The Caged Dragon (Cycle of Dragons Book 1) by Dan Michaelson (websites to read books for free txt) 📕

I tried to rein him in, to keep him from racing along the road, he moved quicker than I intended. This was part of the reason I didn’t like to bring Flop with me all that often.

I remained focused, trying to steer him around obstacles I knew were found along the road. When we reached where the road had washed out, I pulled on the reins to slow him, and he finally came under control, allowing me to guide him down the small ravine where he splashed through the now narrow stream before heading back up and onto the King’s Road. He started sprinting again.

I didn’t fight it. I wanted to find my father before anything happened to him, before he ended up getting tossed by Adela. Hopefully she wouldn’t do that—she was far too dignified for that. Well trained too, for that matter. I had made sure of that. But it was dark, and horses could get spooked in the night.

I saw movement in the distance.

I kicked his sides, and Flop raced forward.

We neared the forest. It looked like a dark shadow against the backdrop of the night. Moonlight shone overhead, bright and full, and yet not nearly enough for me to tell whether or not the movement I saw was my father or another rider. I doubted that it would be another rider out this close to the forest, and at this time of the night, but it could be. The movement ahead of us veered off the road suddenly.

I frowned, slowing Flop, guiding him away from the road, and after the figure. It wasn’t the shadow of an animal. Not a wolf, and certainly not a camin. It looked like a horse and rider.

Thunder suddenly rumbled.

It was distant, but it was the threat of another storm. It had been several days since the last one, and if another came through, with even half of that violence, I would have a hard time finding my father. I had to move a little slower now that we were off of the King’s Road. Partly from my own uncertainty, but also because Flop started to walk slower, as if he recognized the danger out here. At least Flop was getting smarter in his years. In the past, he had been impulsive.

Thunder rumbled again, and a burst of lightning exploded.

It took all of my effort to keep Flop from jolting, trying to turn on me. It took a moment for my eyesight to clear, the bright burst of light blinding me. When it did, I didn’t see the horse and rider anymore.

I urged Flop to move faster.

Thunder rumbled again, it sounded closer. Almost too close.

How could the storm move so quickly? The first burst of thunder had been far off enough that I thought we had time, but each successive rumble of thunder had been closer than the last, and it seemed to be rolling toward us with incredible speed. There weren’t many storms like that. Any storm we got that came in with that much of a raging intensity was in the heart of the wet season, not right before the dry season.

Which meant that I needed to be careful.I might not have nearly as much time as I thought I would. A wet season type of storm moved far faster than the usual dry season storms. We still got rains in the dry season, though they were typically gentler, and they moved slower. The storm we had only a few nights ago had been severe, even for a wet season storm.

I urged Flop to keep moving. He slogged through the muddy ground, and when another peal of thunder came, he jerked, almost tossing me.

“Easy,” I snapped at Flop before cursing to myself. He deserved better than that. It wasn’t his fault there was a storm I understood he was stressed, no differently than some people struggled with storms like this.

I patted him on the side, trying to soothe him, and talked to him as much as I could, running my hands through his mane. I leaned down toward his ear, whispering. “ I know it’s scary out here in the dark, but I need for you to help me as much as you can.”

Flop didn’t pull quite so hard on the reins. It was almost as if he understood me, but more likely it was that he understood the tone of my voice. He moved onward. I didn’t even know if we were heading in the right direction, or if the figure I’d seen was anything to be concerned with, only that it was most likely my father. Who else would be out here like that?

No one, that was who. Especially not with this storm on the way.

Thunder rumbled again, and lightning followed.

The storm kept moving closer.

The lightning wasn’t nearly as bright as the one that had preceded it, but still intense. I reacted quickly this time, as I patted Flop’s side to calm him as much as I could. I leaned forward, whispering soothing words to him, waiting for the thunder to end.

We continued onward, and I still didn’t see any sign of the figure, but I believed there was something out here, and all it would take would be for—

Another peal of thunder rumbled suddenly. It exploded with a surge of violence.

I wasn’t able to keep Flop under control. I was tossed and fell to the ground, my breath knocked from me. Flop reared, bringing his forelegs up before stomping down. I was forced to roll off to the side to avoid him crashing down on me.

When another burst of thunder rumbled, he turned and jolted.

At least he raced back toward our home. If nothing else, I would catch him there.

But I was on foot. Out near the edge of the forest. And with another storm coming my way. Worse, I had no idea if my father was anywhere nearby.

10

I stood in place, debating whether to race after Flop or follow what I’d seen before. I