DRAGON!: Book One: Stealing the egg. by Clary LeRoy

Author:Clary, LeRoy [Clary, LeRoy]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2015-02-26T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

“Mother? Me?” Gareth’s eyes locked on the ugly beast of a dragon clinging to his shirt with claws as sharp as needles piercing his skin.

Tom watched, a smile threatening to spread, as if this was something he saw and enjoyed, daily. “Reminds me of baby ducks. The first creature they see becomes their mother-for-life. They’ll follow that ‘mother’ around like it’s the true mother, and they never change their minds about who she is. I’ve heard of them following men, dogs, geese, and once a sow.”

“I’m not this thing’s mother!” Gareth lifted the dragon gently with both hands and placed the dragon on the floorboards. The dragon’s skin felt damp and oily. A sniff confirmed the nasty smell was coming from the dragon. He wiped his hands on his pants several times.

The dragon remained huddled on the floor until Gareth glanced up at Tom. Then it darted back up his leg and settled in his lap, again.

“I wonder what baby dragons eat,” Tom asked in a calm voice, as he used the back of his hand to unsuccessfully hide a smile before unrolling his blanket. He found a piece of dried meat in the supplies Seth had provided for their travels. The jerky consisted of several large strips of venison. He broke it into smaller pieces and held one out, near the dragon, trying to entice it to eat. The animal screamed in terror, running further up Gareth’s leg and curling into a defensive posture at his waist, the same place where Gareth had carried the egg for days in the bag. It snorted as if trying to spit acid.

Gareth gingerly placed one hand under the dragon and lifted it from his lap, then sat it on the floorboards of the boat again, careful to keep his hand away from the snout and teeth. Stunned, the chick stayed there for a few heartbeats, then spun and raced up his leg, again. He said, “Listen, we’re not going to do this all night, and you will not shred my thighs with those claws. Make yourself comfortable somewhere else.”

Tom tossed the strip of dried meat to Gareth. “You’re doing fine. A good mother protects her young. You try feeding it, Mama.”

Gareth scowled but held the meat near the tiny nose between thumb and forefinger. The dragon looked, sniffed, and sprang too fast for his eyes to follow. The meat was in its mouth. Fast!

“Be careful with that thing or you’ll be missing fingers,” Tom handed him some more jerky. “Swap seats and let me take the oars while you feed your dragon so it doesn’t try eating me tonight. By the way, you have yourself a fine example of a male black dragon.”

“There are others?”

Tom gave him a questioning look before continuing. “Dragons come in reds, grays, and browns. A few whites, too. But blacks are the largest, smartest, and most feared. Even other dragons are scared of them. I’ve never heard of anyone stealing the egg of a black, in fact, I didn’t know any exist.

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