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

“I do,” I said.

“What do you think it is?”

“Probably the mesahn, whatever that is.”

“I don’t want to encounter anything like that,” he said.

I chuckled. “We just have to be prepared.”

“Easy for you to say.”

“Why is that?”

“Because you’re faster than me.”

I started to smile. “Well, I only have to outrun you.”

We continued moving away from the clearing. With each step, I felt as if I was abandoning my sister.

If we were able to catch up with that woman, then we might be able to learn new information.

We could make a plan, figure out who and what we had to deal with, then rescue Alison.

Finally, as we turned at a slight bend in the Djarn path, I saw a faint movement along the road. I paused and pointed. Joran nodded.

We crept along the forest edge, and then I stopped across the path from the figure.

For a moment, I thought it might be the young woman who had escaped from the second wagon, but the shape wasn’t quite right. She had been thin and moved quickly. This person was shorter and moved with an almost dignified manner. The Academy woman.

“You two really are stupid, aren’t you?” her voice said from the darkness. It was soft as it carried across the path to us. She strode across and grabbed both Joran and I at the same time, spinning us away from the path. She was stronger than she looked. “What do the two of you think you’re doing?”

“I thought we rescued you,” I said, shaking my arm out of her grip. “What happened back there?”

“You aren’t one of the Djarn, so what are you doing in the forest?” the woman asked.

“Did the Djarn kidnap you?” Joran asked carefully.

The woman regarded him for a moment. “What kind of stupid question is that?” She eyed Joran’s knife, then with a flash of heat and a flicker of flame, she snapped it out of his hand. “Don’t think that just because I was captured before means that you can do the same,” she said to him.

A dragon mage.

I’d never met a dragon mage. Now there was one standing in front of us.

And she’d been held captive.

“How did they capture you?” I asked, while Joran leaned down to look at the ground.

“Getting back to the same question again, are you? The Vard aren’t helpless when it comes to dragon mages. They know how to neutralize our talents.”

So it was the Vard.

“We’re looking for my sister. She was selected by the Academy—by you—in Berestal, but then we came to understand that the caravan had been attacked.”

She looked back the way we’d come. “Attacked. Destroyed. Slaughtered is more like it.”

With each word, something within me went cold. I went rigid, tensing, and Joran shook his head.

“Were there any survivors?” What if we’d ventured into the forest but Alison wasn’t even here? I hadn’t considered the possibility that she could already be dead.

I still didn’t want to consider that as a possibility.

“Only if they would be of any use,” the woman said.

“What kind of use?” Joran asked.

“Whatever kind the Vard thinks they need,” she snapped. “What do you think? It’s a wonder they kept me alive. What’s your name?” she asked, looking from me to Joran.

Joran and I shared a looked. “Joran Stone.”

“Stone? That’s a strange name for Berestal. And you?”

“Ashan Feranth.”

She pressed her lips together as she frowned. “I’m Elaine Restau, Mistress of Dragons at the Academy.”

“You’re a dragon mage, but not the one I saw at the testing,” I said.

Her eyes darkened for a moment. “That would be Thomas, Chief Dragon Mage.”

Elaine glanced toward the Djarn path. There was movement on the other side , a dark shape that weaved through the shadows. I started forward, holding on to my knife.

She grabbed my wrist, pulling me back. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” she cautioned.

“Do what?”

“Think that you can attack the mesahn.”

“I wasn’t thinking of attacking anything,” I said. “I saw something moving. I don’t know if it was a wolf, camin, or even that other woman.”

Elaine turned to me. “What woman?”

“What is a mesahn?” Joran asked.

I shook my head, wanting to keep him from saying something that might upset her. Besides, that wasn’t the answer we needed.

“There was a woman in the second wagon,” I said. “I popped open the hatch, but the men had gotten too close before I had a chance to help her.”

“What did she look like? We didn’t necessarily leave our cages, so to speak.” Elaine asked me.

“Dark hair. Pale skin.”

“Where did she go?”

“Into the trees,” I said.

“Did you see which direction?”

“I didn’t see much of anything. She disappeared before I could.”

Elaine growled softly in irritation. “You’re going to have to help me find her.”

“You don’t need my help. I’m going after my sister. Do you know if she’s still…” I couldn’t finish. I didn’t want to acknowledge that Alison might be dead. “I don’t know what to tell you about your sister. It’s possible she still lives, but enough people were killed when they took us that I can’t say for certain.”

Joran watched me, as his brow furrowed. “What is a mesahn?” Joran asked again.

Elaine turned to us, glaring from one to the other with a hard stare. She wore the expression of someone accustomed to giving orders and not having her answers questioned. It was an air of authority. “A mesahn is a dangerous creature. Nearly as large as a horse, they’re like wolves, only worse. They can move silently through the forest or even out on the plains. They’re powerful creaturesand have been known to hunt dragons with their owners.”

“They hunt dragons?” Joran asked. His eyes wide. “And they have owners?”

“They have a man working with them. Trainers, such as they might be. And the mesahn have been known to hunt dragons. Not that they do. Generally, they are not found in these lands.”

“I’ve never heard of anything like that,” he said, turning to me.

There were the pawprints that I’d seenand the strange growling that I had noticed.