Dragon Down Under

Chapter 1

Brimstone the Crusher leaned his large frame against the ancient pillars at the very back of the Dragon King’s throne room. His ruby gaze moved from the Elders to the King as they argued.

“The fact remains humans are dangerous. To send more of us out there is going to invite trouble,” Council member and Elder Javir yelled above the muttering.

The old grey dragon stood on the left side of the King near the new Commander of the King's Guard.

Not too long ago, the old Commander, Kaden De-Kerr, had been accused by the Dragon Queen of attempted rape, but her deception and false accusation was brought to light when she ran off with the new captain, Merloc.

The King travelled to the Human Realm to seek Kaden’s forgiveness and bring him home, only to find the old Commander had found his true, dragon mate and didn’t wish to return. The news of human females being not only possible mates, but true mates spread through the whole Dragon Realm.

It looked as if a dragon could live like royalty among humans. Many dragons came to the King to petition access to the Human Realm to search for mates.

However, there were still so many uncertainties about it, hence the current debate. Brimstone, a gruff, red dragon, hatched to be a fighter, was dragged to this argument by his friend, Slade, who was interested in finding some pretty humans to impress and fuck. Judging from the massed crowd of dragon males pressing in on this debate, Slade wasn’t the only one.

“We can no longer pretend ignorance,” the King snapped at Javir. “Breeding of our kind is rapidly decreasing; the rarity of hatching a female dragon is ever more apparent. Do you want us to become an extinct race?”

“It’s better to become extinct, than have our bloodline polluted by humans!” Javir spat back at the King, disgust evident in his tone.

“I’ve seen human females and I don’t see the issue,” Slade muttered under his breath.

Brimstone snorted, knowing his long-time friend’s pickings of potential females to seduce were extremely thin.

Brim, on the other hand, didn’t care for females, only for battle; it’s better than sex. The heart-pounding thrill of getting to kill something was well…almost better than sex, but the King's point of having fewer dragons meant fewer enemies to fight. Currently, his only action was killing demons who dared cross over into the Dragon Realm.

Brim frowned, wondering why they have been catching more demons sneaking into their realm of late.

“Javir does have a point. Humans are a weak, non-magical species,” said Brim, his voice low, glancing down at his friend. Slade was a golden dragon. While also fighters, many of them were also suave diplomats.

“Those poor, weak, helpless females...” Slade’s smile morphed up into a calculating grin. “They need a good, strong dragon to protect them, and hold them.”

Brim rolled his eyes and grunted. His gaze returned to the elders, watching the King pinch the bridge of his nose in clear frustration.

Slade moved suddenly, shoving his way through the crowd, much to the surprise of Brim and several other dragons.

“My King, if I may suggest something?” His voice rang clear and everyone fell silent while angry gazes turned his way.

“Slade the Sly, is it not?” The King eyed him with suspicion. “Speak wisely and fast, or I will have your tongue removed and spikes driven under your scales.”

Apparently unfazed by the king’s threat, Slade smiled. “I propose a fact-finding mission. After Commander De-Kerr’s exile, it’s clear we now know less about humans than we thought. If a few dragons were to go and learn, gather current facts on human societies, and bring them back, I believe Your Majesty and the Elders will be more informed and better able to make clear decisions. Is it not wise to know your enemy before you engage in battle?”

Brim grunted at Slade’s speech. His friend was either the smartest dragon he knew, or the dumbest.

“And who do you propose should go on this fact-finding mission?” The King took several steps towards Slade.

“Two dragons, Your Majesty; a fighter for protection and one who is smart and quick to learn. I propose my friend Brimstone and I go for you.”

Dragon crap! Brimstone straightened and all eyes turned to him. He didn’t want to go to the Human Realm. He was going to kill Slade for this.

“Brimstone, come forth,” the King called.

Oh yeah, I am going to pound his fucking, smug, dragon head into the dust.

The crowd parted and Brim moved through the path to stand by his friend.

The King glanced between Brim’s seven foot human height to Slade’s six foot four.

“I like this idea. I suppose I will postpone driving spikes under your scales for now, Slade.”