by Marc Turner
Senar did not return her smile. “What of the Revenants?”
“The mercenaries will care only about receiving whatever gold Imerle promised them. I’m sure my money is as good as hers—it should be, since they are now one and the same. And if the Revenants’ commander has ambitions above his station…” Mazana shrugged. “We shall find out for ourselves soon enough.”
“He is coming here?”
She nodded.
That explained Mazana’s choice of attire, Senar thought, glancing at the air-magic pendant round her neck. He should not be surprised, he knew, that she was making overtures to the Revenants. For while Olaire’s streets were quiet at present, many of Imerle’s troops still occupied the city. Beauce’s men patrolled the palace but they numbered only a few dozen, and there would be no reinforcements arriving from Mazana’s home island while the dragons prowled the seas. As for the Storm Guards, securing their loyalty would mean dealing with Dutia Elemy Meddes. Earlier Elemy had come to the palace requesting an audience with Mazana, but she had sent him away. True, the dutia had been a critic of Imerle, but only because she had abused her power in the final months of her reign. Most likely Elemy would want to keep the same influence he had enjoyed under the old regime, and to see the Storm Council retained as a check on Mazana’s authority. And Mazana had not just won power from Imerle to give it away to the dutia. In order to deal with Elemy from a position of strength, though, she would first need to strike a bargain with the Revenants.
Thunder ripped up the sky, and Senar thought he saw a figure up there in the maelstrom, riding the gusting winds. No, he must have imagined it. A wave exploded into spray against the seawall, setting the roof terrace shuddering. Senar cast an uneasy eye at the ground. The place where he and the twins had fought the dragon was thirty paces to his right, yet even this far away the flagstones were cracked from when the creature had tried to clamber onto the roof. The trumpeting of a dragon momentarily drowned the roar of the storm. When Senar peered out to sea, though, he saw nothing except churning waves.
“What of the dragons?” he asked Mazana. “Will you hunt them down?”
“Why would I? For as long as they remain this side of the Dragon Gate, the League will need my help protecting their ships. Besides, the harder it is for my opponents to travel, the harder it will be for them to plot against me.”
“Or to unite with you against the Augerans when they come.”
Shadows swirled in Mazana’s eyes. “The Augerans do not have to be my enemies.”
“Their actions at the Dragon Gate hardly qualify them as friends.”
Mazana said nothing.
“And the assassination attempt on you outside the temple?”
“If that was their doing, I suspect it was nothing personal. In case you’ve forgotten, I wasn’t the only water-mage targeted.”
“And why do you think the Augerans set their sights on Olaire’s water-mages? Because when they come next time it will be in force, and they do not want you endangering their fleet.”
“When they come next time it may not be to these lands. Perhaps they merely wanted to ensure the League did not interfere in whatever plans they have for your people.”
“And perhaps you would be correct if the League and Erin Elal were allies. We are not. Why would the Augerans risk the enmity of the Storm Isles unless they knew their plans for you would make such enmity inevitable?”
Mazana looked away. “Maybe you are right.” Then, “And maybe you would just like to think such enmity is inevitable because it means your kinsmen will not have to stand alone against the stone-skins when they come.”
There was something in her tone that gave Senar pause. He wondered suddenly if the invasion of Erin Elal had already begun. It was ten months since he’d passed though the Merigan portal. Ten months in which that invasion could have been launched. Since coming to Olaire he hadn’t asked about his homeland, but surely he would have heard something if his kinsmen were under attack. Would Mazana tell me if she knew? Of course she would. What reason did she have to keep the information from him?
He scratched at the stubs of his missing fingers. Was the emperor aware of the Augeran threat? If so he would no doubt be regretting his part in the Betrayal two years ago, and the consequent weakening of both the Guardians and the Black Tower. Oddly enough, the coming of the stone-skins could see the Guardians’ star rise once more, for Avallon would have no choice but to restore them to their position of preeminence. The emperor had been grooming his elite soldiers, the Breakers, to replace the Guardians, but the Breakers hadn’t had time yet to master the Will. Alone they could not hope to resist the might of the Augerans.
And yet how could even the Guardians and the Breakers together hope to turn back the Augeran tide? Eight hundred years ago the Guardians had been at the height of their power, and still they had been defeated. What chance would they have now with their numbers down to barely twenty? Senar pushed the thought aside. This was not the time for doubts. After the initial shock of seeing the stone-skin in the throne room, the return of Erin Elal’s age-old nemesis had left him feeling strangely energized. The old rivalries within the empire would have to be set aside. Senar’s vengeance against the emperor would have to wait. Avallon would need every man he had to stand against the enemy.
The Guardians will need me.
Mazana’s voice was distant. “You must be keen to return to your people.”
Senar looked at her. There she went again, reading his thoughts. It dawned on him she might no more want him reporting the presence of the Merigan portal in Olaire to his kinsmen than Imerle had done before. Would she stop him leaving if he tried? “I had not decided.”
“And you want me to help you make that decision?”
