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

his shirt. The tiny claws tightened their grip, then relaxed again. Ammon sighed. For now he would leave it where it was until he could think of a way to safely remove it. He certainly had no intentions of spending the rest of his life with the beast on his back.
N ot far from the spring he found a dry spot on a large flat boulder surrounded by a small pile of rocks. He cleared away the smaller stones, leaves and sticks and dropped his sword next to the sack beside one of the larger stones. Using his belt knife, he shaved splinters off a cedar branch, then with a few quick strikes of his flint he soon had a roaring fire. If there was one thing Ammon had learned working as a tender, was how to build a fire quickly. He pulled the dented pot from his sack, filled it with water and set about boiling the roots. He had to refill the pot several times before the fibrous roots were soft enough to chew, but at least they were filling and his headache seemed to lessen somewhat.
As he sat by the fire staring into the flames, he suddenly felt the dragon release his shirt and drop to the ground. Not daring to move, he watched and waited. Very slowly, the little dragon crawled past him and towards the fire. Still covered mostly in soot, a few glittering gold scales showed through the dirt as it curled so close to the fire Ammon thought it might burn. It stared through the flames at him with unblinking amber colored eyes and they sat that way for some time before the dragon’s lids drooped sleepily, the warmth of the fire apparently making it drowsy. Ammon leaned back against the boulder and studied his unusual traveling companion. Somehow the tiny creature didn’t seem quite so threatening now that he could see it clearly and he marveled at its long tail and sleek lines. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. His own lack of sleep was finally catching up as the afternoon sun beat down and soon Ammon's head nodded to his chest as he drifted off.
He awoke just as the evening stars began to appear and he groaned. It was too dark to travel now and although he’d put some distance behind him, he knew his best chances were to get as far away from the city as possible. Something moved against his leg and he looked down in surprise. The dragon was no longer near the fire, instead it was stretched out on his lap exposing the gold scales on its stomach. The tiny head hung down from Ammon's lap and the sound of soft snoring filled the air. Ammon almost laughed it was such an odd sight. Unable to resist the urge, he very carefully reached out and gently stroked its belly. The dragon grunted softly before opening one eye and looking at him. Then with an indignant snort, the eye closed and the snoring resumed.
He chuckled lightly to himself. “It appears I have a baby dragon for a pet!”
He pulled the blanket from his sack and carefully stretched it out to cover them both. Tomorrow they’d have to make up for the lost time, but tonight they’d rest. He leaned back and closed his eyes.
Something brushed against Ammon’s face and he turned his head. It tickled him again and he opened his eyes slowly, blinking at the bright light. The first rays of the morning sun streamed through the tree branches overhead. Droplets of dew clung to the blanket in little beads and the distant chirping of birds filled the air. He groggily lifted his head to look at the dragon sitting impatiently on his lap. The golden scales were clean now, and nearly blinding to look at as the sunlight danced across its sides. Its inquisitive face peered up at Ammon with its head cocked to one side and its ears perked forward. Sad amber eyes looked back expectantly as if searching for something. It looked lost.
O verwhelmed with pity, Ammon gently stroked the tiny dragon behind its ears. He honestly felt sorry for the magnificent little creature. Having hatched only yesterday it probably had no idea how to survive on its own and he certainly had no idea how to care for it. Like most