Dragon of Legend: Destiny (Published)

Chapter 9

Brandon and Akira stepped into what looked like a large cave chamber. Burning torches lit up the area and somewhere water dripped endlessly. It made a soft splashing sound every time it hit the ground. A beetle scurried across the wall to the right, hurrying to get away from the newcomers.

However, Akira didn't notice any of this. Her attention was held by the four men who sat around a large stone table in the shape of a half moon. It stood in the middle of the room, placed so that all four men, and an empty seat, were facing the entrance through which Akira and Brandon had just come. It took Akira only a second to realize that these men were none other than the council members.

"Brandon!" A man from the table, with black hair and dull brown eyes, stood up. His hook-like nose reminded Akira of an eagle's beak.

"Henry," Brandon nodded in greeting.

"You kept us waiting." The man named Henry frowned. His eyes briefly wandered over Akira before they came to rest on Redemption. His expression changed almost at once. "So this is this him," he noted.

Brandon nodded.

"Where is his rider?" Henry asked.

"She's standing right here." Brandon motioned towards Akira.

There was a moment of silence and Akira felt all five pairs of eyes in the room turn on her.

"Are you sure?" a man, with flaming red hair and piercing green eyes, asked. As he examined Akira with a look of disdain she shifted uncomfortably.

"As far as anyone can see, this Dragon is the white dragon," Brandon nodded at Redemption with amusement in his eyes. It was as though he found the question funny. "So his rider here," he motioned at Akira, "must be the Rider of Legend."

Akira blinked. Rider of Legend? She shot Redemption a look. Somehow her brain told her she had heard the phrase before. She couldn't seem to recall where.

"But she is a girl," the man with flaming hair pointed out.

"Really, Nathanial?" Brandon raised an eyebrow as he looked over at Akira. "Ah, so she is," he added humorously as he shot Akira an encouraging smile. Turning he sat down in the empty chair, joining the others around the table.

Akira squirmed as she found that she now stood alone with only Redemption behind her. She felt uncomfortable with the men before her staring at her as though they were evaluating her.

Relax, Redemption told her softly.

Akira cringed. Relaxing was the last thing she could do at the moment.

A third man, with brown hair and eyes, was looking at Akira as though she were some rare creature he had never seen before. If this was a good or a bad thing Akira wasn't sure, yet she could not help but shiver as his eyes swept over her from head to toe.

He pursed his lips before he spoke in a raspy voice, "Why would the mighty Dragon of Legend choose one like her when we have plenty of trained young men to pick from?" He scowled. "Look at her! She is just a girl. No woman, much less anyone outside of the Academy, has ever been chosen before! How can she be fit to be the dragon's rider?" No sooner were the words out of his mouth than there was a loud roar of anger that shook the entire cave and made the council members freeze.

The man, who had just spoken, looked appalled by Redemption's action. Henry remained calm and simply raised his eyebrows while the other two members looked somewhat shaken. Brandon, in the mean time, looked surprised for a moment before he nodded. A suspicious pleased look flashed across his face.

Akira was rooted to the spot, her heart beating as though she had just run up a hill. The sudden roar had caught her off guard. Slowly she turned to find Redemption glaring at the man who had just spoken. The white dragon's eyes were blazing with anger, and he took a deliberate step forward to stand closer to Akira. What shocked Akira more was that Redemption was baring his teeth threateningly at the men while his tail swished back and forth in warning. She hadn't seen her dragon get this aggressive outside of battle before. The man's words had to have offended her dragon a great deal.