The Dragon Nimbus Novels: Volume III: Volume III

elect me emperor when I bring Kardia Hodos back into the fold of the Empire. Finders of lost Terran colonies are always highly regarded.” Kinnsell preened while holding the baby away from him.
    “No!” A wave of vertigo washed over Katie. “This world is protected by the family covenant. We’ve kept it secret for seven hundred years to protect it from outside influences.”
    “And I intend to follow another family tradition of bringing lost bush worlds back into the Empire. We need all the agriculture we can get to feed the civilized worlds, the important worlds. Besides, the rest of the Empire needs the Tambootie that only grows here in order to cure the plague once and for all. I think she’s wet.” He set Marilell back into the crib.
    “You’ll strip this planet as you’ve stripped others. You won’t be satisfied until every known planet is a desert.” The baby could wait a moment, she wasn’t fussing.
    “Not deserts. Domed and protected from the ravages of climates and natural disasters.”
    “And unable to produce food, only to consume it. Every domed atmosphere is a potential breeding ground for the plague.”
    “Not if I harvest the Tambootie.” His right hand rode at a comfortable and easy position beside him.
    Katie knew she’d not convince him of anything while he felt himself in control of the situation. Still, she had to try.
    “Synthetic air and food mutate new viruses. You know that. There isn’t enough Tambootie to cure every new mutation. And you’ll take it all. I know you, Kinnsell. You’ll take all of the Tambootie, right down to the roots. The dragons will die without the Tambootie supplementing their diet. Without dragons, there won’t be any magic. Coronnan will perish without magic.”
    “There isn’t any magic. Only psi powers.” His hand nudged forward a fraction. Had she broken through his blockheaded opinions, even just a little?
    “Little do you know, Kinnsell. Little do you know the miracles this planet offers. I forbid you to take anything from here. Not so much as a grain of dirt. The Commune will back my order and force you to obey. Now get out. Go home. Never darken my door again.”
    “In my own good time, daughter. When I’ve finished what I came here for.”
    “Over my dead body, Kinnsell!”
    “If necessary.”

    Library of the University of Magicians, Coronnan City
     
    “Start clearing a space in the gallery for the questionable books, Lyman,” Scarface ordered.
    Bessel considered slipping out the postern door. The noise of old wood and rusty hinges protesting being opened would alert Scarface to Bessel’s presence in the library. The Senior Magician would know he’d been here and hunt down the book. Stargods only knew what he would do to Bessel once caught with a now forbidden book.
    “We can block off access with locked gates, and I shall set the magical seal so that only I can open it.” Scarface turned his back on the old librarian and pointed out the most inaccessible corners of the library.
    “No,” Lyman replied quietly. “I will not be a part of this. I am not strong enough to oppose you on my own, but I will not be a part of it.”
    Bessel sought a hiding place, any hiding place.
    What was Scarface thinking, banning books? Nimbulan had made the library the focus of the entire University. Knowledge was valuable, any knowledge, in any form. Magicians keeping secrets had led to intense rivalries and many battles during three generations of civil war.
    Now magicians had the responsibility to guide the rest of Coronnan through cooperation and sharing of knowledge. They couldn’t do that unless they were the best educated men in the world; educated in all facets of life. How could they combat the dangerous machines if they didn’t know their function and design? How could they negate a rogue magician if they did not know the nature of his spells?
    Besides, Bessel was certain that information about the plague that had killed his mother could be found in one of these old books.
    He couldn’t help his mother. A tear threatened to choke him. She had loved him in her own distracted way. His father’s prejudice had separated Bessel from the family. Not his mother. His father’s prejudice and ignorance.
    Bessel remembered something Myrilandel had told him about the time she had fled ignorant people who blamed her for all of their ills. People rarely looked up for a fugitive. They always looked down or at eye level.
    He climbed. The