by Julie Wetzel
Seeing the rock wall, it only took Patrick a moment to locate the entrance to the cave. He pushed past the pain in his wing and shot out of the lake towards Daniel. “Here!” He flapped, hovering just over the surface of the water.
Daniel let out a warbling cry, and a single blue dragon folded his wings and splashed down into the water. The long seconds ticked past as everyone stared at the glassy surface of the lake.
Bobbing in the air, Patrick clenched his jaw against the pain tearing through his wing. As it was, he was not flapping it enough to stay stable. He was just considering dropping back into the water to ease the ache when the blue dragon burst from the water and flapped hard away from the surface. A great blast of fire raced after him, sizzling the water as it passed.
The black dragon erupted from the lake with a roar and attacked the first thing it could see through the rising steam. Unfortunately, it was the bright red scales of Patrick’s hide.
The unexpected crunch of teeth sent shivers of pain through Patrick’s already-injured wing. He didn’t fight as the dragon shook him violently and dropped his limp form to the lake below. A roar of anger echoed in the men waiting, and the battle commenced above. Giving in to the throbbing in his wing, Patrick left the men to deal with the dragon. No matter how strong or enraged he was, there was no way the rogue could stand against more than a score of Elites.
Turning his attention to the cave, Patrick tucked up his wings and swam into the opening. Just inside, the passage made a sharp turn up, and it took no time for the lord to break the surface of the water inside the cave. So, this was where the creature had been hiding. He cast his eyes around, taking in the scene.
A great cavern opened up with high ceilings. Light from some fire glistened against the distant stalactites. Carefully, Patrick pulled himself up to the edge of the sandy floor. His hunch was right. Along the back were six eggs, glistening in the low light. Another black dragon lay next to them.
This dragon watched him closely as he slinked close. It growled a warning.
Patrick dropped to the ground in as nonthreatening a way as he could. “My Lady,” he called out to the dragon. From the way it curled protectively around the eggs, he was sure this was the mother of the brood. “I mean you no harm.”
The dragon didn’t move, but curiosity shone in her glistening eyes. “Speak your name,” she called to him.
Patrick stood up and wrapped his tail around his feet in a dignified manner. Her ability to understand him and speak boded well. “I am Patrick Mylan.”
“Mylan!” The dragon lifted her head as soon as she heard his name. Letting out a pain-filled groan, she dropped herself back to the sand.
“My Lady!” Patrick cried out and shifted back to his human form. He raced to her side. Even an idiot could see she was in serious pain.
“Forgive me, My Lord.” The dragon turned one great eye to him. It was glassy with agony. The fact that she called him lord showed that she knew who he was, but that wasn’t saying much. Most dragons knew of the orphaned red dragon the queen had taken in.
“Be still.” There was definitely something wrong here. Patrick placed his hand on her side and felt her temperature. It was much too high, even for a dragon. “What happened?” he asked.
The dragon let out a shuddering breath and shifted her wing to show a bolt stuck in her side.
Patrick clenched his teeth. The bolt was from a crossbow—not something a farmer would have. “How?” he asked as he felt around the wound. It was obvious the bolt had been in there for some time now. The flesh around the entry had already started to sour. If they didn’t get her help soon, she would die. As it was, it would take a skilled magician to ease the dragon’s pain. This had gone far beyond the aid of a simple healer.
“From the castle.” Her breath was labored as she spoke.
Patrick rubbed her side, soothing her as best he could. There was only one castle near here, and the black dragon had already razed its occupants. No wonder he had gone in and killed all the men. They had nearly killed his mate. “And the maidens?” Patrick asked, needing to know that Kathryn was all right.
“Safe,” the dragon groaned.
Patrick’s heart lightened at her words. “I promise that we will get you help.” He patted the dragon’s side again. Backing away from her, he shifted back into dragon form and raced to the water’s edge. He paused long enough to reassure her again before diving into the water. There were three dragons in the flight that might have the skill to save the woman’s life. Hopefully they weren’t too late.
***
Patrick broke the surface of the water into hell.
His men had the black dragon surrounded and were taking turns attacking him, but no one was really doing damage. They were trying to draw him over land so they could down and capture him, but the rogue had other ideas.
He hovered over the water, just outside the cave. Anytime a dragon would go for the lake, the black dragon would attack viciously, driving them back up.
Seeing an opening, Patrick beat his wings hard and shot straight up at the beast. He wrapped his talons around his neck and put his mouth right next to his ear. “Stop this!” he screamed. “We are not your enemies!”
The loud noise rattled the dragon for a second. He shook his head, trying to ease the ringing and dislodge his attacker.
Patrick held firm. “Your lady is dying!” he shrieked again. Please let his words register in the dragon’s mind. “Stop this, and we can save her!”
The entire flight of dragons stopped their attack.
The dragon let out a deafening roar and shook his head again, but the beating of his wings slowed, letting them slip into the water.
Patrick held on for a few more seconds before releasing his hold on the surrendering dragon. He turned his eyes skywards to the surrounding dragons, looking for the ones he wanted. “Mica! Andrew! Thalin!” he barked. “With me!”
