Free The Dragon Hunter and the Mage by V. R. Cardoso Page A

hard for you…” he concluded. “I will leave one man at your door. If there is anything you need….”
    Doric nodded absent-mindedly.
    “We leave for Fausta in the morning. Good night, Lord Auron.”
    “Good night, Sergeant.”
    The door closed and Doric looked out the window. It was getting dark. It had been many years since a day had gone by this quick. Mother Ava, how he needed a drink….
    He thought about asking for some wine, but he wanted something stronger. Besides, judging from the jar he had drank before, they only served vinegar in this place. He remembered his silver pocket-bottle. He hadn’t touched it on his way to Augusta. Had he even brought it?
    He searched his jacket from one end to the other. No sign of the pocket-bottle, but he did find something else. An apple. He had forgotten all about it.
    “Just don’t open it until you’re alone,” the woman had told him.  
    Probably just some lunatic. But how had she known his name?
    Cassia….
    This was exactly the kind of thing she would do, and she knew he was in Augusta. She surely wouldn’t waste a chance to see him.
    No, she wouldn’t take such a risk. Aric could end up paying for it. She wouldn’t dare. He looked at the apple. There was only one way to find out.
    He brought the apple to his mouth and stuck his teeth on it.
    What if it’s poisoned?
    Tarsus would love nothing better than have him killed. Doric took the apple away from his mouth. His teeth were now imprinted on the peel.
    No. If Tarsus wanted him dead he would have killed him already. No one would stop him, but in fact, there was someone stopping him. Cassia would rip his heart out if he tried.
    Doric went outside and asked the soldier to light up the candle in his room. Then, he locked himself in again and studied the entire surface of the apple. With the exception of his teeth marks, there was no sign that the apple had ever been pried open. There was no way something had been placed inside it.
    He smiled cheerlessly. A crazy woman had given him an apple and look at how he had gotten. Of course Cassia wouldn’t risk Aric’s life just so she could meet him in some smelly alley. Naturally, Tarsus wouldn’t try to kill him either. That was the agreement the Emperor had made with Cassia. The marriage in exchange for Aric’s and Doric’s lives. It wasn’t an agreement Doric liked, but it was the agreement.
    He shook his head, looked at the apple, and took a bite from it as to close the matter for good.
    He chewed twice and then stopped. Something wasn’t right. He put two fingers in his mouth and pulled a strange, rough and yet soft object. It was a roll of parchment half as long as his pinky. How in the mercy of Mother Ava had that gotten inside the apple?
    He unrolled the parchment and read silently.
     
    BEHIND THE CLOSET THERE IS A DOOR
    WAIT FOR MIDNIGHT
    OLD TEMPLE

Chapter 4
    The Secret Meeting
     
    He read the message three times. The second time, he spat out the pieces of apple still inside his mouth. The third time he dropped the apple to the floor, then looked at the closet.
    Was it possible?
    The piece of furniture looked like a gigantic brick made of wood and seemed to weigh accordingly. He tried moving it, pulling on one side, but the closet did not budge. He placed a shoulder against it and pushed with as much strength as he could. It was like trying to move a wall. He stopped so he could take a breath but resumed pushing quickly until his face turned red and finally the closet gave in. It moved only one foot, but as it dragged along the floor it screeched.
    Doric stopped, scared, and stared at the room’s door, holding his breath. Had the guard heard anything? Nothing happened. The door did not open. He decided it was safe and looked at the piece of wall that had been revealed. There was a door back there, no doubt about it.
    Cassia….
    This time, he pushed with both his hands. Sweat broke on his forehead and the veins in his neck looked like they were