The Dragon Who Didn't Fly
Page 32
* * *
Tara looked at the gathered cats and knew why she had sensed large numbers would be needed. A hundred wet tongues might stimulate the Dragon into increased water production. She would never talk them into it in time. It was better to lead by example.
She climbed up Druid’s leg and onto his torso. “Cats, follow me. Climb up on the dragon and lick him!”
“Are you zoned out on catnip?”
“I’m not licking any dragon.”
“Those scales would ruin my tongue.”
Orion followed, and after him Emerald, Sekhmet, and Bast.
“Cats, show your courage!” Orion cried out.
“Use your brains!” Emerald screeched. “If we help put out the fire, the humans are going to owe us big time.”
That got the village cats’ attention. One by one, they climbed up the dragon and began to lick, until he could hardly be seen for the writhing mass of fur that covered him. The cats licked tirelessly, and Druid, now insulated from the worst heat of the flames by his cat cocoon, shot forth a fine jet of water that reduced the flames.
The feline irrigation system worked for a while, but Tara began to feel her tongue getting dry. The other cats, being larger, would last longer, but not long enough.
At the point where she knew she couldn’t go on, a cry rose from the crowd. The water dragons were coming, brilliant flashes of green in the night.
“Mother, Father,” Druid said. “Help me, please.”
The dragons hovered in the sky.
“What are you waiting for?” he asked.
“A reason to help,” his mother said.
“For me?”
Dragonlord said, “Druid, at this point, you’ve earned your place in dragondom. You can fly away with us now as a dragon of honor.”
“What about the rest of them: Serazina, Berto, the people who believe in me? Will you let their homes be destroyed?”
“We could,” the Dragonlady said. “We need an incentive to get involved. Do these humans have anything valuable to give us: gold, precious oils, or gems?”
The people looked at each other.
“I do!” Tara cried.
Dragonlady hovered close to her. “Nice ones?”
“Beautiful gems, but the fire will spread too fast in the time I need to get them. You must believe me.”
“Is this cat’s word good?” Dragonlord asked Druid.
“Totally reliable.”
“All right, let loose.” The dragons sprayed the burning buildings.
Tara ran to Berto. “Come with me to dig up the gems. They’re in Serazina’s garden.”
“I’ll carry you,” he said and dashed to the Clare house, followed by Orion and Senti.
When they reached the house, he set her gently on the ground and grabbed an odd stick with a scooped metallic device at its end. “Tell me where to dig.”
Orion pointed, and clods of earth flew in all direction, obscuring the approach of the dog who’d attacked Tara and Orion until he growled and leapt at the cats. They fought him off, nipping at his legs. Senti leaped into the air to attack the dog’s muzzle, but the dog grabbed him in his jaws. Finally, Berto managed to grab his collar.
The dog yelped painfully, his jaws loosening. “Mercy. I ask for my life. I was trying to defend the honor of my master.”
“He has none,” Orion hissed. “Loyalty is a fine quality, but not for those who don’t deserve it. Seek a higher loyalty, dog, and we’ll spare your life. And no false promises, either, because we’ll be around to check.”
“I swear it,” the dog said, and Berto released him.
Blood streamed from Senti’s neck wound. “Chosen,” he gasped, “come close.”
Tara crept near to him.
“What you said about the Great Cat Mother was true. I see Her; Her soft paws reach to enclose me. In Her heartbeat, I live. Always.”
Tara licked his face. “You will be known as Senti, the Seeker. All cats will honor you.”
“I thank you, but the greatest honor is to have had a life worth living.” The white cat closed his eyes.
Tara laid her head on his heart. It still pumped strongly, and she had no sense, as she had had with Misha, that his spirit was preparing to leave. She remembered the woman healer, whose voice had been so kind.
“Can we find a way to carry him into the village?”
“I will,” Berto said.
Tara pulled the bag of gems from the hole Berto had dug and ran ahead, carrying them in her mouth.
The last flame had been extinguished by the time she returned to the location of the fire. All the dragons were settled on the ground. Tara ran up to the Dragonlady, who opened the bag with her claws and spilled out the gems.
Human and dragon alike gasped at the bright, shining colors that winked in the darkness. Dragonlady picked up an emerald to inspect it. “Very fine quality. We approve.”
She turned to the crowd. “You don’t understand me, I know, but listen, anyway. We give these gems to the girl, Serazina and the boy, Berto. They are to find ways to use them for your enlightenment. And whatever use they put them to, you must always remember that the dragons are responsible for the benefits you receive.”
Tara hissed, and Druid said, “And cats. None of this would have been possible without Tara and her family and friends.”
“Quite correct,” Dragonlady said. “If we hear anything about cat abuse, our fire-breathing cousins will visit. You really don’t want to meet them when they’re in bad moods.”
Berto carried Senti into the village square. “Humans can show their appreciation immediately. We need a Healer for this cat.”
“For a cat?” Romala demanded.
