"Why?" Lainey asked. When the question came out shaky, she mentally kicked herself for letting the fear leak out. She really was trying to be strong, like the boys.
"This'll be a good watering hole for the animals of the forest, which means there'll be predators lurking about," Thane answered.
"Yep. All right, then, shall we cross there?" Renick pointed to the widest part of the river. A sister knot formed in Lainey's stomach. Renick was feeling unsettled too. Were they really in that much danger? She was glad for her grip on the baby dragon's pack because it meant the boys could not see her hands shaking.
Thane nodded. "As good a place as any. I'll go first to make sure it's safe." Thane stripped off his sword as he spoke. He also pulled the knife from his boot. Holding the weapons above his head, Thane started to cross the river.
Lainey watched him intently. At the midway point, the water rose to his thighs. She could feel her breathing speed up. The water would be up to her waist. She could not swim. She opened her mouth to tell Renick as much and closed it again. They had to cross the river and it was silly for her to be afraid. After all, she could still walk across—she would not have to swim.
Renick turned to face her, his arms outstretched. "Let me take the dragon."
Lainey tilted her head and looked at him sideways. She smiled and said, "I can carry him—he's not that heavy. Plus, you'll be the rear guard. It wouldn't do to have you burdened by a passenger."
He seemed unconvinced, so she did not give him a chance to argue further. Lainey took her first step into the river. The water soaked through her thin travel shoes. The cold cut into her feet and legs as she trudged deeper into the water. At first, she kept her eyes on Thane, who was waiting on the far bank, but then her feet went numb. She had to keep her head down, watching where she stepped through the murky water.
The gentle push of the current against her legs made Lainey falter and her foot came down on a loose rock. She felt herself tilting dangerously close to the water. Throwing her hands out, she managed to steady herself. She took a few deep breaths to quiet her drumming heartbeat. When she felt ready to continue, she wrapped her arms back around the baby dragon, who had started to squirm, and took another step forward. She felt her foot slip on a slime–covered rock and went down.
The cold water of the river surrounded Lainey. The only sound that broke through the din of the rapids was the plaintive pleas of the baby dragon. Lainey felt the water close around her head. Yanking the pack off her arms, she pushed the baby dragon up toward the surface. Something pulled against her arms, and her head broke above the crushing water. Lainey sucked in a breath before she was tugged under again.
Around her there was blackness, sliced up by the light dancing across her face. The bitter cold pressed in around her. Her lungs began to ache for want of air. She kicked mightily with her legs, trying to gain control of her movement, to drive herself upward. She kept her arms extended, if nothing else, she knew she must keep the baby dragon above the surface. Just when she felt sure she would die in the cold wet of the river, her head broke the surface once more.
A voice was calling out to her, but the words were swallowed by the cold water.
Lainey felt a sob threatening to escape her tightly closed mouth. All is not lost. All is not lost, she told herself over and over. She would not give up yet. Thane and Renick would save her. They would come for her.
Suddenly she felt a warm comfort, much like hope, spread through her. Lainey had the distinct impression in her mind of the baby dragon wrapping its wings around her and lifting her up.
Air. She breathed deeply and looked down to see the dragon still trapped in the pack, watching her.
Then the water again.
All is not lost.
An arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her upwards.
"I've got you," Renick said in her ear.
Lainey relaxed and sobbed in between deep, desperate breaths. She pulled the baby dragon close to her and watched the brown and green blur of the forest. There was a flash of color in the trees. Lainey tried to focus on the movement, blinking the water from her eyes. Thane's figure appeared, sprinting along the bank. The fear and panic receded as she watched him move through the trees. She was safe.
The pressure of Renick's arm around her chest lessened and she slipped below the water again.
Lainey felt the rucksack with the baby dragon being pulled away from her. She clutched it closer, but her hands were too cold and she lost her grip. Looking up, she saw the sunlight play off the surface of the water. Two long shadows descended toward her. Strong hands gripped her shoulders and she surfaced again.
