From the Mountain by L. L. Crane

Author:L. L. Crane
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: dragons, young adult fiction, dystopian, romance adventure, teen dark, apocalyptic survival, urban chick lit, suspense action romance, young adult action series

Chapter 17

I balance on the enormous red dragon, rocking back and forth as if I were riding a huge circus elephant. I concentrate intently so that I don’t fall off…or make a fool of myself again. I am in last place, following the others, hoping they don’t notice me. It is an odd position for me…I am accustomed to being in the front of the pack.

My knee throbs with each movement, and I long for some herbs and medicine to take the pain away. Why didn’t I think to bring some? The rancid smell of the city begins to dissipate as buildings and debris become sparse. The ground beneath the dragon’s feet begins to smooth out. Still, we must maneuver around scrap metal, a dilapidated abandoned bus, and broken chunks of concrete…a wrecked trolley car, turned on its side. I have never been this far from home.

After a while we reach the edge of the city, and Koree stops his dragon, turning to face the rest of us. The sun shines directly down on him, and his coppery curls glisten like bronze. Sun…full rays of sunshine. I can’t help but marvel at the feel of it on my own face, warm and clean and soothing.

“I’m taking the lead with Reese,” Koree starts, dramatically turning his head toward Reese, as if to give him a warning. “Gunter, you can come with me.”

“Righto,” a small boy on another Crimson answers, trotting with ease next to Koree.

Reese falls silently into place beside him, scowling. His entire face is scrunched up as if he just tasted something bitter. He is perched awkwardly on a shimmering Crimson, and it swishes its tail back and forth, almost violently, obviously unhappy and distressed. More than once I notice that Reese almost falls off its side. I wish more than anything at this moment that he would fall off the gigantic dragon. I don’t know if I would laugh, but I certainly would enjoy it.

Thann’s voice pulls my thoughts away from Reese. “Okay, that leaves me with the three girls…just how I like it.” He grins directly at me. Is he flirting with me? I can’t help but smile back, even though a streak of discomfort runs through every vein in my body.

My eyes travel to the other girls. One is petite and dark. The other is a Light Skin like me, only she is smaller and her hair is shorter. I don’t see a Mark of Power anywhere on her – maybe it is hidden. She has grayish blue eyes, and a dainty nose.

I am mesmerized by the sight of her. And of course Thann. My head spins at the thought of two other Light Skinned people with me… on our way to Dragon Academy. The only Light Skins I remember seeing since the Purification Law passed are Entho, Bello, Thann, the woman who was brought into the clinic, and a few others in passing.

I keep glancing at her, and then at Thann, hoping they don’t notice. Thann seems perfectly content with his skin, but she seems more like me – nervous and on edge.

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.