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

couldn’t…those eyes…he gasped. It was like looking into two pools of liquid sunlight. For a long minute neither blinked as they gazed at each other. There was something familiar that seemed to draw Ammon in. His eyes burned and he blinked but still he couldn’t look away, he didn’t want to look away. For the first time in his life he felt a kinship, a belonging. The look in those eyes staring back at him pulled on his very soul. Silently they gazed at each other until his head began to ache. How could this be possible?
Drawn by the tearing sounds, both Calis and Tirate returned to the edge of the Nest to investigate. A deep moan escaped from the knight’s lips as he stared down in disbelief while Calis’ head swiveled back and forth from Tirate to the dragon and back again. Dazed, Ammon looked up and somewhat distantly noticed the very red face of the knight.
“Lord Tirate?” Calis squeaked as the knight shoved him aside.
“That’s MY dragon, boy!” He kicked the rope ladder down and turned to climb down.
Calis pleaded to him, “But sire Tirate…they already linked! Ya can see it in his face!”
The knight growled a curse so fiercely that Calis squeaked and twisted the kerchief in his hand so tightly it nearly shredded. Mumbling incoherently, the keeper began to slowly walk backwards towards the door. Dazed, Ammon just stood still in the middle of the Nest and waited for the knight to take the dragon. The pain in his head was throbbing. Maybe after he finished cleaning the Nest he’d try to find some willow bark tea.
The rope ladder creaked under the weight of the knight and his armor and he fumbled awkwardly for each rung as he descended. Two steps from the bottom, he turned to Ammon and growled. “The dragon is young, perhaps he can still link to me if the first link is severed!” He reached behind his back and drew out his long sword.
“W…wait!” Through the foggy ache in his brain, Ammon suddenly realized Tirate wasn’t going to simply take the dragon from him. Holding the tiny dragon close to his chest, Ammon stumbled backwards. Desperately he looked around. He could never climb the polished sides of the Nest, and wasn’t tall enough to reach the lip and pull himself out. The only way out was the ladder, and the knight still stood on its last rungs.
Cursing, Tirate heaved himself towards Ammon, slashing downward with his sword. The rope ladder that had stretched so much under his weight suddenly sprang back, entangling his foot. The big knight jerked to a stop in mid-leap and with a loud crash of armor against stone, he fell heavily on his side.
The sudden crash frightened the baby dragon so badly that it quickly scrambled from its shell, over Ammon’s shoulder and onto his back where it clung, shivering. Dropping the empty shell, Ammon turned in a circle trying to shake the creature off, but it gripped his leather shirt tightly. The knight, now enraged, slashed madly at the rope with his sword. Finally he cut himself free and stood up. He was easily a foot taller than Ammon and he grinned wickedly as he raised his long sword again. Trapped, Ammon had no place to run. Swallowing hard, he closed his eyes and covered his head with his arms, waiting for the blow to come.
Instead, Ammon felt the weight of the small dragon on his back disappear, and he opened his eyes just in time to see a streak of gold flash between himself and the knight. A bloodcurdling scream erupted from Tirate as he fell to his knees, shock on his face. His sword clattered and slid a pace away across the polished floor. Three neat gashes peeled back the black metal armor on his gauntlet and a trickle of blood dripped down his fingertips. The small dragon faced him with its head lowered, back arched like a cat. The golden eyes now glowed as white as burning coals and a tiny drop of crimson oozed off one of its front claws.
Ammon looked at the rope ladder that now hung lopsided behind Tirate. Realizing this may be his only