Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 46156 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 231(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46156 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 231(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
The next day, Skye brushed her wet hair from her eyes. She’d heard the men discussing her picture as she took her turn getting cleaned up. They’d marveled at the detail she’d added to the unfinished drawing. It hurt to leave it, but the need to reach Wyvern overruled her desire to stay and complete it.
“Skye, why did you draw a dragon?” Brooks asked.
She’d picked up from their conversation that each had spotted dragons high in the clouds after all the changes. Skye had known all her life that dragons existed. She pointed to the majesty she’d tried to create in her picture.
“I get it. Dragons are beautiful,” Brooks guessed.
“They also breathe fire and stomp on enormous buildings,” Derek pointed out.
“Oh, man. That’s Godzilla. Was he supposed to be a dragon?” Brooks asked.
Skye wrote “dinosaur” in the dust gathered on a nearby table, unwilling to allow her precious dragons to be lumped in the same category as the movie villain.
“Oh. That makes sense,” Derek said. “It’s not like I can search for it on the internet anymore. The things I miss….”
They plodded along, each apparently lost in their thoughts of all the technological features that no longer existed. For Skye, losing the animation tools she’d used to help her drawings come alive hurt the most. They had made the dragons in her dreams real.
At each rest stop, Skye decorated whatever surface she could with the dragon images in her mind. She added color when possible and celebrated when she had the supplies to create blue or bronze creatures. Those felt the closest to her heart. Probably because of the only item she’d brought with her from school.
Blunze was irreplaceable. The only item in her backpack, Blunze was the most important thing in her life. She suspected that Derek and Brooks had spotted the well-loved blue dragon with bronze scales stitched in patches along its form. Skye had demanded her mother teach her to sew so she could make the plain blue dragon complete. Unable to sleep without her dragon, Skye wasn’t embarrassed for the men to see her childhood stuffie. They already knew she was… different.
On the fourth day, they reached the border of Wyvern. To their surprise, a large, corrugated steel and stone barrier stretched around the outskirts of their hometown.
“Was this there when you left?” Derek asked Skye.
She shook her head.
“It appears we didn’t find the only bad guys lurking around. The townsfolk have set up protection for themselves,” Brooks suggested. “I think we can climb over it if we work together.”
After several attempts, they figured out how to use the men’s strength and Skye’s tall, slim build to their advantage. Finally, they stood inside the protective ring, a bit more scraped and battered than before.
“I’m surprised there aren’t any guards on patrol,” Derek said.
Seconds later, a dark shadow coasted over them, making all three travelers scan the sky. Without hesitating, Skye jumped up and down, waving her arms as she yelled, “Here! We’re here!”
“Skye, wait! What if he’s not friendly?” Brooks ran to her side and wrapped his arms around her to quell her signals to the beast.
Skye shot him a glance of absolute disbelief at his ignorance.
“That look just reduced your IQ a hundred points,” Derek observed.
She shrugged out of Brooks’s hold and watched the massive creature turn and dip his head toward the small group. “He’s coming!” Skye celebrated.
She walked slowly forward as he settled. Skye wanted to rush but forced herself to give the magnificent creature the respect and honor he deserved. She studied and made mental notes of the onyx scales that seemed to absorb the morning light. His body and legs were powerful and thick, while his wings appeared translucent. Deep inside, she knew the latter were much tougher than they appeared. How else would they support the huge beast in flight? Skye clenched her fingers into fists to keep from touching him without permission.
Sir Dragon.
The dragon inhaled as if testing her scent. Did the light in his eyes dim just a bit? Instantly, her heart went out to the dragon.
Little one. You are able to speak to my mind.
She smiled at the surprise in the dragon’s words that reverberated in her brain. I’m astonished as well. You are the first dragon I’ve met.
Am I? Your manners are impeccable. While, on the other hand, your companions seem to think you are about to be eaten.
Whirling, Skye spotted Derek and Brooks behind her. They called for her to rejoin them with words and gestures.
“It’s okay,” she assured them before she turned back around.
What is your name, Little one?
I am Skye. They are Brooks and Derek. We are all from Wyvern. She didn’t dare ask the dragon’s name. He would tell her if he wished her to know.
Then it is good we’ve met. I am one of the protectors of Wyvern. I am Keres. The border officials are coming.