Free Dragon's Egg by Sarah L. Thomson

there was a yearning, an excitement, a delight. The Egg was pulling the wild dragon like the moon pulled the tide.
    I am the keeper, Mella thought. Help me.
    The dragon’s head swiveled around. Large yellow eyes, glowing dimly in the dark, studied Mella.
    Mella held out her bound hands.
    The dragon turned back to the Egg and crept off through the grass.
    Mella could have cried. She’d been so sure. So sure the dragon would hear her, would help her.But it had been foolish. A keeper could sense her own herd and know in her bones when her dragons were hungry or ill or frightened. But she could not do the same with another’s herd. And these were wild dragons, not tame at all. Nothing in them was attuned to a keeper’s mind.
    The wild dragons—were there six? Ten? More? It was hard to tell in the fading firelight—settled down, their scaly skins changing color to blend perfectly with the dry grass and bare earth. Only the twitching of a tail from time to time betrayed their presence.
    Roger was back to gnawing on the bonds around his wrists. “They are related,” he muttered indistinctly at Mella. “If they…wan’ the Egg…tha’ much…”
    â€œCould we talk about it later?” Mella hissed and began to chew on her own knots. But Roger had a considerable head start. Before she’d made any progress, he’d loosened the knots enough to seize the loops around his wrists with his teeth and drag them over his hands, taking a fair bit of skin alongwith them. He twisted around to get at the ropes holding him to the wagon wheel.
    â€œHurry,” Mella whispered urgently, with a frantic look at Alain. He lay still as stone by the fire.
    Roger spared her a quick look as he yanked at the knots behind him. What do you think I’m doing? it said clearly. Mella could have screamed with impatience. Finally the last knot yielded to his tugging, and he scrambled over to work on the cords around Mella’s wrists.
    A low laugh came from across the clearing. Roger froze and Mella’s head snapped up to stare at Alain, who was sitting beside the fire. In no hurry, he reached out to seize a branch and stir the coals with it. The flames brightened, and in their light Mella saw Alain’s teeth as he smiled.
    â€œVery noble. You might have run off yourself, but you stay to help your friend. I expected no less of you.”
    Roger’s gaze moved quickly from Alain to the edges of the clearing, back and forth, measuring distances.
    â€œI’m quite a pleasant host, if my guests are obedient,” Alain went on. “But now you’ve proven that you can’t be trusted. A shame. Things will—”
    â€œSorry,” Roger whispered to Mella and bolted for the woods.
    Mella cried out, mostly from surprise. It was for the best, of course. If Roger escaped, he might be able to rescue Mella or get help. Obviously, it was better for one of them to be free than both captive.
    That didn’t stop her from feeling abandoned.
    But Alain had been expecting such a move. He didn’t even bother with his sword as he leaped up to chase after Roger, and he would have caught him easily, if he had not tripped over a dragon.
    The creature rose with a startled squawk, beating its wings and hissing as Alain fell. Alain swore and looked back to see what had brought him down, but Roger looked back too. His hesitation let Alain, now on his hands and knees, lunge forward, get a hand on Roger’s ankle, and send him headlong.
    The dragon, a small brown female, made a dashfor the safety of the cart and huddled there, hidden behind the wheel Mella was still tied to. She puffed out clouds of steam, warm and damp against Mella’s back. The other dragons didn’t move, trusting to their stillness to keep them hidden.
    As Mella watched helplessly, Roger thrashed, trying to kick Alain off. But he was no match for a full-grown man. In a moment Alain had him pinned to the