A Dragon's Tale Ch. 52

Chapter 52: "War... war never changes."

I now have an editor, so you all shouldn't need to put up with my typos and poor/dyslexic editing skills anymore. :)

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"So, thoughts?" Ethan asked after he had finished recounting everything that had happened with Talven and Salma, his second confrontation with the corrupt Reeve, and his conversation with Gabriella afterwards. His wives, Selene, and Anthiel were all assembled in the captain's cabin and had listened mostly without comment except to ask clarifying questions.

He hesitated and then added. "And yes, I realize that we would be going up against two lords, thousands of soldiers, dozens -- possibly hundreds of airships -- and a virtual army of bounty hunters."

There was silence for several long seconds before Kendra spoke up. "Drago, if we could lay anchor over the Gulf of Sayora a day or two's sail from Paliso, then I could take my airship into the capital. A week later, maybe two, we would only be fighting one lord. I promise it wouldn't be tied to us in any way."

Everyone stared at her.

Ethan blinked. "Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"

"He's threatening my family." The former Aldmiri shrugged as if that was all she needed to know. Her tone was entirely nonchalant and he was pretty certain that it wasn't intentional on her part; the idea simply didn't bother her.

"Sometimes you're a bit scary." Selene said after another few moments of silence.

"I would never hurt any of you." Kendra said quietly.

"I know that." The caramel-haired beauty replied. "I'm just saying, sometimes you're a scary woman."

Ethan inclined his head in concession.

"Do you want me to take care of Lord Farbrottan?" Kendra asked Ethan.

"Let's table that discussion until we decide if we're going to war." He replied.

"Master, Gabriella said that we couldn't avoid it." Taloni's wings fluttered nervously. "I don't want to hurt anyone, but since we have Illuminar's blessing, I'll do whatever I can." She frowned. "I'm not very good at fighting though."

"You don't need to be." Alana replied, beating Ethan to the punch. "You are an incredible healer and we need that just as much."

The Fey teen nodded. "What about you Alana? What do you think?"

"I think exactly what I told Ethan a few days ago." The wood elf replied. "Sometimes the only thing worse than going to war is not going to war. I think this is one of those times."

"Beth?" Ethan asked.

"I'll do whatever I can to help Dominus. I can't fight either, but I'll be the best scout I can."

"I know you will." He smiled at her. "But will you be okay with that? You'll be helping to kill people."

The blonde nodded. "I talked to Kendra and she gave me a good perspective. I'll be fine."

She sounded like it.

Her voice didn't have any bravado, uncertainty, or hesitation. He made a mental note to ask her about her conversation with Kendra later.

"Rachel?" Alana asked the redhead with a gentle tone.

Lord Delmar's daughter hesitated for several long seconds before she replied. "I will help fight anyone who tries to hurt my family, except maybe..." She frowned. "I don't know if I could actually fight my own father. His men, yes; but I don't know if I could bring myself to fight him."

"I promise I won't ask you to." Ethan said.

"Then I'm with you my lord; I'll do whatever I can to help."

"Selene?" Ethan looked at her. "I realize this won't affect you for very long since you'll be leaving the Ten Kingdoms to deal with that portal situation on Earth, but I still want your opinion."

"I don't have to stay on Earth." She replied. "I don't know much about war, but I know that you need help. My sword arm isn't as good as it could be--"

"Don't sell yourself short." Kendra interjected. "You aren't a master swordsman yet, but you're better than you think you are."

"Thanks." She smiled. "Apparently I can help some with my blade, but I'm also telepathic; I'm sure that could help you."

"I'm sure it could." Ethan hesitantly.

"You sound skeptical." Selene said.

"Not skeptical, but you've trained your entire life to become an FBI agent. As much as I would love your help, I don't want you to give up on your lifelong dream to fight a war on another planet."

"I appreciate that." The Brazilian woman replied. "But I'm pretty sure that I burned all my bridges back home with Smithbond and his nameless agency. I don't think they'll let me become an FBI agent."

Ethan nodded his head in concession. "Fair, and of course you're always welcome on the Argo, but if you get a chance to become an FBI agent, promise me that you'll take it."

"Sure." Selene's tone plainly conveyed that she didn't think it would happen.

"I'm serious." Ethan said. "Promise me that if you get the chance, you'll take it."

