"Are you sure?" Shean's expression implied Lian had more than one screw loose.
"Yes." His stomach swirled with nerves but he couldn't let anyone die due to inactivity. He'd taken an oath to take care of people to the best of his ability. He wouldn't back down now.
"As you wish, sir." Shean gave Lian an approving smile before firing up the thrusters and taking off.
Lian grabbed the door handle as the vehicle whipped around and headed for the opposite direction. He hoped he didn't get Shean in trouble.
* * * *
A dragon scream pierced the air as the hoverlimo pulled up to a barren stretch of land. The sign post readDragon Training Groundsbut it looked more like a fenced off piece of desert.
The back door popped open.
"This way." Shean grabbed Lian's wrist and pulled him out of the vehicle.
He barely grabbed his bag in time before he found himself dragged toward the sound of dragons.
Dozens of the reptiles squatted on ground as far as Lian could see. Entranced, Lian stared at the variety of colors. Gold, silver and all the shades of the rainbows decorated the landscape like jewels in the raw. Something inside Lian shifted at the beauty of the beasts.
He might be studying dragonkin, but he'd never seen any of the animals in person. He wondered how many were dragons and how many were dragonkin.
"Good luck, call me when you need a ride," Shean shoved a card into Lian's hand before running back across the sands. Apparently the driver didn't want to stick around either.
Lian probably would've continued to stand there and watch the dragons if another blood-curdling scream didn't carry across the sands.
Medic instincts took over. Lian shook himself from his strange spell. Following the sounds of the yelling, Lian ran like lightning toward the noise, skidding to a halt when he stumbled across the source of the sound. A man writhed on the ground. Hovering over him loomed an enormous beast.
"Damn, he's fucking huge," Lian whispered.
The dragon's deep red scales shone malevolently in the bright sunlight, it, hissed and snapped at the screaming victim.
Surrounding man and monster were a group of soldiers wearing black armor along with faceplates to protect against fire, and carrying long swords. It was clear from their positioning that they were trying to get the dragon to move away so they could rescue the man on the ground. The dragon whipped its serpentine neck back and forth, growling its discontent. Small wisps of smoke wafted from its nose. Lian had no doubts flames would soon be swept across the group.
Anger surged through Lian, burning away any fear he might have of the enormous creature.
"Step back. Get the fuck away," Lian screamed, waving his hands.
The dragon looked away from the injured man, its yellow eyes latching onto Lian. Something pressed against his mind and he heard the beast speaking in his head.
The human stabbed me.Words whispered, dragging out like a sibilant hiss.
"Well you beat the crap out of him. Consider yourself even." Lian yelled back. He didn't know how to talk mentally to the creature so he didn't even try.
He must pay.With a wave of his tail, the dragon smacked half of the ring of knights away. It gave a toothy grin as the men tumbled like toys.
"He's paid enough," Lian replied evenly.
The dragon swung closer, its head lowering to examine Lian.
As the beast approached, Lian spotted a sword embedded in its scaly flesh. "Hold still and I'll remove the sword and heal your wound." Surely that would put the dragon in a better mood.
You may help me,it whispered graciously.
"Gee thanks," Lian muttered.
He didn't bother trying to talk to the dragon again as he concentrated on pulling the sword out with the least amount of damage.
Ouch.
