Don't Anger the Dragon
Hi, Chasing Dragons published last week, but you can still grab a copy at all retailers. And now, I’ll just walk away and let you enjoy the last part of our preview without interruption.
Chasing Dragons
by Melinda Kucsera
Chapter 2, part 2
It was worth a shot, so Jerlo quit antagonizing Thing, even though that OwlCat’s admission that he didn’t like dangerous situations kindled a smidge of satisfaction in his breast. Jerlo had no such aversion. He thrived on danger, and it was time he started acting like it. Yes, his mind had a few holes, but navigating difficult situations and personalities was one of his skills. It was time to put that to use.
“I understand why you touched my memories. I didn’t give you much choice.” Jerlo turned the scale over as he paced along the bank. Maybe he was just talking to the Andurai flocking to the shore and making it glow. Hopefully, the dragons heard him. If not, then he’d try a different way. “I can be relentless when I want something. Ironically, that’s how I ended up as Commander of the Rangers.”
Oh, she’s here, and she hears you. So do the dragonlings, Thing said, and damn him, he sounded amused. What was he getting out of this?
I thought that was obvious. I’m getting quality entertainment with no possibility of danger, and plenty of opportunities to meddle. Thing sent an image of himself winking at him again.
Get out of my head, you winged menace! Jerlo seethed for a moment, then took deep breaths to calm himself in case that OwlCat was right about the Mother Dragon. “You did what you thought was necessary to protect your young. I understand that, and I would do anything to help. I hope you know that.”
Jerlo felt a subtle shift in the air. Maybe it was just the Andurai expelling magic into the air. Maybe it was the Mother Dragon approaching silently. Jerlo hoped she was coming toward him, even if it was just to tell him to go away.
A low rumble echoed through the cavern, and the faint outline of a large reptilian head emerged from the shadows. Her golden scales reflected the Andurai’s light onto her mantled wings and strong, muscular body. She stood in the river with water and Andurai dripping off her body. Her glowing yellow eyes fixed on him, and for a moment, Jerlo couldn’t breathe.
He’d dreamed of this moment for so long. His heart felt so full of admiration for her, it might burst. Or maybe he would if he didn’t stop holding his breath. Jerlo quit doing that before he passed out.
“I haven’t encountered a human as stubborn as you in a long time,” she said, and her deep voice echoed through the cavern.
In his dreams, those words would spark a conversation that ended in a montage of images of him riding on the dragon’s back into one glorious battle after another. But Jerlo wasn’t that idealistic young man anymore and war wasn’t something he’d wish on his worst enemy, let alone such a majestic creature. It took a moment to banish those old dreams, but he did because that was the right thing to do.
They wouldn’t ride off into battle. If danger came here, he’d meet it with his Rangers and Sarn too, and the Kid would probably not listen or do anything he told him to do. Sarn had selective hearing when it came to his magic. But they’d find a way to drive the enemy back and save all the inhabitants of the city under Mount Eredren, even her dragons.
“Would you really fight for us all?” The Mother Dragon raised a scaly ridge above her glowing eyes, like Jerlo himself did often when questioning his people. Her gold scales shimmered as the Andurai clumped together into larger and brighter colonies. Were they also watching?
I think so, Crispin said. They’re certainly curious critters. A birdlike creature that had a furry body with a straight spine like a human landed on a rock and extended a paw into a colony of Andurai just under the surface of the river. Confirmed. They’re watching and listening to everything.
Do they have an opinion on this? Jerlo hoped they were rooting for him, not against him. After all, he sent them the black lumir crystal to neutralize. Well, not these Andurai in particular, but their friends outside in the River Nirthal. Did they even know about the crystal?
Damn it. I’m getting sidetracked when I need to concentrate. Jerlo tried to shift his thoughts away from the Andurai, but they raised so many fascinating questions, and he was hungry for knowledge about them since they now lived under the mountain too.
Answer her before she loses patience. Your window of opportunity is closing, Thing said, and it was nice of him to point that out. Too nice. What was his angle now?
Jerlo could figure that out later. He faced the dragon, waiting for a response. Her eye ridge was still raised. “Yes, I would. I’d prove it, but there’s no one to defend you from.”
“Are you sure about that?” The dragon extended her arm and pointed at the other end of the cavern. The gentle murmur of the underground river didn’t hide the echoes of running footsteps.
Who was coming and why? Thing didn’t provide an answer, but he knew. His son probably did too, but he also stayed quietly crouched on a rock, his paws under the water, covered by Andurai. Crispin was probably communing with them, or worse still, gossiping about him with them. Well, there wasn’t anything else Jerlo could do except step between the dragon and trouble.
“I said I’d defend you, and I meant it.” Jerlo raised his fists since they were the only weapon he had. They’d just have to do if it came to a fight.
***
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