Soul Bound

Chapter 4

The crook above the dragon's eye twitched--the human equivalent of raising an eyebrow. "And how will you do that all by yourself?"

He let out an explosive breath, swiping his hand through his hair. Seeing that the dragon was not hostile, he sheathed his sword. "I haven't figured that out yet. Hence the walking."

He turned away from the dragon to face the setting sun across the ocean. The sun was at the perfect level on the horizon to outline the Desert Lands' jungles. He hadn't left home entirely empty handed, as the delightfully heavy coin pouch on his hip illustrated; with this coin he could bribe an army of mercenaries to help him.

The dragon seemed to know exactly where he was looking--and possibly know what his plan was. It made a noise in the back of its throat, then, in a cacophony of scales grating against stone, it made itself comfortable behind him. Grayson glanced over his shoulder to see the dragon had lain down, tail curling around its body, wings flat against its back. 

"What are you doing?" he found himself asking the hulking beast. 

The dragon didn't even look at him when it found a large rock and began sharpening its already sharp talons against the side of it. "I've decided I will rest here for the night."

"With me?"

"Why not?"

"People don't choose to be near me if they can help it." The words left a bitter taste in his mouth. 

"You are at a critical point in your life, human. What you decide today will define the kind of man you truly are. It is rare to witness such an occasion. I am curious to see which route you choose: will you make a change for the better, or sink back into your old ways?"

Grayson snorted. "You must be bored." Nevertheless, he set up camp, as he had every night before, ignoring the dragon watching his every move. The stars had just come out when the rabbit he'd caught earlier had finished cooking over his small fire. He probably should have moved his camp away from the dragon; it was a beast, first and foremost, after all, but there was something to be said about the company it offered. A strange feeling gripped his heart when he thought about the dragon willingly sitting with him. He didn't know what it was, couldn't even begin to describe it. 

He tossed the bones from his meal into the fire and watched them crumble and blacken; he'd tossed the remnants of the fire into the ocean before he left in the morning. Where he planned to go was still up for debate--or, rather, how he was going to get there. The Desert Lands seemed like his best option right now, but a large body of water stood between him and his destination. He didn't have a boat handy and the forest in these parts was hardly prolific enough to make one; it seemed his only option was to swim. Physically, it was doable for him, even if it would take every ounce of strength and willpower he had to do it. His only reservations were the monsters that lurked beneath the steely surface. It wouldn't matter how skilled he was with a sword if it could swallow him right from underneath him.

He glanced at the dragon; it was already watching him. Those emerald eyes hadn't once moved away from him; he got the feeling the dragon knew something he didn't. It was eerie. This dragon, who had watched him from the skies for days, knew him better than anyone else. It shouldn't be possible, yet, it probably knew what he had decided to do before he did.

A harsh wind whipped past him, stirring the trees bordering the shore. Grayson caught a glint of silver between rustling leave. He was on his feet in a flash, drawing his sword. "It's time for us to part ways, dragon." 

There was no other warning given. An arrow shot out of the tree line. It would have struck Grayson in the heart if the dragon hadn't lifted its tail, blocking it; the arrow bounced off its scales and hit the stones below it. Grayson aimed a glare at the dragon. "I said leave."