Page 11 of Dragon Heir

“But you found the wagon that kidnapped me that one time,” I pointed out.

He nodded. “The wagon’s suspicious speed and your scent allowed me to catch you that time. In this instance, we may not even have the quick carriage. A furious driver would attract attention and since our foe is so eager to remain anonymous I doubt they will be so hasty.”

“Then what do we do? Scour the area ourselves?” Ware snapped.

“Oh no!” Vargas mused as she flexed one foot and winced. “All I desire is a warm bath for my feet, not a chill flight over these dank forests.”

* * *

Will raised his fingers to his mouth and whistled. I lifted my eyebrows at him as the sound rang loud and clear up and down the road.

Allard turned to him and frowned. “What have you called?”

“A friend,” Will answered as he lifted his eyes to the sky.

We all waited in breathless anticipation for an explanation. It came in the form of a loud shriek of a bird that filled the void left by Will’s quieted whistle. That was followed by the loud flap of wings and a shadow flew across the ground where we stood. A sharp wind struck us and my hair whipped my face.

Vargas cried out and clapped her hands against her inappropriate dress to keep the hem from flying up. She whipped her head up and glared at Will. “What is the meaning of this, Lord Thorn?”

Ware’s bulging eyes stared dumbfounded up at the sky. A few hushed words left his parted lips. “My God. A venera. I thought they were all extinct.”

“Only in this area,” Will mused with a smile on his lips.

The creature returned and hovered over us. My mouth dropped open as I beheld a large eagle like those that inhabited the northern stretches of the Rohkea Vali. The difference between the canyon eagles and the one that slowly lowered itself toward the road was the color of the plumage. This one sported soft gray colors mixed with a rainbow tail that reminded me of the legendary phoenix. A great tuft of the plumage started atop its head and flowed down the back of its neck like a fluffy mane to cover half its backside.

I caught Will’s eye and pointed at the bird. “But isn’t that one of the-” He pressed a finger to his lips and winked at me. I finally got the hint and clapped my mouth shut.

Ware was too distracted by the landing of the bird to care what I said. He practically skipped over to the creature as it landed with cool elegance. The dragon lord stretched out his hand to brush his fingers against the creature’s plumage, but the eagle narrowed its eyes and snapped at his hand. Ware jerked it back as the bird continued to glare at him.

“You wreak of animal blood, dragon,” the eagle growled.

Ware cradled his uninjured hand in his other palm and glared back at the creature. “Of course. I am a hunter.”

The eagle looked him up and down with a keen focus on the dragon’s stomach. “And you appear to eat all of your sport.”

Ware’s cheeks turned red and he took a step toward the beast. “Why you filthy-”

“Wait a moment,” Allard scolded him as he grabbed Ware’s arm and pressed his palm against the angry dragon’s chest. “You forget yourself, counselor. We are in Lord Thorn’s domain and cannot harm any of his subjects unless to defend ourselves.”

“I would defend my dignity,” Ware muttered as he cast a dark look at the bird.

“I have no idea why you believe this creature should be hunted,” Vargas spoke up as she sauntered over to the bird. The eagle watched her but didn’t move as she admired his plumage with an appreciative smile. “You are absolutely lovely the way you are. Are your feathers as soft as they appear?”

“Softer,” the eagle replied.

Her eyes lit up. “May I touch them?”

The eagle nodded. “You may.”

While she stroked the eagle’s long mane of feathers, Allard turned to Will. “Do you expect the bird to track the roads across your kingdom?”

Will smiled and shook his head. “No, I expect its company to do the tracking for me.”

“Company?” I repeated.

A sudden scream from Vargas forced our attention back to the eagle. The dragon woman stumbled back and fell onto her rear. She furiously shook her hand and something flew off one of her fingers and sailed over to Allard where it landed on his shoulder. The usually stoic doctor jerked back as the thing latched onto him.

“Don’t you dare throw me away!” a tiny voice squeaked.

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