House Of Gods 9 - Samantha Snow Page 0,68

dragon. “Back to Dragharia?”

“Yes.”

“Perhaps before you leave,” Tannin said, “you could help us to regain a bit of control over this unruly realm?”

“I will try,” Nidhogg said. “But only because I owe you one favor for freeing me. I do not believe in control or rule. In my world, we live peacefully alongside each other as one. It is that unity that makes us a strong and powerful force. Strong enough even, to perhaps claim your worlds someday.”

Tannin raised an eyebrow. “But didn’t you just say you didn’t believe in rule?”

“I did indeed. Claiming worlds is very different than controlling them.”

“I don’t see how the semantics of that make much of a difference,” Tannin argued diplomatically.

“Come,” Tara said, averting a possible disagreement between the love of her life and a dragon five hundred times his size. “Let us do what we came here to do.” She turned to walk back up the narrowly winding staircase.

Tannin looked at Nidhogg and wondered how in the world he would fit himself into the stairwell leading out of the cavern. But before he could ponder it for long, Nidhogg spread his massive wings, ducked his head, and plowed his back up into the ceiling. With a thunderous crash, the floor above them began to crash down around them. Tannin dodged out of the way of the falling debris and ran up into the staircase beside Tara. Nidhogg disappeared as he pushed himself up and out of the cavern, making his own exit by crashing through the ceiling and through the floor above. They continued their hasty climb up the stairs and stepped out onto the edge of the broken floor where Nidhogg was standing, surrounded by at least a dozen of the fat and ornery men from before. They all held spears and shields and wore looks determined to provoke the dragon into conflict.

“We have no quarrel with you,” Tara said to the men as she held up her hands and walked toward Nidhogg as closely as she could get without falling into the enormous hole the dragon had created. Tannin followed closely by her side, ready to launch his dagger into the next man who tried to touch her.

“Who are you?” one of the men shouted at her. “To come here, release our dragon, and then demand our attention, we have no need to answer to you.”

Nidhogg made his bellowing laughter sound again, and this time fire flared from his mouth as he did. Tara and Tannin both looked at the dragon, impressed.

“Would you like me to direct the fire at them this time?” Nidhogg asked with amusement. Tara thought that he would likely enjoy that very much.

“No, thank you,” she answered him aloud. “Let’s give them a chance to be civil before you roast them.”

“It speaks to you?” the man asked her in astonishment.

Nidhogg rolled his sizeable eyes. “Why must all these lesser beings continue referring to me as it?”

Tannin chuckled. “Consider it more an insult to their intelligence than to your persona.”

Nidhogg seemed happy with that reply.

“I will hear you,” the man said as he laid down his spear and shield on the ground. “If the dragon speaks to you, then I will listen to what you have to say.”

“Who are you?” Tara asked him.

“I am called Ned,” he replied.

Both Tannin and the dragon laughed aloud. “That’s a highly unimpressive name for such a big ego,” Tannin said.

Tara shot them both a look to silence their mocking.

“I am the leader here on Niflheim,” he continued.

“Not anymore,” Tara said sternly. “We have come to bring Niflheim under our rule over the nine realms. You will talk with us about how this can be arranged in a civil way for the betterment and peace of this realm alongside the others.”

“And if I refuse?”

“Then, I shall have my dragon roast the flesh off all of your bones.”

Tannin was impressed, albeit slightly scared, of Tara’s commanding tone. Nidhogg was mostly just amused that she referred to him as her dragon, which also had not gone unnoticed by Tannin. He was also contemplating the deliciousness of eating the men who had kept him captive for so many years.

“We’ll comply,” Ned said, much to the disappointment of the dragon.

“You’ll stay for a little while longer?” Tara asked Nidhogg. “Just until we have things settled upon.”

Nidhogg nodded, and the light reflected off his golden eyes. “I will stay until your agreement is reached with these putrid men. And I will stay long enough to show you one other