Trusted: Dragons' Trust Book 1 Page 3

  The cry came again.

  Turning from the trail, Renick headed toward the source of the noise. Every time the high–pitched plea sounded through the dense trees, he adjusted his direction. He stepped between two giant trunks and the forest ended abruptly. A deep gouge, some fifty paces wide and about waist deep, ran through the trees and underbrush. Renick looked up and down the pocket of destruction. The motionless tail of a gray dragon snaked out from under a pile of unearthed trees and brush. Renick climbed over the debris until he stood over the tail. Reaching down, he ran his hand over the silvery scales. They were cold.

  "Oh," Lainey gasped. Renick turned. Lainey stood behind him, her mouth covered and her eyes surveying the damage. "Was it our dragon?" Her eyes brimmed with tears.

  Renick stood. "No, this is a wild dragon. Probably the one we heard last night." He pointed down at the tail. "See, she was a gray."

  "She? But she has a thag–a–ma–jig," Lainey said.

  "With wild dragons, both genders can have them," Renick said.

  "Then how—" Lainey started to say.

  "—expected to keep you alive when you wander off!" Thane burst into the clearing. With hardly a glance at the area around him or a pause to breathe, he continued with his ranting. "It's dangerous. Don't you two get that?"

  "Shh." Renick thought he heard the cry again. When Thane did not stop talking, Renick shushed him again and closed his eyes to hear better.

  This time the cry was clear and very close. Renick picked his way through the wake of ruined ground until he found a small mound of slate–blue scales and black spikes. The mound shifted and a small angular head emerged. The baby dragon, which was roughly the size of a small lamb, flared its nostrils and moaned. Renick crouched down on one knee. He held out his hand, limp at the wrist, and clicked his tongue softly.

  The dragon blinked its black eyes at Renick, turning its head from side to side. It cried plaintively and moved with an awkward tilt. Without touching it, Renick carefully inspected the baby dragon's limbs. He also watched for signs of fear or anger from the little predator.

  "Aw." Lainey fell to her knees next to Renick. Before he could stop her, she reached out and started stroking the baby dragon's head. To his astonishment, the dragon started to vibrate, much like a silent purr.

  "Be careful, Lainey. He's wild and injured. He could turn on you at any moment," Renick said.

  "Don't worry." Lainey sounded like Renick's mom when she talked to his baby sister. "It won't hurt us."

  Renick continued with his evaluation of the dragon. The radius bone just below the elbow on the left wing was bent at an odd angle; the area around it was swollen and bloody. "His wing is broken."

  "The poor thing." Lainey cupped the dragon's head in her hands. "Let's see if we can patch you up."

  "Leave it," Thane said coldly.

  Renick looked up to find Thane towering over them. "It will slow us down," he offered by way of an argument.

  Next to him, Lainey snorted.

  "And eat most of our food," Thane tried again.

  Renick turned back to the dragon. "He's young enough that he won't need much."

  "And its mother will come after us."

  "Its mother is dead," Lainey blurted. She looked over at Renick, her eyes sad. "He needs us."

  "No," Thane said.

  Renick stood and spun around to face Thane. "Who put you in charge?" he demanded. Before the words finished leaving his mouth, he started to lose his nerve. Thane looked so intimidating, especially with his hand on the pommel of his sword like that. Renick felt a reassuring hand touch the back of his leg. "This dragon is hurt, and we can help it. Right?" Renick turned to Lainey who stood up next to him.

  "Right." She crossed her arms. With a sideways glance at Renick, she added, "You don't scare us," and stuck out her tongue. Thane just stared back at her, his mouth pressed in a tight line.

  "All right, then." Renick knelt back down next to the dragon. Lainey joined him. She pulled her shoulder bag around to the front and opened it.

  "I know how to treat human broken bones, but not dragon ones," she said, riffling through the contents of her bag. "Are they similar?"

  Renick nodded. "These are. Some of the bones in the wings are hollow, but here where it's broken, they aren't. So the basics should be the same."

  "Okay." Lainey spread her hands out over the dragon. "Step one—clean the wound."

