Haeed was summoned to the sultan’s palace once again, this time, however, he had an escort of a dozen guards pointing at his back. The sultan didn’t expect him at his dining table but in his throne room.

“Where is that weapon you promised me, Haeed? Where is all the glory, the fear that you’d say I’d be causing my enemies?”

Haeed walked slowly.

“Your Majesty,” he said, bowing his head low.

The sultan’s thick eyebrows had fallen into a deep frown.

“You scoundrel. Your little plan failed and now you have put my new coastal cities in danger. I may lose it all tonight if anyone decides to attack. I opened two fronts trusting that you’d have your little dragon under control.”

“But your Majesty…”

“Failure, Haeed, that’s all you’ve brought me! You promised me a weapon, ready at hand! Now it’s gone, just like that, my armies are overextended on three fronts. Our conquests are at risk now.”

“You Majesty,” Haeed sounded dismissive. “It was just a minor setback.”

“A setback? We lost a bloody dragon! The Arsacians were after it, the Khaganate of Mhadong too. And I heard the Arsacians have the dragon now.”

“Arsacia? But your majesty. Arsacia is wholly under our control. Those are only misguided rumors, nothing more.”

“Haeed, the word is out! The Demon Knights spoke, and half the merchants on the Commercial Routes saw it. Rumors are swirling, and they don’t look good. My generals informed me that they are on high alert, expecting dragon attacks coming from Arsacia.”

Haeed shook his head. “Ah, that’s foolish. First of all, Arsacia doesn’t have what I…”

“We’ve heard the dragon returned to protect them. I have heard my generals relay the legends. They speak of a dragon… bonded to a human. They say it’s likely since humans haven’t worked with dragons before. Could it be that they have one of your little toys? You know, the one you kept in that iron box?”

“No, they don’t have any idea about what you’re talking about. I have the only one.”

“So what should I do to you, Haeed? For the losses you’re gonna bring upon my army. Look at all these guards, ready to arrest you and kill you on the spot if you try some of your tricks. And believe me, you deserve much more!”

Haeed rolled his eyes. If he wanted to, in the blink of an eye, he could turn those men to ash. He considered doing it, maybe he had to get rid of the man and take the throne.

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However, he was right. It wasn’t that simple, he didn’t want to lose control of the army and politicians. That would prove more work.

“I can arrest you now, just because of the losses you will cause my army.”

Haeed pressed his lips. He didn’t care. He could go West, to Arum and use them to gain power.

“Your Majesty, I have told you it is nothing but a set-back.”

“I give you until tomorrow, or I will ensure the whole world knows what you really are.”

“And what is that?”

“Dajjal himself perhaps. I know what you do, Haeed, it isn’t hard to tell. None of those people sent to service at your tower ever come back. We have heard reports of screams, of black magic.”

Haeed snickered. He smiled slightly at being called Dajjal. That was a figure in end-time prophecy, a deceiver who would claim to have come to save humanity, who would give food in abundance and rule the world promising justice before the Renewal of Time, but instead, he’d lead humanity through a dark path. A beautiful story, that made Haeed aspire for more.

Haeed cleared his throat. “Who would believe that, your Majesty, what would you gain with spreading rumors.”

“You’d lose all the leverage you have with the clerics in the region.”

“Anyone can start rumors. They would be dismissed. There are rumors about you, your Majesty, about you being a degenerate and a murderer.”

The sultan laughed. “It depends on who the people believe, and what value people give to their voice. If the head priest of the Empire spreads this knowledge, to each diocese, everybody will know who you are. They will ruin you and you won’t have victims for your little games. Who knows, maybe the people themselves will lynch you, and I won’t move a finger. So you better do what you promised me, and ensure that my Empire is wide and secure. My empire, understand?”

Haeed lowered his head. He sighed.

“I live to serve, Your Highness.” He cleared his throat and licked his lips. “What do you think of this, my lord? I… I think there might be other dragons in the mountain that we can use. What about this offer, my lord? Two dragons, instead of one.”

“Don’t you say you have only one of those toys, those jewels you talked about?”

“So far, yes. But I am sure that there are more out there. I found one, I can find the others. In the meantime, we can have more than one dragon, caged and ready to be tamed.”

The sultan narrowed his eyes. He did not seem convinced. “What if your dragon escapes again.”

“It won’t. I admit I had a little oversight, but it won’t happen again. Now, our general in Arsacia is well paid. I’ve ensured of that. We don’t need to transport our things through the commercial routes. We can use Arsacia as a base of operations. We don’t need to pretend. General Firazi is ours. Give the order, move more troops into Arsacia. With a good payment, General Firazi will open the gates. We can even stop pretending and he can name you the head of state tomorrow.”

“Don’t think you can take the credit for Arsacia. And I don’t trust them yet. First, capture the beast and have it ready.”

“Oh, my lord, that and much more.”

***

Anger seeped through Haeed’s mind. He wanted to lift his staff and break it against the stone. But he’d need it that night. He swore he would capture a dragon that night. It had been easy the last time he did it. The failure hadn’t been on him, but on the Demon Knights. If necessary, he would guard the dragon all the way. Dragons were not like those pesky Khanjar warriors. They were brute forces of nature that could breathe fire. He was sure he could capture one, and besides that blue dragon, he knew precisely which dragon would be easy to capture. And he had just thought of a better use of the Incarnation ritual. Stone and mud was too fragile and not versatile enough. He had a better idea.

Haeed’s thoughts drifted toward the prophecy. They were inspiring. After all, he was Haeed al-Hakim, an immortal, perhaps the greatest black sorcerer in the world, maybe, he hoped, the most evil man in the world. He was destined for greatness.