Chapter 32

  Dracos - Link

  Dracos stood over Link. Link looked up into the eyes of the dragon. Link had heard all his life the stories of dragons. They were always the ones causing trouble. They were always the bad guys. It was said they could cause the greatest warrior to quake under their glare, and Link could believe it. From the histories and the legends to the made-up stories, dragons could never be beaten by a lone warrior. Yet with all these things, Link managed to stand here before the dragon, a prayer for strength whispering from his lips.

  The dragon hissed, "How much does the Forests knows?" before Link could refuse to answer, the dragon continued, "Whats did yous tells yours peoples before yous weres captureds?"

  As far as Link knew, the Forest of Animals still had no idea that an attack was coming. He couldn't do anything to help the Forest; he knew this, but he wouldn't tell this creature anything.

  Link looked around and saw Max being led off to be made a slave. Link hoped that Max could continue to be silent, as he was sure that if this group figured out he was a talking animal, his life would be over. His job was to endure long enough for Max to be forgotten. Link had faced a few difficulties in his life, but what he faced now, he was certain, was going to be the hardest and his last.

  Everything he knew about dragons said they were cruel, vile, and sadistic. They enjoyed inflicting pain on helpless creatures for pleasure. Now, Link was the creature this dragon was going to find pleasure in torturing. Their one and only desire was to destroy everything the creator had made.

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  Everyone believed that they had all gone. There were no more dragons in this world, except in stories to scare children. They had all been destroyed during the breaking of the world, but now he knew better.

  The dragon reached its tail out and wrapped it around Link. He could hardly breathe. He felt his bones being crushed, but it was clear from the hiss and the growl that the dragon wasn't quite ready to kill him yet.

  "Wheres are the rests?" "Whens are theys coming? Whats do theys know?" But Link said nothing, even as the dragon shook his body.

  The dragon lifted him higher, then smacked him down onto the platform. Link could feel pain in his legs, his back. Again, he smacked him down. Link felt that once more, his legs would break.

  "Tells me," the dragon growled. "Dos theys know?"

  Link wouldn't let the dragon know that. He couldn't. He couldn't betray the trust that had been placed in him. He kept quiet, knowing that he would soon be dead.

  "Says somethings," the dragon said. Squeezing once again, Link tried to take a breath. Realized he couldn't say anything even if he wanted to.

  The dragon threw him, and he landed on the other edge of the platform, catching his breath. He hadn't known how long the dragon had yelled at him, but he thought it had at least been a couple of minutes.

  Now he stood there trying to catch his breath. The dragon looked at him and growled out. "Tells me, whats yous know?"

  Link had us looked the sky and had a moment of inspiration.

  "I know this," Link said in defiance, knowing this would be his final words. "You will be defeated. The Creator will see you dead before this is over."

  Those words pushed the dragon into a rage. Link could see the dragon bending its knees, preparing to leap and crush. Link tried to stand as tall as he could, though his body protested in pain. If this was going to be the end, he would meet it standing up straight as he physically could.

  Link prayed, "Creator, save Max and my family.

  With a look from the dragon, a wave of despair washed over Link. "I will not." He told himself, Link He had been convinced that with Max at his side, the Forest would win, and even facing death, he would not give in to despair. It was at that moment that he heard a familiar voice yell his name.