Chapter 73: Staying true

Ajax: 

Other people would have given up on their conviction, as soon as they got better. Yet, I am not like most men, or even, most dragons. The revelation that I could have been a better father doesn't give me any respite.

More than that, I can feel the presence of the Dread. I might be healthy now, but I can't let it take control of me. I am the strongest dragon, in the known world. Furthermore, I don't want to even imagine what will happen, if the Dread sends me on a rampage. 

I shape-shift in the form of a small child. Silently, I pray that the Dread Lord won't be anywhere near Givontair. I don't think I can fool my son's nose. 

The guards let me in without much trouble. Still, one of them pulls me aside, and stares me down. 

"Just who are you, kid?" He asks. I can see that the Uruk is staring directly in my eyes. Does he sense the Dread in me?

"My name is Wilhelm. My parents are inside the town. My father's name is Sorix," I do my best to imitate the high pitch voice of a young boy. I hear a chuckle in my mind, which I ignore.  

"Oh, you are with that healer?" The guard smiles at me, then. "He did good work. And your father was there to save him in time. You have a lot to be proud of, with a father like that." 

The guard claps me on the shoulder, and then lets me go inside the town. Brolbukh is littered with gray flags. I bet that if I ever go to the clinic, it will be full to bursting. So, I just follow my nose.

 Searching for the closest necromancer, who was at Trelia the other day. The scent leads me to the park. Instead of the Dread Lord, I see the dragon slayer. My eyes narrow at him. I still haven't forgotten how he wound me. 

My inner dragon demands that I shape-shift, and then burn the man alive. The Dread is scolding me in a whispered voice. This is the man it wants as a champion. The man who would have to finish the Dread Lord's job. I am just about to turn around, and go after a different scent, when the dragon slayer looks at me. 

"Hey, kid, are you lost?" He asks me. I shake my head. "Are you ill? The school is where the people with the coughing sickness go. Just tell the nurses that you are there to be treated." 

I bite my lower lip, and approach the man. He places a hand on my forehead, as soon as I reach him. 

"You are burning up," huh, I didn't notice that. "Come on, I'll take you so Giv can take a look at you." 

I make a couple of steps back. 

"I don't want to go to the hospital," I tell the dragon slayer. He sighs, then.

"Afraid of healers? Don't be. Givontair is just going to put you through physical therapy, and then give you blood root tea," it all sounds simple enough. Yet, if I do go to my son, I will be exposed. "Trust me, you won't find a kinder dragon." 

I pretend to look unconvinced, and the dragon slayer chuckles. 

"Are the only encounters you have with doctors painful? Like, taking your flu shot, and dentist's appointments?" I resist the urge to snort. Yet, I have a role to play. This man thinks he is speaking to a child. 

I nod then, not trusting my voice. 

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"Givontair is a dragon, so he is not like the other healers. With how young you are, he might even give you mana treatment," I raise an eyebrow at that.

Does my son waste his mana for mortals? This makes me feel odd. The two of us are like night and day. Yet, I did talk myself into letting him live freely and in peace. 

"I want to meet my father," I say, as demanding as only a child can. "His name is Sorix." 

The dragon slayer's eyes darken. He balls his fists to the side. 

"Sorix abandoned his child! How could he?" I let him grumble at that. If the Dread Lord ends up in trouble, then that is not my business. The only thing I need to do, is get closer to him, and let the Dread take charge of the man's body. "Come on, I'll take you to him. I still can't believe that he can be this irresponsible." 

He takes me to the inn, and then opens one of the doors. I can see the Dread Lord writing something on the desk. He looks so calm, so peaceful. Nothing would suggest that he used to do the biding of the Dread. His eyes narrow, when he sees me. 

"You again?" He asks, as he throws a barrier stone at my feet. The dragon slayer manages to jump out of the way, in the last second. Sorix turns to him. "Why did you bring Ajax in here? He is infected with the spirit of the Dread. Can't you feel it?" 

The dragon slayer looks at me, and then back at the Dread Lord. 

"I don't see how this child is not who he claims to be. He told me that you are his father," he says. The Dread Lord snorts. 

"Dread Lords can't have children. We become sterile, the second we take up the office," I bow my head then. I really should have known that the plan wouldn't work. This small detail is what exposed me. 

"Well, now that we have him, what do we do?" The dragon slayer asks. The Dread Lord gives me a predatory smirk. 

"I'd say kill him, but the Dread is just going to reanimate his corpse. Which is not good for us. Hey, Ajax, do you still want to kill Giv? Because, if you do, I can make you disappear," Sorix tells me. He twirls a dagger in his hands. A toothpick, against my bulk. I try to shift, but the barrier makes my mana fizzle away. 

"I have much to make up for, when it comes to my son," I say. The two don't look as if they believe me. That is ok. I don't expect them to. "Coming as close to death as I did, I had the time to think things through." 

"We will see about that," the dragon slayer says, and then pulls out a sheet of paper. There is a rune written on it. "You can't be allowed to go after Giv, anymore. Yesterday, you kidnapped Elias, tomorrow, it might be Erik."

"Wait, we have to get the Dread out of him, first," the Dread Lord says. He opens a desk drawer. I can feel the deity's indignation, when Sorix takes out a glass babble. The necromancer turns to me with a small smile. "You can get the chance to redeem yourself, if you help us now." 

I doubt that Givontair will ever see me as a father again, but it won't hurt, to get the Dread out of myself. Even if it does hurt, I will still do it.  

 

 

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