"In that highly unlikely scenario, okay; I promise." The caramel-haired beauty shrugged. "But only if you allow me to help until that practically impossible event happens."

"Deal." He nodded, then looked at their high elf pilot. "Anthiel?"

"I think Alana is right." Anthiel said. "Sometimes the only thing worse than going to war is not going to war, and I also agree that this is one of those times."

"You seem very sure of that." He pointed out.

"You forget that my husband is an admiral in Lord Borden's fleet." The high elf replied. "He and I discussed this after the ambush in Laerten and realized that this would be the ultimate result."

"Then why didn't you say anything?" Beth asked.

"Because it was something you all needed to decide for yourselves." Anthiel replied. "Besides, Ethan was gone and any discussions or decisions this big should happen with the ship's captain present. He's the captain and owner since Lord Borden gave the Argo to him."

"Speaking of, my father won't like this." The blonde added. "He was angry that we were coming to deal with the orcs; he'll be livid if he finds out that I'm intentionally going to war."

"Damn; I hadn't thought of that." Ethan grimaced. "I understand where he's coming from though. Frankly, I'm livid that I'm being forced to take you all to war."

Alana put her hand over her womb. "I get that more now. I can imagine how I would feel if someone took Ruth into a war. But we didn't choose this, it was forced upon us."

"I'm not sure that Lord Borden will see the difference." Ethan replied.

"He doesn't have much choice." The wood elf said. "The alternative is that we resign ourselves to running our entire lives and likely being caught and killed sooner or later."

"True." Ethan sighed. "Still, we'll have to keep him in mind."

"Agreed." Alana replied.

"So we're all agreed then?" Ethan asked, looking around at everyone.

"We haven't heard your opinion Master." Taloni pointed out. "I think I can guess from your story, but I want to know what you are thinking."

"I'm thinking that if we start a war, some of us might not make it." He said honestly. "But if we don't start a war, then some of us definitely won't make it. Given the choice between certain death and possible death, I think my choice is obvious. Ironically, the only way to keep everyone safe might be running headlong into danger."

There was a collective nodding of heads.

"Drago, since we're all agreed, I suggest returning to that suggestion we tabled earlier." Kendra spoke up.

He looked at her. "You really aren't kidding, are you?"

"No." She said simply as she shook her head. "This is war. Cutting off the enemy's head is often the fastest way to end a war."

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable ordering an assassination." Ethan said after a moment.

"Then don't order it; simply don't tell me not to."

"That's really not different." Alana pointed out.

Kendra shrugged. "It helps some people sleep better at night."

"Would you sleep after doing that?" Tee asked.

"Like a baby." Kendra said, and her tone wouldn't have been out of place if she were saying the sky was blue or water was wet.

"Babies often don't sleep well." Anthiel pointed out, then looked at Alana. "You'll discover that first hand."

"I will sleep well." Kendra said, then looked at Ethan. "You don't need to worry about me if that's what you're thinking. I promise it won't bother me."

"And that's part of what worries me." He said pointedly.

"Oh." Kendra frowned. "You do know what I used to do, right?"

"I do." He nodded. "I think it's hitting me a whole new way right now, but I do."

"Wouldn't assassinating Lord Farbrottan cause other problems?" Rachel piped up. "His son would inherit the throne and wouldn't he pursue us for killing his father?"

"I won't be caught." Kendra said. Judging by her tone, you might've thought she was stating a universally acknowledged truth. "I would use a poison that has a long delay before having any effect and I would be long gone by the time anything happens."

"But I doubt his son is stupid." The redhead countered. "Word of our ambush in Timarou is bound to spread and almost anyone would suspect us if he turns up dead not long afterwards. Further, we're already fugitives which would make him hunting us not only easier, but he would also have the full support of the law."

"We're already being hunted, so what difference would that make?" Kendra replied.

"It would if we drew the attention of the Aldmiri." Rachel said.

"That's not a bad point." Kendra frowned, then cocked her head to one side. "They would certainly investigate the death of a lord and likely uncover the poison. I don't think anyone other than the Aldmiri would, but..." She cocked her to the other side. "You make a good point. I spent a lot of time doing missions but never did any strategic-level planning and... well, that's a good point that I should've thought of."

"Um, I don't support Kendra's suggestion, but won't starting a war with two lords draw the Aldmiri's attention anyway?" Alana asked.