“Yes,” Serazina said fiercely, “for one of the cats who saved this village.”
Romala put her hands, still wet with Serazina’s blood, around the cat’s neck.
“Help her,” Orion said. “Sing, cats.”
All the cats began to purr and mew. Though some humans covered their ears, Tara thought it the sweetest sound she’d ever heard. It wreathed around Senti’s wound, its song giving new life to his torn flesh. The bleeding stopped.
Sekhmet leaned over him. “He’s very weak. He can’t travel at all tonight.”
“He’ll stay at my house,” Berto said, “inside, where he’ll be safe.”
“I’ve never been inside a human house,” Senti said with wonder. He looked up at Berto. “Or been held in the arms of a human.”
* * *
Dragonlord flapped his wings. “It’s time for us to leave now. Druid, bid your friends farewell.”
He turned to each of them, lowering his head for them to touch.
“I’ll never forget you,” Berto said. “Thank you for teaching me how to hear you and for the ride.”
“Will you come back?” Serazina begged. “Please?
“I hope so,” he said, finding water for tears he hadn’t thought he’d be able to shed.
Tara touched noses with him. “I love you, Druid. I’ll always remember you.”
“And you, small kitten,” Druid said. “You taught me the meaning of greatness, and you will always live in my heart.”
All the dragons flapped their wings and rose in the air. Druid kept his eyes on his beloved friends until they became specks on the charred earth. He began to weep. The other dragons joined in, their tears drenching the parched fields. The prayers of plants and trees rose in grateful response.
“You will miss them,” Dragonlady said.
He nodded, unable to speak, remembering how Tara had warned him not to shake his head. New tears welled in his eyes.
“I’ll even miss the humans,” he said. “When they’re bad, they’re the worst animals on earth, but when they’re good, they creep into your heart.”
“It would have been a shame to destroy them,” Dragonlord said. “I’m glad we didn’t this time.”
All the dragons sighed and flew towards dawn.
Main Characters
Author’s note: I know that a character list can make some people feel that they’re about to read a Russian novel. On the other hand (or paw), I’ve read many books that should have had them. So this one does.
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Swamp Residents
Druid: A depressed water dragon
Tomo: A cynical puma
Monti: Tomo’s son and heir apparent
Tolti: Chattering squirrel of great faith
Gris: Loud-mouthed but informative hawk
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Cats
Tara: Though destined to help bring the world back to Oneness, this kitten would rather chase butterflies.
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In the Alley
Emerald: Young cat, smart, sexy, and malnourished
Misha: Her grandmother, who dreams of a place called the Green
Senti: A randy tomcat
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Foreigners
Orion: A randy tomcat with class
Sekhmet: Mean-mouthed cat who’s his sister
Bast: Slightly nicer sister
Hathor: Mother of the siblings and of
Ra and Atman, other male cats of the litter
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Humans
Their Country: Oasis was founded by former slaves from three lands.
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Races
Etrenzians: originally desert people, they scorn emotions, being more comfortable with the arid power of mind and thought. The leaders of the slave revolt were Etrenzian, which gave them an edge from the beginning.
Tamarans: pleasure-loving sensualists who know how to evade the restrictions of the austere Etrenzians without getting caught. While the Tamarans in Oasis were once slaves, Tamaras was the slave owning country.
Dolocairners: Considered to be a race only good for field and manual labor because most of them cannot be trained to have disciplined minds. They are currently attracted to both the Earther movement, a group determined to honor nature and the Godlies, who believe that emotions are vile and sure to land one in an air-conditioned hell where the Dragon will chase sinners.
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Individuals
Serazina: Of mixed Etrenzian and Dolocairner background, this girl feels more than is good for her safety and freedom in logic-loving Oasis.
Berto: Her Tamaran boyfriend, an artist
Elissia: Her older sister, a scientist
Fiola: Her mother, Etrenzian and proud of it
Johar: Her Dolocairner father, who has been known to weep
Phileas: Etrenzian, Guardian of Oasis, Master of Mind, haunted by the idea that he will be known in history as Phileas the Failure
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Members of the Oasan Council
Malvern Snow: Mixed Etrenzian and Dolocairner, he is shifty, manipulative, and all around trouble. He lives in Libra West, where primarily Dolocairner workers tend the fields.
Daria Turley: Descended from Nathan and Zena Turley, founders of Oasis, she is batty and not too bright.
Wendly Icinger: Dolocairner and Overseer of agriculture, he has sympathy for the Earthers.
Snurf Noswan: Dolocairner and leader of the Godlies
Kermit: Etrenzian and Treasurer of the country, lover of facts and figures
Romala Kyle: Etrenzian and Tamaran and Acting Chief Healer
Janzi Nor’azzi: Etrenzian and mother of Phileas. The Chief Healer, she is now believed to be deranged.
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Characters Who Are Sometimes Invisible
The Green Lady: A cosmic deity, known to cats as The Big-rumped One, The Sharp-clawed One, The Golden-eyed One, etc.
