Free Chasing the Dragon by Jason Halstead Page A

sighed. He gestured for Mordrim and Garrick. "Come along, boys. If I'm to be chaperoned, let's hurry along. Try to keep up with me."
    Garrick snorted. "Talk to the dwarf . My legs are longer than yours."
    "And mind who you're calling a boy ." Mordrim reminded the wizard that dwarves live longer than humans.
    "So you're old and short," Garrick mused as they stepped onto the dock and headed towards shore. The dwarf's response was lost as they moved away.
    "Come, the sooner we do this the better," Alto said after he drank another cup filled with warm water.
    "We can wait for them to come back," Carson suggested.

Alto shook his head. "Patrina can't wait," he said.
    Carson nodded. "For Patrina, then."
    Alto frowned. "Why don't I ever get anyone willing to devote themselves to me like they do her?"
    "You don't fill out a suit of armor quite as well," Karthor offered.
    Alto blinked and then looked at the slight smile on the priest's face. He shook his head and smiled. "I won't argue that. Come, my friends, let's go while I still can."
    The trip through the city was painful for Alto. The heat nearly overwhelmed him at times. When the heat wasn't so bad , he could think straight. He still had to contend with muscles that would cramp up if he stayed in one position for very long. Waiting on merchant caravans and royal wagons would have earned a curse from him if he'd had the strength to utter them.
    It was nearing midday when he staggered up the steps to the palace and strode past the guards who stood beside the main entrance. He turned and walked with as much confidence as he could muster to the wing where Sulim stayed.
    Two large men with bare chest s and flowing white pants met them at the entrance to Lord Badawi's rooms. The guards had curved swords at their side, scimitars like Namitus's. It was a common weapon in Shazamir.
    "Jakar is busy," one of the guards told him.
    Alto shook his head. "I don't care. I told him I'd be back to check. I'm here. He said he'd be ready. Find him. Now."
    The two guards looked at each other before the one who had spoken relented. "Lord Alto? Just you . Your friends must wait here."
    Karthor spoke up first . "I don't think that's a good idea."
    "It's fine," Alto snapped at him, afraid he'd lose his chance to question Jakar.
    Carson smiled at one of the guards and then gaped as a beautiful southern woman passed through two archways in the hall, wearing a long flowing loincloth and little else save an ornate necklace across her chest and shoulders. She carried a tray with a pitcher and some fruit on it. "I'll uh, I'll wait for you here. Give us a call if you need us."
    Karthor turned and glared at the woodsman.
    "I'll be fine," Alto assured them. He turned to the guard. "Take me to Jakar."
    The guard turned away and walked down the hall and through one of the archways. Alto passed through a couple of rooms and then an open air garden filled with lush plants that reminded him of the jungle on the island of Britanley, complete with trees laden with bananas, pineapples, and oranges. A few rooms later and Alto was taken into a room with couches filled with pillows. A table in the midst of the couches had a gold platter with a jug and two cups, as well as several ripe fruits sitting around it.
    "Jakar will meet you here," the guard said.
    Alto watched him go through narrowed eyes. For showing up without warning, Jakar seemed to have a plan for how to meet him. He wondered if their long walk through the palace had allowed someone to warn him, or if he'd been suspecting a visit since the attack the night before?
    Alto glanced down at the jug and the fruits. He swallowed, trying to ease the dry ache in his throat. The liquid looked like water or wine ; he couldn't tell without getting closer to it. He steeled himself and turned away, not trusting the questionable hospitality.
    Jakar entered the room a few minutes later. Two men, both larger than the ones at the front entrance to the wing, waited outside the