  Renick picked up the dragon and positioned it on his lap. He wrapped his left arm around the dragon's neck and held the injured wing out to Lainey with his other hand.

  "You've handled baby dragons before," Lainey commented.

  Renick shrugged. "I helped in my father's brooder a lot."

  Lainey smiled at him. Behind them, Thane grumbled and stalked off.

  Using a small knife, Lainey cut a strip of bandage from a long roll and used her waterskin to wet it. She pulled a small bottle from her pouch and sprinkled a little of the contents on the bandage. "This is going to sting," she warned. With gentle hands, she cleaned the wound around the broken bone.

  The baby dragon resisted and cried out, but Renick held him well enough for Lainey to finish her work. Renick suddenly had an idea. "Wait here," he told Lainey, handing her the dragon.

  Renick went over to the pile of trees from which the gray dragon's tail emanated. He saw Thane dart behind a tree as he approached, but decided to think nothing of it. He started to dig through the dirt and branches until he found the side of the dead dragon. Working away from the tail, Renick continued to dig. At length he found the head. Reaching down, he pried the once–powerful jaws open and reached inside. When he withdrew his hand, his fingers were covered in a clear sticky substance—the dragon's spit.

  "Perfect," he said to himself. He returned to where Lainey and the dragon waited.

  "What's that?" Lainey asked.

  "His mother's saliva. My father says it has healing properties. There are old stories that talk about when dragons used to be able to heal men. But they are either false or it no longer works. This should help the little guy, though."

  Lainey nodded. "Good idea."

  Renick took the baby dragon back into his lap and smeared the spit on its broken wing. "There. Now what's next?"

  "Step two—set the bone." Lainey looked up at Renick, her brow creased. "But if I don't know how the bone is supposed to be, I might set it wrong."

  "Try feeling the other wing," Renick said.

  Lainey did. "Okay, I think I can do it. Be ready—this will hurt the little guy."

  Renick nodded and tightened his hold on the baby dragon.

  "On three." Lainey took the wing in both hands. "One … two … three."

  She pulled. The bone snapped into place. The dragon flinched. A piercing wail rang out. Renick whispered in the baby dragon's ear to sooth it while Lainey inspected her work.

  "There. Step three—splint and bandage." She looked around. "We'll need something for a splint."

  A pair of equally sized branches stripped of their bark appeared next to Renick's head. Renick turned. Thane held out the perfectly made splints, but he was looking off in the other direction.

  Lainey took the pieces of wood. "Thank you," she said.

  Thane just turned away.

  Lainey held the splints in her hands for a few moments and then turned back to Renick and the dragon. "Okay, step three." She set to work binding the splints to the dragon's wing, using more bandages extracted from her bag. "Can you get him to fold his wing?"

  Renick slid his hand along the joint where the wing met the dragon's body. At first the dragon did not respond to the touch, but eventually he folded his wing to lay flat against his body. Lainey tied the wing in place. "So he can't move it around," she explained. Sitting back, she declared she was done.

  "Good," Thane said. "Now that the two of you have wasted the day fixing a broken wing, can we please continue on our journey? I prefer to keep to one hopeless task at a time."

  Renick
stood and tried to carry the dragon, but its scales bit into his arms and the dragon's claws started tearing his shirt.

  "Here." Thane handed Renick his emptied rucksack. "Give me yours."

  Placing the injured dragon on the ground, Renick stripped off his pack and handed it to Thane. The older boy started filling it with the things he had dumped out of his own.

  Carefully, Renick and Lainey maneuvered the dragon into the pocket and onto Renick's back.

  "How's that?" Lainey asked. "Does it bother your shoulder?"

  Renick shook his head. "I'll be fine."

  "Now?" Thane asked.

  "Yes, Thane, now," Lainey answered, and the four of them headed back into the woods.

  Chapter 5: Kind, Brave, and Trusted

  Up and down Plyth bumped. Something held him in. Trapped. The rain patted on his head. Plyth opened his eyes, waking from sleep. A crack by his nose helped him see light. He smelled wet earth.

  Mother?