Thank You
Thanks so much for buying and reading The Dragon Who Didn’t Fly. It's the first in the series: A Dragon’s Guide to Destiny. Dance with Clouds is Book Two. You can read Chapter 1 of this book a few pages from now. House of the Moon is Book 3. The fourth book is Book of Sorrows. The fifth, as yet untitled, book will be published in 2017.
On the next page, you’ll see that I’d love to send you a free prequel to the series, The Snake Charmer’s Daughter, a novella.
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Slavery, Freedom, or Death?
Read your free copy of
The Snake Charmer’s Daughter, a novella
Prequel to A Dragon’s Guide to Destiny.
When a foreign nation conquers her land, Zena, an apprentice snake charmer and mind master, becomes a slave in the Emperor’s harem. A dedicated sadist runs the harem, and the Emperor is a temperamental drug addict.
Determined to escape, she resists those who urge her to start a slave revolt. Heroes have short lives and violent deaths. Soon, though, she learns the power of friendship and love and can no longer turn her back on the suffering of others. As life in the harem becomes increasingly perilous, Zena wonders if leading a rebellion is the only way she can survive.
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Below is an excerpt from Dance with Clouds,
Book 2 of A Dragon's Guide to Destiny.
Chapter 1
Far from the swamp where he’d spent most of his five hundred years, Druid walked along the shore with Daphne. The female dragon’s hips, rolling like the waves of the sea, bumped softly into Druid’s quivering side.
Daphne wasn’t the shiniest pebble on the beach, but she demonstrated exceptional talent in the shadows of a dune or beneath sheltered palm trees. Having spent too many centuries as a sex-starved virgin, Druid loved to lose himself in scaly embraces, and Daphne’s enthusiasm matched his.
Stars winked suggestively, and the moon wore a sensuous smile. Druid was ready to romp.
“Wouldn’t you like to rest beneath a palm tree?” he asked Daphne. She lowered her long green lashes and smiled.
They were in the throes of thumping passion when Druid sensed a disturbance in the quiet of the tropical night. Over the whisper of sheltering fronds and the sigh of the sea, a metallic hum cut through the sky.
Only one species made noises that sawed into bones and nerves. “Humans!” he shouted, jumping off Daphne and raising a sandstorm as he hurried down the beach. One by one, dragons stumbled out to join him, their wings flexed to resist attack.
“What? Where?”
Druid raised his eyes to the sky and pointed at distant lights that cut through the pearl-black night and dimmed the stars. He had seen such lights blinking over the swamp. They belonged to a flying machine called airplane. This one seemed to pollute the ocea
n breeze with a faint but spreading malevolence. Like a distinct odor, it evoked powerful memories. Druid tasted the tang of fear rising from the sun-leathered skin of a hundred frightened humans and the mixture of sweat and oil smeared on their weapons. He heard the hatred in their breathing. He smelled the venom of Malvern Frost, self-proclaimed Dragonslayer.
Dragonslayer. The human fiend was supposed to be in a cave called prison, no longer able to harm anyone, but Druid was certain the monster was in that infernal airplane. The dragon’s scales clacked with alarm, and his wings flapped with the urge to fly at the alien machine and knock it from the sky.
“Attack!” he shouted. “The enemy who tried to destroy the swamp is in that machine!”
Several dragons hissed in sympathy, but no one moved a wing. “Why attack?” a dragon asked, yawning. “He’s going south, away from us, away from your friends and their city. Let us rejoice. Good riddance, says I, and I’m going back to bed.”
The other dragons yawned in sleepy agreement and disappeared. Only Daphne remained, still panting from interrupted passion. Druid watched the winking lights until they disappeared, leaving his unease intact.
Daphne tugged at his wing. “It’s gone. Let’s go back and romp.”
Druid, ignoring her, poised himself for flight to the swamp to warn his old companions, but a voice stopped him.
They are safe at the moment. Danger is still a distant storm. When the time comes to act, you will know.
“Not that Dragon of Destiny business again,” he groaned.
* * *
The first knock on his door awoke Phileas, Guardian of Oasis. By the second knock, his hand was turning the doorknob.
Commander Dal’Rish stood in the doorway. “Frost has escaped.”
A person of great mind did not succumb to rage, no matter how eagerly it flamed within him. “Enter,” Phileas said, “and tell me the rest. When and how did it happen?”
“Two hours ago.”
“Two hours ago, and I am only hearing about it now?”
Sometimes a person of great mind abandoned his principles.
Dal’Rish flinched. “Your fury is totally justified, and I offer my resignation. I have failed my country, my people, my Guardian—”
A person of great mind recovered his calm quickly. “I will be held responsible for this mess, and I don’t have the luxury of resigning. Gather your wits, Commander, and give me some useful information. Enlighten me with the details of how Frost escaped from a prison with the highest known level of security.”