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work for them. There are other shape-shifters who could do their
bidding. He glared at Hash.  At any rate, you knew Che kendral
must ve had a good reason if he d disobeyed. You knew you should
have helped him. Instead, you attacked him in front of the entire
Golden Eagle army.
Hash waited as his father continued to rant. It was true. He had
indeed attacked his half brother. But he d always been convinced that
behind his cold mask, Chek was a loose cannon. After all, he d
abandoned his coven in favor of the Imperium and a partnership with
a wolf shape-shifter.
It might not have turned out this way, but Chek had been furious
after their unpleasant meeting. Much to his dismay, Hash found out
his half brother was merely protecting his mate, something quite
understandable even from Hash s point of view. And when
Che kendral subsequently refused to come home on account of
Hash s faux pas, their father grew furious.
 You should have let me deal with the situation, the older dragon
said.  But that s over and done with. For the moment, you will go to
the plague lands. In Che kendral s absence, you re taking over his job
as an agent.
Hash cursed under his breath. He didn t want his brother s job. If
he agreed with his father on one thing, it was that he would never
understand why Chek had gone off to join the Imperium s security
force. However, he didn t have much choice but to obey. At least the
Craving Owen 37
trip would get him out of the coven and give him a break from his
father s endless nagging.
Nodding his understanding, Hash listened to the details of his
mission. Apparently, a human emerged in the plague lands the same
day of Chek s departure. Nothing else was known, and both
Ogash dral and the Imperium officials wanted to know what in the
world happened there. Had Chek lost his mate in the energy storm? It
seemed very unlikely, since energy storms acted like one-way portals.
A storm that opened on Uli could only be used to take someone to
Earth. Similarly, a storm on Earth served just for transport to Uli.
They were mutually exclusive. For that reason, the Imperium could
not control who came to their world but did keep a heavy watch on all
intruders and carefully regulated all departures.
At the same time, the alliance between the Golden Eagles and the
dryads needed to be looked into. The two nations would be united
later that year through the marriage of the sons of the royal families,
Valderr and Yanentah. The power of such an alliance would be
significant, and the eagles were known to be a volatile force in the
equilibrium of the world. The dragons had to know if they should
prepare for war.
After his father gave him the final details, Hash left the office and
headed to his room. He quickly packed his bags, taking only a couple
of essentials with him. He hoped he would not have to stay long in the
plague lands. Shape-shifters in general hated that part of Uli,
especially the polluted waters beyond Tanarak. He d have preferred to
go in shifted form, but it wasn t an option, not with the enchantment
on the plague lands. As such, Hash went to the very top of the
building housing their coven and summoned his wings. Without
further hesitation, he launched himself into the air.
The trip to the plague lands didn t take as long as he d have liked.
The very edge of the former continent now stood as a hideous bog,
with very little left of what had once been lush vegetation. Beyond lay
the main city of the dryads, Anethone, and what the nation had
38 Scarlet Hyacinth
managed to restore. But the dryads were very protective of that part of
the land, and few ever got to see it. Finally, toward the north lay the
polluted seas infested by the great wyrms who continued their attacks
on the nation.
Personally, Hash did not understand what in the world possessed
his father to send him here. Hash was a fire dragon and his element
would not earn him any fans amongst the dryads. The water nymphs
would be particularly reluctant to his approach. But, oh well. If
anything happened, he d at least have that to use as an excuse.
As he flew, he sensed the enchantment over the plague lands but
found in great surprise it didn t feel as strong as he d expected. Hash
expected the spell to be more powerful than this if it could control the
shape-shifting abilities of whoever entered the plague lands.
He was drawn out from his musings when he spotted a small dot
amidst the clouds. It seemed to be another flying person heading in a
similar direction as him a Golden Eagle. He increased his speed but
did nothing to disguise his presence. He did not intend to spy, and
most likely, the eagle in question had every right to be here.
Pretending would be stupid and useless.
He noticed the exact moment when the other individual sensed
him. The man because the eagle was clearly a man stopped and
turned. There was someone else with him, in his arms, perhaps a
dryad. From this distance, Hash could not tell.
In the end, the eagle waited for him, and soon, Hash realized he
actually knew the flying man.  Greetings, he said as he reached the
two.  It is nice to see you again, Alcharr.
Alcharr nodded. They d met during the famous failure of a
mission. The eagles disliked humans greatly and had been furious
upon receiving a report from Governor Malius of Almareya,
according to which Connor Spade corrupted two Imperium Agents.
The entire attack ended up an embarrassment for all those present, but [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]