The Dragon Nimbus Novels: Volume I: Volume I

Darville barely kept his voice below the level of a scream. He couldn’t let the court see him lose control. Not yet. Not until the true criminals were revealed once and for all.
    “ ’Tisn’t a small cult anymore,” someone muttered to Darville’s right.
    “Numbers of followers do not make the crime of murder acceptable, Lord Jonnias.” Darville stared directly at the man who had plagued him for years.
    “I was told that the spy was executed lawfully,” Caardack defended himself. “I was also told to proclaim the death an accident so as not to panic the populace.”
    “If ’twas a lawful execution, why wasn’t it carried out in public by the king’s order?” Fred threatened Caardack with the club once more.
    “I do not question orders from the nobility.”
    Gasps and murmurs rose through the court. Men and women eyed each other suspiciously. Mikka bowed her head in sadness.
    “As magistrate you have the right to question anyone,” Lord Andrall said softly.
    Caardack looked in fear at the four lords standing to the king’s right. “If I had questioned Lord Marnak, I would have died as hideously as did the king’s spy.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous,” Lord Marnak the Elder protested. “Baria is in Sauria. I govern Hanic. What interest have I in your city?” He stepped backward, hand on his sword. Two guards grabbed his arms from behind. He struggled to free himself from their grasp. “Hands off me! I am an anointed lord. You may not touch me.”
    “My orders supersede yours, Marnak.” Darville rose from his throne and stalked to stand in front of him. “Laws handed to us from the Stargods forbid taking a life without due course of trial. The dead man was under my protection.” On the day he died so hideously, the spy should have been fleeing Coronnan with Darville’s gold to save himself from the Gnostic Utilitarians he had infiltrated. “You had no right to bring him to trial without my consent, so you had him murdered.”
    “He was a spy,” Marnak spat. “A filthy spy sent to betray the rightful worshipers of the Stargods. Keeping our temples pure of magic gives us the right to protect ourselves from such as he. And you!”
    “Father, no,” Young Marnak backed away from the accused lord. His burn-scarred face took on a more horrible expression than usual. With no eyebrows or lashes left, his wide open eyes gave him a fishy look. “Our loyalty to the crown must never be questioned. Rejiia . . . my wife . . . ah . . .”
    Hot anger narrowed Darville’s vision to the elder Marnak’s haughty face. The room and the gathered court faded from his awareness. His fingers itched to draw his sword and plunge it into the man’s wide body.
    Control yourself. Mikka’s voice invaded his thoughts. Calm. Think quiet peace.
    Visions of softly flowing water through woodlands. Calubra ferns swaying in the breeze. Shy wildflowers peeking out from shady glades.
    “Lord Marnak the Elder, Governor of Hanic, I order your immediate arrest for the crime of murder. I will investigate charges of treason at the same time.”
    “Not treason, Your Grace.” Lord Jonnias positioned himself between Darville and Marnak.
    “Treason,” Darville repeated. “When Caardack’s full story is told at trial, all of Coronnan will know that the Gnostic Utilitarian cult seeks to set aside the dragon-blessed monarchy and the Council of Provinces. They want to set one of their own on the throne as absolute ruler of Coronnan. Since my ancestor, Darville I, ended the Great Wars of Disruption, the only person who can dissolve the Council of Provinces is a monarch consecrated by the dragons.” He turned and stared at the entire court. “All of you saw and acknowledged the dragon at my coronation.”
    Shuffling feet and rustling fabric were the only sounds in the room. The story of a blue-tip dragon blessing Darville’s coronation had grown into a legend, sung in taverns and on street corners across the land. Most of the people in the chamber had witnessed the event.
    “Does anyone question that an attempt to assassinate me or my family is treason?”
    Eyes opened wide with alarm and chins dropped as reality struck the members of the court. This was no game of gossip and intrigue for power and influence. Darville raised the question of murder of one of their own! By one of their own.
    “We believe otherwise,” Marnak interjected. “ ’Tis treason to allow you and your witch-queen to rule. We must reestablish