Free Whistlestop by Karl J. Morgan Page A

and butt. Was the dragon sacrificing its own
body heat to protect him? He hugged the beast’s neck and felt the
heat pouring into his body. The warmth and the drink soon drained
him of strength and he fell asleep.
    He dreamed of dragons, but not the
attack by the one he now rode. It was a different world, full of
jungles and deep forests, a land of dragons. Large flocks of the
creatures filled the skies. They were all colors and sizes, which
he imagined showed their age or tribe. He dreamed it was nighttime,
and a group of dragons were gathered around the embers of a large
fire. There were a number of silver and black mottled globes
sitting on the embers. The dragons all were lying in a circle
around the globes with their heads facing the glow. Another group
of dragons was flying in low circles over the gathering. They
swooped and dived, performed barrel rolls and other acrobatics.
There was a series of low cracking sounds and the flying dragons
landed on the outside of the others, standing and staring at the
embers. One of the globes was cracking, then another and another.
The first egg popped open and a baby dragon screeched and a thin
blast of fire shot from its mouth. The other dragons began to jump
and spray the sky with their flames. More and more eggs broke open
until more than twenty baby dragons began to flap their wings and
take to the night sky. Jerry felt warm and overjoyed by the images.
A shudder ran through the beast Jerry was riding, almost waking
him. The birthing party was gone. Now there was a dark and dank
cavern filled with fireproof cages, each containing a young dragon.
They wore shackles around their necks and legs and looked
malnourished. They squawked for help, but their parents were
nowhere to be found. Five massive beasts were guarding the cavern.
They were giants, at least fifteen feet tall. Their skin was dark
green and leathery. They wore black steel and leather armor and
carried battle axes. A sixth beast sat on a stone throne, holding a
crystal ball in his right hand.
     

Chapter 5

    The following morning, Lydia Amaranths
Iron-Heart marched toward the courtyard. Her face showed no
emotion, only stern determination. She was wearing the bright
silver armor of a Knight of Winterpast. A long sword hung from her
belt on her left, and a dagger on the right. She pushed several
monks aside as she entered the courtyard and headed toward the
floating globe. “Please milady, you must reconsider,” a monk urged.
She pushed her right hand outward and the monk flew through the
air, landing on a grassy patch. The rest of the crowd moved out of
her way. When she arrived near the fountain, she raised her right
hand toward it. The reflection on the globe began to change. Soon,
a castle appeared in the globe and she smiled
contentedly.
    “ Stop!” the abbot shouted,
causing her to drop her hand and turn around. Rick noticed the
image of the trehbor’s castle and said, “This is madness, Lydia.
You can’t face the trehbor alone. You must wait for the elves to
arrive.”
    “ Abbot, you remember last
night, right? My cousin was taken by a dragon of the emperor. You
expect me to wait around and do nothing?”
    “ I only ask you not to face
impossible odds, Lydia. The trehbor is not our friend anymore. He
has sworn allegiance to the emperor. He will imprison or enslave
you, and that is if you’re lucky.”
    “ He knows where the dragons
live. He will tell me, or I will cut his heart out,” she snarled as
she drew her dagger.
    “ First, you must remember
the emperor’s words last night. He does not know Jerry’s true
genetics. That is a fatal flaw. This can still work out for
us.”
    “ I refuse to sit and
wait.”
    “ Let us say you are lucky
enough to keep your head, what will you do when you know where the
dragons live?”
    “ I will rescue my cousin,
Abbot. I refuse to allow our only chance to save the universe to
fail because of my inaction. We both know Jeremy Davis Iron-Heart
II is the Chosen