Diving into the water, the three dragons followed as Patrick led them into the cave and up to the sandy floor.
“Save her.” Patrick pointed towards the injured dragon.
The three men shifted and went to her. They all grimaced at the severity of the wound.
Andrew turned to Patrick with despair in his voice. “My Lord?”
The growl of the rogue dragon echoed around the room. The dark creature pulled himself from the water and lay down on the sand.
The man blanched. “We can’t work magic without the right components,” he explained.
“Maybe we can help.”
Patrick’s heart leaped to his throat. He knew that sweet voice. Mine!
***
Kathryn came around the back end of the injured dragon with the maidens that were missing. Each carried an armload of supplies. Pausing, Kathryn glanced at the red dragon before turning to the three men standing next to the wounded dragon. Oh my god, they were naked! Color climbed up her cheeks, but she pushed her embarrassment away and approached them with a bowl wrapped in a cloth. “Here.” She set the bowl near the men and backed up a step. “Fever’s foe.”
The girls quickly dropped their armloads of herbs and bandages on the ground and hid behind Kathryn.
The three men bent to look at the supplies. One of the men looked up at the girls. “Is there more?”
“Yes,” Kathryn answered. She pointed towards the back of the cavern. “There’s a whole room filled with random things.”
He stood up and started off towards the room. “Show me.”
Two of the girls hurried off leading the way, leaving Kathryn to deal with the dragons.
Movement caught her eye, and she turned to look at the red dragon. The thing chirped and rumbled as it stepped closer.
The younger girls huddled behind Kathryn, scared of the growling, red beast.
Kathryn froze and studied the creature before her. It was nowhere near as large as the other dragons. A trickle of smoke curled up from one nostril as it let out a series of growls and clicks. Its scales were
the color of bright blood. Several were marred from recent battle. One wing drooped lower than the other. Could this beast be her Patrick? But hadn’t the black dragon killed him? Memories tickled the back of her mind as she stepped towards him. A flash of red scales in the early morning light. She had seen this dragon before.
“It was you.” Kathryn pulled away from the girls trying to hold her back. “You jumped out of the lake that morning.”
Sitting back on his haunches, the dragon curled his tail around his feet and nodded. He hung head hung in a shameful way, showing he was sorry that he has scared them. There was something about the way he moved that convinced her she was right. This was most definitely her Patrick.
Kathryn launched herself at him. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and she squeezed him for all she was worth. She didn’t care if he was a dragon—he was alive, and that was all that mattered. “I thought you were dead.” She buried her face into the side of his neck as tears burned free. “I watched you sink in the lake.”
***
Joy washed through Patrick as he lifted up his front leg and wrapped it around the crying girl. “It would take more than that to kill me,” he purred. He held her for a moment, glad she was alive and not afraid of him. Mine.
A scream of pain from the female dragon broke into their world. The mages had started to work fever’s foe into the wound. “My Lord!” Thalin called for help.
Patrick released Kathryn and rushed to the injured dragon’s side. Their reunion would have to wait for a more appropriate time.
“Hold her down,” Mica yelled as the dragon thrashed about.
Throwing himself on her neck, Patrick tried to pin her but failed. She easily outweighed him by more than three times his weight. He glanced back at her mate. He was big enough to hold her down. “If you want to save her, help me!” Patrick roared.
The black dragon shifted from foot to foot, distressed by his mate’s pain.
Now Patrick understood why the dragon had been stealing woman. He needed someone to heal his mate, but he couldn’t mentally handle her being hurt. Seeing the larger dragon’s indecision, Patrick released his hold on the injured female. He raced over and rammed his head into the side of the larger dragon. “Hold her down.” He banged his head into the black scales once more before the dragon moved. Bloody dragon!
Nipping at the great creature’s scales, Patrick drove the reluctant beast to his mate. Laying his body over hers, the larger male pressed her down. “Not too hard!” Patrick snapped. The rogue lifted his weight so she was pinned but not squished. Patrick went back and draped himself over the injured dragon's neck.
Seeing that they held the dragon as best they could, Patrick nodded to the mages. “Go!” he cried.
The two men turned their attention back to their work.
The female dragon let out a roar of pain as they prodded the sore flesh.
Two more dragons, a green and a blue, climbed out of the water. “My Lord!” the green chirped.
Patrick looked over at them as he bounced around on the dragon’s thrashing neck. Help had arrived. Finally!
“The eggs!” he cried.
The new dragons looked at the clutch dangerously close to the side of the thrashing dragons.
“My Lord?” The blue dragon cocked his head, unsure what Patrick wanted.
Bloody male dragons!
Growling, Patrick jumped off the writhing dragon. “Hold her!” he snapped.
If you want something done right…
The dragons quickly came up and pinned the injured dragon's tail and neck.
Backing up, Patrick turned his attention to the fragile eggs. Two of them had already been knocked over. Please let the babies be okay. Carefully, he came over and nosed them. They were whole, but they wouldn’t stay that way long if he left them there much longer. He couldn’t do anything for the female, but he could make sure her young were safe. He had to get them away from the chaos. Pushing it with his nose, he rolled the first one across the sand until it was well away from the struggling dragon.
