Wild Rider (Dragon Castaway Book 1) [Complete] {2018 Wattys Longlist}

Chapter 37

"Dammit!" Jake thought eyeing yet another vertical cliff in disappointment. He'd been searching almost non-stop for the last few days, but it had been one failure after another. There just didn't seem to be a suitable place in this region for him to call home in the long term.

He had been tempted to try and have the twins dig a burrow out of one of the cliffs. But those hopes had been dashed when he'd realized that most of the stone in this region was loose shale. If he made a cave out of that shit then so much as breathed the wrong way he'd be crushed under tons of rock.

"There really was no place like home" he thought, sighing heavily as he brought the twins around for another pass and his eyes raked over a new set of escarpments. Nothing jumped out at him however and as the sun began to reach its zenith, he decided to land and reconsider his options. He reasoned that he could always move on if the region proved completely unsuitable.

Descending rapidly, he brought the twins down into the grove that had been their home since he'd arrived in the highlands. It was still adequate for the time being, but he'd be way too exposed if he was still there when the seasons changed, provided he was still in a temperate zone. The cartography in this world was sketchy at best and you could forget about latitude lines.

"Well, sorry again kids" he said as wave sympathy hit him. Pulling his tomahawk from his hip, he grabbed a small log and began to chop it into kindling.

It was a strange thing, surviving out in the wild. He had spent the last two years alternately getting used to the strange mix of the uncertainty of the future and the boring tedium of the present. It was very different than the controlled environments he'd seen on TV.

"Of course they didn't have flying, fire breathing tanks to help them hunt or massacre threats either" he thought morbidly.

Picking up his new kindling he began to make his way over towards his new woodpile. Jake dropped the sticks and stopped dead in his tracks as he felt a surge of warning come from the twins. Another dragon was nearby, and it was close. Had Wyena sold him out after all? He didn't even want to consider the implications if she had.

Grabbing his bow, he cautiously moved towards the edge of the grove and scanned the sky. Sure enough, a dragon was making passes above. He stared, confused when he glanced around and determined that there was only a single dragon and rider.

"If they know that I'm here then why would they only send a single rider?" Jake thought puzzled as he reached out to the twins. His confusion only increased after they confirmed that the rider was indeed alone. Beyond that their senses told him that that they had met this particular dragon before.

"Could it be Wyena?" he thought as his heart began to beat faster. He wished he had a pair of binoculars as he squinted his eyes, trying to get a better look. As the dragon came back around Jake was able to get a closer look and tensed slightly as he remembered where he'd seen it before. It was the bronze dragon that belonged to Wyena's dark-skinned squad mate.

Jake hesitated for a moment, then decided that if the man was here to make trouble he would've brought backup with him.

Stepping out from cover he signaled to Ragnarok who burst out of the trees and sped towards the man before abruptly doubling back with the rider following him. The bronze dragon swooped in low and landed in the clearing front of them while Ragnarok landed behind Jake and took up a defensive position.

"Greetings" Jake said evenly as the man dismounted and bowed formally to him. "I must admit this is far more cordial than the last time we met."