Page 28 of Henry & the Dragon
To what end? You should flee and seek help. You cannot best the dragon, and this folly will only end in your death, and then Kai and Dmitra will follow behind you.
At least they’d be together in the afterlife. Kai might not believe in it, and after their talk, Henry wasn’t truly certain what he believed anymore, but he had to hold on to something right now. The dragon lumbered toward them, its head low, the mouth open, showing yet another form of death the dragon could inflict.
He hurtled forward, sword at the ready. His mightiest blow was ineffectual, merely bouncing off the dragon’s scales. It swiped at him, but he dodged it. Barely. He doubted he would have the same luck a second time.
“Father, please. Don’t let her hurt my family.”
Perhaps his father was angry that Henry dared to love another man? Or maybe he’d offended his father. After all, he’d doted on Dmitra. Henry was usually told not to be underfoot when he tried to spend time with his Papa, but it was because the farm was a dangerous place, not because Papa didn’t want to see him. At least that was what he told himself on those cold nights in Neron’s back room.
Neron. The anger that had simmered in Henry’s mind flooded back. All he’d lost, including Kai. Everything that had happened to him was because of Neron. He deserved the fate he received, and Henry hoped if there was a Hell, Neron was roasting there for all eternity.
“Dragon, I give you a chance to flee. I will fight you to the death if I must.”
Bold words, but utterly futile. Without his father’s help, Henry couldn’t beat a dragon. He’d never seen a live one before, never had the chance to study it, to determine points where they would be vulnerable, if such spots even existed.
Even if Father wouldn’t help, Henry was committed to this course of action. He could not—would not—allow Kai to be harmed any further, and he would give his life for Dmitra in a heartbeat.
The dragon reared up, seeming to Henry to be nearly as tall as the mountain. Next to it, the sword was nothing more than a kitchen utensil. He gripped the pommel in both hands, ready to rush into battle once more, when he heard a soft voice.
“Henry….”
He glanced over and saw Kai staring up at him, but it wasn’t the Kai Henry remembered. Gone were the bright eyes, the healthy glow. Now he was waxy, nearly umber.
“Kai!”
“Henry, please…. Don’t….”
He groaned and clutched his chest, his eyes rolling back. “It’ll be okay. I’ll save you,” Henry vowed.
“No, you mustn’t. Please, don’t hurt her.”
Her? “Dmitra?”
“No, I beg you, Henry, my light, do not hurt my mother.”
“Your…”
The dragon slammed into Henry, knocking him away and sending him skittering across the stone floor before stomping toward Kai, where she lay beside him, and wrapped him protectively within her body.
The dragon was Kai’s mother? But…how?
Chapter 10
The dragon lay with her long, spiked tail curled around Kai, snarling and showing a fang that was larger than Kai’s arm. Mother always was overprotective. He placed a hand on her scales, relishing the warmth once again. When she’d left, his body temperature had dropped slowly, until he was afraid he might freeze to that spot. He couldn’t believe Henry was here! Then again, perhaps it was all a fevered dream, but he couldn’t allow even this version of Henry come to harm.
“Mother, no. Don’t hurt Henry. He is the one I love.”
It was the first time he’d spoken aloud of his love. He hadn’t even told Henry yet. He wondered how he’d react. Would it be possible for Henry to return his love? Kai’s head swam and he tried to keep from passing out once more. He couldn’t recall ever being so weak or feel so ill as the waves of pain radiated through him. Damn Neron. Bad enough the bandits shot him, but to use poison on their arrows? The man truly had no honor.
“Move out of the way!” Henry cried, pushing at the dragon’s tail. When she moved it aside, he rushed in and dropped down beside Kai the placed a hand on him. At Henry’s touch Kai’s skin no longer froze. Now it burned with a heat hotter than his mother’s fire. He was being consumed from the inside out. Torn apart, sundered. It was far more painful than the arrow had been.
“Going to die,” he whispered harshly. “Tell Henry—“
“Shut up!” Henry shouted. “Just…” Henry’s face contorted, as if in pain. “Please, remain quiet. Let me work. I have not traveled all this way, have not killed Neron, have not abandonedmy family, to have you die on me. Do you understand?” He turned his head. “Dmitra, I have need of your aid.”
The little girl Kai had noticed rushed over and took a spot beside Henry, ignoring mother completely. How incredibly brave she was.
“You must put your hands here and press as hard as you are able, do you understand?”