Sucking in gulps of air, Lainey tried to speak as Thane dragged her out of the river. All that came out was a fit of coughs. "Dragon," she managed to wheeze. Thane's step did not falter as he carried her away from the edge of the water. Lainey stretched out one hand over Thane's shoulder and said with more strength, "The dragon!"
"Got him." Renick's lanky frame rose from a shallow section of the river just a little downstream. He held the soaked pack and the wriggling baby dragon.
Lainey sighed with relief. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "and Renick! Sorry, I forgot about you," she added with a sheepish smile.
Thane laughed. Lainey could feel it rumbling through his chest as he set her on the ground. The gentle movement helped erase some of the lingering fear.
Renick gave her a half smile. "It's okay, Lainey."
"We need to get her warm," Thane said. Renick nodded, set the dragon down next to Lainey, and dodged off into the woods.
"Where's—s h—he g—going?" Lainey asked, her teeth chattering.
"To collect firewood. We need to get you out of your wet cloak." He helped her unclasp her traveling cloak and pull her arms out of the sleeves. Thane laid the cloak over a nearby branch. When he returned, he draped his mostly dry cloak around her shoulders.
Lainey tried to offer thanks, but the only sound she managed to make was a vague grunt. She smiled up at him instead.
There was a soft thud and Lainey looked down to see that the baby dragon had knocked the pack over as it attempted to get out. She reached down and tried to aid him with her numb fingers. After a moment of her fumbling, Thane sighed and gently covered her frozen hands with his. They were so warm that they almost burned against her skin. He moved her hands aside, peeled the baby dragon from the rucksack, and placed it in Lainey's outstretched arms.
"Thanks," she said. Thane looked as if he were about to say something, but Renick returned with the firewood.
The two boys set to work building the fire. Once they had a good blaze going, they helped Lainey move to sit next to it. The baby dragon started crooning as it warmed by the fire. Lainey laughed. It felt good to laugh after the terrifying trip down the river. Thane and Renick joined her, their laughs blending oddly with hers. Even the baby dragon started making short barking noises. Lainey stroked the dragon's neck.
"It's okay," she whispered softly. "We're safe now."
Chapter 9: Run!
Something wrong. Plyth lifted his head. The fire warmed his cold, wet scales. Something out there. He turned his head and searched. Kind rubbed his head, but it did not comfort him. He wiggled in her lap. Yes, something wrong.
Plyth sniffed the air. Wood. Green. Rain. Rabbit. Smoke. He smelled all that. Nothing bad. Good smells. Plyth listened. Kind hummed a sweet, soft song. Good sound. Plyth liked humming. Wind moved some leaves. Rabbit darted away. Dirt shifted.
He stopped. Dirt moved? Why? Under a foot. Plyth tasted the air again. Nothing. No bad smell.
Snap.
Plyth jumped out of Kind's lap. Looking, looking everywhere. Listen, smell. Wind again—this time it smelled of something familiar. Something Plyth smelled before. Something from when his mother fell. Bad smell, very bad smell. Danger.
Hunters.
Plyth ran in a circle. Whined, and ran in a circle again. Hunters. There were hunters nearby. It was not safe here.
Hunters. Danger.
Plyth looked at Trusted. Run away. He wanted to get away. Plyth looked at Kind. She not understand. How to tell? How to tell?
More dirt shifted. They were coming. Close now. They must have trail to follow. Must see them, hear them. Maybe they could still get away.
Plyth's fear got worse. He wanted to fly away, He beat his wings. Pain. He could not fly. Broken wing. He wiggled again, trying to get out of Kind's grasp. Need to run. Kind stood up. Plyth arched his neck back and tried to see her eyes. Needed to tell her. Run. Run. Run. Mother would know. Mother could tell.
Brave and Trusted went to woods. No, not safe. Come back—hunters that way. They gone for long time. Plyth wiggled some more. Not that way. Not safe. Trusted came back, and Brave came back too. They okay. They growled and chattered at Kind.
