“A loud pop filled the air and the horse shied. Lucy stared into the astonished face of a dragon, dominated by a pair of bushy eyebrows over large eyes swirling with jewel tones. The creature was bronze and green and about the size of a Shetland pony.
The guard swore and reached for the riding crop tucked into his boot.
“Don’t just hover there, do something!” Lucy hissed at the dragon.
It hooted and whistled as it shot upward. There was a whoosh and Lucy felt the heat of a searing flame. A scream above her ended abruptly. The other guard shouted something incoherent and wheeled his horse around. The path wasn’t wide enough and his horse crashed through the brush.
Wings whirred.
The guard above Lucy toppled and the horse bucked and shied again. Lucy was flung to the ground and the horse bolted. She grunted as the force of the fall winded her. Another scream came from behind her. Then everything went quiet. What had happened to the guard? Why wasn’t he saying anything?
A disgusting smell filled the air.
Lucy held her breath and then, letting it out slowly, counted to one hundred. Still no sound from the guard.
“Mai! Are you alright?” Lucy called. Where was Dee? Could he and Yidi find her now? She had no idea how far away she was, but the horses had been traveling fast for what felt like hours. And what had happened to Mai? Why wasn’t she answering?
“Lucy?” Mai’s voice came from behind and to the right. “Are you okay?”
“I’m over here,” Lucy hollered.
“There’s a dragon!” Mai exclaimed.
The dragon landed by Lucy, extended a foreleg, and bowed over it as he said, “Try-el P’rak, at your service.” He furled his wings against the spines running down his back and sat on his haunches to peer curiously at her. Then his lips drew back into a toothy grin. A very toothy grin.”
Excerpt from The Caves of Wonder
Discover more from Kirsten Marion
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.