Inferno Legacy: Loyalty of the Dragon (Book Two)

Chapter 14

                It was little more than an hour later when Mournful reappeared, appearing normal, if a little bit withdrawn. By then everyone had had their fill of the food, and what was left was quickly eaten by Mournful. Cody let his thoughts meld with his dragon’s as soon as she landed. Even though he wouldn’t be able to pay much attention to her due to his weakness, his mental abilities were about as sharp as ever, and Cody hoped that that would help them decipher what had happened.  About ten minutes after she arrived, Cody noticed that she seemed a bit more nervous than before, and she kept glancing at the neighboring mountains, on the alert for something.

                “You said she knows where to go,” Inferno pointed out sleepily. “She may just be anxious to leave.”

                “That too,” Cody said, and then quickly added, “But I think she may be more concerned about where she intends to take us.”

                Inferno, slowly beginning to drift off to sleep, answered, “Perhaps, and perhaps not. I am sure that she is eager, in any case, to be on her way. If that is the case, I think it would be better if I were to remain awake.”

                “Maybe she is leading us into a trap?”

                Inferno snorted, apparently wide awake, when he answered, “Not likely. No, we know little of her but she will not try to trap us.”

                “I don’t like it.”

                “Nor do I, but I told you before, she is a native to this land. Until we learn our way around, we are in her hands. We have no choice except whether we want to follow her into what could be either helpful or harmful, or we could walk off now, and almost certainly be killed,” Inferno argued. “To me, it seems only logical that we follow her. If she were to lure us into a trap, I doubt that she would have such urgency in which to do it.”

                Perhaps Inferno was right. But all the same, Cody wasn’t sure he could trust Mournful at that moment. However and whatever he had learned of her in the short time he had been with her, she had not snapped like in the forest. The more he thought about it the more certain he was that it wasn’t a trick or a trap, but whatever she had thought of was clearly risky or desperate in some way. What he was truly trying to figure out was how and why it was so dangerous, and whom did the danger threaten?

                Inferno and Cody remained silent while the others, except Mournful, all discussed mostly minor things such as different experiences they had been through. The injured dragon and his rider hoped that Mournful was rethinking her plans on them leaving so that they could rest longer. The danger that they were in could not be ignored, but neither could Inferno’s wounds. So when questions arose in the conversation as to what the plan was, Cody visibly winced.

                Mournful looked at him in a weird way, something similar to a glare, but he detected sympathy in her gaze as well. He would have forced Inferno to his paws right then and there, but his concern was too great. Cody noted that it was noon, and with that he knew that Inferno would be easiest to see at the very moment from the mountains. Their time was limited, and so was Mournful’s patience.

                “Inferno.”

                It wasn’t a question. Mournful seemed to hesitate on the name though, and while she seemed sure that it was the right time, the pain and sympathy laced into his dragon’s name convinced Cody that it was necessary.