Rocky (Tales of the Were) (18 page)

“What's your name, pretty one?”
The dragon spoke directly into Belora’s mind, surprising her a bit, but her mother had told her stories about the dragon she’d known as a child. Belora knew dragons communicated with humans mind to mind. It was part of their ancient magic.

"I’m Belora." She renewed her forceful stance. She could not let this dragon sense any fear. She needed that stag. "Will you yield the stag to me?"

“Why are you not afraid of my kind? Do you know dragons?”

That wasn’t an answer, but she supposed she should at least be polite. Her mother had taught her the etiquette required when dealing with dragons.

"Not I, sir. My mother knew a dragon once though. She told me about your kind." Belora knew she had to convince him soon. The longer this dragged on, the more likely he was to haul her before some tribunal for poaching. "So what about the stag?"

“From where I stand, it was my talon that made the kill. Not your puny arrow.
But you have a good argument. I'll give you that.”

The dragon moved closer to her as she fumed in response, but she didn’t realize she was being set up until it was much too late. While she argued with him, the dragon moved closer still, until he had the stag wrapped in the talons on one huge foreleg and she was much too close to the other. As she realized her mistake, he swooped in and made his move.

He reached out quicker than thought and snapped the padded digits of his left foreleg around her waist, trapping her arms inside the cage his wickedly sharp talons made around her. She screamed in frustration and more than a bit of fear. The dragon only chuckled.

“Don't worry, little one.”
His voice was gentle in her mind, as if trying to calm her.

The dragon beat his huge wings two or three times and then they were airborne. She couldn’t help the little yelp of fright that escaped as her feet left the ground. He could easily open his claw and drop her to the ground far below. That would solve his problem quite easily, she thought with growing horror.

But dragons were supposed to be noble creatures! In all the tales she’d heard about them, she’d never heard of one going to such lengths to toy with a human before. They were mankind’s friends, not enemies, and they weren’t supposed to go around snatching up maidens only to hurtle them to their deaths.

As they gained altitude and he did not release her to die a nasty and painful death, she began to calm. She was held in one front claw, the slain deer in the other. She looked around and realized she had never seen such a beautiful sight. The view from above was breathtaking. She could see the huge mountain lake as they approached it, and if she craned her neck to look behind, she could see the forest canopy, green and fertile, hiding the secrets of the creatures that lived within.

She and her mother lived there, under the thick cover of trees, and had for many years. It was their haven, their home. Nothing as magical as this had ever happened to Belora, living isolated in the forest, and she decided to enjoy this moment out of time, flying high above the world. She would likely never have the chance again, for it was rare that a dragon transported a human that was not their knight partner. She knew that from the stories and legends the old ones told of knights and dragons. Even her mother—who had been friends with a dragon in her youth—had never flown with one. It was a rare and magical experience.

“Do you like the view, little one?”

“It’s beautiful!” Belora had to shout to be heard over the racing wind.

The dragon chuckled, thoughtfully directing the stream of smoke out behind him and away from her. She realized from the gesture that he was well used to being around humans and carrying them as he flew, but she guessed he didn’t carry too many in his claws. The legends all said knights rode on the backs of their dragon partners.

“Where are you taking me?” She pulled her attention from the gorgeous vista long enough to question her predicament. If he was taking her to a tribunal, she was in big trouble. She’d rather know now if she would be facing arrest when they landed.

“Fear not, little one. I said you had a good case for the stag.
We will let the knight decide.”

They cruised over the edge of the large mountain lake. The water sparkled below as the dragon dropped lower. A moist breeze off the water teased her senses.

"What knight?" That didn’t sound good.

Rather than calming her fears, the news that there was a knight in the area only made things worse. She’d been poaching, plain and simple. Mere peasants weren't allowed to kill the deer to feed their families, but the dragons were welcome to them as a snack at any time.

“That knight,”
the dragon thought back at her. It took her a moment to understand his meaning, but when she looked down and just ahead of their path, she saw a sleek male body cutting through the waters of the lake. He swam like a fish or like one of the great sea creatures she had heard stories about. She found herself distracted by the sun gleaming off the powerful muscles of his arms as he sliced through the water, heading for shore. Something about the man’s hard body pulled at her most feminine core, though she was inexperienced with men, in general.

“I am Kelvan and that’s Gareth, my knight.”

Please note:
All the books in the
Dragon Knights
series are being re-released, one per month starting in August of 2012, building up to the release of the newest book,
Keeper of the Flame
, in February 2013. Join the adventure today!