Son of Khyber_ Thorn of Breland - Keith Baker [67]
“No offense intended … Nyrielle.” He smiled as he said her name. “You’ve always been better than I at finding your way around in the dark. I’d hoped you’d be my guide.”
Thorn had been so distracted that she hadn’t noticed when her sight shifted into the spectrum of grays. She knew Drego had no similar gift for seeing in the dark—or hadn’t when last they had met. Nonetheless, he seemed to have no trouble keeping his eyes fixed on hers.
“Of course,” Thorn said. “I’m always glad to lend a hand to an old friend. Let me show you a few of our sights.”
A moment later Drego was on his knees. Thorn stood behind him, her forearm pressing against the back of his neck, Steel laid against his throat. “We call this the wall,” she said, driving Drego’s forehead against it with a firm tap. Steel said nothing, but Thorn could feel his amusement.
“Hardly … a way … to treat … family,” Drego gasped.
Thorn pressed her knee into the small of his back. “What are you doing in Breland, Drego?”
Considering the situation, he remained remarkably composed. “Being horribly mistreated,” he said.
She slammed his forehead against the wall again. “Don’t push me, Thrane. I was willing to work with you when we were both on neutral ground—and even then, you betrayed me. Give me one good reason not to kill you right now.”
“You’re about to fight a fallen angel,” he said.
“So it seems.”
“You’ll need me to survive. My dragonmark may be as false as yours, but I am trained to battle creatures not of this plane. I can find this radiant idol, and I can help you destroy it.”
Thorn considered this, letting Steel’s edge press against Drego’s soft skin. “And how did you come to be here? What do you stand to gain?”
Remarkably, Drego still had the aplomb to chuckle. “Brelish. You see the world in shades of gray, but sometimes it is black and white. I’m a flame-bearer of the church, Nyrielle. I’ve sworn to protect the innocent from supernatural evil, and that means driving these horrors from the world. For hundreds of years, the Church of the Silver Flame battled evil across all Five Nations. Then the war came. Now we are not trusted. We are seen as agents of Thrane, when we actually serve a power that would shield every nation.”
“The Silver Flame has churches throughout Breland,” Thorn growled. “Why do we need you to come in and solve our problems?”
“You don’t have a priest in Breland worth my spit,” Drego said. Thorn could almost hear him rolling his eyes. “This nation has always been riddled with corruption. Graft and greed drives your hierophant, not the Voice of the Silver Flame. Those with the courage to fight evil either fled to Thrane during the war or have been held in check by their corrupt superiors.”
Interesting, Steel observed. So he admits that he’s a spy, but claims that he was sent into Breland to assassinate an evil spirit.
“This is hardly the first time this has happened,” Drego said. “Throughout the war, Flamebearers worked in Aundair, Breland, Cyre … even as far as the Lhazaar Principalities. Yes, we want to see Galifar united by the Silver Flame. But faith must always come before politics. The Flame exists to battle these creatures. It is our duty to protect all innocents, regardless of nationality, from these beasts.”
“It’s a pretty story,” Thorn said. “Perhaps even enough to keep me from killing you as a spy. But the last time I put my trust in you, you betrayed me and nearly unleashed a plague upon my nation.”
“Oh, that,” Drego said. “If you’re going to keep bringing that up, we’re never going to—”
Thorn called on the false dragonmark, letting the pain flow through her and into the Thrane. She held back its full power, but it was enough. He thrashed beneath her hand, gasping for breath.
“I’m not an ambassador tonight, Drego. I’m not playing the courtly game. I need a reason