Read Online Dragonseed by James Maxey - Free Book Online

his voice cracking. He swallowed and tried again. “Bant Bitterwood?”
     “I always wondered if you’d made it out of Conyers in one piece.”
    Burke stared at the flat spot on the blanket where his leg should have been. “Defeat left me with a few scars. It’s taken a victory to rip me in two.”
    “Not a bad victory,” said Bitterwood. “The fields around here are full of dead dragons. The stench for miles is unbelievable. I was walking by buzzards too fat to flap away. You did good, Kanati.”
    “I did what I had to,” said Burke. “Ragnar had no plan; he had passion and an army, but I knew that wasn’t enough. If I’d let him take this fort, then allowed the dragons to crush him, the dragon’s grip on this world would only be stronger. This wasn’t a battle I chose. Still, I admit, watching those dragons rain from the sky made it worth it.” He looked down at his missing limb. “It was worth even this.”
    Bitterwood face went slack. It looked as if Burke’s words had triggered some distant memory. Burke thought he might be about to speak, but when he didn’t, Burke chose to break the silence.
    “You’ve been busy yourself. Jandra tells me you killed practically the entire royal family, including Blasphet. And, you took down Jasmine Robertson, the so-called goddess. She was the real threat to humanity, even more than the dragons.”
    Bitterwood scratched the raspy stubble under his chin. “You know me,” he said. “I’ve never been good at nothing but killing. Killing the goddess wasn’t a big deal. Once I saw past her tricks, she was only a woman.” His shoulders sagged. His voice was softer as he said, “If you’d told me twenty years ago I’d one day kill a woman, I’d have said you were wrong. I thought there were some lines even I wouldn’t cross.” He wasn’t looking directly at Burke as he spoke. As he finished, he slowly shook his head.
    “Don’t beat yourself up over killing that monster,” said Burke.
    Bitterwood looked him in the eyes. Something hardened in his expression. “I did what I had to. I don’t regret it. I’d do it again.”
    “I’m sure you would,” said Burke. “I didn’t mean to imply that you wouldn’t.”
    “Blasphet claimed he was the god of murder. He believed it, I think. He thought he was a god.”
    “I never met him,” said Burke, uncertain where this change of subject was heading. “I always did admire the body count he racked up among dragons, though. You too, by the way. You put the fear of God into every dragon in this kingdom, Bant.”
    “No,” said Bitterwood. “That wasn’t who they feared. There is no god, Kanati, to dispense vengeance upon the wicked. I had to do the job myself. I am the Death of All Dragons. I am the Ghost Who Kills.”
    Burke studied the lines of Bitterwood’s face. There was a haunted look to the man’s eyes. Something about dragon-hatred eventually broke the minds of almost anyone it seized.
    “What brings you here, Bant?” asked Burke.
    “A girl who talks to ghosts.”
    Burke furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”
    “I’m not traveling alone,” said Bitterwood. “I’m the guardian of a girl named Zeeky, and her brother, Jeremiah, once I find him. Their family was killed by the goddess. The ghosts of everyone from their village are trapped in a crystal ball. Zeeky can hear them whispering to her. They’ve told Zeeky we need to save Jandra.”
    “You’re here because you’re guided by ghosts?” Burke asked. Saying it out loud didn’t help it make more sense. “I’m afraid the ghosts have led you astray. Jandra was here, but she left at sunset. What time is it?”
    “Almost dawn,” said Bitterwood.
    “She’s miles away by now.”
    Bitterwood sighed. “In fairness to Zeeky, the ghosts didn’t say Jandra was here. We followed her first to the Nest. We learned that she’d come to Dragon Forge. I should have come straight to the gates yesterday. Instead I wanted to investigate the