The Guardian hesitated, unsure how she meant that. “For now there is no decision to make. No ship will leave Olaire while the dragons remain at large.” In truth, a part of him was grateful for that fact because it meant he had time to get his thoughts in order—to let the dust settle on the events of the last few days.
“Then perhaps I should make clearing the seas a priority after all.”
Before Senar could reply he saw Beauce climbing the stairwell to his left. The dutia halted on the top step. “Emira, the commander of the Revenants is here.”
For a while Mazana did not answer. Senar wondered whether she still hadn’t got used to people calling her Emira. She stared toward the Watchtower at Ferris Point. Senar searched her eyes for some hint as to where her thoughts had flown, but in them he saw only a reflection of the beacon’s flames. For all that she was right next to him, he felt a distance between them as great as if they were standing at opposite ends of the roof terrace.
Then she met his gaze and flashed him a smile that made his breath catch.
“Shall we?” she said, slipping an arm through his.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many thanks as usual to my editors, Marco Palmieri and Natalie Laverick, for helping me knock the book into shape. Thanks also to my publicists, Ardi Alspach, Ksenia Winnicki, Lydia Gittins, and Cara Fielder, for their tireless efforts in promoting this book and the series as a whole.
I should also say thank you to the various bloggers, reviewers, and readers who have enjoyed my books and helped to spread the word. You know who you are! Your enthusiasm and support are invaluable and much appreciated.
Finally, thank you to my son, James, for keeping me smiling and to my wife, Suzanne, for being a constant source of advice and encouragement along the way. I couldn’t do this without you.
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
The Olairian Court
Imerle Polivar, emira of the Storm Council
Pernay Ord, chief minister
Jambar Simanis, a Remnerol shaman
Mili and Tali, the emira’s twin bodyguards
The executioner
Mazana Creed, a Storm Lady
Dutia Beauce Carlyn, commander of Mazana Creed’s forces
Greave
, Mazana Creed’s bodyguard
Kiapa, Mazana Creed’s bodyguard
Uriel, Mazana’s half brother
Gensu Sensama, a Storm Lord
Polin Sensama, Gensu’s son
Cauroy Blent, a Storm Lord
Thane Tanner, a Storm Lord
Mokinda Char, a Storm Lord
Dutia Elemy Meddes, commander of the Storm Guards
Septia Cilin Rai, a soldier
Orsan, a water-mage
Erin Elalese
Senar Sol, a Guardian
Li Benir, a dead Guardian, Senar’s former mentor
Jessca, a dead Guardian
Avallon Delamar, emperor of Erin Elal
Chameleons
Caval Flood, the Chameleon high priest of the Storm Isles
Karmel Flood, a Chameleon priestess, sister to Caval
Pennick Flood, a Chameleon priest, Caval and Karmel’s father
Veran Beck, a former Chameleon priest
Foss, the Chameleon weaponsmaster
Wick, a Chameleon priest, Keeper of the Keys
Aminex, the Chameleon high priest of Seygreen
Watchmen
Quina Hilaire Desa, commander of the Watch
Septia Kempis Parr
Corrick, Kempis’s former partner, now dead
Sniffer
Loop
Duffle
Pompit
Gilgamarians
Kalisch Rethell Webb, first speaker of the Gilgamarian Ruling Council
Kalischa Agenta Webb, Rethell’s daughter
Zelin Webb, Rethell’s dead son
Lydanto Hood, Gilgamarian ambassador to the Storm Isles
Trita Warner Sturge, commander of Rethell’s forces
Balen, a water-mage
Iqral, a soldier
Jayle, a soldier
Others
The Spider, a goddess
The Chameleon, a god
Piput Da Marka, governor of Dian
Colm Spicer, a nobleman
Inneez, a merchant
Enli Alapha, a merchant
Enix, a boatman
Sticks, a pirate
Irlon, a spirit
Darbonna, a librarian of the Founder’s Citadel
The Lord of Hidden Faces, a god of mysterious origins
Artagina, high priest of the Lord of Hidden Faces
Samel Fletch, a merchant
Farrell Fletch, Samel’s son
Selis, an air-mage
Fume, an elder god
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MARC TURNER was born in Toronto and grew up in England. Dragon Hunters is his second novel, following When the Heavens Fall. You can sign up for email updates here.
BOOKS BY MARC TURNER
When the Heavens Fall
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Map of the Lands of the Exile
Prologue
PART I
The Drowning City
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
PART II
A Storm Is Coming
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
PART III
The Dragon Hunt
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
PART IV
Sea of Blood
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Dramatis Personae
About the Author
Books by Marc Turner
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
DRAGON HUNTERS
Copyright © 2016 by Marc Turner
All rights reserved.
Cover art by Greg Manchess
Cover design by Peter Lutjen
Map by Rhys Davies
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
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Tor® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Turner, Marc.
Dragon hunters / Marc Turner. — First Edition.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-7653-3713-9 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4668-3121-6 (e-book)
I. Title.
PR6120.U775D73 2016
823'.92—dc23
2015031511
e-ISBN 9781466831216
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First Edition: February 2016
