Hatch (The Dragons Of Laton) Read Online Free PDF Page A

against the building. The sudden feel of a lump on his back made him jerk forward again. He felt the blood drain from his face and his stomach turned. He had almost forgotten he still had the dragon on his back! Turning his head, he could just see a claw over each of his shoulders, but now the golden color was blackened with soot. Warily he reached up and tried unsuccessfully to pry the claw from his shirt. The beast had gripped his thick leather shirt so hard there were holes poked through. Despite that, at least the claws had missed his skin and for that he was grateful.
He shook the back of his shirt vigorously but it didn’t fall off. Maybe if he could remove the shirt and wrap the thing up with it, he could leave the dragon there in the alley. Someone would surely find it and then it would be their problem, let them bring it back. Gingerly, he tried to slide the shirt over his head, but as soon as he started to pull the dragon again gripped it hard, drawing tight against his chest. Frustrated, he let go and the dragon relaxed. He sighed, taking the shirt off was not an option. For a brief moment he thought about returning to the Nest. Perhaps if he explained to Calis that he didn’t want it he’d have mercy on him. Maybe he’d just take the dragon and let him go. But what if he bumped into Tirate? The man had said he would kill him, and Ammon doubted anything was going to change his mind. Calis certainly wouldn’t interfere, not when he could save himself the six gold talons he owed Ammon.
He knew he would never get paid the gold talons he had earned. At this point he didn’t really care either, all Ammon wanted was to be rid of the thing on his back and to get away with his life. There had to be a way somehow. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of shouting a few streets away. They were probably already gathering men for a search.
Quickly he decided his best chance was to leave the city. If he stayed, it was just a matter of time before he’d be caught. He figured Calis and Tirate had already alerted the city guards. So it wouldn’t be long before word reached the gates, then they would stop and search everyone trying to leave. Escaping with a bright golden dragon hanging on his back was obviously out of the question. If he couldn’t remove it, then he had to hide it somehow.
He dumped the contents of his sack on the ground and using his belt knife, he cut a flap between the shoulder straps of the sack. Then he unwrapped the oilcloth around the sword and stretched it out in front of him. He placed everything but his blanket in the middle of the cloth, rolled it back up, pushed it to the bottom of the sack, and closed the top. Then he tied the blanket between the shoulder straps and carefully slid it over his back. The dragon was now completely covered by the sack with its body snugly in the hole and out of sight. He buckled his sword to his belt and looked over his shoulder one more time. With a deep breath, he strode down the alley, turned, and walked quickly towards the gates. Just another dusty traveler passing through.
 
Chapter 2
Escape
 
 
With his hands shoved deep in his pockets to hide the shaking, Ammon slowed his pace to a casual walk. The closer he got to the entrance to the city the more he realized how difficult it would be to escape if the guards were looking for him. The double gates were made of thick timber and large enough to drive three wagons through at once. Two guard towers rose high above the walls on each side while half a dozen disinterested soldiers stood lounging about watching the people come and go. Ammon lowered his head and joined the steady line of people waiting to pass through the gate.
Shouts rose near the base of one of the towers and Ammon resisted the urge to run. Through the crowd he could see several rough looking men with long curved swords arguing with one of the guards. Instinctively Ammon moved to the opposite side of the crowd. The last thing he wanted was