Excerpt: Dragon Child

Three sighed and settled into her chair, watching her dinner cook with great impatience. She had had only some bread and the last of her cheese at midday, and her stomach was growling in a steadily increasing protest. The other fish she had decided to have for breakfast, and Three had placed it in a sack and tied it down in the little stream that flowed from the forest around her shack and into the river. The conies had been sliced up nicely and were smoking in her miniature smokehouse outside. If only her fish would hurry and cook, she could eat and turn in without another care.

As she checked the fish again, the snapping of twigs and an odd scuffling noise from outside caught her attention. The noises seemed to be coming from around the smokehouse; probably a wild animal, then, and Thirty-Three sighed and set her fish down on the table to cool. Then she picked up her knife, donned her cloak, and headed outside.

Carefully, she approached the small building, her knife raised and ready to strike should she need to. Everything was eerily silent now, and it made her terribly uneasy. Now that she had reached the smokehouse, she circled it as quietly as possible; but there was no creature to be found and, as far as she could tell, no signs that anyone had been there but herself. Perhaps it had gone, and she was missing footprints or some other evidence in the dim fire glow. Dissatisfied and still on edge, Three turned to go back inside.

A hand clamped over her mouth, and she let loose a scream.

Suddenly there were shadows all around her, man-shaped and ominous in the wavering light. Gripping the knife’s handle tightly, she drove it backwards into her captor as he tried to pin her arms to her sides. With a gasp and a grunt he fell away; the other shadows, seeing their comrade’s peril, sprung to life. Three cut down two more before someone heavy tackled her from the shadows, forcing her into the dirt and knocking her weapon from her hands. The girl cried out and fought against him with all she had, but his weight advantage was clear and her struggles in vain.

As she was picked up off the ground, Thirty-Three kicked her legs wildly. “What do you want?” she demanded. “Who are you? If it’s money or food you want, just take it—I don’t have much anyway! There’s no need for all this!” It was then that she was forced to stop talking, not for lack of words but because she simply couldn’t speak anymore as she was pushed to her knees and bent over a large rock, the air forced from her lungs. She tried desperately to get it back and looked up at her captors helplessly, her mouth moving in silent protests. When she saw the raised axe, her heart leapt into her throat. This wasn’t a robbery, rape, or drunken prank—it was an execution.

“Are you sure we can’t have a little fun with her first?” a sniveling voice behind her asked, and the axe hesitated.

“No,” came the firm reply. “We do the job and we do the job right. Do you really want to play around with a half-breed?” A collective hiss fell on her ears from all around her, and she was slightly relieved. At least, if she had to die, it would be with her dignity.

“It would only be what she deserved,” muttered one, but the consensus seemed against the idea.

“We’re not here to have fun, we’re here to send her to her end,” said the firm voice, and another man snorted.

“So let’s kill the little dragon bitch and get out of here.” At that, a round of cheers went up around the clearing, and Thirty-Three began to struggle anew. Her life couldn’t end here, not like this!

A heavy boot on her back stilled her movement with another gasp and jolt of pain. “Stop your struggling, girl—I’d like to hit my mark the first time, but if I miss it’s not skin off my back.” The axe rose again, and Three closed her eyes. So this was what her life had come down to.