Inferno Legacy: Loyalty of the Dragon (Book Two)

Chapter 1

            “That shouldn’t be too difficult,” Inferno said as he shook himself. “They live in a cave at the base of this mountain, right?”

            Cody nodded. The black dragon led the way to the mouth of the cave and crouched down so that his rider could climb on. Cody fingered the saddle that he had made himself soon after Inferno’s egg hatched before hauling himself into it. He quickly and easily bent over and strapped his legs in. He wasn’t good at clinging to the dragon’s sides with his legs and feet in such poor condition and he wasn’t willing to risk further injury.

            After he was strapped in he looked at the reigns that were attached to the neck spike in front of him and the saddle’s handle. He quickly decided to hang on to the reigns and Inferno approached the edge, preparing to take off. Without warning, the dragon spread his wings wide and leaped into the air, diving almost straight down as he did.

The sunlight glittered off his scales as they flew towards the ground below. Cody felt the usual thrill of riding and watched the ground speed towards them. Then Inferno tilted upward slightly and the wind caught in his wings, driving them up again a short distance. The dragon’s aim was almost exact as they landed right in the entrance of a massive cave, many times the size of the one they had been sleeping in.

Cody peered inside but could see nothing in the darkness of the cave. Then a fire sparked to life and he saw Heyrone the dwarf standing over a large fire, making Cody wonder if he was expecting them. Beside the fire was a massive dragon head, the blue scales and white horns were dancing in the firelight. Argos had a horn sprouting on his nose and two more on his head much like Inferno’s but a bit more curved. His eyes were the color of the sunset, showing orange warmth. The width of his head was easily as large as Inferno’s entire wingspan.

“Were you expecting us?” Cody asked as he and his dragon settled beside the fire.

Heyrone chuckled before answering, “I could read your thoughts and knew you would come. If only you were ready for training, I could teach you some tricks like sneaking into a man’s thoughts, how to tell if someone is in your head, or how to deceive someone who is reading your thoughts.”

“I only hurt physically; surely those things wouldn’t hurt because of my injuries?” Cody asked.

Argos let out a rumbling laugh and his rider answered, “It might, but you have a point. Avalsmokes, Autumn, Omen, Ashheart, Larson, Pippi, and Mora are all living in that small town beside Lake Firesword. Perhaps you could try to read one of your friends’ thoughts. I recommend you don’t try Omen or Autumn though, they will probably notice and get offended.”

Cody nodded, “Thank you,” he said as he turned to leave.

“Cody?” Heyrone said. “You should also know that I expect a little more respect from you. In training, I can’t help you if you consider us equals.”

Cody felt heat rush to his cheeks and he quickly turned and bowed low to the older rider, tripping on a loose stone as he did. Feeling more embarrassed than ever, Cody scrambled to his feet and climbed into his dragon saddle.

Heyrone stopped him one last time, saying, “Oh and I almost forgot, happy birthday.”

“Thank you,” Cody answered with surprise. He had completely forgotten after so long about birthdays entirely. He realized with dread that Omen, Aval, and Autumn would try to make such a big deal of it.

Inferno chuckled as he began flying, “So how old are you now?”

“Just…stop,” Cody begged, wincing.