Inferno Legacy: Loyalty of the Dragon (Book Two)

Chapter 7

            The following day, Cody and Inferno rested uncomfortably in Heyrone’s study. Well Cody was uncomfortable; Inferno seemed half asleep with his little bundle of furs surrounding him in endless warmth. Mournful had agreed to stay in their home, the cave, until the two returned later that day, though she seemed disappointed.

Heyrone turned around from the book he had been studying to look at the younger rider with interest, saying, “So you said you have a question for me?”

Cody nodded, “Yes. You said that Argos can heal any injuries you receive-”

“It takes a while, and there’s no way for Inferno to learn to do the same,” Heyrone interrupted, obviously trying to guess where the conversation was headed.

“That’s not it,” Cody said before the dwarven rider could continue. “Argos can heal, Micah can grow and shrink himself whenever he wants, and Destiny, Aval’s dragon, can even turn into a human. Why can’t Inferno do something cool like that?”

Heyrone’s eyes glinted in humor for a moment before he looked up at the roof of the cave, as if expecting the answers to just fall onto his head. He studied Inferno for a few moments as he seemed to be trying to figure something out. Then he turned back to Cody, his gaze a bit more serious and slightly confusing.

“That’s a tricky subject,” he said simply, at first. He began to pace as he explained further, “Each dragon has a special ability that they were born to do. It is a magic spell that any skilled sorcerer can do, but for dragons it takes no energy and they are always much better at it. No person could ever become as skilled at the spell to equal a dragon’s power. For instance, I can heal myself and others, but it takes a lot of energy and far too much time. However, sometimes the riders are the ones with the abilities, as if someone is picking which one should receive the power. Unfortunately, a rider having the power is pretty rare.”

Cody was still confused, “But, Inferno doesn’t have any skill and neither do I.”

“Don’t worry. For some dragons and riders it can take some time to discover their special ability. Usually they find out within a few days of being hatched, but later on there are two ways it can be discovered. Usually, it takes being threatened with death for them to suddenly make it happen, but we can speed the process a bit. By increasing your compatibility we can sort of force it to come on. Instead of the lesson I had planned, we could go through a few exercises to strengthen your relationship. What do you say?”

“Sure!” Cody all but yelled in his excitement.

Heyrone smiled and led the way out, “Saying, then follow me and Argos outside, we can go to the edge of the forest and practice.”

Cody was out of the chair he half expected to be used as some sort of torture, in less than a second and raced after the elder rider. Inferno grunted and reluctantly followed, his tail dragging sleepily behind him. They soon made their way to the cliff edge, Argos clinging to the side as easily as if he were part of the mountain himself. High up by the base of his neck, Cody could just barely see Heyrone sitting in the saddle, waiting for the younger dragon and rider.

As soon as the elders, Bluescales, saw the two at the entrance, Argos ripped his massive talons away from the stone and dove to the ground, his immense wings soon lifting him up higher and bringing him steadily forward. Cody swung onto Inferno’s back and the dragon took off as soon as his rider touched the seat.

Cody and Inferno followed the blue dragon towards the lake. Argos’s massive tail kept twitching, nearly knocking the smaller dragon out of the sky several times, yet he always managed to dive around it. Soon the forest disappeared beneath them, and as soon as it did both dragons landed gently on the grassy plain-like surface.