Read Online Caged Warrior by Lindsey Piper - Free Book Online

such an opportunity.
    Mal cleared his throat. Time to bring this meeting to a head. “What’s more, new information
     suggests the existence of an underground network of Dragon Kings. They work in secret
     and are unaccounted for among their clans. More than that, they have reached across
     clan boundaries. No politics. No allegiances other than to our people as a whole.”
    Gasps of surprise and disbelief met his words. Every senator believed that he or she
     held sway over their territorial, increasingly bureaucratic governments. They likely
     thought it impossible for clansmen to escape entrenched lore and self-importance.
     Managing Council meetings even twice a year was becoming more and more difficult.
     No one was willing to compromise for the greater good.
    Not even this small group.
    Yet out there, he believed others might see the world—and their pending extinction—with
     more pragmatism. That gave him as much hope as Nynn’s letter.
    “They don’t have a name,” he said, with all of his calm and focus. “No codes. No way
     of getting in touch.”
    “Then who delivered the letter? Carrier pigeons?” Wearing a sneer, Pendray Youth made
     as if he were ready to retire for the evening.
    Mal paused, looking the rebellious senator in the eye. “It was Tallis of Pendray.”
    No one spoke. Mal could see them processing this new information, testing it for truth.
     Finding it lacking.
    “The Heretic,” Tigony Youth whispered. “He’s been dead for years.”
    “He hasn’t been dead, because he’s been a Pendray myth all along.” Sath Wisdom shook
     her head. “Some legendary assassin? I don’t believe any of this.”
    Mal smiled coldly. “Careful. Calling me Trickster is one thing. That sounded very
     close to calling me a liar. I refuse to discount any possibility.”
    The pair of Indranan senators shared a glance before their Youth spoke. “We’re with
     Sath Wisdom on this. He doesn’t exist. Never has.”
    “Pendray Youth?” Mal stood, placed both hands on the table, and let it take his weight.
     The senator’s natural golden color had drained to a sickly pallor, as if he’d seen
     ghost. “He’s of your clan, so tell me. Is Tallis of Pendray a myth? Is he dead?”
    “The Heretic is not a myth,” he said, his voice hushed and monotone. “And as far as
     the Pendray government is aware, he is not dead. We would’ve seen the celebratory
     fires from here in these mountains. Our people have hunted him for decades.” Although
     he appeared to have aged in a matter of moments, he snapped out of his daze. “And
     he just delivered this letter? Like some Good Samaritan?”
    “Don’t think me so generous,” came a shadow-dark voice.
    Mal stood to his full height, pleased with Tallis’s timing.
    Guards materialized out of nowhere. The Council’s Youths jumped to their feet. Only
     the crackle of electricity from Mal’s fingertips silenced the chaos. “Stand down,
     senators. Now. And I suggest you introduce yourself. Quickly.”
    “The Council spoke of the devil, so I appeared. I am Tallis of Pendray. I assumed you’d want to have a little chat.”
    Everything about him, from his posture to his words, was laced with sarcasm. He radiated
     an impression of complete disregard. He was a man who didn’t care about a thing, not
     even dying. As with any Dragon King intent on blending into the world at large, he
     wore inconspicuous clothing—a pair of black jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt layered
     with a black sweater. The casual, almost sloppy disregard for fashion was meant to
     detract from, not accentuate, the classically handsome features of their people. His
     hands were in his pockets, as if interrupting the Council’s twice-yearly meeting was
     as common as going to a cinema.
    Shock and curiosity layered in the Council meeting room like smoke twining with clouds.
     Despite having brought the man to the fortress, Mal held no respect for the Heretic.
     The man’s list of crimes