Dragon Tamer - Book 1

Chapter 23

The crystals began to appear after about ten minutes of walking, just as the light from the entrance had faded entirely. First they appeared as tiny lights high up in the ceiling then they slowly became more numerous, spreading across the walls in clusters until the whole cave was filled with them.

At one point Marcie found a lone crystal lying on the stone floor, about the length and width of her forearm, she picked it up and found it to be very warm to the touch and not as heavy as it looked, she considered it and the surrounding cave then placed it in her pack. 

The air began to get warmer, but it was not the stifling heat that she had encountered the first time she stumbled upon the cave, she wasn't sure what that meant.

Dara, impatient to see his mother and, Marcie sensed, a little worried, grabbed her trouser leg and began to tug her forward again until she carried on.

Marcie still felt that lead weight drop in the pit of her stomach when she saw the Dragon.

It was probably its huge scale and how very small it made her feel, she was not used to being intimidated, but here she didn't really have a chance. She was reasonable sure that the Dragon would not harm her,however that did not make the threat any less real and she was still, as much as it pained her to admit, very afraid of the deadly creature.

She drew near and Dara raced towards his mother, love for the elder Dragon melted away some of her fear and eased her nerves slightly. The two Dragons touched their noses together and the Mother made a rumbling sound of pleasure that shook the walls and made the Crystals tinkle. The Dragon then turned its enormous head in Marcie's direction and leaned towards her. Driven by some instinct Marcie reached forward her hand and touched the Dragons snout with the tips of her fingers. Two enormous red eyes stared at her intently and she felt a stab of pain over her heart, the same place where the strange black mark was, she winced but held still, then the Dragon bent its head slightly in a nod and Marcie lowered her arm. The Female shifted her body until she was facing Marcie square on and lowered her head to lay on her front legs, her eyes never leaving the tiny human in front of her, then she held still as if waiting. The force of its gaze was a little unsettling but Dara came to curl himself around her legs so Marcie though she might as well make herself comfortable, she took off her pack and set it down, then took off her bow and quiver, placing it next to her out of habit and settled herself on the floor her legs crossed, Dara came and curled himself in her lap, he yawned flashing tiny but sharp fangs and snuggled in closer, closing his eyes.

Marcie looked up from him to find the Mother Dragon's eyes still on her, she thought that this may be a good time to get some answers. She opened her mouth but found she couldn't think of what to say, what did you say to a creature big enough to eat you in less than a gulp? The Dragon just carried on staring at her unblinkingly, it turned its head slowly to the side regarding her. Marcie took in a slow breath then breathed out.

"I..."she swallowed "What have you done to me?" she said quietly,

The Dragon blinked,

"I mean..." Marcie tried again, "I came here and then suddenly I wake up at home and I'm different, I can do things I never could before, I feel strange and I can feel Dara-I mean-your son, I can feel what he's feeling and I..." she trailed off. Dara, she realised, had fallen asleep, his breathing was slow and steady, his back rising and falling gently, he was very warm.

The Dragon eased its head forward more, until it was very near. Marcie again lifted her hand and placed the tips of her trembling finger's on the Mother's snout.

 A pressure filled her head like the worst headache she had experienced, and through the pain she felt a presence that was not Dara enter her mind. She knew it was not Dara because it was huge.