Plyth thought of Kind, then thought of running away. He thought of danger and made his thoughts big. Loud. Run. Run. "Run!"
Kind made a funny sound. Lots of air going in at once. Plyth made thought loud and big and looked at Brave and Trusted. Run. Run. "Run!"
Trusted looked at Plyth. He chattered at Kind and Brave.
They started running. Yes, yes. Run!
Chapter 10: Dragon's Voice
Renick burst through the trees into a small clearing. They were exposed. He needed to find cover. Off to his left, toward the edge of the open space, an ancient tree had fallen over and rotted out. The remains were large enough to hide them. Renick changed course and headed for the tree. When he reached it, he skidded to a halt. Lainey whipped past him, sliding to the ground, her back to the log and her arms clutching the baby dragon.
"You okay?" Renick asked through gasps of air.
Lainey nodded. She was breathing too hard to speak.
Turning, Renick scanned the line of trees. Thane leapt into the clearing and pivoted, sword drawn. He stood ready, the point of his blade swaying back and forth. Then he spun around, and in a few short bounds, dodged behind the log.
"I don't think they followed us," Thane said as he sheathed his sword. He crouched down and knelt on one knee.
Renick crumpled to the ground next to Lainey. He sat with his legs folded and picked at the long weeds that covered the ground.
Looking up, Lainey asked, "Did you hear him …"
"Talk?" Renick finished with a nod.
A smile broke across Lainey's face. "I thought I was losing my mind."
"You already had," Thane jibed.
Lainey looked at him sideways. Renick could not tell if he was joking or not until the corner of Thane's mouth twitched. Lainey flicked her hand in Thane's direction as if to dismiss him.
"He can talk." Renick shook his head. A talking dragon. He remembered lying awake in bed at night listening to the grunts and groans of sleeping dragons and wondering what they meant. Renick could smell the straw of the brooder where he held hatchlings and stared into those intelligent eyes, wondering what was behind them. And now, sitting here in front of him, was a talking dragon. "He can talk."
Lainey closed her mouth and looked at him. Apparently she had been saying something to Thane. "Yes, Renick," she said gently.
"He can talk," Renick repeated.
"Renick, I think you've established that. Now can we please move on?" Thane popped his head up and looked over the log as he spoke.
Renick nodded, but added under his breath, "He can talk," one more time.
"I wonder what his name is." Lainey removed the dragon from the pack and peered into his eyes. "Huh, little guy?" The dragon just cocked his head at her.
A wave of curiosity hit Renick. It was familiar, yet foreign. Like when his brothers told his father's stories. The words were the same, but the voice was different. Renick studied the baby dragon.
Curious, the baby dragon seemed to say in Renick's mind.
"It doesn't understand what you're saying," Thane said.
"Quiet," Renick said. "Do you …" He shrugged. "Do you feel that?"
Lainey nodded. "He's curious."
Thane shook his head. "Seriously, you two have lost it."
"No, she's right. Pay attention and you might be able to feel it too." Renick moved to sit next to Lainey. "Let's try to figure out his name again."
"What's your name?" she asked the dragon. He tilted his head the other way.
Confused.
Thane's brow furrowed.
"Hah! You do feel it!" Lainey pointed an accusing finger at Thane.
Thane closed his eyes. "All right, so I do. Big deal."
Lainey exchanged a look with Renick and rolled her eyes. She focused on the baby dragon again. "Maybe we should try showing him what we mean. I'm Lainey …"
Kind.
Lainey blinked a few times. "Thank you, I think. But I don't understand." She turned the dragon so he was looking at Thane. "And this is Thane. He's not as mean as he looks."
Brave.
"And this is Renick," Lainey said, swiveling the dragon again.
Trusted.
"That's odd," Renick said. "I wonder what he means by kind, brave, and trusted."
"Plyth," the baby dragon hissed.
Thane leaned closer. "Did he just say 'plyth'?" he asked.
"I think so," Lainey said. "Is your name Plyth?"
"Me, Plyth," the dragon repeated.
