Desert Fire (Legend and Lore Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

understanding what Kamoor wanted from him.  
    “Like, say, the sense of smell?”  
    “I do not understand,” Brand spoke.  
    “Do you have a better sense of smell than anyone else?” Kamoor asked sharply.
    “I...” Brand was taken aback by the question. “I do not know. I was born like this, this is normal for me. I do not know if your sense of smell is better or worse than mine. I do not know if you can see better or worse than me, because I have always been like this and I know nothing else.”  
    “I think it is safe to say that you do.” Kamoor’s tone of voice did not change, but Brand had the strange feeling that he was satisfied by it.  
    “Why do you want to know?” Brand demanded.  
    “The men you came here with are not the only ones,” Kamoor told him quietly. “They are part of a larger group of men here to kill our dragons and take them to the other side of the mountain, where we know not what happens to them. We patrol the woods, but have not been able to locate them while they stay hidden in the mountains. So we need something, someone, who is used to the woods and can find them easily. And what someone better than you, who has the eyes and senses of a creature of the woods?”  
    Brand wasn’t sure he had heard correctly. “You want me to... help?”  
    “We need an advantage,” Kamoor replied stonily. “Every day they kill more dragons. Mostly younglings and yearlings who do not have the experience or defences of the adults. We need our dragons. We rely upon them—and they rely upon us.”  
    “Your comrades will not like my help,” Brand pointed out, thinking about one man in particular. One that apparently happened to be the crown prince.  
    “Sakoptari may be above me in daily life,” Kamoor said, “but amongst the dragon riders, I am in charge and he will do as I say. And if you are not here to kill our dragons, as you claim, you will help us get rid of those that are.”  
    Brand nodded hesitantly, but it was enough, because Kamoor let him go. Brand sagged against the wall, hand going up to his neck. Kamoor’s grip had been hard and steady, but he did not think he’d have bruises. He hoped not. It was worse with his ribs, they were sore and tender after being squished against the wall.  
    “When will we be leaving?” he questioned.  
    “When the current patrol comes back bearing news, we will act according to what they have to share. There is no saying however, when they will be back. We will just have to wait.” So saying, Kamoor turned on his heel and stalked off.  
    Brand stared after him, watching that straight back, how his black clothing stretched across his broad shoulders... Shaking his head, Brand turned and found himself meeting the eyes of the red dragon. It stared back at him for a long minute, then it turned its head away and lay down, its back firmly to Brand.  
    Looking back at the youngling, who was still firmly asleep, Brand sighed and stalked off as well, going back the way he had come. His life was becoming complicated again—and he could not make up his mind on if it was a positive kind of complicated, or a negative one...  

    “How do you know my language?” Brand asked Khatlah, trying to distract himself from the awkwardness of the looks he was getting in the banquet hall. “We know nothing about your people, back home.”  
    “You are not the first to cross the mountains with honest intentions,” Khatlah told him. “Some of your people have come here, seeking shelter, a different life. We have given it to a few of them, those that vow to never return to what they left. And in return they have taught us their language.”  
    Brand cast a quick look around at everyone gathered in the enormous hall, but he could see no one with the look of his own country. The colour of their skin varied greatly, but none were as pale as Brand—and he had thought himself quite tan back home. And everyone had slightly tilted eyes, nothing all