The little dragon wasn’t fooled for a second. The rodent barely hit the sand before she was on it, devouring it in a single, violent bite.
“Verygood,” Bob said proudly, patting her head.
The hatchling licked her chops and darted back into position. Bob was reaching for the next rat when a long black shadow fell over him.
“Dramatic as ever, I see,” he said, tucking the wiggling rodent back into the bag as he turned to squint up at the tall figure silhouetted against the bright desert sun.
“You’re one to talk about drama,” the Black Reach replied as he stepped into the canyon.
Bob smiled politely and opened his arms to the little dragoness, but she just snorted and turned away, skittering down the canyon to hunt the lizards that sheltered in its dirt walls instead.
“So,” Bob said, turning back to the elder seer. “How did you get here so quickly? Express boat from China? Or have you finally gotten over your irrational fear of letting humans fly you?”
“Neither,” the Black Reach said, watching the hatchling hunt. “I didn’t have to rush because I never left in the first place. I knew I’d have to come right back after the incident in your mother’s throne room, so I decided to stay and see a bit of the country. I haven’t been to these lands since before the Europeans invaded.”
“I hope you didn’t cut your vacation short onmyaccount,” Bob said. “We need the tourism income. This coup of Julius’s is costing our clan a fortune.”
The Black Reach nodded, but he wasn’t looking at Bob. His eyes were still locked on the young dragoness crouching at the end of the canyon, her tail twitching back and forth like a cat’s as she waited for the lizard she was stalking to make its move. “You know I can’t leave her with you.”
“I know no such thing,” Bob said. “She’s a Heartstriker.”
“She’s a seer,” the Black Reach said angrily. “And so are you. I cannot permit one clan to control both of the forces that shape our race’s future.” He turned back to Bob with a stern scowl. “Give her to me.”
Bob smiled sweetly. “No.”
The Black Reach’s old eyes narrowed in his too-young human face, but Bob just turned and whistled. The little dragon’s head shot up at the sound, and she whirled around, leaping into Bob’s arms with enough force to make him stumble backward. “Good girl,” he said proudly, hugging her close as he grinned at the Black Reach. “You see? She loves me. How could I possibly give her away?”
The oldest seer looked disgusted. “She’s not a pet.”
“She’s not,” Bob agreed. “But she’ssoclever. Watch this.” He grinned down at the dragon in his arms. “Go on, darling. Show him what I taught you.”
The little dragon growled deep in her throat, and then she was gone, her dark feathered body vanishing like smoke. When the haze cleared, Bob was holding a human child. A tiny, delicately boned toddler with fine, perfectly straight black hair and predatory golden eyes that absolutely didnotbelong on a mortal face.
“You see?” Bob said, delighted. “She’s gifted. Even Amelia couldn’t hold a human shape straight out of the egg, but she picked it up on the first try.”
“All the more reason not to leave her with you,” the Black Reach said. “Be reasonable, Brohomir. She has her whole life in front of her. If you truly cared for her future, you would not risk it by dragging her into your doomed plans.”
“But that’s exactly why I need her,” Bob argued, clutching the girl closer. “She’s my ace. My winning move.”
“Then she is useless,” the seer said. “We both know how this game ends. The only thing I can’t see is why you’re still playing it.”
“I’d think that’d be obvious,” Bob said with a shrug. “We’ve both seen the future, but unlike you, I don’t like mine. Hence: plots.”
“The last thingyouneed is more plots,” the Black Reach snapped. “This isn’t my fault. I’m not forcing you to act. You can always choose to turn back, abandon your plans, and be spared.”
“Oh,” Bob said, grinning wide. “I get it now. This is my official warning, isn’t it?” He laughed in delight. “I’m flattered you came in person! Estella only got a phone call.”
“Estella wasn’t being half so reckless.”
“Yes, well, she always did lack vision,” Bob agreed. “But tell me honestly, Mr. Death of Seers. In the ten centuries you’ve been working this gig, has that line ever worked? Did any seer ever hear your warning, say ‘you know, he’s right,’ and abandon their plans?”
“No,” the Black Reach said bitterly. “But that doesn’t mean I get to stop. This is not my ‘gig.’ It’s my reason for being. I am Dragon Sees Eternity. Like my brother, Dragon Sees the Beginning, I was created by your ancestors for a single purpose: to ensure that the mistakes of the past that destroyed our home and doomed all dragons to be refugees on this plane areneverrepeated. That is my sacred duty, the task for which I exist. But though I can never be lenient in my responsibilities, Icanbe merciful. I reach out to every seer the moment I see them starting down a forbidden path and offer them my knowledge. I gave each of them the opportunity the dragons who created me never had: a chance to turn back, to choose another way and avoid destruction. That is the gift I give to every seer, and now, I’m giving it to you.”
“Again, I’m flattered,” Bob said. “But—”
“No,” he growled. “No buts. Stop trying to be clever for a moment, Brohomir, andlisten. You are embarking down a future that has only one outcome, and it is the one I cannot allow. We’ve had many good conversations over your short life. I would even go so far as to call you my friend. Soasyour friend, I’m begging you, don’t do this. Don’t make me kill you.”
Bob sighed, looking down at the rocky, reddish dirt between them. “It’s not every day one receives a heartfelt plea from one of the two great dragon constructs,” he said at last. “I’m touched, I really am, but I’m afraid my plans remain unchanged.”
