“Is that’s why she knows better than to let you into her mind?”
“Very funny, but it may be true. Raymer said that to bond fully takes a willing person and a willing dragon. If she is not willing, there will never be a bonding.”
Tessa reached out and took his hand. “I’ve been told there are several layers of bonding. What Raymer did is witnessed once in a lifetime, they say. But this dragon definitely has a bond with you, let there be no doubt. It followed you. It protected you. And even now, don’t you realize that any other person in the world walking up to that beast would be eaten?”
“What about you?”
“I think your bond is protecting me. Without you here, I would never go near her.”
Fleet said, “You may be right. I feel like we communicate on some level, but mostly when I’m scared or something.”
“Why do you think she fought with the green?” Tessa asked, her eyes intent on Fleet.
“To see who is superior?”
“Maybe. Or could she have been protecting you?”
Tessa’s insights were more than he would ever have made. The shadows were long, and no more dragons had attacked. The wolves were gone, too. They had enough sheep for at least three more days. Fleet let the route he’d taken from Bear Mountain fill his mind. He could retrace it, cut a few corners and be home in less than ten days.
His home didn’t hold the attraction it once did. He’d reveal all he knew, letting them pick his mind as clean as the bones that a raven leaves a carcass. Then he would go. Where? Fleet smiled to himself. Did it matter?
Would the old dragon heal and continue to shadow him? He turned to Tessa.
She met his gaze. “If you need someone to travel with you, I am here.”
“How do you know what I’m thinking?”
“I guess dragons are not the only ones who can read minds or bond with others,” Tessa smirked and piled firewood in the small pit. She reached for her flint.
“I don’t even know if I’m going at all. I certainly don’t know where. But I’ll go alone, and you already know that.”
A few sparks flared the fire to life, and she said, “You’re going to leave soon. Going to Breslau. It’s not all that hard to figure out. Those people helped one of us, but attacked one of our dragons. You will not be able to let that contradiction go. It’ll eat at you until you sail across the Endless Sea and find out for yourself.”
“How can you know that?”
She raised her eyes to look at the small flames at him. “Because I am just like you. I am Dragon Clan.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR, LEROY CLARY
I have never met a dragon. Never even seen one. But wish I had. They fascinate me, so I decided to construct a mental world where they coexist with people. Most of my books are about them, and I call the people the Dragon Clan.
A book called DRAGON! started it. While similar to the Dragon Clan Series , it set up the idea of how to live and survive in a world where dragons are part of the landscape without resorting to cartoonish dragons or creatures as intelligent and conniving as people. The next hurdle was to keep the stories coming fast enough to satisfy the readers.
The book called the Blade of Lies was a finalist in an Amazon national novel writer’s contest, although under another name. It survives with humor, a medieval setting, and the idea that good guys do win. It is worth the read.
I've done a bit of everything before retiring from teaching high school math and special education. Before that I served in the US Navy, I worked in the electronics field as a technician, supervisor, and owner of a telecom business. I earned my papers as a sea captain for sailboats and motor craft, all of which gives me the background to write books about dragons.
Now that I have the time . . . I write. Every day. I'm writing about the Dragon Clan now, a series of interrelated books and characters. Each book is about them, but centers on one or two characters. They often meet each other in different books. I hope to have several more of them published soon, including a sequel to DRAGON! , which has been requested by so many readers.
AUTHOR’S NOTES
If you have any comments or suggestions—good or bad—or anything else to say, please feel free to contact me at my personal email leroy.clary@gmail.com I have responded to all emails, so far, and hope to continue that trend. I love the comments, and, at least, one future book is because of an email exchange with a fan.
Please return to Amazon Kindle where you purchased this book and leave a review, I will appreciate it. Simply scroll down to the bottom of the page where you purchased the book and fill out your review. The only way for others to learn if readers like a book are from reviews
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Dragon Clan #3: Fleet’s Story
2nd Edition
Copyright © 2015 LeRoy Clary
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Cover Design Contributors: algol2/Bigstock.com and Karen Clary
Editor: Karen Clary