Tail of the Dragon by Craig Halloran Page B

to rule the dragons, not the other races as well. They’ll be just fine without you, Nath.”
    “I suppose.”
    “And if you spent more time among your kind, I’m certain you’d be enlightened.” She ran her tail under his chin. Her eyes smiled into his. “But I envy you, Nath. You understand what it’s like to be both man and dragon. And you have true friends among all the races. Consider it a precious gift. It will give you wisdom that others have never had.”
    “If you say so.” He flexed his bad wing again. “Honestly, please stick around. Not being able to fly is going to be hard enough. And I’m never going to hear the end of this from Brenwar.”
    “You’re such a child sometimes,” Selene said, “but lucky for you I like it. So I’ll come along, but only for a bit.”
    Yes! Pulling his shoulders back and heading back down over the hillside with a bounce in his step, Nath said, “Well, come on, then.”
    On foot it took a few hours to get back to the general area where he’d last seen Brenwar. Putting his nose to the dirt, it wasn’t long before Nath found his oldest friend’s scent. “It won’t be long now.” But an hour later, Nath lost the scent. A sinking feeling crept into him. “Selene, do you smell anything?”
    She shook her head. “I sense nothing.”

 
    CHAPTER 15
     
     
    The vanishing of Brenwar made for a long day—and days were usually nothing to a dragon. Nath ripped another tree out of the ground and flung it away.
    “Nath,” Selene said, “You can’t check underneath everything. Least of all the roots beneath the trees. I’m certain there’s a reasonable explanation for it.” She stroked his back with her tail. “Take a breath and let things come to you.”
    Nath pushed some moss-covered boulders aside. Worms and insects scurried deep into the dirt. “Ah!” He rolled the rocks back into place. “Blast!”
    “Nath, we will find him,” Selene said, being reassuring. “I’m certain of it.”
    He wanted to agree with her, he really did, but Brenwar’s disappearance left him feeling empty inside. Guilt swelled inside him. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing his friend again. After all, Brenwar had almost died once already. Looking at Selene, a thought occurred to him. He couldn’t help but let it out. With wary eyes he said, “It’s been a strange series of circumstances.”
    Selene sat back on her haunches, crushing the brush underneath her tail. “What do you mean?”
    “Well, let me put it together for you. I get a clue about where to find my mother. Not long after that, the wurmers show up, followed by the sudden appearance of you, and now Brenwar disappears.”
    Selene’s dragon face darkened. “Are you suggesting I had something to do with this?”
    “A wise king wouldn’t rule out the possibility.”
    “A wise king wouldn’t insult his friends!” she fired back.
    “Oh yes, a friend who created the draykis, who was willing to let loose the wurmers on dragonkind.” He shook his head. “Huh. Not to mention that you don’t want any help. Look, Selene, you have to admit, is that not the least bit suspicious?”
    She leaned toward him and said with her razor-sharp claws extended, “I ought to rip your tongue out. I just saved your life, you fool.”
    “Fool!”
    Nose to nose, she added, “Do I need to say it in the seven languages to you?”
    He bared his teeth. “You do not speak to me that way!”
    “And you shouldn’t speak to anyone that way.”
    “Hah! Like you care! This, coming from someone who killed if someone batted an eyelash at you. And you dare to judge me?”
    Air rife with tension, Selene cut loose. Her tail lashed out, smiting Nath across his cheek.
    Whap!
    Nath shook it off. His eyes blazed with fury. He rose up to his full height, towering over her. “Why did you do that?”
    “Because if you unleashed one more insult like that, I was going to try and kill you.”
    “Really?” Nath growled.
    “Really!” Selene