Page 26 of Dragon Eternal (Dragon Kings 4)
Merrill held the soldier’s gaze. “Do you fear those with magic?”
Tomar slowly sat back and finished the rest of his ale. “Just a week ago, a dragon flew over our city. We’ve not seen one of those beasts in generations. I was beginning to believe they might not be real. Then, there he was. And he was enormous. I couldn’t see what color he was because it was night, but he blocked out the moon as he flew.”
“Did the dragon attack anyone?”
Tomar’s brows snapped together. “That’s the odd thing. He didn’t. He just roared a lot and flew back and forth over the city several times before flying away.”
“Sounds like a terrifying night.”
“That wasn’t the only thing that happened, and some are beginning to think there’s a connection.”
Merrill pushed his ale to the soldier. “What’s that?”
“I shouldn’t be talking about this,” Tomar said in a low voice as he stared at the tankard. Then he lifted it to his mouth and drank deeply. He set it down and leaned forward, his voice low. “As I said, we have no tolerance for magic. Sometimes, the children who are taken from other cities end up having some. The parents inform the priests—just as they’re supposed to.”
Merrill’s stomach tightened. He knew what came next, but he asked anyway. “What do the priests do?”
“They take the children to the temple where they’re…they…” Tomar cleared his throat, his face tightening in disgust. “The priests sacrifice those kids.”
Merrill closed his eyes. He had heard it from Cullen and the others, but hearing it again was even worse. “They’re helpless children.”
“It’s our way.”
“It’s wrong,” Merrill whispered. The fury he kept buried deep rose to the surface.
Tomar sat back, his eyes downcast.
For all his talk about Stonemore being the greatest city, Merrill could tell that the soldier didn’t agree with many of the Divine’s policies. And if one person felt that way, then there were others, too.
