Dragonmancer

by Simon Archer

  “Well, yes and no,” Gale replied. “Deyla will walk you through the process.”

  “Is she coming here?” I took a drink of my own coffee.

  “She is already here,” Gale informed me. “She’s waiting for you outside.”

  “Why is she outside?” I said, instantly feeling the need to hurry. Gale smiled as she wiped her mouth with a napkin.

  “Deyla isn’t a huge people-person, if you didn’t catch on to that yesterday,” she told me.

  “Yes, I got that,” I replied. “Still, waiting around outside is a little extreme as far as avoiding people, isn’t it?”

  “No, not for her. She’s got Prenna with her. She’ll be just fine,” Gale said, as though Deyla had pulled the avoidance act a million times before.

  “Ah, it would make sense for the dragon whisperer to have her dragon with her,” I joked.

  “Oh, Prenna isn’t Deyla’s dragon. She’s just been spending some time with her since she’s feeling special. It makes her happy. Deyla does indeed have a dragon of her own,” Gale filled me in.

  “I can’t wait to meet it,” I replied.

  Fitz almost spat out his mouthful of eggs.

  “Let me give you a tip,” he said, coughing. “All the dragons here are females, except for a very few. We do not assign the males handlers, so all personal dragons are female. I would be careful not to let anybody hear you refer to a dragon as ‘it.’ People get a little testy around here about that!” Gale just nodded her agreement.

  “Learn something new every day,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Thanks for the heads up, though.”

  I took another bite of the eggs I’d been working on and was suddenly not very hungry. I had eaten just over half of my meal, but I wanted to get to the dragon-choosing portion of my day. I’d kept my utter thrill about getting a dragon pushed down outwardly, but inwardly I wanted to run out of the meal hall to get to Deyla as quickly as possible. I started shoveling my food to hurry along.

  “She’ll still be there, even if you slow down enough to taste your food,” Gale goaded me.

  “Do I really have to finish this?” I asked, reminding myself of the little kid trying to get out of eating his vegetables.

  “No, you don’t,” Gale outright laughed. “You can do whatever you want.” Something in her voice stopped me from immediately jumping up from the table.

  “What do you mean, exactly?” I asked, suspicious that there was more meaning to her statement than me being able to cut breakfast short.

  “We are here to serve you, Blake,” she replied, as though I should’ve already known. “You are our Dragonmancer, our leader. I will help guide you through the responsibilities, requirements, and benefits, but you are now the one man in Blenwise that has the respect and compliance of everyone in the realm. Or at least you will have after we present you.”

  “Dang!” Fitz piped in. “Fancy schmancy with the loose schedule, Blake!” He immediately laughed at himself, inducing Gale and me to laugh along with him.

  “You’ll notice that the few people who know about you will be treating you a bit differently than they did when they met you yesterday for the first time,” Gale added.

  “Different how?” I asked as I pushed back my chair.

  “Like you aren’t a stray needing a bath,” she shot back without hesitation.

  “Oh, please sugarcoat my first impression to spare my feelings. Really, I appreciate it,” I replied sarcastically, glaring at her in faux irritation. Fitz busted up laughing.

  “Ooo, Ms. Gale has a wicked tongue in that honest face of hers,” he chided.

  “Shut up, both of you,” Gale giggled. She looked up at me as I stood. “Would you like me to walk you out?”

  “No, finish your breakfast. Deyla and I will be fine,” I told her. “Fitz, thanks for getting me to the food before it was gone.”

  “Anytime, bud,” he replied jovially as he raised his fork in the air to wave goodbye. “Good luck with the dragon-choosing!”

  “Thanks!” I called back over my shoulder, as I had already begun heading out of the room.

  As soon as I was through the doors to the meal hall, I broke into a run across the foyer to the front door of the Academy. I could not believe I would have my very own dragon! Why the thought hadn’t occurred to me sooner, I had no idea, but now that I knew, I couldn’t wait.

