The Dragon's Call

By Peter Dressler

How do you convince a dragon not to eat you?
I stared into her reptilian eyes; I knew she didn’t want to eat me. If I could just buy a little time, I knew I could convince her. She didn’t need me, she could easily hunt her own food. I understood why she couldn’t simply let me go; she feared the world would learn of her whereabouts.

I knew I wouldn’t survive the winter. Either she’d eat me as she promised or the cold would claim me. It was hopeless. I can tell you this though, I didn’t expect help from a dandelion.

The Dragon’s Call is a modern day journey that will have you believing in dragons.

Recommended age 16+ due to some darker themes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Peter Dressler
• Release date: Apr 24, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463884720

Peter Dressler

Peter Dressler was born in Surrey, British Columbia, but lives in Pincher Creek, Alberta. He has two 'hatchlings' of his own, Landon and Isla, with his wife Tara. Much of this book was written in Surrey before moving to Pincher Creek and has been a work in progress for over a decade. He operates Dragon Moon Gifts, a fantasy and metaphysical shop online with his wife. He has worked in software development and computer repair and teaches a not-for-profit Go-Ju Ryu Karate class in the evenings. Writing became a passion of his after finding a shortage of good dragon novels that show what he believes is the true nature of dragons. He plans on writing more.

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The Dragon’s Call

Copyright © 2020 Peter Dressler

Cover illustration and design by Rianna Stahl

Published by Peter Dressler at Smashwords

All rights reserved.

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

The Call of the Dragons

About Peter Dressler

Dedication

Thank you to all my readers of this book and of my first book, The Shadow Dragon’s Stream, who told me they wanted more. Thank you to my wife and family for allowing me the time to finish up another multi-year book writing marathon. Thank you to my beta readers who gave me some excellent criticism to allow me to make this story even better.

For all that believe in dragons… Never let that flame burn out.

One

There was absolutely no way I could have anticipated how that long day was going to end.

I was walking along a trail as I had often done many times before. I had even walked that trail many times before and never spotted the cave.

Well, in all fairness it wasn’t much of a trail; it was more like a path that had been abandoned long ago. I had often gone exploring by myself; I had little else to do in my spare time. I wasn’t exactly the kind of person who had a lot of friends, I was practically a hermit. I suspect my disappearance went unnoticed. I still wonder if my co-workers even noticed when I didn’t show up for work the next day. Thinking back, I can’t even remember any of their names now. That day seems a world way.

Oh yes, I remember now; I was twenty-something and working at a fast food restaurant. What was it again? McDonalds I think. It wasn’t the only fast food joint I had worked for– frankly I can’t keep it straight anymore. The one thing I do know is that I was headed nowhere. I had a small apartment and lived alone. The days I didn’t eat at work, I ate Macaroni and Cheese or leftover pizza. Despite living alone, I seldom missed out on was my evening walks.

Some days, I’d go walking the city streets looking for boxes of discarded records. Everyone was upgrading to those new Compact Discs and leaving their records by the curbside for the taking. I certainly didn’t have the money to be purchasing music new and I preferred the music from the 70s and 80s anyway.

I frequently went on longer hikes too, as I did this day. I particularly liked the paths that were not as heavily travelled and I’d often climb rocky terrain just to find something new. I always got a thrill climbing the nearby mountains.

It was that one day that I decided to climb up a small mountain to explore the peak; the day I discovered the cave. I remember finding a rough path once I reached the first plateau. The trees were green, but the rocks were sharp. As beautiful as the trees and wildlife were, parts of the path could be considered impassable by some people’s standards. I was quite literally pulling myself upward with my hands on the steeper terrains as I climbed.

The entrance to the cave was wide. The sun had not yet descended to the earth. If I recall, that sunset was quite beautiful, full of pinks and reds. There was still plenty of light when I found the cave; I didn’t think twice before entering. I knew I shouldn’t, but it was wide and bright enough that it felt safe to do so. Its sheer size would have made it easy to spot anything that could have been hiding within.

What I found was not most creatures.

Upon entering I began to explore the back walls and admired just how flat the surface of the cave was. The roof was tall and its sheer size looked almost unnatural. Most caves built into the rock had somewhat rocky, uneven floors. The dirt was firmly pressed, even smoothed. There were no tunnels beyond, just a clearing which stretched deep in the mountainside.

That was the very reason this cave was chosen.

It grew dark quickly– far too sudden to have been from a passing cloud in the sky. The sunrays from the entrance were instantly silhouetted by a shadow. I turned to find my only exit blocked.

