The True Confessions of a Nine-Tailed Fox

Chapter 69: Homecoming

It was quite a story. Den was right about that.

He and Floridiana took turns regaling us with their adventures, from their first run-in with Captain Rock above the Caligo Amnis, to their meeting with the Lady of the Photinia Tree, to their stints with her ally the Lady of the Evergreen Azalea and many other tree spirits. On their way out of the Wilds, they returned to the Lady of the Photinia Tree and negotiated for knock-out smoke to use against Lord Silurus. That led to a second battle against the rock macaque demons, which culminated in Lord Magnissimus stepping in and dealing Captain Rock such a crushing defeat that King Haplor was forced to accede to Den and Floridiana's demands and send an army to assist us.

Unlike the other taskforce members (mostly Bobo), I didn't gasp or ooh and aah as I listened, of course, but I did find myself breathing faster at times. It was an exciting tale. I'd give them that. But beyond that, everything they described triggered such a sense of nostalgia in me. Oh, I'd lived much further west in the Jade Mountains, so I recognized none of the demons or landmarks they named. I'd never even heard of the Caligo Amnis. But the landscape – the cliffs, the aspens, the landslides, the narrow icy rivers – it all sounded so familiar. And the constant skirmishing among rulers of fiefs and lone demons – ah, that was my home. That was my world.

A scaly coil nudged me, startling me into a jump. "Isssn't it a good ssstory?" asked Bobo. "I've never ssseen you ssso happy."

Me? Happy?

I'm not happ– I began indignantly, then amended it. Yes, as a matter of fact, I'm pleased to see Den and Floridiana returned to us safely. At the head of an army, no less. Now, what abilities have you developed during your time in the Wilds?

Den – and he was definitely acting like Den again, not Densissimus Imber the mighty dragon king – flashed a big grin. "I've gotten much better at creating illusions, plus I'm physically stronger. And I can do this."

Standing up on his chair, he threw his arms wide. In the corners of the Great Hall, the hot, dead air stirred. It swept around the walls, picking up speed until the tapestries whipped in the wind. A wrought-iron candelabra toppled, spilling its oil lamps across the rushes on the floor. They caught fire with a whoosh.

"Argh!"

Den pushed his hands forward, shoving air at the fire as if he were trying to blow out a single rushlight. That only fanned the flames higher.

Floridiana had buried her head in her hands.

"Was that supposed to happen?" Mistress Jek inquired, half-confident that the dragon king knew what he was doing, yet half-concerned that the floor was on fire.

"Um um um, water water water."

Den scanned the Great Hall for any kind of liquid, but alas, the air was dry and there was no stewpot from which to draw water. He gestured again, and the winds tore the tapestries off the walls and dumped them on top of the fire, smothering it. A burned smell wafted through the room.

The baron wasn't going to like that. But hey, on the bright side, those tapestries had been worn and faded and now he had an excuse to commission new ones.

"Ta-da," said Den, although not very proudly. "I can control the winds now."

I gave the rest of the taskforce a moment to calm their breathing before I got back to business. All right. Those are potentially useful skills against Lord Silurus. Floridiana?

The mage didn't flinch the way she used to when I turned my gaze on her, but she still wouldn't meet my eyes. "For human mages, it's less a matter of developing specific new abilities and more a matter of increasing overall magical strength."