Read Online Dragon's Mage (An Advent Mage Novel), The - Raconteur, Honor by Honor Raconteur - Free Book Online

didn’t like this idea one bit.
    I folded my arms over my chest and matched her look for look. “Oh, so doing a small fire for a long time is too hard for you?” I challenged.
    Affronted, she drew her head back, chest puffing out. “Can too!”
    Oh-ho, looked like I’d hit a sore point. “I bet you can’t,” I teased.
    “Can too!” she insisted, eyes narrowing in anger.
    I gestured grandly toward the trail. “Let’s see it, then.”
    She wheeled around on her hind feet, lowering her head to just above the ground level. With a deep breath, she let out a long, steady stream of fire. I watched it carefully, but it was exactly the right intensity for our purposes. In fact, she controlled it so well that there would be practically no residual heat in the ground at all.
    A good thirty feet of trail was cleared by that one stream of flame. When she let up, turning to me with a superior look, it took great restraint to not grin up at her. Instead, I nodded solemnly.
    “Yes, you can do it. Can you do it all the way back to the village? Or should I do it?”
    That mulish look descended again. “I do it.”
    I spread my hands in a shrug. “Fine.”
    When she turned her back to me and started clearing the next section of the trail, I caught Renard’s eye. He was about a second from bursting out laughing, judging from the grin on his face. I winked at him. I couldn’t let on that I was goading her. If, or when, Kaya figured it out, I was sure to get thumped for my teasing.
    I followed along behind her, lifting any residual heat from the ground. It wasn’t necessary, as the ground was simply warm and not scorching, but I did it to reinforce the reputation we were building. I wasn’t blind to the opportunities that this moment had. Caravans travelled the world over. Making a good impression on just one caravan boss would open many doors down the road, as he was sure to tell this tale to anyone who’d listen.
    It took roughly two hours to make it back to the town and Kaya’s control didn’t falter even once. We were within sight of the walls when the roads became clear again and she abruptly stopped right on the path, twisting her head to give me a smug, superior look.
    I smiled back up at her. “All right, you did good.”
    Satisfied with this acknowledgement, she gave me a regal nod.
     

Chapter Four: Training
    We’d been sleeping at Hortin’s workshop, in a spare corner of his work area. Kaya still refused to let me out of her sight, especially if sleeping, so finding a way to accommodate her size was an interesting challenge. Fortunately, Hortin had a wide covered patio in the back of his shop, meant to keep the weather off his hides as they dried. Wrapped up in Kaya’s warm bulk, I stayed comfortable throughout the nights and slept like a dead man.
    I woke up the following morning to Hortin announcing, “Your gear’s done.”
    I blinked, trying to comprehend any spoken word before breakfast. When I thought I knew what he meant, I asked, “Already?”
    “Actually had it finished last night. Put on a few finishing touches this morning. You’re ready to start training, kid.”
    I didn’t take umbrage at his use of ‘kid’ as Hortin was almost three times my age. Beck was probably still a kid to him. Shaking my head a little, I dragged myself up and over to the kitchen table where breakfast lay.
    So, the time had come to start training Kaya…well, that’d be fine if I knew how to go about it. Would training a dragon be anything like training a dragoo? A horse? A nreesce? Or would it be entirely different? How much could I talk her through this, and how much did I use simple training techniques? I had no doubt that she would pick everything up quickly if I explained it right. 
    “Kaya?” Hortin asked as he joined me at the table.
    “Out hunting,” I answered, cutting a thick slab of cheese for myself.
    “So, how are you going to train her?” he inquired, cutting a slice of his own.
    “No idea,” I