Chronicles of Carnezia (Book 1): Dragons of Dracona

Chapter 15: Concealments Revealed

Chapter 15: Concealments Revealed

            The rain was a cold-bearing one; within ten minutes of being back in the drenching deluge I was sneezing every minute and my nose felt frozen compared to my cheeks. Ky had kindly handed me a handkerchief and I took it without any hesitance. Since it was raining, it wasn’t decided that we should gallop as fast as our horses could go; Ky had been a horseman for many years (as he mentioned in our continuing conversation) and he knew what do in order to maintain a horse’s health. ‘For without a horse,’ he had said, ‘we would be walking all the way.’ And he was right. So we trotted for twenty minutes and galloped for ten to keep our body temperatures up and try to flush my cold away. Unlike Ky, I had no hood to my jacket and my hair was getting heavier with every passing minute but I had it tied up.

            It had now been a good two hours that we had been riding. Luckily, my backpack was waterproof but Frain had now become restless and started rustling inside it and his scratching could be heard outside.

            ‘You seem to have picked up a stowaway back at that tree, I believe,’ Ky commented as his attention was drawn to the bag.

            ‘Oh no, it’s nothing really.’

            He furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head. ‘No, I really think you have something in there trying to escape.’ He reached over but I shrieked and rode ahead so he couldn’t but he soon caught up. ‘What was that for?’ he asked, sounding as confused as he looked.

            I screwed my face up and pulled my shoulders up. There wasn’t much I could do to escape this situation. ‘It’s just... it’s not a stowaway. He belongs to me and I only put him in there because he hates the rain,’ I went on.

            Ky misunderstood. ‘You have a cat...?’ Which made sense since cats detested water except to drink.

            ‘No, not a cat. He is cold-blooded. And I think I should let him out before he rips through the bag.’ Pulling the bag in front of me, I opened the flap and out popped Frain’s grumpy face and scaled head.

            ‘A dragon!’ exclaimed Ky but he didn’t start riding off ahead. ‘Has he been with you all the time?’ he asked. He sounded intrigued and fascinated as I told him why I had to leave Baedon but I kept my destination concealed along with my being a Tamer. ‘He is marvellous though and I know why you hide him as you do.’

            It was my turn to become baffled. ‘So why are you not frightened? Most people step away when they notice him.’ My bag was back on my shoulders as was Frain in his curled position.

            Ky watched as the young dragon clambered up me and I let him without a fuss. ‘I am not from this far south. My home is in Itra to the north which is considerably close to Dracona than anywhere else. We see dragons regularly and have grown accustomed to their travels. And I am one of few outside the city that has ventured near or even into its walls. A dragon as small as your little friend there will not frighten me in the slightest compared to the sizes I have seen,’ he spoke proudly.

            There was one detail among all of that which caught my attention. ‘You’ve been to Dracona?!’

            He nodded. ‘Yes. I know why many people, especially from the south and west won’t venture past Niz for fear of bumping into a dragon. They are less inclined to believe the Tamer tales than other settlements as dragons have been absent from there centuries longer than most other places.’ By this point, I ventured at a guess that Ky was well-travelled in Carnezia for his age. ‘May I touch him?’ he asked.