"Yes, but not the way that assassinating a lord would." Kendra replied. "They are primarily concerned with threats to the emperor and the stability of the realm, not law enforcement. They likely won't bother with us as long as we're just one ship. Well, unless we start assassinating lords." Tellingly, there was a note of disappointment in Kendra's voice at that last sentence.

Hmm.

"Wouldn't demon-possessed soldiers draw their attention as well?" Ethan asked. "It seems like they might care."

"They might not know yet." Kendra replied.

"Master, do you know where the possessed man that attacked you came from?"

"No." He shook his head. "I have literally no idea and that's a big problem. He was definitely after me though."

"Could it be Lord Delmar?" Selene asked. "He is a dragon and Lady Ekthros is certainly evil enough to be involved with something like that."

Ethan hesitated for a moment before answering. "Honestly, I don't think it's Lord Delmar precisely because he's a dragon. It's really hard to describe just how much my dragon instincts drive me to flee when I meet someone who's demon-possessed." He realized what he'd just said and how utterly absurd it would've sounded to him a few months ago, then looked at Selene. "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

The caramel-haired beauty started laughing while the others looked on, obviously confused. The two earthlings explained once Selene had stopped laughing.

"How is this my life?" He wondered aloud as he looked around the captain's cabin. "Five wonderful, beautiful, and amazing wives; a baby on the way; an airship; dealing with angels and demons; and about to fight a war with two lords."

"I don't know Master, but I'm glad it is." Tee beamed at him, though her smile faltered after a moment. "Except for the demons and the war."

His other wives all agreed except Beth who looked lost in thought.

"Bee, what's wrong?" Tee asked.

"I'm still wondering where that possessed man came from." The blonde replied.

"Me too." Ethan agreed.

"It's more than just him though." Rachel pointed out, then looked at Ethan and Kendra. "Remember that half-man, half-dragon corpse we found in Nalatia at Lady Ekthros's hideout?"

"I do." He nodded. "You think there's some sort of relation?"

"Perhaps." The redhead replied. "I don't see how they could not be related, even if not directly."

Selene smiled. "We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We can make him better than he was. Better, stronger, faster."

Everyone looked at her.

She looked at Ethan. "Oh come on; the Six Million Dollar Man? The 1970s TV show?"

He shrugged. "Never seen it."

"He was an astronaut that crashed and they made him into a cyborg, or 'bionic man' as they called it."

"Wait, cyborg?" Rachel cocked her head to one side and looked at Ethan. "Aren't those the bad guys on that TV play you mentioned? Star Journey, or something like that?"

"Star Trek, and those are the Borg." Ethan chuckled. "But I think I get Selene's point." He looked at her. "You think she's trying to create super soldiers."

She nodded. "I don't think that Lady Ekthros is exactly Tony Stark, but -- assuming she's behind the demon-possessed man -- it would make sense that she's trying other ways to create super soldiers."

"Oh!" Beth exclaimed. "I always wondered..."

"Wondered what?" Tee asked.

"While I was dead, that mage healed my neck and then said something about starting enchantments the next day." The blonde replied. "I thought maybe he was talking about necromancy, but maybe he wasn't."

"Oh." Rachel looked up and her eyes went a bit wide. "You're thinking that if Lady Ekthros is from Earth just like Ethan is--"

"She is." Kendra interjected. "Luminar Kossel is as well and he told me that she was. Elder Goman even visited Earth for a short time once and confirmed it as well."

The redhead nodded. "Then maybe she was thinking about enchanting Beth's body and bringing her back after a blood transfusion like we did with Beth. The enchantments would probably hold once she came back, right?" She looked at Alana.

"Quite possibly." The wood elf replied. "It's impossible to enchant something that's alive, but if a person was enchanted while dead and then brought back..." She frowned. "I don't think the enchantments would last forever though. They might last for a few weeks though, maybe a month? Possibly longer if a demon was involved."

"A demon was definitely involved." Beth shuddered. "I still remember how that thing's voice sounded."

"So, dead men brought back with enchanted bodies, men who are half-dragons, and demon-possessed men." Ethan sighed and slowly shook his head. "Well, at least our lives aren't boring."

"Is Lady Ekthros behind all of them?" Beth asked.

"Maybe?" Kendra replied. "She's evil enough, but I don't think we can know for sure."

