Dragon Tamer

Chapter 18

My surprise felt like a slap to the face, and then I didn't have any more time to wonder why Marco was acting this way.

I jumped out of the way. He ran straight past me, continuing his charge for Camden. But he was being stupid and growling at the five tonne dragon like it would make a difference.

"Move, Cam!" I screamed, rushing to my feet. The idiot braced himself for the impact, but I was only a bit faster than the hulking dragon and knocked him to the side. "Are you mad!"

Marco swung his neck around and snapped his jowls at us. Camden rolled us to the side and crouched over me, still snarling like a wild animal. His whole body trembled. I hoped it was in fear, because he would have completely lost his mind if he wasn't terrified of the massive dragon trying to kill him. Marco barred his teeth at him, spit spraying us and the rocks on either side of us.

I shoved Camden off me and stood in front of the dragon. "That's enough! Back off, Marco!"

His mouth split open, about to take me in whole. I dove underneath and bounded for his front leg, quickly climbing up it. I slammed my elbow into the pressure point in the joint between the leg and his torso. The dragon cried out and collapsed to the ground. "Run, Cam! I don't know why, but he's mad at you!"

Camden got to his feet staring up at the dragon in horror as he snapped at him, dragging his paralysed leg to get to him. "Kali. . . I can't leave you with him like this."

"GO! I'll be fine." Marco wasn't trying to buck me off. He was completely fixated on making Camden his lunch.

To my relief, he finally started backing away, keeping his eyes on the dragon like how I taught him. While he made his way for the trail, I climbed into the saddle and grabbed my sword. With the hilt of the shortsword, I smacked it into the left front leg, rendering the dragon's front legs paralysed. He whimpered and swung his head back and forth in frustration.

Camden ducked out of view down the hill. It appeared to be all what Marco needed to calm down. I slipped down his side and stood in front of the beast, arms crossed. He better know how unimpressed I was with his behaviour. "What was that, huh?"

The dragon dragged his head away from my disappointed glare.

"Nuh-huh, buddy, you don't get to avoid this." I moved in front of him again. "Cam has done nothing to you. You don't get to flip out like that for no reason. Was it his eyes?" He curled his lip up at the mention of the only different thing I could think of. "Why? What's wrong with his eyes?" He growled. "Hey, cut it. He's not dangerous to us. Cam's a friend." He shook his head, apparently disagreeing with that statement. "Fine, be that way. If I release you, I want you to go straight home and send Elesor after us. If you go after Camden again, you won't get any jerky and no breeding next year. Got it?" The dragon didn't make any movements of protest, so I went around to his sides and hit his pressure points with the hilt of my sword. He stretched, shaking his body head-to-toe, then he took off.

Releasing a relieved breath, I followed the trail down the hill. The chilly breeze was suddenly welcomed; it cooled the sweat on my skin. I'd had dragons attack me before, but never one as gentle as Marco. Why would a small change in Camden's appearance make him act like that? He hadn't threatened me, and Marco had seen the other princes use fire magic to know that they were nothing to be afraid of.

I turned the corner that led out into the open fields of the valley. The mountains gave way, allowing the sun to shine down over the colourful meadows. It warmed me up instantly, so much so that I had to tie my jacket around my waist. Plum was on the other side of the extensive field. Without a dragon, we would be lucky if we got home before sundown. Thinking of the all harpies, manticore, and goblins that lived in this valley that would love an easy snack made the walk home seem a lot further away.