Page 69 of A Fate of Ice and Lies
While his grin grew, my frown deepened.
“Genius, huh?”
Vith!This might backfire.
“How sick?” I asked.
“If they eat it, they’ll be vomiting for days. Maybe over a week.”
“None of these people can withstand vomiting for a week,” I growled. “They’d die, and it wouldn’t just be on you, but me too.”
“Elias . . .”
While I wanted to scream at one of my closest friends, I reeled away from him.
“Nalari,” I shouted.
Rejecting the way my back burned in pain, I ran to the closest clearing, where Nalari awaited me. The climb to her back was even harder this time, and it became increasingly difficult to ignore my back.
“Are we seeing the chief of police or Donnie?”she asked.
“Donnie.”
The chief of police had proven to be a chief only in title. Hecared little for his people, while Donnie was always around, both helping and fighting for the people of this region. I had to let him know about the stolen livestock, not only to see how he planned on keeping his people accountable but also to ensure whatever magic George had used was reversible.
When we were closer to town, she lifted her large snout in the air and turned her head from one side to the other as she sniffed. She pitched westward and flapped her wings harder.
“I knew they stole from us last night,”Nalari admitted.
“Why didn’t you say something?”I asked.“It would’ve been nice to have been prepared against my uncle.”
“You were happy.”She huffed.“If I’d known your uncle would be waiting for you, I would’ve told you.”
“Do you know who did it?”
She didn’t answer.
“Nalari,”I asked in exasperation.
“I don’t.”Another long pause.“After Teddy’s friends arrived and I felt you were safe, I left to hunt something far worse.”
I stiffened and rested my pounding head on the back of her neck.“What is it, Nalari?”
“Do you remember last night when I told you to tell Teddy I’d watch over her donkey?”
I did.
“She specifically asked me to look out for a three-headed dragon.”
Blood drained from my face while my heart slammed against its cage. But hydras, here in the human realm.
“Nalari,” I whispered.
They were one of the most lethal creatures from our realm. It could regenerate limbs, but worse, if a head was cut off, two came back in its place. Their blood was as poisonous as the fumes they breathed from their nostrils, and although itdidn’t kill if it touched you, it ate away your skin in a way that made you pine for death.
With the thunderbirds and now hydras as a threat, I feared for Teddy and her friends. Feared for all the human realm.
“Did you find any?”