Patrick was surprised when he saw Kathryn grab the two terrified girls.
“Come on,” she cried as she pulled them towards the eggs. Together, they laid a third and fourth egg over and rolled them across the sand.
Leave it to women to know what needed to be done! He could kiss them all. “Carefully,” Patrick chirped at the women.
Taking each egg in turn, he arranged them together on the sand and fussed over their placement until he was happy. The eggs sat in two neat rows with a space between them. Finally, they were safe, but the sand here was much too cold for the young. It was time to get them back up to temperature. “Watch yourselves,” Patrick rumbled as he slipped between the girls and the eggs. He drew in a few deep breaths, stoking his fire before letting a stream of white-hot flames out towards the eggs. The girls backed away from the heat as Patrick circled the clutch, warming them.
Patrick lowered the intensity of his flames as the sand started to melt. He needed to warm the eggs, not cook them. After two full circles, he slipped into the space between them and lay down. Spreading his wings out, he covered the eggs, holding in the heat radiating from the hot sand. God, he felt foolish incubating eggs, but the roll across the cold ground would not have been easy on the babies inside. It was best to get them back up to temperature quickly before any permanent harm was done.
***
Kathryn watched as Patrick tended the clutch. He made taking care of the dragon’s young look easy. In the short time Kathryn had been in the cave, she had avoided going near the fragile-looking eggs. Their black shells looked like they were made of sparking glass. In truth, they were somewhat soft, like hard leather—their glossy surface gave the wrong impression. Hopefully, Patrick knew what he was doing and wouldn't cook the poor babies in their shells.
Turning back to the scene behind her, Kathryn tried to figure out what to do. It didn’t appear that her help was needed anywhere. The missing man had come back with another armload of supplies and was busy preparing to take the bolt out of the thrashing dragon. The girls who had gone with the mage knelt near the men, ready to help if they could. The other maidens had settled to the sand a safe distance from the dragons to watch.
Kathryn looked around one more time before heading over and standing in front of Patrick’s head. She could feel the heat radiating from him, but his wings held most of it in. The thought of sitting next to a dragon gave her a moment of pause, but the look of longing he gave her eased her fears. This was Patrick. He may be a dragon, but he was the same man that she had come to care for.
After a moment of indecision, she braved the heat and folded herself down on the sand next to his head. It was a little warm, but not uncomfortably so. His head thumped softly into her side as he rolled it against her and let out a very contented sigh. Kathryn smiled and raised her arm up to rest over him. His scales were smooth and warm under her hands as she traced their patterns.
“You really are beautiful.” Kathryn sighed as she shifted to watch the mages work. Her fingers played across his scales, driving a purr of contentment from him.
***
Another dragon climbed from the water. Patrick looked up at Daniel. Although the grin didn’t show on his face, amusement twinkled in the dragon’s eyes as he watched his lord sitting on eggs, nestled next to a maiden.
“Don’t you even dare!” Patrick growled, shooting him a look that could kill.
Daniel feigned innocence. “I would never dream of it.” His eyes followed the hand petting his lord’s head.
Patrick glowered at him. There were going to be limericks about this tomorrow.
Turning towards the pile of dragons, Daniel took stock of the situation. The three mages worked to clear the bolt from the wound as the female dragon thrashed about in pain. “I see you were right.”
The injured dragon screeched as the men ripped the barbed head from her side. One of her wings slipped out from under her mate and smacked the
men by her side. Two of them fell backwards into the area where the delicate eggs had been.
Daniel chuckled as the men scrambled up and back to the gushing wound. He looked down at Patrick. “Good call.” Daniel settled on the sand to watch the men pack and enchant the wound.
Patrick just snorted and rolled his head a little farther into Kathryn’s side. Now they just had to wait.
11
Eventually, the chaos settled down. Once the herbs and magic eased the female’s pain and her life was no longer in danger, she curled up with her mate, exhausted. His contented purrs rumbled through the sand.
Patrick rested his head against Kathryn’s side. He knew exactly how the rogue felt. The feel of Kathryn’s fingers scratching over his scales had set him purring a while ago. His contentment was interrupted when Mica came over to check on the eggs. The mage cringed away from the heat as Patrick raised his wings to show off the precious hoard.
“You sure have them hot enough.” The man braved the heat as he got closer to them. “Where did you learn to tend eggs?”
Patrick let out a resigned snort. If actually sitting on the eggs hadn’t earned him new limericks, this surely would. “You know the queen is very hands-on with her subjects,” he grumbled.
Mica nodded. He went to the other side to check on the second set of eggs.
“Well, she used to take me to the hatcheries when I was little.” The queen had coaxed Patrick into helping heat and turn eggs.
“And I am sure she is glad you did.” Mica nodded back to the resting dragon. “You have done a fine job here.”
Patrick lowered his wings once more, trying to hold the heat in. Yeah, tending eggs was a fine skill he never thought he would actually need. Just went to prove that you never learn anything completely worthless.
“What did he say?” Kathryn asked.