Page 56 of Heart of the High King
“Right,” Conley groused as they walked into the Office of the Emperor.
“Go on in,” Royal Duke-mate Niko Draconis said once he saw them.
Never in a million years would Conley display any of the rage inside him toward the gentle man in front of him, so he mustered up a smile and blew him a kiss as he pushed through the doors that blocked him from the two most powerful men in the Council of Sorcery and Shifters.
“I can tell by the look on your faces that you’re going to ruin my afternoon,” Emperor Chrysander Draconis said when he saw them. “Have a seat and tell us what’s going on.”
“Have you talked to Chand?” Drystan asked.
Chrysander nodded. “I know he resurrected a wolf for this man yesterday and that the guy managed to survive two surgeries, which are the first of many he’ll need should he last that long. The doctor, unfortunately, called to inform us that they determined he was a dragon while we were at lunch. We’ve been unable to get a hold of him to get an in-depth update on his condition.”
“A dragon who has no beast,” Conley said, shaking his head in disbelief. “This guy must have the courage of ten men.”
“They know for sure he has no beast?” Imperial Duke Damian Draconis asked.
“Not a scale to be seen in his eyes, and his blood work is barely registering him more than human. That’s why the humans got to him first. From what we understand, they didn’t do him many favors, though once he was transferred to the Council the druids certainly unwittingly played a massive part in pushing this guy closer to the veil,” Drystan responded.
“Okay, tell me what you know,” Chrysander ordered. “Chand said they found him on a road?”
“Yeah, I don’t know where. I assume somewhere in Kentucky, since that’s where the humans transferred him to a Council hospital, but they aren’t cooperating,” Conley stated. “We’ve learned that he was medevacked from somewhere to a larger place because of the extent of his injuries. I have no way to track him due to the way he traveled. Not even the sentinels had any luck. Where he was hurt and who is responsible is at this point unknown. I don’t even know who he is, and I doubt even his mother could recognize him. His intolerance to magic caused massive swelling, and he was already covered in festering wounds. They’re pumping him full of medicines and he’s in a coma, which they say at this point is a good thing because it allows him to start healing, but he’s malnourished and full of infection. They had to remove parts of internal organs because they distended so much in reaction to the magic that it choked off the blood supply killing the cells. I would show you pictures that we took for evidence but, honestly, I don’t think it’s a good idea. He’s fucked up, and the doctors are giving him less than a one percent chance at survival. This is likely going to be a homicide investigation.”
“He is a dragon; can we donate blood to assist? I know often doctors can boost healing that way. We are strong and we could call D’Vaire,” Emperor Ellery Draconis offered.
“We asked, and apparently that’s a no go. He can’t handle it because he’s not really a dragon. He’s somewhere between human and shifter. No one has ever survived losing their beast, so this is chartering new ground. With this doctor’s friend who works for the humans, they managed to get their hands on donated blood. They’re using it to heavily dilute dragon blood and are working on the right mixture to aid him. The doctor says they’re basically having to make things up on the go because he doesn’t really fit into a category that anyone is familiar with. He’s weaker than a drakeling even, right now. They’re not sure if that’s a result of his extensive injuries or what. Time will tell,” Conley provided.
“What happened to him?” Damian asked.
“I don’t know yet. I want him to wake up so we can ask him but, if that miracle happens, it may be weeks from now. There are scars everywhere. Whatever happened, it wasn’t a singular event. The doctor told me there’s evidence of whipping, burns, and beatings. This guy was tortured,” Drystan commented, and the fury boiled through Conley’s veins as he thought about it yet again.
“I don’t suppose we know if it was humans or one of ours, do we?” Ducblanc Zane Draconis asked.
Conley blew out a breath. “No clue. I have no suspects. No crime scene. No name of even the victim. At this point, the best I can do is narrow it down potentially to one state where I believe the crime may have been committed, which basically gives me crap to work with.”
“I will call the human police, and Chrys and I will try to pressure them into telling us more. It may not work, but at least we will have tried,” Ellery stated.
“That’s a good idea, Elf. These guys have been complete assholes. We don’t even know how long they held on to him before his transfer,” Drystan said. “And I’ll give Tiri a dollar for my swear word.”
“In this case, please keep it,” Ducblanc-mate Tiridythas D’Vaire pleaded, and Conley smiled at the sprite with wet eyes watching them from the workshop that was nestled inside the large office. “I hope you can help this poor man.”
“Me too, Tiri,” Conley replied.
“I want him to live, and I want justice,” Chrysander stated.
“We’ll keep you updated,” Drystan remarked, getting to his feet. “We’ve got fallen knights volunteering to take their turn guarding him. We all want to figure out what kind of sick fuck would do this, and I keep telling that wolf we have to keep tranquilized to continue to give this guy his strength. He’s going to need it.”
