The First DragonRider

Nothing is meaner than a hungry dragon. Except maybe a newly-hatched dragon, so when Valeria found herself scooped up and deposited into a dragon nest as snack-food, she figured it was all over but the munching. But what she thought was the end was actually the beginning of a saga which would bring two warring species together as partners. Can a dragon and a human form a bond strong enough to survive a world which will do anything to drive them apart? Excerpt: Valeria felt again like she couldn't move. The red dragon snorted, smoke boiling from its nose. Then it stalked toward her and the baby dragon she held. The dragonet struggled free from her hold and took a step toward the massive red. It opened its mouth and gave a short but loud squawk. The red dragon eyed the baby then all at once its head rushed in, jaws wide, teeth snapping shut. Valeria thought the little one was done for, but the red hadn't struck to kill. Its teeth closed only inches away from the dragonet. It wanted the dragonet's fear, not just its flesh. Somehow that got past the terror locking Valeria's limbs in place. She knew about people who wanted others to fear them. There were always human beings like that in the world. Probably always had been. Valeria guessed that perhaps the same was true of dragons. But she hadn't tolerated that from people, and she was damned sure not going to put up with it from a dragon, either! In one fluid motion, she nocked an arrow and fired. A second arrow was on its way to her bow before the first impacted. The first shot deflected off the red's scaled snout, but that got it to turn its head, veering away from her, which exposed the wounded around near its right eye. Valeria's second shot sank into the scales just under the eye. The red dragon opened its mouth and roared, the volume enough to break through her hearing loss and shake the very stones beneath her feet. It clawed at its face and hammered its tail against the cliff face. Rocks rained down. She'd hurt it! Good enough. Maybe it shouldn't have picked on someone helpless. Valeria doubted it would learn the intended lesson, but it was worth giving anyway. She readied another arrow.