Page 37 of Consort's Dragon
“Dragon blood to paralyze Zhos so as to facilitate its removal.And lastly, a dragon is needed whose task will be to carry Zhos through the rift that will form when our worlds align.”
“Why use a dragon?Can Zhos not just be tossed through once paralyzed?”
“The portal between our world and the other isn’t accessible from the ground but rather hangs midair.”
“Oh.”She chewed her lower lip.“Guess that explains why you want us to hatch a dragon, but why all four?”
“Backup.Between the blood needed to immobilize Zhos, as well as one of adequate size and character for transport, it seemed prudent to be sure we didn’t lack for one or the other.”
“Assuming they agree to help.”
“They won’t have a choice,” was his ominous reply.
Chapter9
Being abruptly yankedinto a building threw Griff off balance, but he recovered quickly.He started to swing his rusty sword when he heard a familiar voice.
“Whoa, it’s us, Cap!”a man yelled, and Griff abruptly halted his attempt to eviscerate his attacker.
The gloom inside prevented him from making out features, but he knew that voice.
“Kreed?Is that really you?”
“Aye, Cap.I’m here, as is Simhi and Monty,” Kreed exclaimed.“And might I say, I’m damned glad we found you alive.”
“You came.”He’d half wondered if they would risk it, and as he’d been reading to the dragon he’d blasted himself for being so selfish as to expect them to put themselves in danger for him.
“As if we wouldn’t come,” his old friend snorted.“Soon as I seen the smoke signal, I knew it had to be you.”
“He did,” Simhi confirmed.“And I called him an idiot, because we saw the dragon roast you.”
“Bah.I told them you weren’t dead.I could feel it in my bones,” Kreed stated, thumping his chest.
“How is it you’re alive?”Monty exclaimed.“How did you survive the dragon’s fire?
“I don’t know.”He didn’t remember it happening.However, their claim did explain his lack of clothes upon waking on that ledge.But how could he have emerged without even a single blister, considering his clothes had burned away?
“It’s ‘cause the cap’s made of steel,” Kreed boasted.“Gonna take more than a dragon to take him down.”
“Oh please,” Monty mocked.“You thought he was dead like the rest of us, or did you forget blubbering like a baby once we got back on the ship and relayed the news?”
“Did not,” Kreed huffed.
“Did too.”
Griff snorted.“If you’re done arguing, then I am curious.If you thought you saw me die, Simhi, why come back ashore?”
“Because someone was obviously alive,” Simhi explained.“And it didn’t seem right to leave them here.”
“You took a big risk.”
“Which paid off,” she countered.
“What if I’d been the enemy?”Griff pointed out.
“Then we’d have used them as bait to try and lure the dragon so we could kill it.”Monty struck a pose barely visible in the dark.
“Kill it with what?That thing’s covered in scales that act like armor.”Griff hated to poke holes in their suggestion, but they needed to understand the danger of their half-assed plan.