  As Gale had said, Deyla was outside the Academy, just a few yards from the door. When I burst out, she spun around into a defensive stance, her flame-red hair whipping around her shoulders. She looked as though she was ready to fight until she saw who I was. She straightened herself up and waited for me to get to her. When I stopped in front of her, she bowed slightly.

  “Mr. Masters, good morning,” she said. My mouth dropped open in surprise. While her words had come easy, and she didn’t look uncomfortable, her behavior was so different from when I met her that it was making me uncomfortable.

  “Mr. Masters? Why are you calling me Mr. Masters?” Her light-green eyes met mine, and she smiled.

  “Out of respect, of course,” she replied. “Gale told me who you are. I had resigned to the fact that I would never meet a Dragonmancer in my lifetime, but now, here you are.”

  “Dragonmancer or not, call me Blake,” I told her. “‘Mr. Masters’ sounds strange to me.”

  “Oh? Why is that?” she asked, tilting her head to the side and shifting her weight to one leg slightly.

  The motion caused the chiffon draping from her waist strap to part and fall away, revealing her smooth, toned leg. My body reacted to her, and I nearly forgot what she’d just said. Shaking my head to refocus, I met her gaze and smiled back at her.

  “Where I come from, the term ‘Mister’ was usually reserved for older gentlemen or people in higher positions, professionally. I am not old enough to be the former, and my profession is it something that I will be doing here in Blenwise,” I explained to her.

  “Here it is a term to show respect, which you deserve very much,” she responded, taking me by the hand and pulling me to walk with her. “Gale mentioned that you still hadn’t had time to process your importance to us.”

  “I’ve had to take it a lot in the past two days, I’ll give her that,” I agreed. “And now I’m off to choose a dragon I didn’t know I was going to get.”

  “I’ve lived in Blenwise my entire life, as you can imagine. I can’t fathom going anywhere else where things aren’t the same as they are here. It seems like it would be so shocking, and difficult even, to be completely unfamiliar with everything around me. That concept was not forefront in my mind when we interacted after you fell through the portal, and for that, I apologize. I’m not the best with the people, to begin with, but I should have been more welcoming.”

  Her apology was sincere, and I admired how she could be apologetic but not act like she felt guilty. Feeling guilt for an emotion was a waste of time, in my opinion.

  “There was absolutely no way you could have known I was any different from any other man,” I replied.

  “That is true.” She nodded in agreement as we approached a dragon landing circle. Prenna was in the middle of it, laying down. She perked up as we neared, and I could tell she was happy to see me. Deyla glanced over at me and giggled.

  “Prenna has been soaking up massive amounts of attention after catching you. She is very fond of the person who made her the most popular dragon on the rock. That is why I brought her here to get you,” she told me.

  “If I thought it was possible for dragons to smile, I’d say Prenna was doing just that! She looks so happy!” I replied. I walked up and stood directly in front of Prenna’s face and held my hand out. She nudged her nose under my palm and closed her eyes. Tilting her head from side to side, she reminded me of how a cat lovingly rubs its owner.

  “Good morning, Prenna,” I said to her. She opened her eyes again and lifted her head. Then she extended her wing for Deyla and me to climb up. I lifted my leg to step up, but Deyla pulled me back b
y the arm.

  “Since you are going to be choosing a dragon today, and you will have to ride that dragon, teaching you a few tricks about the process would be a good idea,” she said as she directed me to stand off to the side. She walked up to Prenna’s wing, just in front of where it met her body. “When I mount a dragon, I always start here.” She put her hand up and ran it along Prenna’s body until it was just under the exact spot where the wing began. Prenna’s wing was too high for Deyla to reach the spot which was curious to me. I decided to hold my questions for a moment, however.

  “Okay, hand where her wing begins,” I confirmed my understanding for her.

  “Rubbing against your dragon’s body isn’t necessary for everyday mounting, but I make this a habit so it will be automatic when the time comes, and a fast mount is necessary. That way, I don’t startle her if her attention is in the other direction. Dragons aren’t generally jumpy, but they are very protective of their wings. This method keeps you from getting thrown if she doesn’t realize it’s you mounting her, instead of a threat.”

