Page 20 of Consorting with Dragons

Rylan

I was still shaken by the memories that had flooded into my head out on the dock, not to mention the beautiful little dragon hatchling that had dropped into my lap so unexpectedly. But I was determined to get someone to contact my parents as soon as possible. I could only imagine how upset and frantic my omak must be, along with the rest of my family, if they knew what had happened to me. I didn’t remember anything much after being grabbed by that soldier and hit in the head, and I had no idea what had become of my ship and the other members of my crew. No one had mentioned a word about that, or had they? Had I even been in my own ship? I couldn’t remember.

I still didn’t remember much about the actual attack, and I needed to know everything. The little creature on the docks had momentarily distracted me, but now I was almost frantic to speak to someone about it.

I could barely wait to get on the transport that was taking me to their base—that’s what the doctor had called it, anyway, telling me the Marshal General would be along soon to answer all my questions when they got me back.

They put me in a room on the base, one that had a big, wide bed, while I waited impatiently for the Marshal General, as it seemed no one did anything around there without his permission. Thankfully, I didn’t have too long to wait. I heard a commotion out in the corridor and then the door opened, and I was surprised to see not only the Marshal General, but the youngman from the docks following him, leading the little dragon hatchling on a harness with a leash.

I could already hear the hatchling’s loud and bitter complaints coming toward me.

“Where are you taking me? I want to go back. You said you’d take me to the one with the pretty hair. I want to seehim.You’re mean not to let me see him.”

The Marshal General, who was one of the ones the dragon was complaining to, along with the young man holding his leash, had red patches blooming on his cheeks, and his mouth was set in a grim line. He was walking stoically ahead of the little creature, as if trying to ignore the constant barrage of grievances coming from the little dragon. I had a feeling the dragon might have a bad temper, and this was hard for him. But I couldn’t help smiling as the little creature suddenly spotted me in bed and gave a sharp cry of excitement.

He began straining at the leash they had around his neck so much that I started to worry he might hurt himself. I got off the bed quickly and hurried over to him, kneeling down beside him and wincing a little when my ribs complained. The dragon’s little warm body wriggled into my arms as he laid his head on my shoulder.

“Where have you been? I couldn’t find you.” He turned and glared up at the one still holding onto his leash. I recognized him then as the young man I’d seen on the dock. “Andyou! Yousaid he’d left to go back home to his own planet. You lied to me.”

This was said with so much resentment and recrimination that the young man blushed hotly and glanced quickly over at the Marshal General.

“Oh no, dear,” I said, interrupting, the hatchling. “Don’t be angry about it. I did leave—not to go to my home but to come to the hospital here, because I’ve been sick. I’m sorry if you thought I was gone for good and got worried about me.”

“Are you still sick now?” the little dragon asked. “I don’t want you to leave me again.”

“Well, I…I do need to talk to the Marshal General, but you can stay here with me for a while, I think. If that’s all right with…” I glanced up at the young man still holding the leash, but he had turned his head and was refusing to look at either of us—me or the dragon—his face still bright red.

Thankfully, the Marshal General stepped in. “Go back to the ship, Worving. I’ll speak to you later.”

“Come along then, you,” he said, jerking at the strap around the dragon’s neck, as he tried to pull him away from me and hand him off to the Marshal General. “You’ve caused quite enough trouble as it is.”

Worving was being way too stern and rough with him, I thought, and I wondered why the General had chosen him to help the dragon in the first place. He was totally unfit to work with animals. I’d spent a great deal of time with our arrizes at home, helping to break in and train the young ones and just generally helping out in their stables. My omak rode almost daily, and he’d instilled the same love of animals in all of his sons. Anyway, I’d seen a lot of stable workers come and go over the years. Some people simply didn’t know how to work with animals, and it showed in the way they treated them. I had no idea why the General had this man taking care of the little dragon, but I could tell he was the wrong choice after just seconds in his company.

The dragon yelped at the rough treatment from Worving, and before I thought it through—which was how my father said I did most things—I walked over to yank the leash away from him. Then I sat down on the floor so the dragon could climb up into my lap.

“There’s no need to be so rough with him!” I shouted and wrapped my arms tightly around the dragon’s little golden neck.I heard him make a sound that was a little like a cross between a growl and a sob.

I patted him, and he nuzzled my neck again. Even the General smiled the tiniest bit. As for Worving—let’s just say he was not amused.

“You’ll spoil him if you keep that up,” he snapped at me. “He…”

“He just hatched and he’s a baby. My omak says you can’t spoil a baby.”

The General smiled and said, “Does he now? Well, that explains a lot.”

“What do you mean?”

He shook his head, and I might have taken offense if not for the little smile playing around his lips. “Never mind. You can leave now Worving. Wait for me outside.”

The horrible lieutenant left, and I remained on the floor with the dragon. I needed to talk to this general, and I had plenty to say. My memories were mostly back and I was upset and angry about this entire situation.

“Look, I’m sorry I had to bring the dragon here and bother you like this. I’ve just called the Training Facility and they’re on the way to get him. But he was insisting on seeing you and getting more and more agitated. Hopefully, the trainers will know what to do for him. I think that Lt. Worving and I have both agreed that he is not at all the right choice. The dragon has rejected him.”

“I see. He was a terrible choice in the first place. That baby deserves much better.”

“I know, but at the time I was desperate, and he was the only one who volunteered. The vetamis are known to choose their riders soon after they hatch. Usually we have someone standing by, ready to step in and interact with the hatchlings right away. They feed them and talk to them when they hatch, and theybond. That bond is almost unbreakable and lasts their whole lifetime. But it seems as if this little one saw you first and now nobody else will do.”

“Me? Oh no. That’s can’t work.” I looked up at him with hopeful eyes. “Can it?”

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