and meet you there." Kendra volunteered.

He nodded and headed up to the weather deck with Selene in tow.

As he trudged up the steps, it occurred to him just how crucial Selene's help had been today. Without her, his wives would probably be dead. Plus she'd been instrumental in getting information out of their prisoner and she'd had a good perspective afterwards.

He stopped at the top of the stairs and looked back at her.

She was drop-dead gorgeous of course, with perfectly feminine features and a figure and face that were literal perfection. He didn't think it was possible for a woman to be more physically beautiful. That wasn't what he was looking at though; he was looking ather. He'd seen a glimpse of who she truly was when they'd bonded, and she really was a great person.

"What?" The Brazilian woman asked.

"I'm really going to miss you when you return to Earth." He replied.

"Oh?"

"Yeah." He nodded, though he was frowning a bit too. "The Argo won't be the same without you."

"Oh." She looked surprised, but smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Come on, we should get going."

He led the way off the ship and into the town, realizing for the first time that the Argo would indeed feel more empty without her.

* * *

Kendra told Anthiel what had happened, of their plans to leave that evening by nightfall, and thanked her for taking care of Thor. Then she set out to find the man she wanted to talk to.

"Serif?" Kendra said to get his attention.

"Yes Kendra?" He replied while adjusting some ropes to prepare for their departure.

"I had a question I wanted to ask you about the engagement earlier today." She then summarized what had happened and her doubts about her telling Taloni to return to the Argo. "Did I do the right thing?"

He looked at her for a long moment. "Did you have the information and expertise to make a better decision at the time?"

"I don't think so, even right now I'm not sure what I could've done differently."

"If you couldn't have done better, then you couldn't have done better." He said simply. "You tried to remove the non-combatant from the field while simultaneously calling for reinforcements. I might have done the same thing in that situation. Sometimes, even the best plans are frustrated by the enemy."

She nodded. "Thank you."

He nodded respectfully, then went back to his work.