"Agreed." Rachel said. "We have no evidence whatsoever that Lady Ekthros was involved with what happened to Beth and the demon in Arcanum, or the demon-possessed man that Ethan fought recently. I agree that she's the most likely candidate of our current enemies, but consider: what if we have more enemies that we don't know about?

"Agreed." Alana said. "I don't think we'll get any answers that aren't conjecture at this point."

Silence fell for a few moments.

"Something that you might not have considered: finances." Anthiel said. "Wars are expensive. Lord Borden did give you rather a lot of coin, but it won't last forever."

"How long do you think it will last?" Ethan asked.

"Perhaps a few years if you only use it to purchase food and other necessities." The high elf replied. "However, it wouldn't last long if you tried to use it as a war chest." She paused. "Or to try and raise a family. Babies are wonderful, but they can also be expensive."

"Good point." He nodded. He didn't add that he still had that cube of solid gold that Lord Delmar had given him for a wedding present. Obviously that was a lot of money, but the dragon side of him still didn't want to part with it.

"Here's some irony." Beth said with a wry smile. "That cube of gold from our wedding might end up being used to fight the person who gave it to us."

Everyone chuckled except for Ethan, who felt himself bristle slightly and resisted the urge to growl. Everyone except Anthiel -- the only one who wasn't bonded to him -- all looked at him.

"That's a lot of gold." Alana said carefully, glancing at Ethan. "But we shouldn't use it if that will bother your dragon side."

"Which is making a rather stunning comeback." Selene pointed out.

"I know, I know." He shook his head. "However, I'm fine for now and we don't really have time to fix that particular problem now."

"Are you sure Dominus?" Beth asked with a sly grin. "I really enjoy fixing that particular problem."

"Me too." He grinned back. "But I need to meet the orcs soon and we just don't have time to do it properly."

The blonde sighed, but nodded.

"I think it's more me anyway." Selene said matter-of-factly. "It's been about a week since I 'held his wing', but you all got busy not long before he left."

"We definitely did." Alana's eyes twinkled.

"We'll have to do the wing-holding thing again soon." Ethan said to Selene.

"Yeah, we should." The Brazilian woman nodded. Curiously, unlike the previous few times it had come up, there wasn't any fire or desire in her eyes this time. She didn't seem remotely turned on by the idea despite how much she had enjoyed it the first time. He wondered if perhaps that was connected to the birthday thing from earlier, but wasn't sure.

Curious.

"So back to the topic at hand: how do we fight a war against two lords?" Ethan asked.

"Master, didn't Gabriella say how?" Tee asked. "Didn't she say it would be with the help of the people who Illuminar has placed in your path?"

"She did, but who..." He trailed off as someone occurred to him.

"Lord Kalus." Alana said, voicing what he had been thinking. "He's an actual war hero from the war between Timarou and Har'peton seven or eight years ago."

"Indeed." Rachel nodded. "From what I hear, he almost single-handedly won the war through his superior tactics. Besides my father, he's one of the very few lords who have actually fought in a war."

"What war did your father fight in?" Selene asked.

"Some of the wildlings attacked Narlotten without warning before I was born." Rachel replied. "They traveled overland, cutting through the Great Plains to reach Narlotten. Lord Delmar was the highest-ranking officer near the attack and he directed the war effort until Narlotten's military could be mustered. From what I've heard, he was a master tactician."

"What are the 'wildlings'?" Ethan asked.

"Races that don't fit neatly into other categories." Beth piped up. "Centaurs, arachnia, slytherians, giants, and other races like that. They live outside the Empire and occasionally lash out against the countries that border their territory, like Ivernia through The Gap, or Narlotten through the Great Plains. I'm sure they also attack the more northern lorddoms as well."

"The more I know, the more I know that I don't know." Selene sighed.

"No kidding." Ethan agreed.

Rachel spoke up after another few seconds. "They say my father risked his life during the war to save civilians. That's part of the reason the people love him; he's a war hero."

Ethan didn't miss the note of hope in her voice. "It sounds like you have thoughts on that."

Her shoulders slumped slightly and she looked down. "I just..." She swallowed and Alana took her hand which seemed to give her the strength to continue. "Someone who would do that can't be consorting with demons, can he?"

"Like I said, I'm not sure it's him." He replied gently. "I find it hard to imagine that a dragon would ever knowingly get involved with demons at any level, and that's why..." He trailed off as he realized that wasn't entirely true.