The Dragon’s Treasure Read Free Page A

boy’s body, leaving a frail five year old in its wake. How something had ravaged his young body so quickly was too much to contemplate. Too weak to move or stand without assistance, Caden now relied on his sister for even the smallest of tasks.
    Soon though, she would come of age and no longer be able to care for him as she had been. She wondered if there was a husband somewhere, a lord perhaps, that would allow her to bring her brother with her to his home. She sighed miserably into the boy’s protruding shoulder blades. Probably not.
    It was at this moment when her contemplations couldn’t seem to possibly get any worse when her older brother Andrew decided to make his appearance. Without bothering to knock, he swept into the room. “The boy is old enough to sleep by himself, Bella. You should not be here,” he scolded.
    She pressed herself tighter against the boy’s small frame and glared angrily up at him at him.
    “Don’t give me that look, girl. You are not the spoiled child any longer and so will not be endured as one.”
    Sitting up swiftly, her eyes narrowed on her brother. “If I am no longer a child, Andrew, do not call me girl . And my name has never, and will never be Bella,” she challenged back.
    He merely rolled his eyes at her and cast another scornful look at their brother. Or rather, his half-brother since he and they had different mothers. It was something he never let her forget. “How is he today?” His voice softened slightly, but it was still not enough to shift her attention from the glare she had fixed him with.
    “No better, no worse,” she answered quickly.
    “I don’t like this, Bella. You should not be so attached to him. No good will come of this,” he said gently but in a voice that allowed no argument.
    “And what would you have me do, oh brother dearest? What in your twenty-four years of infinite wisdom would you ask of me? Do you wish me to move on? Forget him? Let him die and hope that he finds peace in that?”
    Isabelle bit back the tears, forcefully shaking her head to rid herself of those thoughts. She would not think on this today or any other day. Her brother would get better.
    “Yes,” Andrew admitted quietly. He pressed on, despite the building anger and resentment in her eyes. “He is beyond hope, Isabelle. The last healer, the one that has been with our family for countless numbers of years, finally left today out of sadness and frustration. Surely with all of the healers that have seen him, all the sorceresses that have spoken over him, all of the wizards that I paid sufficient sums of money to, you can see that by now? Every one of them, every last one, has come up with the same conclusion. Whatever this illness is that Caden has, we have learned very few things since discovering that he was sick shortly after birth. It has been years since he was born and we are no closer to finding out what this illness is, much less a way to cure it. I think it is safe to say that there is nothing we can do for him anymore. I am sorry,” he finished softly.
    She continued to glare at him, though her eyes were growing wetter by the moment. “We can get more people to see him, I’m sure more will come. There is always hope,” she said quietly.
    He sighed and shook his head, gently trying to convince her of a fact he was so sure of. “There is no one else to ask, Isabelle. Please learn to accept this. Don’t make this harder on yourself than necessary.”
    “I’m sure there are other people to ask! You haven’t asked everyone yet have you?” she shot back at him. She spared a glance for the silent body under her trembling palm. Caden became more comfortable in the bed, but had not yet woken. It was a miracle really, considering how loud they were being.
    “There is no one left to ask. The faster you accept this the happier you’ll be.”
    Isabelle searched her mind frantically for an answer, something, anything that would give her hope and make her brother see