Heir of Amber and Fire by Rachanee Lumayno (non fiction books to read TXT) 📗

stuff it and mount it on the wall behind the throne, or make a cape out of the dragon’s hide and wear it around the castle, for all I care.”

“No! You can’t kill the dragon!”

“Those are our orders. And there will be no payment for you unless you bring back proof of the dragon’s death to the king.”

“This is not what we agreed to!”

Before anyone could blink, the first soldier grabbed one of the women in Kye’s group and held a knife to her throat. “If you won’t help us take down the dragon, then your usefulness to us is at its end.”

Kye and his group moved to save their friend, but suddenly found themselves staring at the points of several swords. They were quickly disarmed. Kye’s friends were secured to a tree outside the cave where they wouldn’t get in the way. One soldier was left behind to guard them.

Kye, held at sword point, would accompany the rest of the soldiers into the cave to help them locate and kill the dragon. If Kye betrayed them in any way, his friends’ lives would be forfeit.

The soldiers, with Kye in tow, moved toward the entrance of Joichan’s lair. But before they could step into the coolness of the cave, a great shadow blotted out the sun overhead. The wind stirred up leaves and dust around them; the ground quaked and nearly jolted the men off their feet. As quickly as the commotion had started, it ended abruptly, leaving a deafening silence in its wake. As one, the soldiers fearfully turned to see the cause of the disturbance.

Joichan had come.

Chapter Twenty

THE SOLDIERS STOOD shaking in the long shadow cast by the massive dragon. At least five times bigger than the tallest man among them, the massive dragon tilted his golden head back and roared, deafening the trembling humans before him as he breathed a long slash of fire into the sky. Sunlight skipped off the edges of his scales, making him glow with a blinding brightness.

One of the soldiers, sweat pouring down his brow from the heat, thrust Kye’s weapon at him, indicating frantically that Kye was to help the soldiers take down the dragon. Kye barely caught it in hands slick with his own nervous perspiration. He darted quick looks between the dragon, the soldiers, and his friends.

Swords and shields at the ready, the soldiers held their ground, if a bit unsteadily. There was no longer any pretense about who they were — some of King Hendon’s finest and fiercest soldiers. But while they were hardened fighters, very few are prepared to fight a full-grown dragon in its prime.

Joichan roared again, as if in warning. He turned his metallic eyes, as golden as his hide, on the soldiers, waiting. Toying with his prey.

While the soldiers and the dragon silently sized each other up, Kye surreptitiously edged his way toward his friends.

Still the silence. Still the waiting. Then, letting out a yell, one of the soldiers charged.

Joichan bared his teeth as the rest of the group joined the fray. The soldier guarding Kye’s friends ran to help his comrades.

While their attention was on the dragon, Kye ran to the tree and cut one of his friends loose. Together, they frantically worked on freeing the rest of their team.

The battle between humans and dragon continued. While Joichan was powerful and cunning, four trained fighters were able to hold their own against him. Blood had been spilled on both sides: a claw graze on one man, a cut on Joichan’s hide. But both sides were evenly matched, making it a battle of attrition, not of strength.

Kye paused for a brief moment to survey the scene. His eyes met the dragon’s golden ones; even though Joichan was frightening in his magnificence, Kye’s fear melted away. Perhaps the dragon had hypnotized him? He couldn’t be sure.

Another of Kye’s friends broke free of her bonds, drawing the dragon’s attention. Joichan snorted, somewhat confused as he glanced between the soldiers and Kye’s team tied to the tree. One of the soldiers followed Joichan’s eyes to spot Kye by the tree, where he had finished cutting the ropes of the last captive. The soldier let out a yell and ran toward the tree.

“Come back!” his fellow soldier shouted after him. “We need to take care of the dragon first!”

“And let these ones stab us in the back while we’re distracted? I’ll take care of them quickly enough!” Having reached the tree, the man raised his sword to strike.

Kye barely had enough time to raise his weapon to block the soldier’s attack. The soldier was relentless, continuing the onslaught as Kye desperately tried to defend himself.

One of Kye’s friends had found his weapon and jumped in, hoping to sneak in a strike. But his blow was easily deflected. The soldier ran Kye’s friend through with his sword and returned to attacking Kye without missing a beat.

With only three soldiers focused on the dragon, the contest shifted. Joichan was gaining ground and inflicting more injuries on the soldiers, who were yelling for their comrade to come back and help them.

Hearing his friend scream as he fell under the soldier’s blade, a horrified Kye looked his way. Kye’s arm faltered a bit. He looked back to see his opponent raise his sword for a killing blow.

Then Joichan stepped forward and batted his mighty claw between the two men. Kye felt himself sail through the air, his back hitting the tree, the air rushing out of his body with a whoosh. He tried to get up, but everything hurt too much. Before he blacked out, he felt a rush of heat and heard, one last time, Joichan’s fearsome roar.

BEYAN’S FATHER WOKE up in a hostel, as a kindly middle-aged woman was changing the dressing on his leg. Her clinical, dispassionate manner — and her plain, serviceable black-and-white uniform — marked her as one who had taken religious vows.

“You’re finally awake,” she commented when she saw his open eyes.

“Where