by H. L. Burke
“Well, then you’re going to have to find a home for that last striker. I don’t think Mr. Algernon is going to want to drive us all the way out here again, just to set that one free.” Dad chuckled.
“I guess I can keep him. He won’t be Cricket, but that’s not his fault, and he needs a good home.” They started to walk again, his hand squeezing hers. “Do you think it will ever be different? Now that he’s started this colony, do you think Mr. Algernon will set his queen dragon free?”
“It’s not that simple, Cor, but … we might have made a start. A small start, but sometimes that’s all you need.”
Cora nodded. “Let’s get home. I want to tell Abry how everything went and see how Parker is doing.”
“School starts in a few weeks,” Dad pointed out. “Maybe once it does, everything will go back to normal.”
Cora chewed on her bottom lip.
Nothing will ever go back to how it was before Cricket. Least of all me.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The Future
Five Years Later
Cora adjusted her backpack as she started down into the valley. The summer sun baked her head, and she quickened her pace, aiming for the cool shadows beneath the pines. It was good to be out of school, to finally be free. While she wouldn’t trade anything for the look on her dad’s face at graduation, it just wasn’t for her. She’d humored Abry by applying to the same colleges as her friend did, but it was all a charade. Even on the off chance that she had been accepted, Cora didn’t want to go. No, Cora’s heart was far from big cities and fancy schools. Her heart was somewhere in these woods.
With Abry and Xavian headed off to school, and Parker’s career as a jockey taking off, there just wasn’t much for her in Farrington anymore. Mr. Algernon had made some changes, improving the facilities where his dragons were kept, but it wasn’t the progress Cora wanted, not when she knew where dragons really belonged. Xavian said he would pursue a career in politics, and help pass laws that would guarantee more dragons were released back into the wild, but she didn’t want to count on that. Laws moved too slowly.
Cora followed the river towards the canyons. Ribbon-like shapes twisted in the skies above, and she knew she was getting close. Around the bend, the river widened into a deep pool. Cliffs towered above her, filled with tiny caves, and from the caves darted dozens of dragons. Dragons in every shape, size, and color. Stretched out at the mouth of the largest cave, the queen’s scales glinted in the light. She was beautiful, and so much bigger than Cora remembered that the math of how many times she’d doubled her size overwhelmed Cora’s brain. A racer gave out a warning cry, and Cora flattened herself against the rocks. He sped over, sniffed her, and tilted his head to one side. After regarding her for a long moment with his emerald eye, he snorted and glided to the other side of the river.
Cora sat and eyed the colony. She tried to count the dragons, but there were too many and moving too fast. It was the most beautiful sight in the world, but incomplete. Her stomach tied itself in a knot.
Easy, Cora. You knew he might not be here. No one knows how long nurse dragons even live. He could have died years ago. It wasn’t the first time she’d told herself this, but here, surrounded by so many dragons, Cricket was the missing piece.
The dragons seemed to accept her presence. A few times a smaller dragon or a curious racer swooped down to examine her, but she always sat still and looked them in the eye, and they’d fly away again, apparently convinced she wasn’t a threat.
After a bit, she noticed a patch of grass near the river bank. Dozens of hatchlings cavorted, rolling in the grass, squealing and chirping … chirping?
Cora stood and crept closer. She stared into the grass. Eggs, perhaps a hundred eggs, lay among the leaves and rocks, and above them fluttered not one but five nurse dragons. The tiny creatures nuzzled and caressed their charges, herding away the hatchlings when they became too rowdy.
“A nursery,” Cora whispered.
“Chirp!”
A shiny brown projectile hit her in the chest, knocking her onto her bottom. A tiny nose rubbed against her face, and wings fluttered madly before her. She gasped for breath and stared into the glinting eyes of the most beautiful creature in the whole world.
“Cricket!” her voice squeaked. Cricket curled up in her arms, his tail quivering in excitement. She squeezed him as hard as she could, tears rolling down her cheeks. “I’m here, boy. We’re both home now. Oh Cricket, I missed you so much.”
Cricket gazed up at her and cooed.
The End
Table of Contents
Chapter One ~ Race Day
Chapter Two ~ The Dragon Emporium
Chapter Three ~ Eggs
Chapter Four ~ Growing Things
Chapter Five ~ Hatch a Plan
Chapter Six ~ Cricket
Chapter Seven ~ Business
Chapter Eight ~ Abry's Plan
Chapter Nine ~ Nurse Dragon
Chapter Ten ~ Legal vs. Moral
Chapter Eleven ~ Egg Tending
Chapter Twelve ~ The Greenhouse Nest
Chapter Thirteen ~ Boys and Dragons
Chapter Fourteen ~ The Dragon Regulatory Agency
Chapter Fifteen ~ Purpose
Chapter Sixteen ~ Something New
Chapter Seventeen ~ The Right Thing to Do
Chapter Eighteen ~ Mr. Algernon
Chapter Nineteen ~ Gangsters
Chapter Twenty ~ Hostages
Chapter Twenty-One ~ Freedom
Chapter Twenty-Two ~ The Future
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ABOUT H. L. Burke
Born in a small town in north central Oregon, H. L. Burke spent most of her childhood around trees and farm animals and always accompanied by a book. Growing up with epic heroes from Middle Earth and Narnia keeping her company, she also became an incurable romantic.
An addictive personality, she jumped from one fandom to another, being at times completely obsessed with various books, movies, or television series (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Star Trek all took their turns), but she has grown to be what she considers a well-rounded connoisseur of geek culture.
Married to her high school crush who is now a US Marine, she has moved multiple times in her adult life but believes home is wherever her husband, two daughters, and pets are.
For information about H. L. Burke's latest novels, author news and events, or to contact the writer, go to
www.hlburkeauthor.com
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Also by H. L. Burke
For Middle Grade Readers
Thaddeus Whiskers and the Dragon
For Young Adult Readers
An Ordinary Knight
Beggar Magic
Nyssa Glass and the House of Mirrors
The Elemental Realms Series
An Epic Fantasy Saga
Book One: Lands of Ash
Book Two: Call of the Waters
The Dragon and the Scholar Saga (1-4)
A Fantasy Romance Series
Dragon's Curse
Dragon's Debt
Dragon's Rival
Dragon's Bride
