The Dragon's Eyes Read Online Free Page B

have one,” I
insisted.
    “Well then… that is a very nice birth mark that you
never had before.” He was staring intently at the back of my shoulder.
    I tried to see what he was talking about, but all I
could see was a smudge of emerald green. “Oh, no. It’s probably some kind of
infection from something in this forest.”
    “Yeah, sure, an infection in the perfect shape of a
dragon.”
    “Really?” I tried harder to see it, but now I
couldn’t even see any green. I was interrupted by an irritated bark-like roar
and looked over to see the dragon waiting on us impatiently. Dylan and I got in
the water, which flowed calmly about waist deep. “Oh, get clean. You smell,” I
lied.
    An odd huff was the only warning I got before I was
showered with hot droplets of water. I turned to him and wiped my eyes in time
to see him gather another mouthful of water and spray it all over me. Dylan
fell down, he was laughing so hard. It wasn’t long before the smell of dragon
blood was washed away and there was a new smell.
    This was a malicious scent, a hungry scent. Something
was watching us and I could smell its anticipation. I narrowed in on the
direction the threat was coming from; the dragon and I both turned to watch at
the same time. Dylan noticed our hesitation. The creature slowly crawled out of
the cover of the ferns.
    It was a hynerpeton; one of the smaller species of
amphibians. Like all amphibians, they are carnivorous, fast, and had strong
jaws filled with sharp teeth. Large green and black bands covered the
slime-coated skin. The poisonous bristles around its neck were flared in
warning.
    “If a human saw an axolotl that was two meters long,
they would freak out, but this is smaller than any amphibian I have seen in
Duran. We should probably go.”
    Shinobu, previously curled up on Dylan’s clothes,
hissed, but the beast obviously had no idea what it was dealing with.
Unfortunately, when it didn’t run from her, she retreated to the edge of the
water, then looked at Dylan as if to ask for advice. Two more hynerpeton came
up beside the first one. We couldn’t outrun them and they were very hungry.
    “Go away!” I yelled. I waved my arms up. “I’m bigger
and louder than you! Go away!”
    Dylan joined me. “Get back! I gave food poisoning to
the last thing that tried to eat me!” he yelled. The hynerpeton stopped,
confused.
    I looked at him. “You gave Divina---”
    “Shut up,” Dylan demanded.
    The dragon reared up on his hind legs and let out a
deafening roar. He flapped his wings wide and brought his front legs down in a
stomp that created large waves. He displayed his tail spike above his head in
strike position. Luckily the amphibians must have decided there were easier
meals than us, and they sauntered off.
    “Great. Off they go, scampering away from the bigger
monsters we have just attracted with the noise,” Dylan said. The dragon was of
like mind and quickly disappeared into the forest. We rapidly dressed and
followed.
    “So is the dragon strong enough to fly?” I asked.
    We nearly had to run to keep up with the black beast.
His wings angled against his back, which made him extremely streamlined. Despite
his reptilian-shaped body, he moved more like a mammal, fluently bounding over
any objects on the ground.
    “Yeah, but whatever those were that attacked him are
still out there. That is weird, though. I’ve never heard of creatures like
them. I don’t like it. Why did they attack the dragon?”
    “We need to name the dragon,” I interrupted.
    “Ask him what his name is,” Dylan said.
    “What? I don’t speak dragon.”
    “Then let’s name him Blood . I always wanted a
dog named Blood ,” Dylan said. While he spoke fluidly in Sudo, he said
the name in his mother language.
    “Am I incorrect in my language lessons or does that
mean---”
    “Oh, yes. Blood is blood in English. I told
you about dogs, right?”
    “Yes, the little canines that are very loyal pets.
They look like