Free From the Dragon Keepers' Vault by Kate Klimo Page A

heard it before? Was it from the Time Before? Obsidian was much given to dreaming about the Time Before, when dragons flourished on the earth. Leandra and Obsidian were among the few survivors of that bygone age.
    Leandra knew the name all too well. “For many hundreds of years, one man has been doing his utmost to slay us dragons and drink our blood. The blood of dragons gives him the one thing he wants even more than gold and riches—eternal life. He goes by many names, but we dragons know him best as St. George the Dragon Slayer!”
    Obsidian reared up and cried, “So the day has finally come!”
    “I am afraid so, my dear. Thank you for warning us,” Leandra said to the dryads. “Dragon magic will bar him from the mountain. So long as we remain here, we will be safe.”
    The next day, the dragons saw St. George and his crew start up the mountain. But just as Leandra had said, dragon magic formed a shield that repelled them from venturing any farther than the foot of the Old Mother. St. George turned back in fury.
    “You were right, my dear,” Obsidian said to Leandra as they watched from on high. “Dragon magic protects us. He will not bother us anymore.”
    Leandra only hoped her mate was right.
    Days passed and the dragons saw no further sign of St. George. On the third night following the full moon, Obsidian said to Leandra, “The woods are peaceful tonight. Let’s go down and receive the monthly gift.”
    It was their habit to fly to the clearing where, near a bonfire set by the natives, Leandra and Obsidian would feast on the deer meat. But Leandra wasn’t hungry.
    “I prefer to remain here,” she told Obsidian.
    “Very well,” said her mate. “I will bring the deer meat back here so we can share it.”
    “Beware of St. George,” said Leandra as Obsidian prepared to take flight.
    “Don’t worry about me, my dear,” he said. “Dragon magic, dragon wiles, and dragon fire will protect me.”
    Obsidian soared over the deep woods and touched down near the bonfire, next to which the freshly skinned deer lay. Obsidian stole a quick look around, grasped the deer in his talons, and flew back to the cave.
    “I am glad you made it back safely, my dear,” said Leandra. “Please help yourself to my portion. I’m still not hungry.”
    So Obsidian hunkered down on the stone shelf outside the cave and ate all the meat. He washed away the blood in the stream and then went into the den to bed down.
    “Do you think the magic of the mountain will hold?” Leandra murmured to her mate.
    “I imagine so,” said Obsidian through a wide yawn. He felt so
very
sleepy! Could it have been the double portion of deer meat?
    “I have news for you,” Leandra whispered in the darkness. “I didn’t want to tell you until I was certain. Obsidian, I am carrying new life inside of me. You, my dearest one, are going to be a
father
!”
    She had expected Obsidian to be bursting with enthusiasm, but all she heard was his soft snoring. Leandra smiled. She would greet him with the happy news first thing in the morning. How pleased he would be!
    The next morning, Leandra reached over to waken her mate. She shook him. She jostled him. She begged him, first in a whisper and then in a roar. But Obsidian slept on. She wentoutside the cave and paced. It was not like Obsidian to sleep so late. And then she stopped and went still as a stone.
    Someone slipped a sleeping potion in the deer meat!
    And who else could that someone be but St. George?
    Like most dragons, she was acquainted with the power of herbs and plants, so she waited until darkness fell. Then she flew down to the deep woods in search of the berries that, when steeped in boiling water, would rouse her mate.
    She had just wrapped the berries in a large leaf and was returning to the den when the woods around her exploded. A net crashed over her head. Men with torches swarmed down the tree trunks and surrounded her.
    One of them prodded her through the netting with the tip