Read Online The Seadragon's Daughter by Alan F. Troop - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Alan F. Troop
Ads: Link
giant, flame-breathing Zal, the seagoing Pelk, the airborne Thryll and our castryll, the Undrae—that once made up the People of the Blood.
Unlike my mother, who spent most of her youth being raised among humans, Chloe has been taught all the history of our people and the necessity to pass it along. I know when my daughter’s older she’ll be taught even more of it—as well as the uses of every herb and plant in our garden and how to prepare them.
Since I’ve heard the story before and know the fighting was over dwindling food sources after a cataclysmic explosion ripped through the earth—a battle the Undrae eventually won—I pay only partial attention to Chloe’s words. My eyes wander down to our harbor and out to the bay.
I smile when I spot the dark blue speedboat racing toward our island. If it stays on course it will soon arrive at the entrance to our unmarked channel. I’ve taught only two humans how to negotiate the channel’s treacherous twists and turns, and I know which one of them owns a speedboat of this color. I wonder if Arturo Gomez knows his daughter’s out on the water on a workday.
Two patrol boats speed toward her boat and intercept it before it reaches the channel. I frown, wishing that boats could come and go on the water as they did before. By now I’ve been stopped so often that I know many of the people on the patrol boats by name.
Fortunately, such stops are usually brief. It takes only a few minutes before Claudia’s on her way again.
She’s still wending her way through our channel when Chloe finishes her story. “Are all the others gone?” Henri asks. “Aren’t there any Zal or Pelk or Thryll anywhere anymore?”
“All the others were defeated,” Chloe says. “Most either were killed or married Undrae. My mother told me some small groups from other castrylls still exist. But not one of our kind has ever reported seeing any of them.”
The breeze brings with it the low rumble of Claudia’s outboards, and Max’s ears perk up. He lets out a loud woof, scrambles to his feet and runs toward the dock.
Henri looks toward the harbor, sees the dark blue speedboat and shouts, “Claudy!” He jumps up, turns to me and says, “Can I, Papa?” I nod and he runs off after his dog.
A few moments later a dog barks from the other side of the island. Another follows, and soon the whole pack fills the air with barks and yelps. One beast after another scrambles over the sand dunes and through the brush, until the whole pack crowds the shore near the dock.
They number over twenty now—more than enough to guard our small island. Standing, picking up Lizzie, I look at Chloe. “We really shouldn’t let the pack get much bigger,” I say.
“It’s not time yet,” she says, her emerald-green eyes staring into mine. “We can afford to let them have a few more litters. You know how much the kids love the puppies.”
“I know how much you love them,” I say and begin walking toward the dock, Chloe walking at my side. “But we already have enough.”
She brushes against me. “Just a few more litters and then we take care of the older ones, okay?” she says.
I stop, look at her. She’s always made a face every time I talked about how Father and I used to cull the pack.
“No.” Chloe shakes her head. “There’s no need for that. You can take them to a vet. Get them fixed.”
“I’m sure that would go over well,” I say, grinning, picturing the commotion that would ensue if I ever tried to bring one of our half-wild beasts to an animal hospital. Even if we could control the dog in such an unfamiliar setting, I doubt any other pet owners would feel comfortable in its presence.
“So,” I say. “Weren’t you the one who recently killed four humans on Andros because you were too hungry to wait until you could take just one?”
“Peter, I said I was sorry about that. . . .”
“And yet you’re worried about doing away with some guard dogs? Don’t you find this a
Unlike my mother, who spent most of her youth being raised among humans, Chloe has been taught all the history of our people and the necessity to pass it along. I know when my daughter’s older she’ll be taught even more of it—as well as the uses of every herb and plant in our garden and how to prepare them.
Since I’ve heard the story before and know the fighting was over dwindling food sources after a cataclysmic explosion ripped through the earth—a battle the Undrae eventually won—I pay only partial attention to Chloe’s words. My eyes wander down to our harbor and out to the bay.
I smile when I spot the dark blue speedboat racing toward our island. If it stays on course it will soon arrive at the entrance to our unmarked channel. I’ve taught only two humans how to negotiate the channel’s treacherous twists and turns, and I know which one of them owns a speedboat of this color. I wonder if Arturo Gomez knows his daughter’s out on the water on a workday.
Two patrol boats speed toward her boat and intercept it before it reaches the channel. I frown, wishing that boats could come and go on the water as they did before. By now I’ve been stopped so often that I know many of the people on the patrol boats by name.
Fortunately, such stops are usually brief. It takes only a few minutes before Claudia’s on her way again.
She’s still wending her way through our channel when Chloe finishes her story. “Are all the others gone?” Henri asks. “Aren’t there any Zal or Pelk or Thryll anywhere anymore?”
“All the others were defeated,” Chloe says. “Most either were killed or married Undrae. My mother told me some small groups from other castrylls still exist. But not one of our kind has ever reported seeing any of them.”
The breeze brings with it the low rumble of Claudia’s outboards, and Max’s ears perk up. He lets out a loud woof, scrambles to his feet and runs toward the dock.
Henri looks toward the harbor, sees the dark blue speedboat and shouts, “Claudy!” He jumps up, turns to me and says, “Can I, Papa?” I nod and he runs off after his dog.
A few moments later a dog barks from the other side of the island. Another follows, and soon the whole pack fills the air with barks and yelps. One beast after another scrambles over the sand dunes and through the brush, until the whole pack crowds the shore near the dock.
They number over twenty now—more than enough to guard our small island. Standing, picking up Lizzie, I look at Chloe. “We really shouldn’t let the pack get much bigger,” I say.
“It’s not time yet,” she says, her emerald-green eyes staring into mine. “We can afford to let them have a few more litters. You know how much the kids love the puppies.”
“I know how much you love them,” I say and begin walking toward the dock, Chloe walking at my side. “But we already have enough.”
She brushes against me. “Just a few more litters and then we take care of the older ones, okay?” she says.
I stop, look at her. She’s always made a face every time I talked about how Father and I used to cull the pack.
“No.” Chloe shakes her head. “There’s no need for that. You can take them to a vet. Get them fixed.”
“I’m sure that would go over well,” I say, grinning, picturing the commotion that would ensue if I ever tried to bring one of our half-wild beasts to an animal hospital. Even if we could control the dog in such an unfamiliar setting, I doubt any other pet owners would feel comfortable in its presence.
“So,” I say. “Weren’t you the one who recently killed four humans on Andros because you were too hungry to wait until you could take just one?”
“Peter, I said I was sorry about that. . . .”
“And yet you’re worried about doing away with some guard dogs? Don’t you find this a
Similar Books
