Inferno Legacy: Valor of the Dragon (Book One)

Chapter 1

I'm going through and editing this book very slowly, if I find that I have enough spare time and bordome to do so :3.

 Chapter One

            A pale beam of light shone through a nearby window as the day slowly came into existence. Cody glared at it, though he was already wide awake and sitting on the edge of his bed. He had been unable to sleep well the night before; his head was still filled with images of a dragon floating high above the forest by his home, following him. He would hide behind a tree, but the shadow-colored beast glided around to meet him. Cody raced through the forest, weaving his way between bushes and branches, but the dragon persisted. Suddenly, Cody found himself at the edge of the cliff, and he failed to stop, so hurtled over the edge and spiraled through the air. The dragon swooped down, parted its jaws, and opened its talons….

            That was when Cody woke up, sometime in the middle of the night. His heart was beating as fast as if it had happened in real life, and he was shaking miserably. He stared at the glimmering moonlight, and feared that he would see a large shadow pass through it like a dragon. He just shook his head and paced for most of the rest of the night.

            It was foolish, dragons had been extinct for well over a century, aside from a single wise dragon that lived far away, well-hidden from anyone, unless he wanted to be found, which was rare. And that dragon, Argos, was a baby blue color, not black. Cody had heard stories of the ancient Dragon Warriors though, of course. They were people that rode on dragons and kept peace in the lands many centuries ago, but no one believed those stories. All of the dragons anyone could remember, or heard real stories about, were wild and destroyed villages and cities throughout the world, until they suddenly died out.

            The only dragon that remained was Argos, or ‘The Lord of the Winds’ as he was referred to in stories and myths. He knew everything about dragons, but he never spoke to anyone, let alone gave away the secrets of his race.

            Cody sighed and put on his shoes and coat. He ran his fingers through his thick, black hair and walked out of his bedroom, and into the long, wooden hallway. He stepped into the kitchen to see his mother sweeping with a wiry broom, and his father sitting at the table, gazing at a map with his hands together against his chest, apparently deep in thought.

            “I’m going out to see Aval and Autumn, that alright?” Cody asked no one in particular.

            His father grunted in response, just before Cody pushed through the door. The eighteen year-old boy raced away to the stables to get a horse so he could ride into town, where his best friends Avalsmokes and Autumn lived. He took out a dapple grey named Skeletar and galloped off in the direction of the small village relatively nearby.

            Skeletar whinnied and neighed occasionally, sensing Cody’s fear, which made the trip much longer than it should have. But Cody couldn’t help it, he jumped whenever he saw a squirrel, or a bird swooping between the branches of the trees lining the small path he rode. By the time he reached the town, it appeared as though the day was going to be dark and dreary, judging by the clouds in the sky and the rough wind.

            Cody brought his horse to a stable by his friends’ house and led it inside, where he found Aval and Autumn caring for their own horses; Myrtle, Mindy, and Misty. As soon as he came in, Aval smiled and walked up to him, giving him a big pound on the back.

            “Do you think I can put Skeletar here while I’m in town?” Cody asked.

            Autumn nodded and replied, “Of course, you know that. We just want you to get rid of that horse, it’s frightful bad luck, any idiot ought to know that, right Idiot?”