Dino Riders by Eric Vall

Author:Eric Vall [Vall, Eric]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-02-17T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

“Be careful,” Sara warned as I strolled up to the paddock.

“Will do,” I smiled over my shoulder and gave her a thumbs up.

Every muscle in my body was tense as Naona’s cousin unlocked the gate and swung it outwards, but I forced myself to take a deep breath and relax. The raptors were just like any other predator, and they’d sense any fear the second that I walked in with them. I needed to keep a clear head, let them take the lead, but not back down if they charged at me.

An old woman shouted and shook a fist at me as the gate closed behind me. I didn’t need to know the tribe’s language to figure out that she hadn’t been giving me a blessing, especially when she spat in the dirt and then sneered in my direction. A few others followed her example, but then Naona coughed, and silence fell like someone had hit the mute button on a TV remote. Even the elderly lady went silent, though her face was red with rage, and her old jowls shook with hatred.

“You can do this, K.O.,” I said as I moved away from the gate.

There were only five raptors in the paddock, and none of them were the ones that I’d seen the day before. Of course, those dinosaurs were already bonded with humans, so the guys in front of me must have been riderless. All of them were at least six feet tall, but there was one in the back that was a head above everyone else, and it had scars all over its hide like the giant lizard-like creature wasn’t a stranger to fighting.

The others gave it a wide berth and even tried not to look directly at it, though a younger one did and was quickly snapped at. It reminded me of a wild stallion that had been captured and forced to remain in captivity. I wasn’t sure why Naona and her people would make it stay there if the dinosaur didn’t want to be, but the dude was definitely big enough to escape if he wanted, so maybe there was a reason it stayed.

“Just stand in the middle,” Naona said. “One of them will come up to you. And if one doesn’t… then you’ll have to try again when more racasar are ready to find riders.”

“Sure,” I shrugged and waited in the middle.

None of the giant lizards even looked in my direction, and several minutes started to pass as the crowd outside grew restless. A few of them shouted in their language, and I was almost positive they were thrilled that a raptor hadn’t chosen me as its rider. It lent credence to their belief that the dinosaurs chose their riders and that the Anglish were definitely not on the list of preferred raptor companions.

“Come back, K.O.,” Naona said when I turned around to look at her. “You will have to wait. We can try with Sara.”

“If they didn’t want him, then they definitely won’t want me,” Sara shook her head firmly.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.