The Poison Prince

Chapter VI

"WHEN I heard tales of The Draca I always imagined them living slightly grander." Taiden said, choosing his words delicately and speaking in a hushed voice. No one was around, but he appeared on edge, as though hoards of The Draca might rush them any moment.

"Maybe they did; once upon a time," Xylia shrugged and double checked that her hood was in place, "so few are left now that I don't think they could do much more than this."

It was Taiden who walked forward first, taking those initial intrusive steps into a place where no uninvited outsiders had walked for years. The clacking of his horse's hooves against the cobblestone caused faces to appear by twitching curtains and Xylia held her breath as doors opened. This was the moment she had been dreading since she had begun to lead the two men back to the village.

"There is nothing here to pillage or destroy," one man shouted from the door to his home, causing Taiden to chuckle beneath the safety of his own hood.

"Quite a welcome party," he whispered to Xylia who walked anxiously by his side.

She dared a peek at him, and then kept her focus on her scuffed boots. "No one has come to our village in a long time. Healers we know of in advance, but no one comes this far north anymore. There's nothing beyond here."

"Then why did The Draca come here?" Julius asked, keeping a cautious eye on the distrusting faces that followed them further into the tiny hamlet.

Xylia sighed softly and tried to remember the story she had been told by her uncle many times before. "It was before the diseases started striking people down. The Draca have always been proud and thought themselves superior to many. Living alone they could basically make their own rules for their town. It started off well, there were traders and merchants who would come out this far for the wares of The Draca, but then when everyone started dying..."

"It becomes easier to ignore it when the truth is too impossible to believe." Taiden understood that only too well, and the gentleness of his voice surprised Xylia so that all she managed was a small nod in response.

"That is far enough!" A bold, angry voice halted their steps. Before them stood a man dressed in black finery. He glared at them with bitter amber eyes. Xylia bowed her head more to hide her features, knowing the trouble she would be in if she was recognised before Taiden and Julius introduced themselves. Still, she wanted to prepare them. She had brought them right to the village square without any real warning of what The Draca were like. They were proud and inhospitable creatures of fire, who cared now only for themselves. "You have walked into our home without invitation, without warning, and you will reveal yourselves to me at once!"

"This is Skandar Sulnn. He's leader of The Draca." Xylia whispered to Taiden as quietly as she could, but it was enough to have Skandar's gaze move from Taiden to her.

In a mere second, his eyes went from bitter to enraged. "Mutt!" He spat the word venomously and flew forward to grab Xylia by the scruff of her neck. She was violently shoved to the ground and the skin of her palms was stripped away by the grit. She hissed at the pain, but before she could do anything else Skandar grabbed her again, lifting her almost entirely off the ground by her throat. "What is the meaning of this?! Did you lead trespassers to our village?! For what purpose?!" His grasp burnt her flesh, and she whimpered and struggled against him, but he had the power of the dragon on his side whereas Xylia never would.

"That is enough! Let go of her immediately!" Taiden stepped forward and drew his own sword; a weapon made of the finest steel and balanced just for him.