Dragon's Claim: Dragons of Rur by Shea Malloy

Author:Shea Malloy [Malloy, Shea]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-05-24T16:00:00+00:00

9

Xia

—

When I wake up, Tess is still asleep.

She’s been out for a long time now, waking up occasionally for a brief period before falling back into the darkness.

At one point, her skin got incredibly hot and she began to sweat. Medic Olhun came by and said that it was the poison from the cuhi leaving her body. That it was a good thing.

It seems only the painful ordeals for Tess are good signs in Medic Olhun’s books. Honestly, he has the typical look of an evil character in those shows I’d watch on a console at the Andrak. Thick, bushy eye-brows, thin moustache and dark-grey eyes that gleams with intelligence or insanity. Or both. In dark amusement to pass the time, I envision he’s actually an evil medic who secretly enjoys watching his patients suffer.

I’m relieved Tess seems to be healing, but my worry for her persists. She has nightmares. Awful ones. She’ll cry out and begin to shake, kick and slap at some invisible enemy only she can see. The only thing that calms her is if I hold her and retell silly stories of past events from when we were living in the Andrak. Some of these stories hurt me probably as much as the monsters in her nightmares because they contain my dad. Memories of him when was alive and happy and there for me.

I hate this feeling pressing on my chest. This weight on my shoulders. The guilt, the fear, the fragile hope that can be so easily crushed under the boot heel of cruel fate. The constant thought circling in my head is that I don’t believe I can withstand another loss of someone I value in my life.

“Don’t you dare croak on me, Tess,” I tell her with a lump in my throat. I smooth a hand over her forehead. Her skin is at a regular temperature now. “I swear to the goddess I will find you, dad and Jogen and kick your asses for me leaving me if you do.”

With Tess asleep, I just sit there not knowing what to do. When I begin to feel restless, I get up and pace the den. It’s not made of the gleaming glass and metal like I’m accustomed to at the Andrak, but it is large and comfortable. Much more so than the cramped quarters I had to share with the others while we were all still slaves.

Smoothing my hand along the stone wall, I’m amazed that this big mountain holds a community of people. I turn, intending to have a look outside when I see a pale child bending at the waist, peering at Tes. A huge, snow-white creature that’s as tall as my chest stands beside him.

Alarmed, I’m about to ask him what he’s doing, but he straightens and turns a curious gaze in my direction. As young as he is, he’s a handsome male. No doubt when he grows older, he’ll literally freeze hearts by just a look from his silver-eyed stare.

“Is she dead?” he asks.

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