  The moving stopped, followed by a big bump that made his wing hurt. Pain. The crack grew to be more light and more smells. Trees, tall trees, all around. Plyth sniffed the air. Rain, dirt, tree, and a new smell. New smell made his heart beat fast. Familiar, but strange. Alone. Scared.

  A face appeared. It was soft and round and white like a doe. The face smiled. The two–legged doe moved away. She went to stand by two others. They all smelled like the new smell. Bald bear growled at two–legged doe. He turned and pointed. Two–legged doe tilted her head to the side. Angry. They turned to the tailless squirrel. He chattered at them. Bald bear crossed his paws. Grumpy. Two–legged doe wiggled her head. Bald bear stomped around and picked up broken pieces of trees.

  Where Mother?

  Tailless squirrel and two–legged doe got out a big leaf. They used their odd paws to make it much bigger. Biggest leaf Plyth had ever seen. They put leaf between two trees. Tailless squirrel looked in brown lump. Two–legged doe's face came close. She rubbed under chin. Plyth liked that. But he still missed Mother. He tried to call for her. No answer.

  Afraid. Plyth wiggled and tried to get out. Wing did not work right.

  Two–legged doe patted his head and cooed softly. He felt his worry get smaller. Calm again, he watched. Two–legged doe sat and looked at others, smiling. Two–legged doe was kind. Kind patted Plyth on the head. Bald bear growled at her and pointed to a pile of broken trees.

  Kind knelt by the pile. She breathed fire on the broken trees. But not like Plyth's fire. She used her paws. The fire stayed on the broken trees. It got bigger and bigger. Plyth was cold. The fire was too far away. He tried to get closer. But he was still held tight. He could not get away. Trapped.

  Tailless squirrel saw Plyth and came over. Carried Plyth over to fire. Fear got less. It was nice by fire. Warm, very warm. Tailless squirrel passed around bad–smelling lumps. They ate them. Yuck.

  A sharp crack. Danger?

  Bald bear stood and faced the forest bravely. The brave bald bear stood ready to protect them. Plyth sniffed the air. Only a rabbit. Brave sat back down and went back to eating. He grumbled at Kind and the tailless squirrel.

  Brave and Kind looked at tailless squirrel a lot. They also growled and cooed at him. He would chatter back. When they were done eating, they moved under the big leaf. Kind carried Plyth. Kind and Brave lay down. Their sounds became louder. Sleeping.

  Tailless squirrel patted Plyth's head. He felt good; he trusted the tailless squirrel. Everything would be fine. Safe. Plyth settled down to sleep. He liked his new friends: Kind, Brave, and Trusted.

  Chapter 6: The Wall of Water

  Renick watched his feet slosh in the mud. Water seeped in through holes along the side of the soles. His hand–me–down boots, threadbare and falling apart, were not meant for traipsing through the forest after a good, long rain. At least the rain had stopped. The sun now peeked down through the occasional gray cloud and reflected off the pools of water that formed in Lainey's footprints. He shifted the pack on his back to give his sore shoulder a rest. The sleeping baby dragon huffed in protest. The dragon's hot breath warmed the back of Renick's neck. He wondered, briefly, if the dragon would breathe on his frozen feet.

  Up ahead, Lainey's feet stopped and turned toward him. Renick looked up. She was watching him, a concerned look on her face.

  "How's our little one?" Lainey asked.

  "Sleeping."

  "And your shoulder?"

  He shrugged and tried not to wince at the movement. "Fine."

  Lainey's eyes and nose scrunched together, but she did not press further. Instead, she waited for Renick to catch up with her. She turned to walk beside him. Peering at the baby dragon, she cooed softly. Renick watched Lainey as she tickled the dragon under its chin. It huffed again and tried to settle deeper into the relative safety of the rucksack.

  With a thud, Renick collided with Thane's back. The force nearly sent Thane sprawling to the ground, but with an awkward hop–jump, he caught himself. Renick managed to keep his balance by using a nearby tree trunk for support. A silvery giggle, like tinkling glass, filled Renick's ears. Lainey had her hands wrapped around her stomach as if she were squeezing a belly laugh down to a giggle. Clearing his throat, Thane turned and glared at Renick.

