Raven's Hand (27 page)

I was a Daughter of Eliam, but I had no idea
how my powers might defend against this ferocious beast. Killian
carried a sword blessed by the Almighty himself, but he did not
dare to test its ability now. Just seeing it coming down upon the
temple had scared us to death.

We ran, but it did us no good. The dragon
smashed into the ground, shaking the entire temple complex. Stones
toppled from the ancient walls. Killian and I became trapped as one
of its great leathery wings enveloped us.

We stopped where we were. It had not harmed
us, yet, but how long would it be before death came in the form of
monstrous teeth and claws, or worse? We might be consumed in
unquenchable flame.

I watched as the creature craned its head to
look in upon us under its wing. Its expression was almost human. A
terrible anger lay in its features, but it did not harm us.

The massive head turned again. The entire
form of the dragon had transformed since it came down. Where its
scales had been mostly colored by our surroundings before, now they
were a pale silvery white. Despite my terror, I recognized the
beauty of this dragon.

The beast looked toward the remains Killian
and I had just found a moment ago. I had no idea why it would do
this, but an idea was dawning. This was confirmed when the dragon
cried out again over Shalindra’s remains.

Anguish and despair.

These were the emotions clearly emanating
from this majestic creature. It was crying out for Shalindra’s
loss. I laid my hand upon the leathery membrane of its sheltering
wing and felt raw emotion invade my mind like a sudden storm.

Tears ran down my face almost instantly. I
had to shut my eyes in order to control myself. I felt weak and
would have fallen had Killian not caught me in strong caring
arms.

My contact with the dragon was broken, but
the maelstrom of emotion remained. This creature was heartbroken
for Shalindra’s demise. What it could not express, due to being a
dragon, came rushing out of me in the form of great sobs.

I felt Killian’s arms tense around me. When I
looked up at him, he was looking over me toward the dragon’s head.
I followed his gaze and found the creature’s face there peering
beneath its wing at us.

The anger in its expression had faded. I felt
a connection now. I could sense emotion and more than that. I laid
my hand upon the underside of the wing again and its thoughts came
through again. Only this time, the emotions were under more
control.

The beast turned, its sheltering wing
uncovering us as it swept away. The dragon extended to us both of
its fore-claws. Each was broad enough to hold an adult person. The
question was, would it crush us in its anger over Shalindra’s
death?

I could sense its intent. There was no malice
toward us, only heartache for the priestess and anger toward those
who had done this heinous deed. Clearly, it wanted us to climb
inside those huge claws. But then what? Anything might happen. I
had no reason to trust this beast, but I felt that I should.

Then images came into my mind from the
dragon—images of happier days flying with Shalindra, battling long
dead foes with the priestess. This dragon was hers—not a pet, but a
friend. He had been her only real companion.

“We must go with him,” I said, moving out of
Killian’s embrace.

“What?” he asked. “You’re joking.”

I took him by the hand. “No,” I said. “We can
trust him. He has been Shalindra’s friend for decades. We must go
with him now.”

Killian looked between the dragon’s looming
face and mine. Then he consented, helping me into the right claw
before he climbed into the left. Gently, the dragon closed its
scaly fingers until we were protected in living cages made of
dragon bones and impenetrable serpentine scales.

The massive wings beat the air with
increasing intensity. Then we were ascending into the sky, leaving
the ruins of Eliam’s Brine Wood temple in our cyclonic wake. What
trap had been waiting on us there, I had no idea, but we were safe
for the moment.

Judah cursed and beat his fist against the
trunk of a tree in his frustration. The girl had actually come to
the temple trying to find Eliam’s priestess. It was just as he had
assumed. His Cindermen soldiers had been ready to spring upon her
and the boy, but the dragon had come out of nowhere to sweep them
away.

Cindermen were fierce, and there was none as
brave among them as their leader. However, Judah was no fool.
Attempting to kill a dragon—especially one that already appeared to
be agitated—was pure insanity. With the meager weapons they now
carried with them, he and his men would have stood no chance at all
of capturing the girl.

Fearing his wrath, none of his men spoke to
the obvious problem. They had come to the temple, and the priestess
was now dead, but Judah’s goal of using the girl as a bargaining
tool had been foiled. They had no way of following the beast, no
foreseeable way of getting her now.

Judah fumed silently, his gaze boring into
the image of the dragon as its scales changed to reflect the clouds
and sky. In seconds it was virtually invisible again. The girl was
the key to gaining the upper hand. He had to have her under his
control. He had to find a way.

Kane’s army from House Turine waited to the
west of Rainier. They would surely have been spotted were it not
for the fact that the assassin had either bought off Rainier’s
outlying scouts or replaced them directly with men of his own
choosing. Either way, House Rainier was set to be besieged.

Judah considered his predicament. He was
supposed to be there—he and his Cindermen—in order to play a vital
role in Kane’s plan for the city. He was unsure whether to go on to
the camp or rebel outright against the Turine heir. If he rebelled,
he would have to face him sooner or later, and it was unlikely he
would win the contest. Still, Kane wasn’t the only human he could
make alliances with.

Judah grinned, turning suddenly to his men
waiting in the trees with him. “We go to the city of Auturn and the
mighty host at Lord Grayson’s command.”

Look for the second book in Raven’s
Chronicle: coming late 2015 – 2016

Also look for Raven’s Hand soon in audiobook
format on audible.com, amazon.com, Itunes.com

James Somers thanks you for reading!