Inferno Legacy: Valor of the Dragon (Book One)

Chapter 28

Chapter 28

            “Get some rope, quickly!” Mordon shouted to anyone who would listen.

            Even though Cody wanted to do anything but obey the guard’s orders, he knew that it was pretty important that he get the rope. The bandit that Inferno had almost killed to save his rider was coming to, and they hoped that he would be able to give them some answers or perhaps even some leverage against the bandits.

            Without hesitation, Cody raced over to Inferno and began to dig in the saddlebags in search of rope. It annoyed him how much meat he had leftover from the time when he and Inferno had had a good meal by the campfire when they were basically all alone. With a sigh of relief he felt his hands latch onto a coil of rope. It was the same rope he had used to keep Autumn from falling out of the saddle when they flew, back when he knew she was at least alive….

            “Cody,” Inferno scolded as he pulled him from his thoughts. “Go give the rope to Mordon, quickly, so he can tie up our prisoner!”

            Before Cody could respond, Inferno had leapt into the air and flown away, back towards his own special clearing before the bandit could catch sight of him. If he did, they would have to kill him after they were done questioning him so he wouldn’t send word to his leader that they were facing a dragon, a dragon that could possibly be defeated.

            The rider didn’t hesitate to throw the rope to Mordon, who skillfully caught it and raced over to their new prisoner, tying his hands behind his back before he could fully awaken. After that was over, Mordon picked him up and propped him against a tree so that he was sitting upright, and his ever-roaming eyes began to actually register what he was seeing. Cody stepped closer so that he could observe the man who had tried to kill him, but Mordon reacted and tore himself from his seated position on the ground.

            “Just what did you think you were doing!?” Mordon screeched angrily at the rider.

            “What are you talking about?” Cody asked, feeling ashamed that he was cowering in front of a human when he was a dragon rider, even though the guard had a pretty rough and authoritative voice.

            Mordon glared at him for what must have been the millionth time before replying, “You fell asleep when you knew that something like this could happen! Thank the heavens none of us got hurt or even killed because of that stupid move!”

            “Mora fell asleep!” Cody defended himself, ignoring the warning glance he got from Mora and the growl from Inferno.

            “Then it was your duty to wake her up!” the guard countered, seeming to have the perfect defense for everything he could come up with. “I was expecting her to fall, asleep, because she’s been exhausted for days after seeing you! This whole mess is all the way around, completely your fault!”

            Cody realized that Mora hadn’t been warning him not to bring her up because she might feel bad, but because she knew that her brother would find away to use it against him. And, since the rider had only thought that far ahead because it seemed like such a foolproof plan ahead of time, he had nothing to say in response. But that only seemed to worsen matters, after seeing the guard fuming afterwards.

            “It turned out alright, didn’t it?” Cody hated how weak the words came out, but it was too late.

            Mordon quickly said, “Only because I was here to save your sorry carcass! If it hadn’t been for me, your head probably would have been carried away on a spike by now!”