sometime.
“Do we have a deal?” he said. His words were slow like he was speaking to a child.
“Yes,” I stated. I put my head in my hands, shaking my head in despair.
“Relax. You’ll hardly even notice me. I bet I could even get you to every place you need to go!”
“That’s great and all,” I replied, “but you’ll bring nothing but trouble. Honestly, I already find you extremely annoying.”
“That hurts, Adrian. It really does.”
I groaned. “Damn it,” I swore. That’s when I noticed Gabrielle. Of course she got impatient. She was too curious. I motioned her to come over. Noah wouldn’t attack her, not with our agreement. “Gabrielle, come here and meet our newest traveling companion.”
While Noah and Gabrielle were getting acquainted, I realized there were holes in his story. What did he believe I could do for him? His sister was Greed, and he was becoming Wrath. He’d implied that he could beat me in a fight. Why not just kidnap Gabrielle and hold her hostage? Or kill me?
Gabrielle gave me a panicked look. “The guy’s a dragon,” I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Yeah, I know.”
Then she screamed.
Noah covered his ears, wincing in pain. “She’s almost as bad as a banshee!” he called to me. I was slightly amused, though my sensitive ears could barely take the noise. I snuck up behind Gabrielle and covered her mouth with my hand, successfully muffling the noise.
“This guy is going to be our way across this desert. I know your feet are still sore.” I glanced down at them. They were healed. “Well maybe not, but they could get like that again if we don’t let this guy fly us.”
Gabrielle blushed profusely. I released her, and she bowed. “I apologize,” she said. “Thank you for doing us such a kind favor.”
Oh, he was kind all right. That was only if “kind” meant “snake.” Noah looked pleased anyway. “No problem. Try not to do that again though. We could fall right out of the sky.”
She nodded, avoiding eye contact. She hadn’t been that shy with me. Was he intimidating her? Or was it something else?
Suddenly I needed the conversation to end. “Hey, how much can you carry?”
“I’m a gold dragon,” he stated simply.
Golden dragons were a rarity indeed. They had hard, beautiful scales and the strength of ten lower-ranking dragons. I was kind of glad I hadn’t challenged him. It took more energy than I could muster to kill a dragon. I was beginning to have trouble even thinking. Hunger can do that to any creature.
“Then Gabrielle and I will bring the bags out here. Wait here. Don’t want your lizard stink to fill up th e cave.” I could smell the sulfur from where I stood.
He pouted, but made no move to follow us as I led Gabrielle into the cave once more. “He knows you’re an angel,” I whispered the moment we were far away from Noah.
Her features twisted in shock, but I shook my head. “It’s okay. He doesn’t want to hurt us. He just needs a bit of help. He has Lilith’s people after him. It’s a rare thing for a dragon to accept passengers so just be grateful that he’s doing this at all. It’s a real blow to their pride.”
We gathered up supplies in silence. Well, almost silence. Every now and then Gabrielle would ask about what things we were taking with us. At one point, she brought me an entire bag full of the ointment I’d applied to her feet. Amused, I accepted the bag while prai sing her for being so helpful. She beamed, and I knew I had her hooked. Eventually, she wouldn’t believe anything Noah could say about me.
She ruined the moment for me by mentioning, almost as if whispering a secret, “Noah’s really kind, isn’t he? Are dragons usually so kind?”
I’d told her before about how vicious they could be. My pride was a little wounded at her statement. “Grab those blankets so we don’t have to sit directly on the scales.”
She seemed puzzled. “What about my question?”
“No, dragons
“Do we have a deal?” he said. His words were slow like he was speaking to a child.
“Yes,” I stated. I put my head in my hands, shaking my head in despair.
“Relax. You’ll hardly even notice me. I bet I could even get you to every place you need to go!”
“That’s great and all,” I replied, “but you’ll bring nothing but trouble. Honestly, I already find you extremely annoying.”
“That hurts, Adrian. It really does.”
I groaned. “Damn it,” I swore. That’s when I noticed Gabrielle. Of course she got impatient. She was too curious. I motioned her to come over. Noah wouldn’t attack her, not with our agreement. “Gabrielle, come here and meet our newest traveling companion.”
While Noah and Gabrielle were getting acquainted, I realized there were holes in his story. What did he believe I could do for him? His sister was Greed, and he was becoming Wrath. He’d implied that he could beat me in a fight. Why not just kidnap Gabrielle and hold her hostage? Or kill me?
Gabrielle gave me a panicked look. “The guy’s a dragon,” I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Yeah, I know.”
Then she screamed.
Noah covered his ears, wincing in pain. “She’s almost as bad as a banshee!” he called to me. I was slightly amused, though my sensitive ears could barely take the noise. I snuck up behind Gabrielle and covered her mouth with my hand, successfully muffling the noise.
“This guy is going to be our way across this desert. I know your feet are still sore.” I glanced down at them. They were healed. “Well maybe not, but they could get like that again if we don’t let this guy fly us.”
Gabrielle blushed profusely. I released her, and she bowed. “I apologize,” she said. “Thank you for doing us such a kind favor.”
Oh, he was kind all right. That was only if “kind” meant “snake.” Noah looked pleased anyway. “No problem. Try not to do that again though. We could fall right out of the sky.”
She nodded, avoiding eye contact. She hadn’t been that shy with me. Was he intimidating her? Or was it something else?
Suddenly I needed the conversation to end. “Hey, how much can you carry?”
“I’m a gold dragon,” he stated simply.
Golden dragons were a rarity indeed. They had hard, beautiful scales and the strength of ten lower-ranking dragons. I was kind of glad I hadn’t challenged him. It took more energy than I could muster to kill a dragon. I was beginning to have trouble even thinking. Hunger can do that to any creature.
“Then Gabrielle and I will bring the bags out here. Wait here. Don’t want your lizard stink to fill up th e cave.” I could smell the sulfur from where I stood.
He pouted, but made no move to follow us as I led Gabrielle into the cave once more. “He knows you’re an angel,” I whispered the moment we were far away from Noah.
Her features twisted in shock, but I shook my head. “It’s okay. He doesn’t want to hurt us. He just needs a bit of help. He has Lilith’s people after him. It’s a rare thing for a dragon to accept passengers so just be grateful that he’s doing this at all. It’s a real blow to their pride.”
We gathered up supplies in silence. Well, almost silence. Every now and then Gabrielle would ask about what things we were taking with us. At one point, she brought me an entire bag full of the ointment I’d applied to her feet. Amused, I accepted the bag while prai sing her for being so helpful. She beamed, and I knew I had her hooked. Eventually, she wouldn’t believe anything Noah could say about me.
She ruined the moment for me by mentioning, almost as if whispering a secret, “Noah’s really kind, isn’t he? Are dragons usually so kind?”
I’d told her before about how vicious they could be. My pride was a little wounded at her statement. “Grab those blankets so we don’t have to sit directly on the scales.”
She seemed puzzled. “What about my question?”
“No, dragons
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