  “Let your dragon know you are coming, check,” I said, nodding to her.

  “As is the case with most dragons, the wing is higher than me, and even you. So, I put my hand in the air and move down the outstretched wing until it gets close enough to the ground for me to reach. Then I make contact again, sliding my hand along until I reach the first spike joint.” She walked to demonstrate as she spoke. The first spike joint turned out to be the end of the first curve in the wing. There was a large claw where the first and second curves met. The front of Prenna’s wing had four curves in it before it reached the end.

  “First spike joint, check,” I confirmed my understanding again.

  “Then, I grab the spike. You can actually carve a small hand-hold in your dragon’s spike, if they have one. There are a couple of different wing types, and I will show you the adjustments for them when we get back to the rock.” Deyla’s voice was strong and instructional, but her radiant beauty slightly distracted me as she moved about Prenna. “After you grab the spike, you’ll simply swing your leg up over the edge of her wing like you are trying to get over a high tree branch. Your hand rotates on the spike as you do this, so once you are on the top side of her wing, you’ll end up being able to push your upper body up, and then pull your knees underneath you. Then you stand and are on your way to your bindings.”

  I admired the grace and sheer strength with which she moved through her demonstration. She made painfully slow motions for my learning benefit and therefore was holding herself in positions with her strength that momentum would have normally pushed her through.

  “Looks simple enough,” I said. She raised her brow at me from atop Prenna’s wing. Hopping down, she stepped to the side and outstretched her arm.

  “Please, give it a try. You may find the first couple attempts awkward,” she said. There was a hint of mischief in her voice, and I got the distinct idea that perhaps my ‘simple enough’ comment was a bit of an armchair-quarterback move.

  “May I see it done quickly first?” I didn’t need further instruction, really. I was simply enjoying watching the way she moved. She nodded and took off running the few steps between Prenna and us. With perfect execution, she recreated the motions she’d demonstrated, and in less than two seconds, she was atop Prenna’s wing again.

  “See? Simple, as you said,” she commented, hopping down once again.

  I placed myself where she’d begun her approach and caught her eye as she walked to me. I tipped an imaginary hat at her, winked, and took off running.

  I ran to Prenna as quickly as I could. I stretched my arm out to touch her body as I moved. The moment my palm made contact, time seemed to slow down, or my vision seemed to change somehow, rather. While I was moving fast, I could see everything as though I was only walking. Nothing blurred or whizzed by.

  The tingling began immediately and radiated up my arm as I moved. I felt Prenna’s amusement as she turned her head to watch my first attempt. I broke contact with her body, then reconnected with her wing as I ran along it. The moment my hand slid into place on her spike, I pushed off the ground, allowing my momentum to swing me upwards. Wrapping my legs around the edge of her wing, and rotating my hand, I pushed my torso up and slid my knees up under me, just as Deyla had instructed. I felt like I had done the motion a thousand times before. Once I was standing on Prenna’s wing, I looked down at Deyla and smiled, jokingly putting my hands in the air as though it was nothing. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth dropped open.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, instantly worried.

  I began looking around my feet to make sure I didn’t somehow kick Prenna, or cut her or something without realizing it. Upon seeing no damage, I looked back to Deyla. She swallowed hard and waved her hand for me to back up. As soon as I did, she ran forward and mounted Prenna’s wing again. Standing, she turned to me, surprise still flashing across her face.

  “How did you do that? Not even ‘how,’ but…” She seemed at a loss for words.

  “Did I do something strange? I was simply trying to follow your instructions. Do I need to change something?” She didn’t seem upset, just shocked for some reason.

  “No! Don’t change a thing,” she shot back quickly. “I’ve never seen such a fluid, fast, graceful, and powerful mount. It looked like you had practiced your entire life to perfect it.” Then it was my turn to be shocked.

