Dragon Venom (Obsidian Chronicles Book 3) by Lawrence Watt-Evans Read Free Book Online

ancient foes. You like the thought of a thousand years of life, and then giving birth to a benign creature, rather than an abomination, upon your death."
    "Well—yes."
    Arlian shook his head. "I do not believe in your benign dragons. All I have ever seen of them has been destruction, pain, and evil. I believe it to be their very nature."
    "I am not entirely convinced, my lord."
    "That does not particularly concern me."
    "The dragons drove the old wild magic, the wizards and demons and monsters, from the Lands of Man—surely that was a beneficent act!"
    "First, if that did in fact occur, it was thousands upon thousands of years ago, and anything we know of it is probably so garbled as to bear little resemblance to the truth. I would note that you attribute this to the dragons, as I suppose your parents taught you, while I was taught that it was the gods who drove out chaos before they died. Second, I would suppose the dragons did so, if they did, to remove any challenges to their own rule, and not out of any sort of altruism."
    "Nonetheless, it was a benefit to humanity."
    "If it happened, yes, it unquestionably was—the lands beyond the border are hellish chaos, and we are all blessed to be natives of the Lands of Man, rather than slaves in Tirikindaro or clansmen cowering behind iron and silver wards in Arithei. Even so, I hardly think that balances out the dragons' evil."
    Rolinor had no immediate answer to that, and Arlian took the
    opportunity to move to the driver's bench, beside Black, and inquire about the road and the weather. That bench only seated two, leaving Rolinor to his own devices.
    They camped by the roadside that night, and Rolinor wearied
    Arlian with further explication of how the dragons might actually be a benefit to humanity, and suggestions of how the Duke might choose his court more wisely by paying more attention to ancestry and less to charming words. Arlian, pleading fatigue, retired early.
    The next day was no better, but there was no escape in the cramped space of the single wagon. Thrust irrevocably together as they were, Arlian quickly grew inexpressibly tired of Rolinor's company; by the third day of the journey he fervently wished they had brought a second wagon so that he could avoid conversation. By the time they reached Westguard, almost a month later, spring had washed away the snow and Arlian's boredom had washed away all interest in keeping an eye on the younger man, or worrying about any further attempts Rolinor might make to obtain dragon venom.
    He tried to convince himself that since Rolinor had behaved himself on the journey and showed no untoward interest in dragon venom, he had demonstrated that he could be trusted to continue unsupervised.
    The truth was that Arlian was thoroughly sick of Rolinor's arrogance, his wishful theorizing about the nature of dragons, and his obsession with the minutiae of genealogy and court intrigue; he wanted to be rid of the youth.
    Accordingly, as they rode through a cold drizzle past the ranked wooden catapults into Westguard, he said, "I want to stop in at an inn I own, my lord, and inspect the books, and I'm sure you would prefer not to delay; why don't you go on ahead to Manfort, and let His Grace know we're on our way, and that we left the others in Ethinior?
    Although we have no horse for you, the walk is easy enough, and the rain has melted the snow and ice from the road."
    "I would be delighted to oblige you, my lord," Rolinor replied, with a bow; he appeared genuinely pleased, and Arlian wondered whether the youth was as weary of Arlian as Arlian was of him.
    When Black brought the wagon to a stop Rolinor was in the back, collecting his belongings; a moment later Arlian helped him climb down and settle his packs in place. Then, with a final wave, the young nobleman marched off to the east, heedless of the thin rain.
    Arlian watched him go, then muttered to Black, "I have rarely been so glad to see someone's back receding."
    "While I