gave you the dragon talker necklace to wear?”
“Sort of.”
“Hental?” A tone of reproach entered Agardia’s voice.
“Well, not really, but he did give it to me to hold…and then I put it on.” Hental was sitting up straighter, as if telling the tale was making him lighter. “It was horrible. I put it on and then I felt like I was Samora, and she was eating!”
Agardia asked, “What happened then?
“Well, she ate this weird man, and it tasted gross…and his bones crunched.” He grimaced at the memory, but the grimace was short lived. “And then, I was flying! That part was cool, but I was, she was looking for this wolf, and she ate him!”
His parents exchanged looks. They both knew that was no wolf, but dragon villages didn’t talk about dogs, and there was no reason to burden Hental with that information. Agardia asked, “How long did you wear the necklace?”
“Ummm….a while.”
“Hental,” Tadeus’s voice became more stern, “now is not the time to exaggerate.” At this, Hental made a face, reacting as if he was just insulted. His father smiled and lightened his tone, “Hental, I love you but you do tell a great tale. This is serious. I need you to answer as accurately as you can.”
“If I think real hard, I’d say it was about 2 heartbeats. Yuri tackled me and took it right away when I put it on…he should be punished for that.”
“Maybe, Hental... You had it on for just a moment but you felt all these things that lasted longer, right?
“Oh yeah, I felt stuff all the way until I got home.”
“Do you feel anything now?” Tadeus was trying to figure out what to make of this. A lost or misused dragon necklace usually meant bad things for the village of its owner. The two people with the most knowledge of the subject were dead.
Hental climbed out of his father’s lap, pushing off against his stomach with one hand as he wiped away his last tears with the other. Tadeus just shook his head in wonder.
“Just hungry. Can I eat early?”
“Hental, only you can go from feeling terrible for eating a person to eating dinner early so fast.”
“You hush,” Agardia interjected, “of course you can, Hental. You did the right thing talking to us. You let us know if you get any more feelings, okay?
“Okay Mom, I will.”
Agardia patted him on the head and mouthed one word to Tadeus, she , before returning to the table.
Tadeus raised his shoulders in an I-don’t-know gesture in answer and joined them at the table.
Chapter 11
As Yuri headed east, pulled by something he couldn’t name, he thought of Hental. I should really go home and see how he is, but Dad will take care of him, and if Samora is eating people, I better find out what the tail I can do to make sure she doesn’t start eating anyone from the village. As these thoughts raced through his mind, Yuri appreciated the weight of the pack, holding him low to the ground.
As the miles stretched behind him, Yuri began to relax. At least , he thought, I’m moving. Standing around waiting was driving me crazy . Mandan was surrounded by mountains, and he was heading in the one direction that lead to the only open plain out of the valley. Other directions had small mountain passes, five trails requiring different levels of physical ability and knowledge. Yuri wasn’t afraid of them, but he didn’t complain that he was being pulled east.
That night, Yuri set up a fire and a small lean-to. He had spent time alone in the woods before, but never with his return in question. It would take another two days walking to get to the plain and another day to get to the first major village, Vrotsim. What he would find there, he didn’t know. Yuri took stock of his equipment by the light of the fire. In addition to some locally made items he kept to trade, he had his bow with 20 arrows, some still needing feathers for accuracy, the knife his father gave him, a spoon carved out of the
“Sort of.”
“Hental?” A tone of reproach entered Agardia’s voice.
“Well, not really, but he did give it to me to hold…and then I put it on.” Hental was sitting up straighter, as if telling the tale was making him lighter. “It was horrible. I put it on and then I felt like I was Samora, and she was eating!”
Agardia asked, “What happened then?
“Well, she ate this weird man, and it tasted gross…and his bones crunched.” He grimaced at the memory, but the grimace was short lived. “And then, I was flying! That part was cool, but I was, she was looking for this wolf, and she ate him!”
His parents exchanged looks. They both knew that was no wolf, but dragon villages didn’t talk about dogs, and there was no reason to burden Hental with that information. Agardia asked, “How long did you wear the necklace?”
“Ummm….a while.”
“Hental,” Tadeus’s voice became more stern, “now is not the time to exaggerate.” At this, Hental made a face, reacting as if he was just insulted. His father smiled and lightened his tone, “Hental, I love you but you do tell a great tale. This is serious. I need you to answer as accurately as you can.”
“If I think real hard, I’d say it was about 2 heartbeats. Yuri tackled me and took it right away when I put it on…he should be punished for that.”
“Maybe, Hental... You had it on for just a moment but you felt all these things that lasted longer, right?
“Oh yeah, I felt stuff all the way until I got home.”
“Do you feel anything now?” Tadeus was trying to figure out what to make of this. A lost or misused dragon necklace usually meant bad things for the village of its owner. The two people with the most knowledge of the subject were dead.
Hental climbed out of his father’s lap, pushing off against his stomach with one hand as he wiped away his last tears with the other. Tadeus just shook his head in wonder.
“Just hungry. Can I eat early?”
“Hental, only you can go from feeling terrible for eating a person to eating dinner early so fast.”
“You hush,” Agardia interjected, “of course you can, Hental. You did the right thing talking to us. You let us know if you get any more feelings, okay?
“Okay Mom, I will.”
Agardia patted him on the head and mouthed one word to Tadeus, she , before returning to the table.
Tadeus raised his shoulders in an I-don’t-know gesture in answer and joined them at the table.
Chapter 11
As Yuri headed east, pulled by something he couldn’t name, he thought of Hental. I should really go home and see how he is, but Dad will take care of him, and if Samora is eating people, I better find out what the tail I can do to make sure she doesn’t start eating anyone from the village. As these thoughts raced through his mind, Yuri appreciated the weight of the pack, holding him low to the ground.
As the miles stretched behind him, Yuri began to relax. At least , he thought, I’m moving. Standing around waiting was driving me crazy . Mandan was surrounded by mountains, and he was heading in the one direction that lead to the only open plain out of the valley. Other directions had small mountain passes, five trails requiring different levels of physical ability and knowledge. Yuri wasn’t afraid of them, but he didn’t complain that he was being pulled east.
That night, Yuri set up a fire and a small lean-to. He had spent time alone in the woods before, but never with his return in question. It would take another two days walking to get to the plain and another day to get to the first major village, Vrotsim. What he would find there, he didn’t know. Yuri took stock of his equipment by the light of the fire. In addition to some locally made items he kept to trade, he had his bow with 20 arrows, some still needing feathers for accuracy, the knife his father gave him, a spoon carved out of the
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