Wizard's Funeral by Kim Hunter Read Free Book Online

a dragon. Had they been country boys they would have known it was a two-legged, red-bellied, green dragon, whose natural habitat was the barren wastes and mountains south of Falyum. It was a male of the species. That much was obvious. The dragons mouth opened and he repeated his words. Soldier had not moved. He rested back on his elbows. Dont worry, boys, he said. Its not dangerous. Give it a couple of cuts of meat. Itll go away once its fed. Dubious, Guido slowly reached down and picked up a haunch, tossing it to the dragon. A wide mouth opened gratefully, catching the huge chunk of meat. Jaws full of thick, brown teeth closed. There was a crunching as they masticated the meat, bones splintering and going down with the rest in three or four huge swallows. SLAHGGUS! growled the dragon, his strange eyes narrowing in delight. Whats he saying? asked Sando, still as rigid as a board. Food. He wants more food, Sando, this time, tossed the creature half a ribcage and then they all watched it go the way of the haunch. Now the dragon stood on claw-tip, high up on his hind legs. There was a crackling sound, like the shaking of old leather hides, and the dragon stretched his enormous wings. They could see the sunlight though them. The beast trotted over to Soldier and crooned over him for a few moments, seemed about to lick his face, then changed its mind and finally took a long ostrich-swift run along the dusty wasteland before taking to the skies. Its gigantic wingspan took it high up on a thermal, where it circled above, still crooning, before vanishing into the bright light of the heavens. The twins began to thaw. What was that? cried Guido. My offspring, answered Soldier, laughing. It believes me to be its mother, since I was the first creature it saw when it hatched. Comes in useful to have a dragon around, sometimes. I should say! Sando cried. The excited boys were full of questions. Soldier answered them as best he could, telling them that as a warrior in the red pavilions he had stolen the egg as one of his initiation tasks, thinking it to be an eagles egg. The warm sun had done the rest. Soldier did not feel too bad about the antelope now. Its meat had gone to a good belly. Soldiers dragon appeared from time to time and it was useful to have something to give it. A mother should look after her son, see to its wants. Of course the dragon could feed itself now it was capable of hunting down and catching the greatest beasts in the world (except perhaps a blue-bellied, red-backed dragon, which was five times its size) but it still liked to think it was loved by its parent. Good thing it changed its mind about licking your cheek, said the raven later, out of earshot of the youths. You wouldnt have any skin left on your face. This was true. A dragons tongue was so rough it could take bark off the trunk of an oak. Soldier winced, knowing it. Yet, he realised, the dragon had guessed such a gesture would have harmed its mother, because it had changed its mind at the last minute. Was it an intelligent beast? Or had instinct taken over? So little was known about these shy creatures, the dragons of the world, no philosopher ever having studied them in depth. They flew in and stole cattle occasionally, and on the odd occasion, with a rogue, a person or two. But for the most part they lived in the uninhabited regions of the world, where philosophers rarely trod. The day came when the turrets and towers of Zamerkand came into view. Their spearpomt tips flashed in the sun. Soldier heaved a great sigh. He was going to have to face the music now. He wasnt looking forward to it. Kaff would make the most of it. So would Humbold. There were many enemies in that sparkling city who would be pleased to see Soldier come to grief. Soldier hoped to have an audience with Queen Vanda and tell her his version before the vultures descended. Is that it? cried Sando, coming up to his side and staring in wonder at the great city. Its a hundred times bigger