Patrick spread out his wings and pumped them a few times, but he didn’t get off the ground. “No,” he sighed. “But I will meet you at the water’s edge near the stand of willow trees. After that, I should have no problems keeping up.”
Daniel scoffed at him. “You may even beat us to the cave.” The man could swim like no other dragon Daniel had ever seen.
Patrick laughed. “That I might.”
Turning his attention to the men, Daniel sized them up. “To the lake!” he yelled. Wings beat the air into submission, lifting huge bodies off the ground.
Patrick sat quietly as the flight took to the skies and sailed out over the village. It was amazing to see so many dragons flying together. The majestic sight made his heart swell with pride. Now, if he could just get the townspeople to understand…
Turning away from his men, he looked up at the awed ladies. Patrick had watched the girls carefully as the men had shifted to dragon. There had been a strange mixture of fascination and fear on all of their faces. Only Nana smiled happily at them. So the old woman had known what they were… but for how long? And if she had caught on, how many others in the village knew? Something else he had to think about before confronting the town with their existence. Maybe his decision wouldn’t end with them being run out of the castle by angry mobs.
Standing up, he ruffled his wings and tucked them back along his body. It was time he got moving. As it was, he was already going to be well behind the faster flyers.
The lord’s movement caught the ladies’ eyes. They all stared at him. The look of fear had faded from their eyes.
Patrick dropped them a low bow, before turning and racing off through the open gates. A roar sounded from the guards as he passed under them. The sound was picked up by the flight and rattled the entire valley. If nothing else, this would be a day that all would remember for a very long time.
Patrick was tired by the time he reached the stand of willow trees. Plopping down in the cool grass, he stretched his aching muscles out, trying to ease the burn. He hadn’t run that far in a long time.
“Nice of you to join us,” Daniel teased as he came over to check on the lord.
Patrick glowered up at him. “Is everyone here?” he growled, stretching his wings out. The joint he had dislocated was still sore, but there was a possibility it would hold him in flight.
Daniel looked around at the dragons waiting. “You’re the last.” Anticipation was thick in the air as the men keyed themselves up for the coming battle.
Now all Patrick had to do was lead the men to the underwater cave. “Good.” Pushing himself up from the ground, he flapped a few times, debating if he would fly or swim. He could lead them better if he flew, but that cool water would feel wonderful on his heated skin. He looked over at his second. “Can you follow me if I swim?”
Daniel cocked his head, the dragon version of a raised eyebrow, and considered him. “How deep are you going to be?”
“Not very.”
“Then we can follow you.”
Drawing in a deep breath, Patrick nodded. “Then assemble the men.” He wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. Just the thought of what that black dragon was doing to his fair maiden ate away at him. Mine!
Barking orders, Daniel soon had the dragons lined up and ready for action.
“Listen!” Patrick’s voice cut across the group’s rumbling, pulling them to silence. “The entrance to the rogue’s lair is an underwater cavern set in the rock cliffs on the other side of the lake.” He stood up and paced the line as he briefed the fighters. “It’s about twenty feet down and just larger than the dragon himself.” Pausing to let this sink in, he turned and paced back down the line. “I did not go inside, so I do not know what we will find there. I suspect that the rogue has a clutch of and the stolen maidens—”
Shock sounded through the ranks.
Patrick paused in his briefing to wait for the sound to die down. He gave them all a pointed look. “It would probably be best to draw him out before engaging him. I want this dragon alive, so do your best to restrain him. But if all else fails, take him down.”
A murmur of understanding sounded through the men.
“Then let’s go!” Patrick turned and led the way to the lake as the rest of the flight took to the air.
Daniel led the group out over the lake as Patrick slipped into the water. They would win this day even if he had to take the dragon down himself. Mine! had to be saved.
10
It took him a moment to get into water deep enough to swim, but Patrick had no problem catching up to the flight and passing them. He stayed close enough to the surface that wings threw out great wakes as he passed. It would have been faster to dive a little deeper and not break the surface of the lake, but he didn’t want to lose the flight in the murky water.
Seeing the rock wall, it only took Patrick a moment to locate the entrance to the cave. He pushed past the pain in his wing and shot out of the lake towards Daniel. “Here!” He flapped, hovering just over the surface of the water.
Daniel let out a warbling cry, and a single blue dragon folded his wings and splashed down into the water. The long seconds ticked past as everyone stared at the glassy surface of the lake.
Bobbing in the air, Patrick clenched his jaw against the pain tearing through his wing. As it was, he was not flapping it enough to stay stable. He was just considering dropping back into the water to ease the ache when the blue dragon burst from the water and flapped hard away from the surface. A great blast of fire raced after him, sizzling the water as it passed.
The black dragon erupted from the lake with a roar and attacked the first thing it could see through the rising steam. Unfortunately, it was the bright red scales of Patrick’s hide.
The unexpected crunch of teeth sent shivers of pain through Patrick’s already-injured wing. He didn’t fight as the dragon shook him violently and dropped his limp form to the lake below. A roar of anger echoed in the men waiting, and the battle commenced above. Giving in to the throbbing in his wing, Patrick left the men to deal with the dragon. No matter how strong or enraged he was, there was no way the rogue could stand against more than a score of Elites.
Turning his attention to the cave, Patrick tucked up his wings and swam into the opening. Just inside, the passage made a sharp turn up, and it took no time for the lord to break the surface of the water inside the cave. So, this was where the creature had been hiding. He cast his eyes around, taking in the scene.
A great cavern opened up with high ceilings. Light from some fire glistened against the distant stalactites. Carefully, Patrick pulled himself up to the edge of the sandy floor. His hunch was right. Along the back were six eggs, glistening in the low light. Another black dragon lay next to them.
This dragon watched him closely as he slinked close. It growled a warning.
Patrick dropped to the ground in as nonthreatening a way as he could. “My Lady,” he called out to the dragon. From the way it curled protectively around the eggs, he was sure this was the mother of the brood. “I mean you no harm.”
The dragon didn’t move, but curiosity shone in her glistening eyes. “Speak your name,” she called to him.
Patrick stood up and wrapped his tail around his feet in a dignified manner. Her ability to understand him and speak boded well. “I am Patrick Mylan.”
“Mylan!” The dragon lifted her head as soon as she heard his name. Letting out a pain-filled groan, she dropped herself back to the sand.