Free The Dragon Circle by Irene Radford

Hestiia, tucking her beneath his chin. She just fit there. Together they stood for long moments watching the last of the daylight fade beyond the western horizon.
    â€œWhat troubles you, husband?” she asked.
    His senses still reeled from the Tambootie. He dared not mention his reaction to the weed. He’d cleaned up after himself as best he could. But he had to lock his quaking knees and pretend nothing had happened.
    â€œKim?” Hestiia prompted him.
    â€œTrouble comes,” he replied.
    â€œWhat form does this trouble take?”
    Kim sighed. She’d not allow the subject to drop until he told her all. He did not like secrets. His family had too many. But some things were best kept private among his brothers.
    â€œTell me.” She tried to step away from him.
    He pulled her back against his body, savoring her warmth and her love.
    â€œMore people from my homeland approach. They will bring many miracles. But each miracle comes with a price. They will poison the air and water. Our ears will be assaulted with noise day and night until we can no longer hear birds sing or crickets chirp.” How else could he explain the cost of industrialization?
    Magic would do nothing to stop these people.
    â€œMany, many more people will come to live here. At first the land will produce enough for all, but eventually the fields will grow tired and give forth smaller and smaller crops. My people will poison the soil to force it to grow more and more crops. And still more people will come, blind to the pollution, blind to the conflicts that arise when too many people fight for the same small piece of land. They will destroy everything we hold dear.”
    â€œThen we must stop them.”
    â€œNot so easy.”
    â€œBut you and your brothers are the Stargods. Surely you and your white dragon Rover can defeat them, send them back where they came from.”
    â€œThere are too many of them. They have bigger ships and more powerful weapons than we do.”
    â€œThere must be a way . . .”
    â€œWe have one small chance. We have to find and destroy a small device before they find us.”
    â€œI saw the Tracker follow your brother Konner. She can help.”
    â€œI pray that she can.” But Kim doubted it.
    â€œYour silence tells me there is more trouble than a device that calls these Others.”
    â€œAre you sure you do not read my mind?” He kissed the top of her head.
    â€œI know you well, husband. What else troubles you?”
    â€œThe beacon we seek was stolen.”
    â€œWho would dare!”
    â€œWho, indeed?”
    They both stared in silence at the silhouettes of trees against the last glow of light.
    â€œHanassa died. Your brother killed him. Gentian and Iianthe dropped his body into the fiery heart of the mountain,” Hestiia said.
    â€œIndeed. But Hanassa began life as a purple dragon, triplet to Gentian and Iianthe. But only one purple-tip may exist at any time. Gentian shrank to become a flywacket, Iianthe remained a dragon. Hanassa sent his spirit into a human body. Are we certain Hanassa’s spirit died with his body?”
    â€œYes!”
    â€œThen he must have had more disciples than Taneeo. We know how much our new priest hated Hanassa. We know we can trust Taneeo. Another must be haunting the caverns and making mischief for us.”
    â€œWe must ask Taneeo. He would know if Hanassa trained any followers.”
    â€œI hate to bother him. He has not yet recovered from . . . from his ordeal.” Ten drugged needles from Loki’s rifle had run all the way through Hanassa’s body into Taneeo’s. One hundred or more of the needles had lodged in Hanassa’s vital organs and muscles. The priest of Simurgh had died instantly. Taneeo had been knocked unconscious. Already weakened by months of privation while Hanassa’s slave, the apprentice priest had taken a long time to recover from the wounds and the drugs. Even now, after