The Dragon Nimbus Novels: Volume III: Volume III

is the method the Stargods have chosen to tell us that Nimbulan’s guidance is no longer needed or wanted.”
    “Is that the message of the Stargods or of the Senior Magician who replaced Nimbulan but can never truly replace him?”
    “That is not for you to question. You are merely a foreign female who barely hides her illegal magical talent!”
    “I am your queen.”
    “For now. But I know you are also a spy for our enemies. You have lied to the king and all of Coronnan. You cannot possibly be who you say you are.” Now he looked directly at her, accusing, unforgiving.
    Katie swallowed her rush of fear. How much did Scarface know?
    “But I am who I say I am. I do not lie,” she countered. “The dragons have blessed me as consort to their king. Quinnault rules by the grace of the dragons. Do you care to argue the matter with Shayla and her nimbus?”
    “If I must.” Scarface maintained his steady gaze into her eyes. “Dragons have many secrets—secret knowledge they deem dangerous to humans. They recognize the value of some secrets. I do not believe they will honor your secrets much longer, unless you have managed to keep information in your mind hidden from their scrutiny. The plague you carry and the cure you keep secret is clear evidence of your evil intent.”
    “Take your self-righteous anger elsewhere, Master Aaddler. I have never kept the cure for the plague secret. Only the Tambootie can cure the ailment that devastates my people and may be spreading here.” Arguing with him was useless. But he commanded a great deal of power—political as well as magical. If she turned her back on him, he’d presume she fled from guilt and weakness. He’d use that against her. She had to stand her ground.
    “Tambootie is poison to mundanes and only mundanes are affected by this disease.” Scarface stared back at her, not moving from the doorway of Myrilandel’s home. Then he blinked his eyes slowly as if making a decision.
    “Terrania, the land you claim to hail from is the oldest known country on all of Kardia Hodos. Legend says that men first emerged in that land. But it is now a desert waste-land and has been for many, many centuries. Where do you really come from, wife of my king?”
    “We call it Terra now.”
    “And where is Terra that you and your father can only reach it by flying inside the belly of a mechanical dragon? A mechanical beast that spreads the plague you preach against . . . or have you brought the plague here deliberately to kill us off so you can resettle those who are displaced by the desert sands of Terrania?”
    “How dare you!” Katie slapped his face. Red stained his left cheek in the shape of her handprint.
    “How dare you!” Scarface raised his right fist as if to slam it into her jaw. “How dare you deceive one and all with your lies, usurping my authority by ordering my journeyman to run personal errands when he . . . when none of the Commune even looked to me for confirmation when they received word of that man’s illness.” He pointed to the still form at the center of the healers’ circle. “He’s not even a magician anymore, and they defer to him in all matters. He steals the respect they owe me.”
    “Respect has to be earned,” Katie held his gaze, daring him to inflict violence upon her. “Nimbulan was your friend. You saved each other’s lives numerous times in your escape from Hanassa. Now you wish him and his influence on the kingdom dead.”
    She didn’t know for certain if that last stray thought was her own idea or if Scarface had leaked it to her mind. His ability to guard his psi powers was normally strong.
    “Beware of whom you accuse, Your Grace. My magicians may be more concerned with Nimbulan’s health than with my permission to leave University Isle, but I can still bring you down and your king with you.”
    “Scarface!” Quinnault strode to the entry from the reception hall in a few anxious paces. “Why wasn’t I told that the plague had already brought Lord Balthazaan’s province low?”
    “That neglectful lord always loses large numbers of tenants to disease and privation in the spring.” Scarface shrugged off the news. But he shifted his eyes away from his king.
    He’s lying! He knows something dangerous, Katie thought directly into Quinnault’s mind.
    “This is more than a lord’s neglect,” Katie countered, trying to peer into Scarface’s mind for the truth. “This is a disease that eats the internal organs until