Renick could not breathe. His heart was pounding faster than it had when they were running. A dozen stories, legends, and bits of lore that his father used to tell him crowded in his mind. They all alluded to the dragons' ability to speak. Up until this moment, Renick had thought them only fables. He had not dared to hope that they might have some truth to them.
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Plyth." Lainey smiled and hugged the dragon close to her. "Now I don't have to keep calling you 'little guy' anymore."
"Ask him if he knows who those men were back there," Thane said.
"Ask him yourself." Lainey plopped the dragon into Thane's arms. "You've a mouth, don't you?" She crossed her arms and leaned back against the log.
"Uh, do you know who those men were?" Thane said to Plyth's tail. With a chuckle, Lainey reached out and turned Plyth so he was facing Thane.
Happy.
"I think he still isn't understanding us. Maybe if you pictured one of the men, he'd know what you meant," Renick offered.
Thane gave Renick an annoyed look.
"Here, let me do it," Renick said as he took Plyth. Renick closed his eyes and pictured one of the men he had seen in the woods. The man had long, unkempt hair the color of mud. An odd tattoo ran down the man's neck and he had a scowl on his face.
Plyth squirmed in Renick's lap. Danger.
"Shhh." Lainey rubbed Plyth behind the ears. "We're safe now. We just want to know who they were."
"Unthers," Plyth said.
"Unthers?" Thane spat. "That doesn't even make sense."
Lainey hit Thane's arm. "I think he means 'hunters.' He's still a baby, remember?"
Somewhere in the distance, branches rubbed up against each other. Renick held his breath, listening for signs of pursuit. The moment passed.
"I'm going to check the perimeter," Thane whispered. "You two wait here."
The air seemed thick and heavy as they waited for Thane to return. The peaceful quiet of the clearing turned menacing and every small sound amplified. Renick jumped a little when Thane reappeared.
"Sow," Thane said. "With some piglets. But they moved off the other way."
Renick let out his breath.
"What kind of hunters?" The words exploded out of Lainey like she had been holding them in.
"Dragon hunters," Renick and Thane said together.
"Dragons? You sure?"
"When
I was younger, a dragon got very sick and went mad. It escaped its pen and started killing live stock. My father and some of the other men from our village had to hunt it down." Renick felt a sickening feeling in his stomach at the memory of seeing the dead dragon being dragged back to the ranch to be destroyed. "The hunters back there had similar equipment to what my father used."
"What kind of equipment?" Lainey asked.
"Nets, ropes, and at least one giant crossbow," Renick said.
"Did you see the shafts?" Thane asked.
Renick nodded. "They looked like the one that got the flyer."
Lainey gasped. "You don't think …"
"And the gray," Thane added in a harsh tone. At Renick's raised eyebrows, he said, "I took a closer look while you two were patching Plyth up."
"Why would anyone want to hunt dragons?" Lainey said, horrified. She scooped Plyth out of Renick's lap and started rocking him back and forth.
"Their hides are valuable," Renick answered. "They grow to be bigger than our dragons. And their scales are brighter in color, and stronger. My father says they also take their hearts. The stories say there is magic in a dragon's heart."
"That's gross." Lainey gagged. She looked down at Plyth. "We can't let them get him." Her words echoed Renick's thoughts.
"Well, we can't go back to the river. The hunters are blocking the way." Thane jabbed his thumb back in the direction they had come.
"Where to, then?" Lainey asked.
Renick felt a sudden chill, like a breeze coming off snow. "Mountains," Plyth said.
Thane nodded and rubbed his chin. "We could follow the mountains west. It's a little farther out of the way, and the terrain will be rougher. But at least we'd have a landmark to follow again."
"All right, then." Renick rubbed his hands together. "The mountains."
Chapter 11: Way Station
Just a few hours' hike from the clearing, Renick noticed a brown bunch of thorny bushes. The tangled mass stood higher than a man's head and stretched out for several paces before curving out of his view.
Trusted: Dragons' Trust Book 1 Page 5