Send to KindleA Hero’s Wish
by Scott T. Barnes
Carlyle couldn’t help gaping at the jade dragon. The beast’s neck curved along the vaulted ceiling then sloped downward twenty feet to a carriage-sized head. A burning haystack balanced on its tongue and the dragon sucked air through the flames, showering its throat with sparks.
Pages climbed over its back, polishing the scales with soapstone. They were in a tunnel under the massive stadium. Chants from the audience packing the bleachers overhead vibrated through the limestone and thrummed against Carlyle’s heart. But still he could hear the dragon scales rubbing against each other as it swiveled its head, like a whetstone against a blade.
Carlyle’s mother vigorously rubbed sandalwood oil into his hair, finishing with a hard twist that left him grimacing.. “Don’t stare. Pretend that you see dragons every day. The judges are watching.”
“You’re hurting me.” Carlyle didn’t care if the judges saw him staring. He welcomed it, in fact. Anything to get out of this tourney.