  “Well, it felt more comfortable than I had expected, but damn! I didn’t know I was that good!” I laughed, hoping she would as well. “There was one weird thing, though. I seem to see everything as though I was moving slowly even though I was trying to go as fast as possible. Has that ever happened to you?”

  “No, I have not experienced that.” She shook her head. “I have a feeling that you are the only one who would be able to do that...” She took a deep breath, and her face finally relaxed from her shock. “Let’s get to our bindings and get you your dragon. Whoever she is, she’s one lucky creature. Prenna might get some competition for the popularity contest at the rock!”

  Deyla reached down and patted Prenna’s wing as we walked. When we got to her body, I saw the harness straps wrapped around either side of where her wing emerged. This one was different from the one Aron had on Allie. There were simply fashioned stirrups hanging down, and two sets of reins on top. Deyla sat astride Prenna at the first set of reins. Her short stature made it so that she nearly had to do the splits to sit there. As I took my seat behind her, I remembered just how much I’d enjoyed the view the last time I was in that position. Her tiny waist curved out into her round hips right in front of me, and I had to resist a strong urge to reach for them. Then I felt Prenna shift and realized she could feel what I felt and didn’t approve.

  I patted her side and whispered, “my apologies,” laughing to myself. I was going to have to learn how to control the cellular communication power so that I could keep things to myself if needed. Deyla glanced back over her shoulder as she took hold of her reins.

  “Remember, lean forward. Here we go,” she hollered so that I would hear her clearly.

  The two of us leaned forward as she pulled up on her reins. As Prenna stood up, Deyla very purposefully arched her back, which pushed her perfectly shaped rear up against me.

  I decided, at that moment, that Prenna was just going to have to deal with her overprotectiveness. I placed my hands on either of Deyla’s thighs and slowly slid them up to her hips. Her skin was satin under my fingertips as they glided up to the curve of her waist and wrapped around her. She wiggled back into me even more, and I let out a breath I didn’t know I had been holding. I wanted her instantly, and I knew she could feel that want pressing through my pants against her. She turned her head slightly, and I could see a mischievous grin on her face. I pulled my arms tight, pulling her against me to show her she wasn’t the only one in control of our little flirtation. She squealed a tiny bit and laughed.

  She pulled hard on the re
ins the moment Prenna was fully standing, and with a single flap of the dragon’s wings, we lurched into the air.

  14

  I would have loved for our ride to be much longer than it was, but as fast as Prenna flew, we made it to Dragon rock in a matter of minutes. Prenna landed effortlessly just above it on a small hill where a dragon circle had been carved out. I gave Deyla a small squeeze as she tried to sit forward before standing and then took my time slipping my hands off her waist.

  Giggling, she stood up, headed down Prenna’s wing, and hopped off. I followed but right as I was about to jump off, Prenna bucked her wing slightly, and I ended up launching off instead. I managed to stay on my feet when I hit the ground and immediately glared at the beast. She flipped her head in the opposite direction and stuck her nose in the air. I couldn’t help but laugh at her irritation. Walking to her side, I gave her a few affectionate pats, and she ended up wrapping her head back around me. It was my first dragon ‘hug’. I made certain to let her know, with my emotions, how grateful I was for her before leaving her side to join Dreyla, who was standing at the crest of the hill.

  When I reached her side, I followed her gaze downward and gasped. Below was a collection of massive boulders. Some of them were so large they could’ve been small hills. Every single one had a perfectly flat top. While the rocks themselves or something to marvel at, it was the hundreds of dragons on them that took my breath away. They were all different shapes and sizes and more colorful than a field of wildflowers. Some were basking in the sun, while others were playing together.

  On the Boulder furthest from where we were standing, several large dragons were curled around nests made of tree logs and bushes while smaller versions of themselves played nearby. Chirping, roars, and squeaks sounded through the air with an undertone scratching from the dragons’ claws on the rocks.

  I could have spent hours just standing on the hill watching them. I was instantly in love and could completely understand why Deyla preferred that place to being in town.