Richard kept the sword out, but felt suddenly foolish. “You intend to eat me, then?”
“Well, I must admit, more for the amusement than the taste.”
“I had heard red dragons were an independent sort, but that you are little more than a lapdog to Darken Rahl.” A ball of flame boiled from the mouth, rising into the air. “I thought you might like to be free of your bonds, and be independent once more.”
The head, bigger than he, Richard was frightened to note, came closer, to within a few yards. Its ears swiveled forward. A glossy red tongue, split at the end like a snake’s, slithered out toward him, making a curious investigation. Richard held the sword out of the way as the tongue raked up his body from his crotch to his throat. It was a gentle touch, for a dragon, yet it knocked him back a few steps.
“And how would a little man like you be able to do that?”
“I’m trying to stop Darken Rahl, kill him. If you helped me, then you would be free.”
The dragon threw its head up, smoke puffing from its nostrils as it rumbled in laughter. The ground shook. It looked down at him, blinked, then threw its head back again, rumbling in laughter once more.
The rumbling died out and the head returned, the eyebrows bunching up in an angry frown. “I don’t think so. I don’t think I would like to put my fate in a little man like you. I would rather put my future in continuing to serve Master Rahl.” It made a grunt, blowing small clouds of dust away to the sides at Richard’s feet. “The entertainment is over. Time for my tasty treat.”
“All right. I’m prepared to die.” Richard had to think of a stall, to give himself time to think. Why would a red dragon be at the service of Darken Rahl? “But before you eat me, may I tell you something first?”
“Speak,” the dragon snorted. “But make it short.”
“I’m from Westland. I’ve never seen a dragon before. I always thought they would be fearsome creatures, and I must admit, you certainly are fearsome, but there is one thing I wasn’t prepared for.”
“And what would that be?”
“You are, without a doubt, the most stunningly beautiful creature I have ever seen.”
It was the truth. Despite the deadly nature of it, it was strikingly beautiful. The neck of the dragon made itself into an S shape as it pulled its head back, blinking in surprise. The eyes frowned a little, doubting.
“It’s true,” Richard said. “I’m to be eaten, I have no reason to lie. You are beautiful. I never thought I would see anything as magnificent as you. Do you have a name?”
“Scarlet.”
“Scarlet. What a lovely name. Are all red dragons as stunning as you, or are you special?”
Scarlet put a claw to her breast. “That would not be for me to say.” The head snaked its way toward him again. “I have never had a man I was about to eat tell me such a thing.”
An idea began forming in Richard’s mind. He put the sword back in its scabbard. “Scarlet, I know a creature as proud as you would not be at the beck of anyone, much less one as demanding as Darken Rahl, unless there was terrible need. You are too beautiful and noble a creature for that.”
Scarlet’s head floated closer. “Why would you say such things to me?”
“Because I believe in the truth. I think you do too.”
“What is your name?”
“Richard Cypher. I am the Seeker.”
Scarlet put a black-tipped talon to her teeth. “Seeker.” She frowned. “I don’t believe I’ve ever eaten a Seeker before.” A strange, dragon’s smile crossed her lips. “It will be a treat. Our talk is over, Richard Cypher. Thank you for the compliment.” The head floated closer, the lips pulling back in a snarl.
“Darken Rahl stole your egg, didn’t he?”
Scarlet pulled back. She blinked at him, then threw her head back, jaws wide. An earsplitting roar made the scales on her throat vibrate. Fire shot skyward in a booming blast. The sound echoed off the cliff walls, causing little rock slides.
Scarlet’s head whipped back to him, smoke rising from the nostrils. “What do you know about that!”
“I know that a proud creature such as you would not subject herself to such demeaning duties, except for one reason. To protect something important. Like her young.”
“So you know. That will not save you,” she snarled.
“I also know where Darken Rahl is keeping your egg.”
“Where!” Richard had to dive to the side to avoid the flames. “Tell me where it is!”
“I thought you wanted to eat me now.”
One eye came close. “Someone should teach you not to be flippant,” she rumbled.
“Sorry, Scarlet. It’s a bad habit that has brought me to grief in the past. Look, if I help you get your egg back, then Rahl would have no hold on you. If I could do that, would it be worth helping me?”
“Helping you how?”
“Well, you fly Rahl around. That’s what I need. I need you to fly me around for a few days, help me look for some friends of mine, so I can protect them from Rahl. I need to be able to cover a lot of ground, search a lot of area. I think if I could do it from the sky, like a bird, I could find them, and have enough
time to stop Rahl.”
“I don’t like flying men about. It’s humiliating.”
“Six days from now, it will all be over, one way or another. If you help me, that’s all I would need. After that, it won’t matter, one way or the other. How long will you have to serve Rahl if you don’t help me?”
“All right. Tell me where my egg is, and I will let you go. Let you live.”
“How would you know I was telling the truth? I could just invent a place, to save myself.”
“Like dragons, real Seekers have honor. That much I know. So, if you really know, tell me and I will free you.”
“No.”
“No!” Scarlet roared. “What do you mean ‘No’?”
“I don’t care about my life. Just as you, I care about things more important. If you want me to help you get your egg back, then you will have to agree to help me save the ones I care about. We will get the egg first, then you help me. I think it more than a fair trade. The life of your offspring, in exchange for flying me about for a few days.”
Scarlet’s piercing yellow eye came close to his face; her ears swiveled forward. “And how do you know that once I have my egg, I will keep my end of the bargain?”
“Because,” Richard whispered, “you know what it is like to fear for the safety of another, and you have honor. I have no choice. I don’t know any other way to save my friends from living the rest of their lives as you are living now—under the heel of Darken Rahl. I will be putting my life at great risk to save your egg. I believe you to be a creature of honor. I will trust your word, with my life.”
Scarlet gave a snort, backing away a little, peering at him. She folded her huge wings against herself. Her tail swished about, knocking stones and a few small boulders skidding across the ground. Richard waited. One arm came forward; a single black-tipped talon, thick as his leg, sharp as his sword point, hooked through the sword’s baldric, gave a snug pull. Her head came close.
“Bargain struck. On your honor, on mine,” Scarlet hissed. “But I have not given my word I will not eat you at the end of the six days.”