Three Quest Deal (Tales of Former Dragons Book 1) (2 page)

Tessandra peered over the edge of her grandfather’s writing desk and stared at him with her blue eyes. He was too busy composing a new edict to notice she had snuck into the library of Lord Byron’s castle. She giggled and crouched below his line of sight, running her hands through her short blond hair and smoothing down her tan tunic.

Master Sage Garon lifted his quill off the page and looked up from his work, one eyebrow raised. “Is that you, Tessandra? What are you doing, child?”

“You promised,” she said. “You promised you’d read to me today.”

Garon sighed and looked at the work piled up around him. Then he glanced down at his scholarly gray robes and ate a breadcrumb from his lap. “When?”

“Yesterday. You said you were busy, and if I let you finish your work, you’d read to me tomorrow. Today is tomorrow. You promised.”

He placed the quill in its holder, crossed his arms, and sighed. “Indeed I did. It will be so delightful when you learn to read.”

She popped up from the edge of the desk wearing a big smile. “Does this mean you’ll read to me now?”

“Yes, I’ll read to you. What book do you want me to read?”

“
The Book of Dragons
.”

“Again? Didn’t I read from
The Book of Dragons
the last time I read to you? Choose something else.”

She crossed her arms and pouted. “Read
Dragons
.”

“What’s with you and dragons?”

“Member I told you yesterday?”

“It’s
re
member, not member. Now what am I supposed to have remembered?”

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t you
re
member what I told you? Me and Papa saw a dragon yesterday.”

He frowned and ran a hand over his beard. “Does Lord Byron know about this?”

“I told you that too. We told him.”

“You’ll have to tell me the tale again, because I don’t remember.”

“Mama says you’re a bad listener.”

Garon’s shoulders slumped. “I’m a bad listener when I’m busy—and I’m always busy. Now can you please repeat the tale?”

She came around the desk, and extended her arms so her grandfather would pick her up and place her on his lap. “Me and Papa—”

“Papa and I.”

“Papa and I were in the field, and I saw a dragon in the sky. I told Papa, and he picked me up, and we ran into the house. Then the dragon came, and ate our cow and two pigs.”

“Oh my.”

“Papa was really angry. He said he’ll be happy when all the dragons are dead.”

“There aren’t many dragons left. They’ve become such a terrible nuisance. Lord Byron’s men will set a trap for that one, just like they did for the others, and then they’ll kill it.”

Tessandra frowned. “Then there won’t be any more dragons.”

“That’s the point, child. When dragons ate wild animals and kept to themselves, they weren’t a problem. Now they’re eating farm animals and killing people. We can’t let that continue.”

“But won’t they just lay more eggs and have more baby dragons?”

Garon laughed. “It’s not that simple. Only dragons of the same color can mate and have offspring, and there are few, if any, male and female dragons of the same color anymore.”

“Have you ever seen a dragon egg?”

“No one has. They lay them in the Cave of Origins on a volcanic island far, far away, where no man has ever gone.”

“Then how do you know there are no more dragon eggs?”

“Female dragons lay eggs only once every two years—and only if they find a suitable mate during the first week of spring. It takes a full year for the egg to develop inside the mother, and another year for the egg to hatch after it’s been laid.”

“And then what happens?”

“Then the mother dragon takes care of the baby dragon until it’s old enough to be on its own. But no one has seen a baby dragon for at least ten years.”

Tessandra bowed her head. Tears welled in her eyes and she let out a muffled cry.

“What’s wrong, child?”

She hugged her grandfather tightly. “I don’t want the dragons to die. I want the dragons to live. I want them to live.”

Garon put his arms around her and gently patted her back. “There, there, child. It has to be this way. One day, when you’re older, you’ll understand why.”

Drakor awoke from his winter hibernation stiff and sore. Most dragons didn’t have a problem being asleep for four months, but unlike other dragons that slept motionless like a rock, he constantly moved around. As his eyes acclimated to the darkness of his lair, he saw he was lying upside down on his back. After a few unsuccessful attempts to right himself, he eventually figured out the right combination of body, leg, wing, and tail movements to flip over. He stood on all fours and arched his back until he heard the vertebrate crack. He flexed his neck left and right until it loosened, and stretched his wings out as far as he could in the limited space. Everything ached. He let out a roar of disapproval.

The heat of the sun warmed Drakor’s black scales as he lay on the flat ledge outcropping outside his lair. It was high in the mountains facing the eastern ocean, and he watched the calm waters below. His stomach growled and he smacked his lips. He stood, stretched his wings as high as he could, and, with a single powerful downward stroke, thrust himself into the air.

Drakor flew south for several minutes, and turned west into the Yosarin valley to search for something to eat. He circled the valley three times looking for prey and emos—elves, men and orcs, but sighted none.

On the fourth pass, he spotted a large buck and two medium-sized doe making their way up a hillside in the middle of a large open field. He dropped his altitude and scanned the tree lines for emos and traps. The area appeared safe enough. He circled around the deer so he could attack them from behind. Then, after he gained altitude and made sure he was aligned with the direction they were moving, he tucked in his wings for a steep dive.

Once he got close to them, the prey detected his presence and ran. He spread his wings to slow down, brought his hind legs forward, and grabbed the two does by the back of their necks with his hind claws. The buck veered in another direction to escape, but Drakor’s momentum positioned him directly overhead. He reached out and down with his front claws, and grabbed the buck by its antlers. When he tucked in his wings, his full weight pushed the deer to the ground and broke all three animals’ necks.

