WINTER DRAGON snippet

“My chickens, a beast is eating my chickens.”

A serf from the household ran into the training field and pleaded with Alleron.

“My lord, help us. A beast is eating the chickens.”

Ina was trying to catch her breath, and the servant’s words made very little sense, but she joined her friends as they followed the lord of Liath the distraught woman.

On their arrival to the backyard, the last thing she expected to see was her new horse standing on the remains of the chicken coup plucking panicking birds from the wreckage and eating them. Before she could collect her thoughts, soldiers approached the horse and tried to grab it’s reins. Ina could not believe she had simply forgotten about her mare. Still, it looked like her horse could look after itself perfectly well, and, as the men reached the bridle, Zjawa gave them what could only be described as a sarcastic neigh and jumped over their head, heading straight towards Ina.

The witch looked at her ‘horse’, who dropped half-eaten chicken at her feet, shook her mane, and neighed happily. Ina looked down. There in plain sight, were the horse’s hooves, or what should have been the hooves. As if on command, the mare raised a foreleg, spreading her toes. The witch gasped. What she thought was a hoof was, in fact, five clenched toes, each ending with a sharp talon that formed the unusual shape.

“What the hell are you?” Ina asked, looking at the horse, and her question was met with an amused animal stare.

“She is an Orein.” Ina heard Alleron’s voice behind her back and turned around to look at him.