My eyes were fixed on her bright red scales, even before I even knew I was looking at a dragon. I turned my head to follow her scales across the curvature of her body, from the tip of her snout right to the tip of her tail. She had magnificent, awe inspiring wings that blocked most of the cave’s natural light.

Now, I say the word she because I just can’t bring myself to use the word it, knowing what I do now. It would be a travesty to call anyone as beautiful as she was, an it.

Of course at the time her beauty was the last thing on my mind. I truly had no idea that she was a she. My heart skipped a beat and I instinctively held my hands to my chest. I saw her. She saw me. Despite her size, her smooth silent movements caused the most uncomfortable silence.

She licked her lips and her yellow-green eyes were locked on mine. I knew in an instant she would not let me leave her cave alive. All I could do was watch as a drop of drool dripped from her pink forked tongue. As she approached the light she silhouetted was allowed to enter the cave once more.

Not that the flood of light into the cave exactly instilled me with confidence. The creature, at least eight times my size, slowly, confidently made her way towards me. She growled deep, baring her pointed teeth; her path toward me forced me to step backwards until my back bumped into a corner of the stone.

I had no way out. She stood mere feet away from me and I could literally feel her warm, arid breath on my skin. The smell! The closest word I could use to describe it was sweet, stale, burnt meat.

Without a word of warning she lunged at me.

Her jaws extended in an instant and I barely had enough time to see the whites of her teeth and the depth of her insides before my head and half my shoulders were engulfed in her maw, plunging me into darkness.

Her tongue tough was rough, like sandpaper scraping against the tenderest parts of my face. As her tongue pulled upwards, I felt my skin pulling and peeling from my face. I knew at that moment I had but seconds to live.

No! Please, I’ll do anything!

The dragon pushed her maw deeper around me and my feet no longer touched the ground. As she shifted her position the sunlight made itself visible through the cracks of her bulging maw.

I could see down the depths and into the inside of her throat. I knew that in an instant that as soon as she lifted my weight upwards, I would slide down her long neck, whole and alive.

I’ve always wanted to meet a dragon, I said in desperation. But I never thought it would be like this!

The dragon did the one thing I had no recourse on. She clamped her lower jaw on my body and craned her neck upward, holding me upside down straight above the pit of her throat.

No, please dragon! Please re-consider.

The dragon held me there for what seemed like an eternity, but realistically was maybe ten seconds. The gravity rushed all the blood to my head. No teeth dug into my body, just the pressure of her tongue and upper jaws holding me there. I waited, knowing the only reason I was still alive was the pressure between her tongue and my body.

My legs helplessly flailed in the air with nothing to gain purchase on.

I considered my foolishness; if I had only looked behind me when I entered the cave. The dragon wouldn’t have had a chance to sneak up on me. I felt stupid, defeated as I hung with my feet high above me in the air.

Then I felt the descent. At first sign of movement I thought it was over. It took me several seconds before I realized that the dragon craned her neck downward and had released the pressure on my body.

She took a step back from me, keeping her harsh yellow-green eyes fixed on me the whole while.

Why? the dragon asked.

It took me a moment to realize it was the dragon who had spoken to me. Her lips did not move at all, rather I heard the voice in my head as some sort of mental telepathy. Oh– the relief I felt when I realized she was intelligent; she could speak!

I blinked twice before figuring out what I was going to say.

Why? the dragon repeated.

Because, I finally discovered you, I said. You don’t even know how long I’ve been looking for you.

Do I know you? the dragon asked with a puzzled look.

It took me awhile to get used to the voices in my head, but I answered out loud as if I was talking to another person.

No, I said. But I’ve been looking for your kind for as long as I can remember. I knew you were real. And here you are. I mean it when I say I’ve always wanted to meet a dragon.

And now you’ve met me. Now may I please finish my meal?

You don’t want to eat me, I said. I want to be your friend.

I don’t trust you. I cannot let you live. You’ll tell everyone you found me. No, I cannot let you live.

You can trust me.

The dragon just stared at me, her yellow-green eyes locked on mine. Take off your clothes.

Take off my–

Yes, the dragon interrupted. You heard me. Take them off. I don’t like the taste of them.

Oh! That’s how it is. You’re still going to eat me.

I cannot let you live. There’s no other way, the dragon said. If other people find out I am here, they’ll kill me.

I stared at the dragon; I saw her patience growing thin. Then she let out a growl and started walking toward me again. "I can take them off for