  "Sorry," Renick said with a shrug.

  Thane waved his hand at Renick and told him to be quiet. "Do you hear that?"

  "What?" Lainey asked, her giggle fading. Thane shushed her.

  In the silence of the rain–drenched forest, Renick could hear the faint sound of rushing water. Lainey's eyes widened—she must have heard it too.

  "A river?" Renick wondered.

  Thane nodded. "I think so. This could be the Hodine River."

  "The one that comes from the Thormic Mountains and runs past Trevinni?" Renick asked.

  Lainey gasped. "If it is, then all we need to do is follow it!"

  Renick started moving forward again, this time at a quicker pace. All he could think of was how the river could lead them out of the forest. He heard Thane start to say something, but ignored him. They could be out of the forest and back home in a few days. Renick felt a pit form in his stomach as he remembered that he was not going home. He was going to Trevinni to apprentice with his uncle. He did not want to dwell on it.

  As Renick neared the river, the sound of the water grew louder and louder. He emerged from the cover of the trees and shielded his eyes against the sunlight dancing along the rippled surface of the river. Brown water, littered with branches, flew past him. The ground on either side of the churning depths was flooded well over the natural bank.

  "Swollen by the rains," Thane said from behind him.

  "Well, we can't cross it here," Lainey declared. She sounded slightly out of breath.

  "We don't need to cross it." Thane smirked.

  "We don't?" Lainey placed her hands on her hips and glared at Thane.

  Thane shook his head, his damp hair flopping oddly around his head. "If we follow the river upstream, we should come out of the forest on the outside bank of the river."

  "Upstream?"

  "Yes," Renick answered. "The river loops past Trevinni and comes back into the forest. So upstream is the way to go."

  Lainey mouthed "Oh." She looked at the river and a small smile spread on her face. "Do you think the others are in Trevinni? Do you think they're okay?"

  Renick could not answer. He hoped Lainey's aunt and Thane's friend were all right. It was possible that they landed safely somewhere else. But he could not be sure, and he did not want to give Lainey false hope. Before Renick could form a reply, Thane answered.

  "Getting back to Trevinni is the best way to find them."

  "All right then, we follow the river." Renick turned as he spoke and started trudging along beside the overfilled river. They walked for some time. He lost himself in the rhythm of his footsteps.

  A squishing noise followed by a wet thud and a surprised grunt drew Renick back from where his mind had wandered. He stopped and turn
ed to look behind him. Thane lay on the ground, propped up on his elbows in the middle of a large mud puddle. He looked up, his eyes glaring darkly from under his muddy bangs. Lainey chuckled softly and extended her hand to him. Thane hesitated for a moment, turning his eyes away from her. After a few sighs, he relented. As Thane pulled on Lainey to right himself, she too lost her footing and fell smack down in the mud. She sat there with her shoulders shaking. Renick was unsure what to do; Thane just stared at Lainey with a dumbfounded look on his face.

  Lainey's bubbly laugh burst out. She slapped the mud with the flat of her hand and wiggled her feet. Renick exchanged a look with Thane. Lainey's laughter was so contagious, it did not take long for Renick to follow suit. Thane's lips twitched before he finally let a deep laugh escape his strict demeanor.

  Renick was completely absorbed in the mirth of the moment when an odd sound distracted him. He stopped laughing and cocked his head, listening. The sound came again. It was a small, thin gurgle with a light hiss at the end. Renick turned his head and heard the sound once more. With a start, he realized it was coming from the dragon.

  "What?" Lainey asked as she wiped tears from her cheek with a clean spot on her sleeve.

  "I think …" Renick started. He paused and took the rucksack from his back. Pulling the flap back, he stared at the dragon. It looked up at him with dark eyes and made the sound again. "I think the dragon's laughing."

  "What?" Lainey knelt down next to the dragon, still huddled in its pack, and scrutinized it. The dragon had grown silent and peered at Lainey curiously.

  "Dragons don't laugh," Thane said. Lainey looked up at Renick and rolled her eyes. She turned her head over her shoulder and stuck her tongue out at Thane. "What?"