Drakor ate quickly, keeping one eye on his surroundings and scanning the horizon and trees for the slightest sign of danger while he chewed. Eating was messy and there was blood everywhere. The sound of tearing flesh and breaking bones permeated the air. Once he had eaten his fill, he flew away, leaving the carcasses for the scavengers.

When Drakor returned to his lair, he drank from the small fresh-water pond inside and then used the water to clean most of the blood from his face and claws. When day turned into night, he found a comfortable spot and tried to sleep. Tomorrow would be the first day of spring, and the stomach pains that accompanied the mating summoning would force him to fly to the Cave of Origins.

After two days of non-stop flying, Drakor sensed he was close to the Cave of Origins. He still felt cramping in his bowels, but the fog of summoning was clearing from his mind. He looked down to where the island should be, but all he saw was a black outcropping of rocks. When he got closer, he made out three dragons on the rocks watching him approach. They were dark-blue, crimson, and white. He knew each of them, because they were the only other dragons to have made it to the cave for the past five years.

“You’re at the right place,” Xan, the white female dragon, told Drakor. “It’s just that the island is sinking.”

“Sinking?” Drakor asked as he hovered above them.

“It took us a while to come to that conclusion,” said Toshen, the blue dragon—male. “We flew farther west and the cramping increased. The same happened when we flew north and south.”

Drakor landed on the rocks next to the others. He stretched his neck and shoulders, and shook his head. “What now?”

“We hoped you could answer that question,” said Aesus, the crimson male dragon.

“Me? Why me?”

“Because we’re out of ideas.”

Drakor gave the others a confused look. “Humph.” He took flight and slowly circled the outcropping a few times. He headed south, hovered over a dark spot under the water, and did something the others didn’t expect. He dove into the water.

The three remaining dragons gasped. Xan took flight to the spot where Drakor entered the water, the others not far behind. They hovered just above the surface and searched for any trace of him. All they saw were bubbles.

“What happened? Is he dead?” Aesus asked.

Xan gave him a puzzled look. “I don’t know. Can you breathe underwater?”

“Of course I can’t breathe underwater. What dragon can breathe underwater?”

“Not me,” Toshen said. “He must be dead.” He shook his head and flew back to the rocks.

Xan and Aesus stayed above the water and continued to look for any sign that Drakor was still alive.

After a few minutes Drakor surfaced.

“The cave entrance is below,” he said. “There’s a flat section in the cave we can stand on above water, but it’s wet. The roof is too low to fly, so you’ll have to stay on the surface of the water to get to that spot.”

The two dragons didn’t respond; they just stared at him.

“Are you coming?”

“How is it you can breathe underwater?” Xan asked.

Drakor laughed. “I don’t breathe underwater. I hold my breath.”

“Hold your breath?” Aesus asked. “How do you do that?”

“I take a deep breath, like I’m about to breathe fire, but I don’t exhale. Then I put my head under the water.”

“And the water doesn’t go into your mouth or nose?” Xan asked.

“Well, I do close my nostrils. Don’t tell me you don’t know how to hold your breath.”

Xan and Aesus looked at each other, then back at Drakor. “No,” they said in unison.

Aesus inhaled, greatly expanding his chest. When he held his breath, he stopped flapping his wings and fell into the water, splashing Drakor. Aesus flailed about until he was able to flap his wings and get back into the air. Xan couldn’t stop laughing. Undaunted, Aesus held his breath again and got it right.

“Now try it in the water,” Drakor said, “and be sure to close your nostrils.”

Aesus landed in the water, sank a bit, and got airborne again. He huffed and shook his head.

“You need to move your legs to stay afloat,” Drakor said. “When you’re ready to move forward, tuck in your wings and legs, and move your tail back and forth. Like this.” He demonstrated the technique, swimming in a circle twice, and stopped.

“Ah,” Aesus said, “now I understand.”

He landed in the water and, through trial and error, figured out how to move his legs without sinking. He successfully held his breath underwater and swam a short distance.

“I can do this,” he grinned.

“Well done,” Drakor said.

Xan’s eyes followed Aesus as he continued to practice swimming. She paid close attention to his every move. Toshen joined the group, and after he received instruction from Drakor, he got into the water and swam around. Xan switched her watchful eyes to Toshen.

“Amazing,” she said.

“It’s your turn, Xan,” Drakor said. “Get in the water.”

Xan looked at him, turned, and flew back to the rocks. Frowning, Drakor followed her. When the other two noticed what was happening, they also flew back to the rocks.

“What’s the matter, Xan? Why aren’t you getting into the water?” Drakor asked.

She shook her head. “I’m not getting into the water. The three of you should go without me.”

“But why? Just get into the water. Everything will be fine. You can’t stay out here. The cramping will start to get worse, and you’ll die.”

“The fact that the island is sinking is a sign. A sign our time in this world is ending. Maybe we’re not supposed to go into the cave. Maybe it’s our time to die.”

Drakor moved to stand face to face with Xan. “You’re right. It’s definitely a sign. This time next year, the cave will be filled with water, and we’ll surely die.”

“Then what’s the point of entering the cave now? Our lives haven’t been the same since the emo started hunting us. What does it matter if we die now or a year from now? Nothing will change.”

Toshen stepped forward. “I’ve felt that way for a long time too, but I chose not to give into those feelings. No matter how much the world has changed, I’m still a dragon, fierce and strong. I won’t give up and die so easily. I’ll die fighting.”

“Toshen is right,” Aesus said. “Don’t give up. Come with us to the cave.”

Drakor nodded in agreement. “Come with us, Xan. Let us bask in the glory of the birthplace of dragons one last time.”

“All right,” Xan said with a smile. “I’ll come with you.”