Page 130 of Tashama
“You’ll never be able to fight the dragon,” the elf said.
“He’s a thief. If any can slip in undetected, the young man can,” Tashama said.
They waited for ten minutes, then the dragon roared. The elf said, “He has been doing that several times a day. The wounded heart is the worst any creature can bear.”
When they saw the thief running out of the cave, his colorless face showed he had failed in his mission. Tashama sighed deeply. “We must convince the female he is worthy.”
She nodded at the elf, then headed south.
Aleron and Jaran joined her while the elves stayed behind. Aleron frowned. “They will not aid us?”
“They wish us every success.”
“But they will not aid us?”
“They cannot interfere where the dragons are concerned. Unfortunately, if we cannot succeed, we will all have failed. If only a simpler potion would have sufficed.”
“I take it there is a female in this direction?”
“The Elorians said she is the one who rejected their dragon, yes.” Tashama surveyed the mountains for signs of her.
“If you can convince her she should unite with him, I will have to tell Carissian you are indeed more powerful than he,” Aleron said.
“Ah, but have you ever asked him if he could do such a deed? Perhaps he can as well.”
Aleron chuckled. “I don’t believe he would think it was something his job required of him.”
“What do you propose to do, my lady?” Jaran asked.
“Sweet words and comforting actions are what women like to receive from their prospective mates.”
The thief scratched his head. “She is not human.”
“What if we were to wound her slightly?” Aleron asked.
“Then the male will come to her rescue…”
Tashama took a deep breath. “If she did not finish us off, he would. Of course, their interest in each other would produce offspring, but it wouldn’t do us any good.”
“What if we were to steal something of hers?” the thief asked.
Tashama shook her head. “Same result, I’m afraid.”
She studied the ridge looming before them and pointed at her silvery-green scales, the sun reflecting off them like a mirror of shimmering light. “There she is, just on the tip of that peak right in the middle.”
“What is she doing?” the thief asked.
“Studying us,” Aleron replied.
Tashama sat on the grass. “The male has done something to perturb her. No other males are around for miles…so the Elorians have told me. The dragons’ urge to mate is as great as that of many of the beasts of the forests. But they’re a sensitive lot and he might have offended her.”
Aleron poked his boot in the dirt next to Tashama’s knee as he smiled at her. “Such as?”
“He moved too quickly with her, perhaps? He demanded something of her that she wasn’t willing to give up freely?”
Aleron shook his head. “Dragons aren’t like people.”
“I had one as a pet dragon once—Loralee.” Tashama ran her hand over the top of the grass, allowing it to tickle the palm of her hand. “She was offended when I tossed a ball to one of my handmaidens, and the girl missed it, and it hit Loralee on the nose. She sulked for a whole day over the incident, no matter how much I tried to convince her it was an accident.”
