Dragon Talker Read Free Page A

with my family back at the village? This last thought was the one he kept coming back to. Would I be alive to share it?
    All three men looked to the north as they heard a screech that could only come from a dragon. “We are right here with you,” the mayor called over his shoulder as he and Lindale walked quickly to the edge of the field, not quite disappearing into the surrounding trees.
    That doesn’t really seem “with” me , Yuri thought, but quickly forgot about it as he walked away from the boulder and to the center of the field. No matter where they were, he would be alone at the end, face to face with a dragon. Each step seemed to be harder than the last. Dragon magic , he wondered, or just the fact that he didn’t want to die? “Ah, to stones with it,” he said to the wind. “All right, Elder Dragon, come on and make your decision.” It helped him walk not faster, but a little less timidly.
    The dragon must have been flying low, because one minute, Yuri was looking at empty skies, and the next, a huge, blue dragon was flaring its wings out, catching air to slow it down as it landed in front of him. It was so sudden Yuri wondered if it hadn’t just jumped out from behind the trees. The ground trembled at the impact of its landing, and Yuri wobbled but kept his balance. Everything became quiet – birds, insects, animals, pretty much anything with a heartbeat usually hunkers down and tries to be invisible when a dragon is in the area.
    Yuri wanted to do the same, but Samora, the name it shared with the last talker, was spreading its wings and scrutinizing Yuri. First, it leaned forward with its left eye, moving its head to within inches of Yuri’s face. Yuri tucked his chin to his chest and closed his eyes. Samora snorted, and Yuri brought his head back up. When, he thought, do you get to see a dragon’s head this close?  As the dragon turned his head to get a look with its other eye, Yuri saw what looked like a small bit of black blood dripping from one of the dragon’s nostrils.  It couldn’t be, though , he thought, because dragons don’t die, so how could one have a nosebleed? Then Yuri remembered the answer to when you get to see a dragon this close: you get to see a dragon’s head this close right before it eats you. He bent his head back down.
    Even with his eyes closed, he could see the dragon in front of him. He knew which sound was the ruffling of the dragon’s wings, which was the shuffling of its feet, and which was it taking a giant sniff of him. The force of that sniff almost pulled Yuri off of his feet. He reached out to keep his balance and found himself placing his hand on the bottom of the dragon’s left nostril. The dragon’s lips pulled back, showing three foot long fangs up front and a row of teeth that looked like a row of miniature mountains. Yuri slowly pulled his hand back, hoping not to find himself pierced by fangs or crunched between upper and lower mountain ranges that were the dragon’s back teeth. His fingers came back wet, covered in a thick black liquid.
    The dragon pulled back and rested on its haunches. Still with his head down, Yuri lifted one eye and looked at the dragon. Sitting back like that, Yuri thought it looked almost comical, like a fat cat leaning up against a wall. Instantly, Samora dropped down on all fours. Yuri had the sudden feeling that Samora knew what he was thinking. Dragon-like , he corrected in his thoughts, very dragon-like. Not like a cat at all. Like a massive, blue, scaly, strong, dragon . All thoughts of the dragon’s nose and the blood on his hand disappeared. He thought about living and whether he would be able to continue doing it.
    This not-like-a-cat-at-all dragon leaned forward, bringing its face once again next to Yuri’s. Its breath was ice-cold, like mountaintop wind. At first, Yuri felt his facial skin tighten, burn, and then go numb. Samora stepped back. As it