Julie Wetzel
A Castle For Dragons
Dragons of Eternity - 2
This one is for Jessica
Thank you for everything. Love you Sissy!
1
Horror washed through Kathryn as she stood by and watched the great, black beast cutting across the sky.
Reports had come back from the outlying farms of a dragon stealing livestock, but no one had really believed them. Dragons were mythical creatures—stories told to scare bad children into being good. And even if they were real, they were long gone from the world. No one believed in dragons anymore, but there it was. A dragon. Big as life, with scales black as night. Something dangled in its claws.
Squinting, Kathryn could just make out the wiggling legs of some farm creature. It wasn’t big enough to be a cow, maybe a sheep or pig. Whatever it was, it was someone’s precious livestock, gone to fatten up the huge creature that shouldn’t have been there.
Kathryn glanced back when she heard a noise behind her. Turning her attention to the dragon again, she continued to watch the creature in the sky. “Do you see it?” she asked as her father came up behind her.
The older man placed a hand on his daughter’s shoulder and looked out over the southern fields. “Yes,” he answered, pulling her back from the open space. “Get inside before it sees us.”
He turned the girl and pushed her to the safety of the house. Well, relative safety. How safe was a thatch-roofed house when there was a fire-breathing dragon on the loose? Tuning around, he watched the dragon disappear in the direction of the forest before heading into the house himself.
“What are we going to do?” Kathryn asked as she peeked out of the shuttered window in the direction of the field. The dragon appeared to be gone, but just knowing it was out there terrified her.
“You are going to get back to work, girl.” Her father came over and pulled her away from the window. He checked to make sure the bar was across the shutters, locking them firmly in place. “Dinner will not make itself.”
Kathryn let out a sigh and went to the hearth to check on the pot hanging there. Dinner was well on its way to being done. It was times like this when she wished her mother were still alive. At least then, she would have someone to listen to her concerns.
She glanced at her father. He had gone back to the door and was looking out over the fields. Kathryn truly loved the man, but he hadn’t been the same since her mother had drowned in the lake. He’d gotten much more protective of Kathryn. She was no longer allowed to go out without either her brother or her father accompanying her. The man had also turned away several offers for her hand in marriage. Not that she wanted to marry any of the young men who had asked, but for goodness sake, she was nearly twenty. If things kept going as they were, she would end up a spinster.
The sound of hooves announced Kathryn’s brother’s return.
“Did you see it?” His animated voice echoed through the house as he rushed inside. “It was a dragon. A real, live dragon! Just like Grand’s stories. It was huge!” her brother rambled on in excitement.
Kathryn glared at him, irritated. Trever was nearly a grown man. Where did he get off bouncing around like such a child? She would have chided him for such actions if her father weren’t there.
“Yes,” Kathryn’s father said quietly, “we saw it.”
“We chased after it, but it disappeared into the woods.”
“You shouldn’t have been out there chasing after it,” Kathryn reprimanded him. Didn’t he realize it was dangerous chasing after a fire-breathing creature? “You could have been killed!”
“I knew what I was doing,” Trever scoffed.
Kathryn let out a sigh. Arguing with him would do her no good.
Their father considered both of his children. “Lord Dunham needs to be told about this.” He looked at his son. “Trever, come with me and explain what you saw to the lord.”
Turning to Kathryn, he gave her a pointed stare. “Stay here, and don’t go outside.” With that, he led Kathryn’s brother out, and the door shut behind them with a resounding thud.
Another long sigh slipped out of Kathryn as she listened to the men get the horses and ride off to the castle. Great. Just another excuse for her father to keep her locked up. Bloody dragon!
The hinge on the window creaked as Kathryn peeked out. The shadow of the dragon skimmed across the ground as the great, black beast circled above the town. The chaos of its arrival had ceased as the townsfolk hid in fear. No one here would be able to defend themselves from such a terror. When the dragon first appeared a few weeks ago, Lord Dunham called every able-bodied man up to the castle to train for the fight against the creature, leaving the village vulnerable. Maybe that was what had brought the dragon in from the outlying farms. Maybe it had heard that Lord Dunham was going to start hunting it as soon as the men were trained in the use of the newest weapons.
As it was, the entire town had gone into overdrive, trying to get enough real weaponry to outfit all the men. Even Kathryn had been doing her part. There was no telling where Lord Dunham had come up with so many pieces of plate mail, but the stuff wasn’t fitted to any of the men properly—it chafed and cut after just a few hours of use. The women of the village had spent the last few weeks slaving away, trying to weave enough material to make padding for the men. At least the danger had gotten Kathryn out of her home for a while. Her brother and father were both at the castle, training.
The dragon’s roar rattled the walls of the village hall. The women huddled in the middle of the room as dust drifted down from the rafters. Kathryn cringed away from the sound but turned to look out the window again. Curiosity ate away at her; she had to know what the dragon was doing out there. Pulling the shutter open just a bit, Kathryn could finally see what was going on.
The great beast had moved from the town to the castle. It flew wide circles around the stone structure as it slowly descended. Obviously, the thing wasn’t too bright. Didn’t it know there was a whole army of men inside, waiting to take it on?
It was distant, but Kathryn’s keen eyes saw movement from the top of the battlements. The men had to be up there, ready to strike at the dragon as soon as it was in range. They didn’t have to wait long for their chance. The dragon shifted its wings and dropped down as if it were going to land on the pathway leading to the castle.
The archers didn’t give the beast time to finish its landing before they attacked. A rain of arrows fell on the dragon. The creature roared in surprise and pumped its wings, regaining height, but the poor thing wasn’t fast enough. A loud thunk reached Kathryn’s ears right before the dragon roared in pain and tumbled out of the air. While the regular arrows bounced off the creature’s shining scales, its hide stood no chance against those new contraptions that threw out heavy arrows with wickedly barbed ends.
Thrashing about on the ground, the dragon righted itself and blasted the wall with fire before throwing itself back into the air. Screams of the men caught in the dragon’s flames echoed through the town.
Kathryn’s heart clenched as she watched the beast pass overhead and take off towards the south. Grabbing up a bolt of new material, she rushed to the door and threw it open. She wasn’t a healer, but it didn’t take a genius to bind a wound. Other women joined her in her flight, racing to check on the injured. This was going to be a very long day.