by Marc Secchia
“Is there a sixth moon in the sky?” Grandion asked.
“An Island in the Rift?” Lia retorted.
“A new asteroid in near orbit?”
Lia produced an enigmatic chuckle. “Try another one, Dragon.”
“Is it hidden in the lands beyond the Rim-Wall Mountains?” asked the Tourmaline.
“Those exist,” said Lia, “but it is not time for the Dragonkind to know them. The Island-World is marvellous, my beloved friend and husband, but right here there are wonders and travails enough to last us a lifetime. Our task is to create the bulwark of the Isles, Grandion. To raise up Dragon Riders and Shapeshifters brave and resourceful enough to weather the troubles to come. That shall be our legacy, and it shall suffice, LET IT BE!”
Once her prophetic cannonade had died down, and Grandion and Flicker had finished teasing her about the supposedly impervious crysglass panel she had just shattered, the dragonet asked:
“But where is the Egg, Lia? In the Natal Cave of Fra’anior Cluster?”
Lia pasted her very best smirk, borrowed from a certain dragonet who had long since mastered the expression, upon her lips. “Confession? That one happens to be a clever fake.”
Flicker’s eyes popped open, and then he began to laugh so hard, he ended up draped in a heaving, helplessly wheezing heap across her stomach. This time at least two of her babies took turns kicking him, thump thump-thump.
Grandion was laughing, too. “Ever the Dragoness, Lia. Ever the devious, scheming Dragoness. I love you!”
Flushing at his praise, she murmured, “I needed someplace with lots of Dragons and Shapeshifters, where their innate magic would shield the First Egg from casual inspection.”
“Herimor?” asked Flicker.
“No. Closer to home.”
Grandion quirked an eyebrow at her. “How close … exactly?”
“You men are being very exacting today.”
“Men?” sniffed Flicker. “Reprehensible, outrageous insults!”
The Tourmaline probed through their oath-connection, keeping that surprised expression firmly in place. “You, a Star Dragoness, are brooding over an Ancient Dragon’s egg?”
“Even Ancient Dragons need love,” Lia said diffidently. “After all, what emotion is fierier than the true-fires white of draconic love?”
Grandion’s eyes flew wide. “Are you telling me … if I moved this recliner, say …”
Lia’s smile communicated every mystery a Dragoness had ever owned, and more. “I couldn’t possibly confirm your hypothesis.”
“Oh, come on!” Flicker piped furiously.
Scrambling to his feet with a wildly rolling eye, Grandion cried, “Women! I tell you – women are just – just so – aaaarrrrgghh!”
“Couldn’t have put it better myself,” agreed the dragonet. “Still, the straw-head’s got the story completely wrong, as usual.”
Dragoness-Hualiama growled, Oh? You’d like to tell a different version?
Of course. I am the flaming genius called Flicker, after all.
Shall I flame your backside, genius?
“No need for gross anatomical culinary exploits,” said Flicker. “The truth is hardly as complex as you’d like to think. The true First Egg is you, Hualiama. As in, you’re the First Egg of all Shapeshifters.” As her jaw dangled, bereft of any volition whatsoever, he added smugly, “And you can just stick that up your fumarole and smoke it, volcano-girl.”
Speechless.
Leaping off the recliner, Grandion bent, gripped its cloth handles in his hands, and flexed his mighty Tourmaline strength to raise it off the floor. Soft, mesmerising light illuminated his face from beneath, highlighting every prismatic gemstone facet of his eyes.
Grandion exhaled softly. “Oh, Blue-Star …”
The End
Thank you for sharing this Dragonride with a girl and her Dragon. You’re awesome. Flicker told me so.
Enjoyed this tale? My books Aranya and The Pygmy Dragon kick off two more bestselling series set in the same world as Dragonfriend, full of epic Dragon adventure, peril and magic!
About the Author
www.marcsecchia.com
Marc is the bestselling author of over twenty fantasy books and is published in three languages. Born in South Africa, he lives and works in Ethiopia with his wife and 4 children, 2 dogs, a rabbit, and a variable number of marabou storks that roost on the acacia trees out back. On a good night you can also hear hyenas prowling along the back fence.
When he’s not writing about Africa or dragons, Marc can be found travelling to remote locations. He thinks there’s nothing better than standing on a mountaintop wondering what lies over the next horizon.
If you enjoyed this story, please consider leaving a review on Amazon.com. Every review matters and I read them all!
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Other Books by Marc Secchia
Shapeshifter Dragons: (Young Adult and older readers) Four allied series of bestselling Dragon adventures. Prepare to wing away to a unique world of mighty Dragons and volcanic Islands above the deadly Cloudlands!
In chronological order (Island-World timeline):
Dragonfriend series: Dragonfriend, Dragonlove, Dragonsoul and Dragonstar
Shapeshifter Dragon Legends series: The Pygmy Dragon and The Onyx Dragon
Shapeshifter Dragons series: Aranya, Shadow Dragon, Song of the Storm Dragon and Volume #4 coming in 2017
Standalone Book: Dragon Thief
Set in the same world as the Shapeshifter Dragons series, join Zhialeiana in an oceanic adventure with Whales and Sea-Dragons:
IsleSong series: The Girl who Sang with Whales, The Girl who Loved the Whales, and The Girl who Swam with Whales, after which this series connects with Shapeshifter Dragons above in Dragons of Sea and Sky, coming soon.
Whisper Series (Teen and older readers)
Conjured by the sadistic Warlock Sanfuri, Whisper faces a stark choice. Run with his message, or die. Bound by the Warlock’s unbreakable magical imperative, Whisper is forced to navigate the tortuous pathways of a labyrinth twenty miles deep, riven by Dragon-infested canyons and scorched by sunstrike. An extraordinary legend is born.
Whisper Alive
The Equinox Cycle: (Young Adult and older readers)
Trapped in a car wreck, crushed by a train. In seconds, Zaranna’s world is torn apart and she must start life anew, as a survivor. A double amputee. Yet why does this promising equestrienne remember a flash of sulphurous fire, and a crimson paw hurling her mother’s car onto the train tracks? Why does a tide of beguiling butterflies flood her increasingly chaotic dreams?
As Zaranna Inglewood adjusts to life minus legs, plus gorgeous Alex, the paramedic who cut her body from the wreckage, she learns the terror of being hunted. Relentless and inimical, the enemy lures her to a world where dreams shape reality. Equinox. A world of equinoctial storms; lashed by titanic forces of magic, dominated by the Pegasi and their centuries-old enmity with Human Wizards and the Dragons. This is a world where a girl can Dream her destiny. Where her soul can fly, or be chained forever.
She is Zaranna, the Horse Dreamer. Survivor. Fighter. A girl who doesn’t need legs to kick an evil fate in the teeth. All she needs is courage – the courage to Dream.
The Horse Dreamer (Equinox Cycle Book 1)
The Shioni of Sheba series: (Middle Grades and older readers) Unique African historical fantasy adventures set among the myths and legends of ancient Ethiopia.
Shioni of Sheba #1: The Enchanted Castle
Shioni of Sheba #2: The King's Horse
Shioni of Sheba #3: The Mad Giant
Shioni of Sheba #4: The Sacred Lake
Shioni of Sheba #5: The Fiuri Realms
Shioni of Sheba #6 – The Night of the Hyenas
Shioni of Sheba Box Set – Books 1-5<
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Epic fantasy (New Adult and Adult readers) Epic length tales of unique worlds and powers.
Feynard
The Legend of El Shashi