Read Online Dragon Kiss by E. D. Baker - Free Book Online

him, but I’ve been getting all turned around . . .”
    Shanna rubbed her eyes with a grubby hand, wiping away a tear. “I want to go home, Galen!”
    “I know, Shanna,” said her older brother, as he put his arm around her. “That’s what we all want. But we can’t go back to Desidaria now.”
    “I can take you to your aunt’s home,” said the dragon, “as long as you can tell me where it is.”
    Samuel shook his head. “We have to get Owen first. We can’t go anywhere without him!”
    “Could you help us find him?” asked Galen. “We could find him faster if you were looking for him, too.”
    “You have wings!” Shanna said through her tears.
    “We’d go with you,” said Samuel. “If we were all looking—”
    “I can’t take you with me. You’d be in the way. And I can’t leave you here. It isn’t safe. I’ll take you to your aunt and come back and look for Owen.”
    “No!” cried Samuel. “He’s our brother. We have to go rescue him!”
    “Take my help the way I offer it, or don’t get it at all. It’s up to you. I have my own task ahead of me, so if you don’t want my help . . .”
    “But we do!” Galen said. “You and I could take Shanna and Samuel to our aunt’s home, then I could go with you.”
    “Galen!” shouted his brother and sister in unison.
    “That wasn’t what I offered,” said Audun.
    “Then we accept your offer as it was given,” said Galen through stiff lips. Audun thought he looked as if he wanted to cry.
    Audun crouched down and bent his neck so the children could climb on more easily. “We’d better hurry,” he said. “I have a lot of flying to do.”

    With the map that Frostweaver had shown him set in his mind, Audun was able to use the children’s scanty memories of the way to their aunt’s home to head in the right direction. It took him longer to find the town than it had to cross the desert, but when he did he landed on the outskirts and refused to go into the town itself. Although the children assured him that their aunt would want to thank him, Audun couldn’t help but remember the reception he’d gotten from other humans.
    “Do you know the way to your aunt’s home from here?” Audun asked as the children clambered down.
    Galen nodded. “I came to visit her last year. I know right where she lives.”
    “You’re going back for Owen, aren’t you?” Samuel asked, his brow creased with worry.
    “I’m going to start looking for him now,” said Audun. Dipping his head to the children, he spread his wings, pausing only long enough to say, “I’ll bring him back if it’s at all possible.”
    “Are you sure I can’t go with you?” asked Galen. “Two pairs of eyes can see more than one.”
    “That’s true,” said Audun. “But dragon eyes can see farther than human eyes. And trying to take something away from a roc won’t be easy or safe. If you go with me, I’ll have to worry about you as well as your brother. You don’t want me to be distracted when I’m trying to rescue him, do you?”
    The little boy looked at the ground and muttered, “I guess not.”
    “Besides, your brother and sister need you to take them to your aunt. Someone bigger and stronger than them has to show them the way. Samuel and Shanna are depending on you.”
    “That’s true,” Galen said, glancing at the smaller children. Shanna was rubbing her eyes again and it was obvious that she was having a hard time keeping them open. Aside from two bright red spots on his cheeks, Samuel looked pale and shaky.
    “Take care of each other,” Audun said, backing away so he could flap his wings without knocking the children over.
    “Thank you!” Galen shouted as the dragon took off.

    Audun didn’t know much about rocs, other than that they were big. He’d heard that they might fight dragons if provoked, but no one he knew had ever fought one and he didn’t want to be the first. If rocs were as territorial as a lot of other birds he knew, there probably