Suspicion

“They say one of us is a dragon-blood,” Kanor said. He sat down at the campfire with the other three and pulled his knife.

“Dragon-blood? A Joined?” One man asked. He glanced nervously at the rest of their unit. “Who told you that?”

“Sergeant’s words,” Kanor replied. His blade shimmered in the firelight. “S’you, ain’t it, Casus?”

“I’m no dragon-blood!” Casus looked around again. “I don’t trust those damn things.”

“Prove it,” Kanor said. The eerie grin on his face proved more disconcerting than the gleaming knife he extended. “They say a dragon-blood bleeds black if you cut ‘im.”

The woman, Svala, snorted. “Why does it matter who’s what?” She met Kanor’s eyes and flinched only a little as he leaned toward her. “What if one of us were a joined? We’re still allies.

Kanor’s grin split wider. “You’re going first, Svala. If you bleed red, you’re clean.”

“No, Kanor. You’re going first.” The voice came from the other man, one who appeared more composed than either of his more anxious comrades. “You’re going first, since you’re the one worried about dragons in human skin.”

Kanor opened his mouth to reply, but they were all focused on him now. “You want proof, Lial? Fine. I’ll do it.” He cupped his hand over the blade of the knife, dragged it slow.  He held a bleeding hand by the crackling flame. The stream that ran along his palm and dribbled from his fingertips into the dirt shone a dull crimson. “See? I’m human.” He glared at Lial. “Are you?”

Lial, without a word, drew his own knife, and without ever taking his gaze from Kanor’s, stuck the blade into his palm. He offered his hand to Kanor. “Satisfied?”

The surprise on Kanor’s face faded as he turned to the other two. Despite the protests of both parties, and the whimpering(most of which came from Casus) their knives came back clean. Clean red blood.

“What now, Kanor?” Svala asked. “Not one of us is a joined.The Sergeant spoke in jest.”

Kanor spat. “The Sergeant NEVER speaks in jest.”

“Pathetic.” The final member of their unit emerged from the wilderness, nodding to Casus as he settled in. He waited until Casus had gone to take his place on watch before he continued. “Have you nothing better to do but chase rumors, Kanor? Afraid a dragon-blood might chew your guts while you sleep?”

“I ain’t afraid of anything,” Kanor growled.

“That’s why you’re squatting in the bushes, cutting your comrades.”

“Dragon-bloods are crazy. I ain’t gonna have no madmen watching my ass.”

“You’re crazier than any joined I’ve ever heard about.”

At this, Kanor tilted his head, fixing his adversary with a most dangerous gaze. “ What do you know about dragon-blood, Dreim?”

“More than you do, obviously.”

“You’re awfully calm for someone who could be sleeping by a dragon at night.”

“That makes me human then. After all, dragon-bloods are insane, aren’t they, Kanor?” Dreim paused for a moment, as if lost in thought. “You know, Kanor, you seem pretty agitated right now. How do we really know that you aren’t the joined?”

The others were looking at Kanor again, and he shrunk some under their gazes. “You all know I’m clean!” he shouted. “You all saw it. I ain’t no filthy dragon-blood!” He held up his hand again. “You all saw it,” he repeated.

Dreim shrugged. “There isn’t much light here, Kanor. It’s hard to say for sure.”

Kanor pointed his knife at Dreim. “What about you, Dreim? We’ve all drawn blood. You haven’t.”

“I’m not going to cut myself to prove anything to you.”

“Hah. So it IS you! Filthy-”

“No. A cut reduces fighting capacity and brings on infection. You’ve weakened us enough already with your maddening paranoia.”

“I ain’t mad!” Kanor shouted, lunging for Dreim. “I ain’t no filthy dragon-blood!” he lashed out with his dagger.

Dreim leaned back, sweeping aside his assailant’s wrist with his own. He reached for his sword, but paused as Kanor retreated. Everyone’s attention fell upon Kanor’s knife and the fresh blood upon it. Dreim glanced down at his sliced wrist with annoyance.

“Impossible,” muttered Kanor.

“You see it for yourself, fool.”

“If it ain’t you, then who?”

“None of us is a joined, you imbecile. The Sergeant spread that rumor to test our unity. Because of you, we failed.”