Dragon's Fire by Roxanne Hegarty (the little red hen read aloud .txt) 📕

Misicordia flew through the night, her strong wings forcing the wind around her scaled body, the deer that hung from her talons swaying lifelessly as the wind attempted to snatch it away. She snorted as she flew, smoke drifting behind her. She tried to keep as high as possible, but the wind pushed down on her mercilessly. She had to get back soon, as her children were newborns and needed food now. The rain pelted her, drenching her purple scales and making them glimmer slightly. She didn’t attempt to shake the rain off like most animals she knew that either way she’d get drenched. She only wished that her mate had decided to join her, at least that way she would have company. But then no one would be able to care for her young, and they were too small to protect themselves from anything bigger than a dog. She attempted to fly faster, but the wind pushed her back stubbornly. She growled and continued to fight against it, and only when the sun began to rise did the wind back down and disappear with a soft whisper and a final howl.
Misicordia landed at her cave around noon that following day, and she stretched happily. She bugled lightly, expecting her young to come to her, and growled lightly when they did not. Her head whipped around at a rustling sound, and she froze in shock and horror at what she saw. Her mate, Zephyr was entangled in a large net, a thick rope held his jaws shut and she could see bloody holes in his wings where arrows had pierced him. Blood ran down his silver scales and dripped onto the stones below. Smoke curled from his nostrils as Misicordia approached.
“What happened?” She asked softly, nuzzling him comfortingly. He lifted a lip under the rope to growl and Misicordia lifted off the ground in an upward bound and flapped her wings so that she was over him. Her tail hooked around the net, and she eased it off him. He stood and shook himself, and used his front talons to cut the rope. Misicordia landed beside him.
“They came shortly before you arrived, they pierced me with their arrows when I flew over them to protect the hatchlings, and one of them threw this net over me. I managed to get my head out of the net, but as I released my flames over them, one of them got this rope over me. They took the hatchlings, I didn’t see where. They left on their horses, and ran as if the devil himself were at their heels!” He stretched as Misicordia went to the cave, and even though she knew that there would be no sign of her hatchlings she still looked inside and called for them. She hung her head when they did not come, and ignored Zephyr as he nuzzled her. She looked up, and there was fire in her eyes. She turned to the edge of the cave, and rearing onto her hind legs she spread her wings and roared at the sky itself, challenging any who dared to listen. Zephyr also bellowed, and then with one fast stroke of their wings both dragons rose into the air and flew on towards a mountain of smoke that indicated the human’s settlement and where the young dragons were.
Misicordia flew on, hatred fuelling her and causing smoke to run out of her nostrils. Zephyr flew beside her, scouting the ground below for any sign of the humans that had stolen their young. But the trees seemed to be working against them in any way, and used their branches to shield the ground from the dragon’s sight. He snarled, and briefly considered burning the whole thing. And he would have if there was not a possibility his children were there. Past the forest was open ground where a few cows grazed, and past that was the tiny village. Misicordia didn’t hesitate to fly on, past the walls and above the village. She roared, breathing out a jet of fire. Zephyr flew past her breathing fire onto houses and snatching people in his talons. He flew upward and dropped them, leaving their bodies to splatter onto the ground. From their height they could see the humans panic, running around helplessly. Misicordia snorted and flew to the ground to search for her young, calling for them desperately. She listened, and was overjoyed to hear the sound of a smaller call. Her hatchlings were close, and she knew that she would get them out, alive.
The clopping off hooves signalled the attack meant for her, but she hardly blinked as she swept her tail over the horses, knocking the men to the ground. The panicked horses reared up and crushed their master’s bodies under their hooves as they raced away. Misicordia looked for Zephyr and saw him fighting a gang of human men that waved spears in front of his nose. She turned away as he breathed a tongue of fire over them, reducing them to ashes. She saw a red tail, and she roared with joy, flapping over to it. Her children were in a cage that looked as if many others had been locked in there before them. She hoped the others had been rescued. She used her teeth, talons and tail to rip the cage door off. All four of her children clambered out and climbed onto her back. She twisted her neck to nuzzle and lick each of them tenderly before jumping into the sky. She bellowed for Zephyr and flew back to her cave, leaving destruction behind her, and heading into the light with her children on her back and her mate beside her. The humans would never again dare to interfere with her or her family, for next time she would burn them all into the ground.
The dragons flew away, and behind them the sounds of grief, fear and shock filled the air.

Publication Date: 07-25-2011

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