Linda McNabb - Dragon Clan

Dragons of Avenir

Book 1

Dragon Clan

Linda McNabb

Copyright Linda McNabb 2019

Linda McNabb asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.

Cover art Ralf Kraft, Isoga1

I SBN 9781386755524(ebook)

ISBN 9781393295761 (pb)

1. Humans

H umans. They were coming . They were early!

Mika knew the trick to staying out of sight was to blend in with his surroundings. It was the first thing taught to all dragonets before they left the caves.

But he would never blend in. His ash-black hide, patterned with fire-red streaks, stood out starkly against the white of the snow and ice around him. Night time was his only chance of staying hidden.

But right now it was early morning. Sunlight streamed towards him from where the sun rose over the horizon far out to sea. The entire white landscape sparkled and glistened. As a fire dragon he loved the warmth of the sun so did not mind that perimeter duty fell to him more often than not. It gave him the chance to soak up some heat and store it for when he was deep inside the bitter cold of the ice dragon caves.

This was a short run though as it was almost time for the yearly summer fayre and he was watching for the humans. A small wagon had just topped the rise through the canyon pass and there were no doubt many more behind it.

The human trading caravan came through the mountains every year and it was a very important event in the lives of all dragons. He tipped his left wing down and banked to turn back to the home caves before he was spotted.

He would like to stay and watch the wagons crawling across the earth like ants. How sad it must be to never fly. He pitied the humans for the restrictions of their frail bodies. But it was against all dragon laws to be seen by the humans so he sped back towards the coast. They only had a day before the humans traversed the pass and made their way down to the plains. There was a lot to do.

It only took a few minutes in a direct flight path to reach the plateau that looked out to sea. He did one last small circuit high above the frozen lake that had been his home since he hatched. The sun wasnt very warm yet as it was early but he soaked up as much heat as he could.

He let the last warm current slip under his wings as he glided towards the entrance to the ice caves. It was small, and intentionally so, as it was easier to defend a smaller gateway to the dragons home caves. It was not the only entrance, but they were all as hard to spot as this one and all were guarded.

The bitter cold hovered as a mist above the frozen lake as Mika lined up for a fast arrival. The lake wasnt naturally frozen, just as the surrounding area wasnt naturally covered in snow. There was always snow on the mountain tops but this far down it melted in summer. It was officially the middle of summer, but the temperature at the ice dragon lair never changed. The ice dragons could freeze anything with their flame and their magic kept it cold. Fire wasnt something they valued, and it was what Mika excelled at.

Youre coming in too fast!

Mika ignored the warning and folded his wings back even more to increase his speed.

A blast of icy-blue flame shot out from beside the entrance. Even after living here his entire life Mika still struggled to spot the ice dragons when they blended in with their surroundings.

He countered the icy flame with a red-hot one of his own. The two blasts collided and filled the cave entrance with steam.

No flames inside home cave!

Mika stemmed the flame just as he shot through the steam. He couldnt see where he was going but the guard couldnt see him either.

Ill report you to Leader Vros, came an angry threat through the steam.

Dont bother, its him Im going to see.

Mika flicked out his wings and extended his feet forward to slow himself down, then navigated the tight turns of the entrance. There were many dead ends and loops that would confound any attacker but Mika knew the way with no need to pause.

Exactly who would attack the ice dragons was a mystery to Mika. It had been hundreds of years since the last dragon battle. A battle that the ice dragons had won, hence his presence among them. Ever since the last battle the fire dragons clan leader sent his first hatchling to be raised by the ice dragon clan.

Mika knew no other life and didnt see himself as a prisoner or a hostage. He could leave any time but there was nowhere else to go, so he stayed. The only other clan were the fire dragons, and they wanted nothing to do with him. So the ice caves were his only choice unless he wanted to live alone.

He burst out of the tunnel into a large cavern. It was long and wide and the roof high above let in blue-tinged light.

Long ago Mika had worked out that the roof was the frozen lake and he tried to burn through it to see how thick it was.

Too thick. That was the only answer he had gained. He had almost frozen stiff inside the small tunnel before an angry Vros dragged him back into the cavern.

Everything inside the cavern was made from ice. Large icy mounds, shaped like mini mountains, were scattered randomly through the cave and were home to families of dragons. Tunnels led off to the extended areas of the large clan caves.

Mika made a direct line for the largest mound in the centre of the cavern. It was still early and very few dragons were awake. Those that were shot Mika disapproving glares that he ignored. As he approached the large ice-mound that was home to the leader of the clan he slowed down and landed a dozen paces away.

I need to see Leader Vros, Mika said, refusing to bend his front legs in the customary subservient posture.

Leader Vros is still sleeping, came the blunt reply from one of the two large white dragons who stood guarding the mound.

Mika shrugged. I just thought he would want to be first to know that the humans have come through the pass early.

His words had an immediate effect as the two dragons looked at each other, then one hurried into the mound.

Mika counted in his head. He had only reached ten when the guard flew out of the mound and sped across the cavern at far above the allowed speed within the cavern limits.

Another five counts and a great horn sounded through the cavern. Over and over it blasted until dragons in flight filled the entire cavern. They were streaming in from every tunnel and emerging from the mounds in the main cavern. The horn signalled an all-dragon meeting, and every dragon obeyed.

The horn finally fell silent and the chaos in the cavern settled as the dragons all headed towards where Mika still stood. They perched on every available spot and settled down to await the reason for the meeting.

When the cavern was silent, a dragon, much larger than all the others, emerged from the mound.

Humans have come through the pass. You all have one day to set up the fayre.