Chapter 9
“So wait a minute! The dragon in the woods is really the dragon that you have to defeat?” he asks, just as confused as I am.
I nod my head.
“But why would he train you to defeat him? It doesn’t make sense.”
I hold up my hand to silence him as I continue to read. “According to this book the fairy that cursed him would give the dragon chosen to defeat him powers no dragon has ever possessed before. It says they will slowly start to show themselves whenever she comes to harm. It also states that after Velshkar, a greater evil will rise and that the land will be tested like never before.”
“Okay, but that still doesn’t explain why he’s training you to defeat him or why he was pouring a potion into the river.”
“I think that he has been training me to see exactly what kind of powers I possess and to see if what the legend says proves true. As for the potion, I think it’s about power. It says that he wanted to be king and started a rebellion. So, maybe if he turned enough of you into your dragon forms, he could overthrow my dad. Either way, I think that we should move camp, because this guy is bad news.”
“That’s the smartest thing you’ve said since we’ve been out here.”
I roll my eyes and pack up our stuff since he’s still in his dragon form. He places his head down and I climb up his back. We walk through the forest trying to find a place that’s far from our secret spot but just as safe. I needed to avoid being found by my dad’s guards a little longer so that I can figure out what’s going on in the woods. After an hour of walking, we come across a cave and I hop off Brenden’s back while he goes to check it out. He comes back out a short while later and nods his head. I walk into the cave and am immediately greeted with a musty smell. “Ew, this place stinks!” I exclaim.
“Well, it’s getting dark and do you really have any other options with an evil dragon running around?”
I sigh. “No.”
“I’m going to get some wood so that I can start a fire. Maybe you should stay in your dragon form for protection, since we can now put a face with your crazy dragon.”
“Maybe you’re right. I’ll do it when you go out for wood.”
He nods his head and heads out of the cave. I close my eyes and turn back into my dragon. I allow my dragon eyes to adjust to the cave and begin to wonder around. There’s nothing special about the cave. It really looks like any other cave. Small, damp, dark, and wet. I was about to turn around and head back to the front when writing near the back catches my eye. I look at it closely and I see my name along with the list of my uncovered powers and my weaknesses. Which were according to this list: smart mouthed, doesn’t listen, and naïve. I was slightly offended, but I knew what was written was true. I also knew that we had to get the heck out of this cave because there was only one person who could’ve written that list and he was the person we were avoiding. I rush out of the cave and try to sense Brenden but I can’t. I turn around to head into the woods only to be face to face with him when I turn around.
“How come I couldn’t sense you?” I ask him but he doesn’t say anything. I look closely at him and I see that his eyes are now red and his breathing is heavy. I take a couple of steps back because whatever is going on can’t be good.