War of Dragons by Andy Holland Read Free Book Online Page A

pain.
    "Don't!" Daisy cried in alarm. "Your side looks terrible! You need to stay still."
    John pulled back the blankets and lifted up his top. His whole left side was a mess of reds, blues and blacks.
    "It all looks internal," Daisy explained. "You have no external cuts or wounds, but it looks really bad."
    John sighed. "I know, I can see it." He had wondered what would happen to his wounds when he transformed, and now he knew.
    "It doesn't look any better," Jenna told him. "Shouldn't it be getting better?"
    "After a couple of hours? It wouldn't heal that quickly. Not even as a dragon."
    Daisy's eyes widened. "A couple of hours ? You've been unconscious for over a day."
    "A day!" John exclaimed in horror. "No wonder it looks bad. It won't heal properly while I'm human."
    "Then why did you change so quickly?" Daisy asked incredulously. "You could have spent more time healing before the sun went down."
    Jenna blushed immediately, but John ignored her. "It was getting late anyway; I would have had to change soon anyway. Besides, I wasn't too sure it wouldn't heal. It's just what I'd read. Oh, and what my father had told me."
    "John!" Daisy hit his arm in frustration. "What were you thinking?"
    "I don't know," he confessed. "It's a bit of a blur to be honest. What time is it now? I can't tell if it's night or day in here."
    "It'll be morning soon," Arthur told him. "It's pitch-black out there and pretty cold too. We've moved you further into the caves, as the temperature seems to stay the same all the time here. You can't see the light from this fire outside; we checked."
    "So two nights here. Wow, that must have been fun."
    "It improved when these two signed a truce," Seth said, gesturing to Daisy and Jenna. "Although it has been boring. If I ever see a cave again—"
    "There is nothing out there, John," Crystal said, interrupting him. "Just sand and rocks. We managed to find some very dry wood, hence the fire, but there's nothing to see for miles."
    "The only thing keeping us from complete boredom has been betting on whether you'd wake up or not," Seth told him straight-faced, dodging Daisy's subsequent blow. "Hey, calm down! She's become feistier since her mortal combat, John. I'm starting to agree with Arthur. Perhaps you're not such a good influence on her—"
    Daisy glared at him and tried to swipe at him again.
    "Cut it out, you two," Arthur snapped. "John, seriously, what's the plan? We're running out of water and you're still looking pretty ill. Will you be able to fly soon?"
    John nodded. "Transforming will be very painful, but as a Golden Dragon my wounds will heal faster. We can fly today."
    "Today!" Daisy cried. "But you're not well enough! You should wait."
    "What if we meet any other dragons?" Jenna asked. "Can you still transform mid-air? You collapsed after transforming yesterday."
    "I'll have to stay as a Golden Dragon all day. But don't worry, we shouldn't meet anyone."
    "Hmm, shouldn't… that doesn't inspire a lot of confidence, John," Seth told him. "Can't you give us something more than that?"
    John shrugged. "We're two hours' flight from the Blue Dragons' territory and will get further away as we fly as their border veers northward. No one else lives close to here. They'll patrol here, but never first thing in the morning. The alternative is dying of thirst. Take your pick."
    Arthur sighed loudly. "Alright, John, but can we discuss the plan first? The whole plan, not just the next day. I mean, we've been blindly following your lead so far and twenty minutes ago that didn't look like such a great approach, since we weren't sure if you were even going to wake up."
    John nodded. "Sure, why not? I'm not going anywhere. Gather around."
    He turned to his side so he could face them and he others sat around him on the cave floor, waiting for him to begin.
    "Now, I'd like a map to be able to show you, but I don't have one. The only maps I had were in a book I gave you, Crystal, and those are still at your house.