Dragons Shining Read Free Page B

did not wish to give Owen the whole truth just yet. He would not mention Briana for a while yet, or give his mother’s name. He had not heard from Salece in some time. That was the price of going dark and hiding here in the tiny town of Fable’s Arch. “ I still do not know who was Owen’s father, because of that dangerous block in the boys mind ”, he thought. Vaness, the boy's mother, had supposedly sworn off having offspring after so many monstrous failures, and he wondered who or what could possibly have convinced that immortal creature otherwise.
     
    “Will I meet the others soon?” asked Owen.
     
    “Not yet. It is not safe”.
     
    “How old are you, Baird? You know so many things.”
     
    That caught Baird by surprise. “That’s none of your business, young man. Let’s just say I knew those two dying old vampire dragons in their youth. Come; let me teach you the calming spell. And tomorrow Dafford will begin your other lessons. The fire spell will be next, and many more after that. Dafford will make a great swordsman out of you, among other things. You have much to learn.”
     
    After Owen had left for home that day, Baird pondered what he had learned. Prior to this he had not reached into the boy’s mind, concerned that he might cause more harm than good. He had waited until Owen’s mind seemed strong enough, not wanting to repeat mistakes he barely remembered, with students of the past. Not remembering the details of how or why, he knew the limits that should not be ignored. “I have known many wizards and sorcerers. Few indeed have survived their own failings. Bad luck, haste, procrastination, greed, hate, jealousy, misplaced love, paralyzing fear, lack of confidence, or an excess thereof, laziness; all these and more have been the cause of early demise and failure. Only bad luck is incurable, yet proper care and preparation brings a good measure of luck in my experience. I will make certain that Owen is as prepared as he can be for what comes. Even the immense power I sense latent in the boy is no guarantee, if one or more of the possible failings causes this power to be unused or abused.”
     
     
    Elsie stomped and nearly kicked over the bucket. Owen calmed her again, coming out of his reverie. He finished milking her and brought the milk down into the deep cooling shelter where it would stay until needed. The cellar was cut with switchbacks deep into bedrock. The temperature never changed down there, and it was packed with winter ice as well, much of which lasted through the summer. It was discovered years after the farm was first created, long ago, a product of some earlier age.
     
    Next he disturbed the hens long enough to get the hot eggs out from under them and pack them into cartons for pickup later in the day.
     
    He fetched the big thoroughbred Softy from his stall and was moving him to a temporary stall when the horse reared, broke free from him and ran toward the barn door. Owen turned to see a large serpent striking for his face. His hand was a blur as he caught the big snake behind his fanged head and held on for dear life. It was a big snake, six feet or more, and strong. Its tail was coiled around the stall post. Something tore free from the binding that held it so tightly deep within him, and Owen stretched and roared. His clothes shredded as his body changed. The glamour shattered, and a young red and white Dragon stood in his place. Softy reared and pounded his hooves against the closed barn door, and the other animals went crazy in their stalls. Owen held the snake with his front talons and ripped it from the post, consuming it live except for its head. He entered the stall and curled into its corner, shaking, as his dragon form folded back into elf. It was a while before he managed to place the glamour back on, and fetch new clothes from the house. He barely had time to calm the animals and muck the stalls before Paw and Tom showed up with the big wagon full of corn and the