The Dragon's Eyes Read Online Free

unconscious, he shot down a bird.
When I gave it to him, he refused until I cut off some for us.”
    “He’s kind, that’s all I know.”
    “Dragons are very rare. Most people do not believe in
them, and I can see why. This guy could fly around the whole world at night and
never be seen. That felt pelt of his would make him very good in the water, but
the shape of the wings would make it unnecessarily difficult to swim. The shape
of his legs indicates that he can dive in air or water very well, but he is
defiantly not a glider for the same reason he is not a swimmer.”
    “How do you know so much about dragons?”
    “Just because they are considered myth, doesn’t mean
I don’t believe in them. There is plenty of information out there to those who
look. I have always been fascinated in them. My father, on the other hand,
hates anything to do with them and insists they don’t exist.”
    “Well, now there’s one more of them not about to die.
In the morning, we need to find him some water.”
    “What if his attacker comes back?”
    “It will.”
    “What?!” I demanded, standing up. The dragon’s head
snapped up as well.
    “I can feel it, he’s still in danger. Can’t you smell
it?” he asked. He knew about my unusual sense of smell.
    “No. All I can smell is the forest, the dragon, and
you. And you don’t smell frightened.”
    “I said it will come back, not that it’s here now.”
    I sat down. “When I met you, you were the most
paranoid person on the planet. Anything that could go wrong did. And yet you
did what you had to do anyway.”
    “I’m not that paranoid anymore. I spent too long
living alone with Divina and Kiro.”
    “Why did you stop calling him Edward?” I asked.
    He shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess when he stopped
being around as much. The thing is, he isn’t an uncle or mentor so much
anymore… more like a father. And I think he thinks of me as a son. Kiro has
never been comfortable as a father. I’m afraid one day he’s going to bring
another apprentice home and tell me to live with Divina. It’s only been three
years, but I have learned so much. Maybe too much.”
    I patted him on the back. “Have you talked to him
about it?”
    “No. He’s always going off on missions and leaving me
with Divina.”
    “Maybe the problem isn’t how he feels about you.
Maybe he feels that you don’t need him anymore. Maybe he thinks you’re better
off with her, that he’s just getting in your way.”
    “But that’s silly. Even without lessons in magic, I
learn life lessons from Kiro all of the time. From Divina I just learn history
and facts.”
    “When did you start calling him Kiro?” I asked again.
“Why did you call him Edward? Wasn’t that your special name for him? I’d feel
pretty sad if my future son called me a nickname all his childhood and then
suddenly stopped.”
    He thought about it for a while. Before he came up
with anything else to say, I fell asleep.
     
    *          *          *
     
    I woke to a sight I would never have expected; an
angry dragon’s face inches from mine. The dragon Dylan started to heal last
night was standing over me with his wings splayed out in what looked like an
attack position. When he roared, displaying his sharp teeth and rendering me
temporarily deaf, I tried to crawl back. To my surprise, it was Dylan, lying
next to me, who pinned me down. He tried to say something, but the dragon’s
next roar drowned Dylan’s words out.
    The dragon turned his head to shoot fire over his
shoulder. Suddenly, something came at him from the front and attacked his neck.
He was thrown off of us and I was able to see what was really going on; we were
being attacked.
    Two creatures relentlessly struck the dragon. They
were only about as tall as a draxuni, but much leaner. Black, matted fur
covered their bodies. Their heads were short with wide snouts and solid,
blood-red eyes. The fangs were so large and sharp they could barely fit in