Total pages in book: 182
Estimated words: 171176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 171176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
“Books. There is some fascinating stuff out there about the magical brain. They’re all a bit different. I kind of stumbled into it, asked for more books on it, and then figured”—I shrugged—“if I can work that in, that would be good. But there’s a downside to this fail-safe. If a person is trying to take the product in secret, like away from their wife or something, they won’t get much out of it before they go to sleep. That’s then a waste of their money.”
The sounds within the closet started to quiet. His thrashing slowed.
“I can’t believe it,” Arleth said quietly, also watching the closet. “I’ve never heard of anything like it. And this . . . effect has always been present?”
“She discovered the first traces of it at about eighteen,” Weston said as he motioned for us to get moving. “I remember reading it in her journals. Don’t we have a lot more people to see?”
We did, as a matter of fact, but it wasn’t at all the long night I was expecting. It turned out that Vemar and a handful of other dragons came in quite handy. They were amazing at forcing people into closets or small spaces or into little balls on the road, where tarps would then be put over them. The way they went about it was a little comical, too, with chasing (by the dragons), screaming (by the dragons), and occasionally nets just for funsies.
I handled anyone dangerous and high-powered enough that might result in someone getting hurt, but mostly . . . I just chatted with the people watching, some of them angry their mate would take that stuff, some sad that their mate was at it again, and some laughing with how people were being rounded up. I spoke to those who were sad, heard stories of addiction and underlying problems, and did the best I could to console them.
An amazing bit of information kept cropping up—Vemar had really been onto something. A group of people habitually using the product were not doing the fun stuff, like the hallucinogens. They were taking it to help them sleep, or battle mental health issues, or various other things as a way to self-medicate. Small groups of those people knew to scrape off the top coating and get at the meat, as they called it. The addiction and sickness didn’t trouble them much, as they were only exposed to the remnants from bits of coating they’d left behind.
I tried to remember everything I heard, especially as it pertained to making my product better, but there was too much. I really only caught what was often repeated. I needed to visit another time with a pencil and paper. That was if the queen would allow me. I loved the challenge of doing better, but after this, I doubted she’d love my desire to try.
The queen’s village was the last, and the dragons were annoyed to find that it was under control. They’d gotten tired of waiting and taken matters into their own hands, mostly successfully.
On the way back, riding behind Weston on his horse, I wrapped my arms around his torso and leaned my cheek against his back.
“It seems like she unloaded a lot of product,” I said, looking out at the emberflies floating lazily.
“Yes, it does.”
“I didn’t see anyone obviously watching as the night progressed. I didn’t feel threatened or in danger. Do you think her people are here?”
“I had the pack check out all the traders’ carts. Homes, too. The one that had your poster—the one still alive—was only selling small quantities of Granny’s product. He’s in the dungeons at present. He couldn’t have released all this, at least not alone. We didn’t find anything else; not one wrapper. Not one stray drug. Someone got in and unloaded all this product, in all the villages. Likely many people. We have no idea who. Or how, or when. No one saw anything—not anyone that is talking, at any rate. Yes, I think her people are here. I think they are watching. I’m going to check in with the other kingdoms and see if they were hit in the same way. If so, I’ll ask how it was handled. From that we can determine if Granny will have learned anything from this . . . episode.”
“If she has people watching, she has the drawing of my face in their hands. It won’t matter if I helped—it’ll matter that they recognized me. Soon she’ll know where I am.”
It was only a matter of time.
Weston ran his hand along my arm and entwined his fingers with mine. “This is true. We’ll need to assume that word will reach her about where you are. Who you’re with.”
I hugged him a little tighter. “How long will the news take to reach her, do you think?”