Mercy says "So then why did you quit?"

"Ah, actually I have an extra passenger."

At her confused look I bring Ekard and the kid out of the shadow pocket. When they appear they are curled up together and fast asleep, it is adorable. I see Mercy's eyes go all soft as she stares at the two of them, she is such a softy.

Mercy says "Is it a boy or a girl?"

"I don't know, I couldn't tell through all the dirt and grime."

Mercy says "Okay, I will have my maids clean the kid up."

"Once that's done send the kid over to Zamart to test for mage potential."

Mercy says "Okay, but why?"

"I feel there is something special about the kid."

Mercy says "Alright, I will let you know."

"Thanks."

Picking up the sleeping Ekard, I go looking for Lizzy and Windy. Lizzy is not hard to find since she is sleeping in what is supposed to be my tent. However, Windy is not with her, so I figure she is still with Mericel, which is fine.

Lizzy says "Any problems?"

"Nope, not yet anyway."

Hearing that Lizzy puts her head back down, so I sit next to her with Ekard in my lap. A few hours of meditation restores the sacred power I used to shapeshift. By the time I am done meditating Ekard is awake and playing with Windy.

"Did you have a good time with Mericel?"

Windy says "Yeah, she is really nice! And she gave me all sorts of advice!"

"What kind of advice?"

Windy says "Oh, just how to survive your plans."

Lizzy says "Haha! Mericel does know you well, Ash!"

"Yeah, but her advice probably isn't very good. After all, she was a ghost when she was with me."

Windy says "Wait, what do you mean she was a ghost?"

After a good laugh I start telling Windy the story as I pull out dishes for dinner. As soon as food is available Ekard abandons Windy and runs over to me. To tell Windy the truth about Mericel I end up having to tell her a good chunk of my story.

Windy says "Wow! You are a lot more amazing than I thought!"

Lizzy says "Don't compliment him! He has a big enough head already, just from surviving his crazy plans! Not to mention his harem!"

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Windy says "What's a harem??"

"Nothing! Lizzy, knock it off!"

Lizzy just chuckles and promises to tell Windy later as she goes back to eating her dinner. After I am done eating I get Ekard settled then leave the tent to find Mercy. As expected she is in the command tent and Zamart is with her, but Zamart is not alone.

"So, did we determine what the kid is?"

Zamart says "Yes, she is a little girl, and her potential is beyond measure!"

"Excellent! And does the little girl have a name?"

Rat says "My name is Rat!"

"I'm sure that's what people called you on the streets, but don't you have another name?"

Rat says "No! I'm Rat!"

"Alright, alright. Rat it is."

Zamart says "What do you plan to do with her?"

"I don't have a plan, she just caught my eye. If her potential is that high then there is a good chance she could inherit the tower. So, she should probably be raised with that in mind. But I know nothing about raising a human kid."

Mercy says "Why are you looking at me? I have a kingdom to rebuild!"

Zamart says "Well, if you have no objection, then I will send her to Roddick to raise."

"Roddick? Really?"

Zamart says "Yeah, he will adopt her and raise her as his daughter. He may not look it but he actually has several grown children."

"Alright, I will trust you. I'm more interested if Sevaris has made any moves? He should have received word of the attack by now."

Mercy says "We are pretty sure he has gotten the news, but so far he hasn't made any moves."

"Then I guess he needs more encouragement."

Mercy says "Are you going out now?"

"No, it's getting dark and I want to be seen. I will leave in the morning."

Mercy says "That makes sense."

Zamart says "So, I should take care of Rat then?"

"Yeah, she needs a home, if you think Roddick is up for it then go ahead."

Zamart says "Alright."

With that I wish them a good night and head back to my tent to get some sleep. In the morning, after breakfast, I change back into a drake and fly into the empire. This time I am heading for a mining facility that Sevaris owns, at least that's my first target.

When I arrive I do a lot of roaring and smashing useless things to scare all the miners away. Once the innocents have fled I begin destroying everything, even collapsing the mines. While I can't destroy the actual mines, it will take months to get them up and running again.

That and to get them up and running again will cost a lot of money, which is the point. Once everything is destroyed I fly off and head for my next target, Sevaris' country estate. According to Zamart's information, the country estate is where Sevaris spends the most time.

Again when I arrive I make a big show and fuss to scare away any servants. There are guards at the manor but they run away even faster than the servants when they see me. This time before I destroy the place I decide to search it for valuables.

It ends up being a good thing I did, because it turns out Sevaris is fairly sick. Inside the manor I find several dozen prisoners, all females and all humans. What makes me sick is that the oldest of them looks to be around fourteen.

As I free them my rage just keeps getting worse and worse, Sevaris deserves to die. I offer to take them all to the kingdom, but they want to go find their families. So I make sure they leave with enough wealth hidden on them to live comfortably.

Once I am sure the manor is empty I burn it to the ground before leaving. I forget about the other targets and start flying west, Sevaris just needs to die. The plan has changed, I am just going to kill Sevaris and then see what happens.

If a war starts I will make sure Mercy wins it, but I can't leave Sevaris alive. Anyone who touches children is the worst sort of scum and deserves no mercy at all. In fact I plan to use Dark Mark on him just to make sure he is properly punished.

So I fly straight towards the army and I stay low enough to be spotted. This way it will be obvious that the attack came from within the empire and I will leave the same way. If at all possible I don't want the blame to fall on the kingdom, but if it happens so be it.

Although, I suppose I could wait for night and sneak in to assassinate him. Holding back my rage for that long wouldn't be pleasant but I could do it. However, I kind of want his death to be a spectacle, let the empire worry about an insane drake loose in their lands.