The Dragon Eater Excerpt – Aik

what in the seven hells was that thing? “Rave!” Aik was paralyzed, afraid to touch his best friend. Cold sweat beaded his forehead, and his hands shook.
Snap out of it. Look, learn, leap!
His guard training kicked in. He looked around wildly. The silver box lay open on its side a few feet from the pile of bedding, surrounded by a smattering of egg shards.
Raven lay on the hard rock floor of the cavern, breathing shallowly. Thank Hel’Oss. The goddir of death had spared him, for now.
Get him off the ground. Pushing through his fear, he knelt beside Raven, lifting him gently, and carried him to his bed. His body was light and pitifully limp. Aik deposited his friend carefully on the soft blankets and put the blue and gold pillow under his head.
A golden light pulsed in Raven’s shirt pocket.
Spin. He’d almost forgotten the strange little being in the chaos. “Um … Spin?”
“Yes, Aik?”
“Is Raven … all right?” Stay calm. You’re no use to him all flustered.
“His heart is beating normally. But he just ingested a native life form, like some fucking scene out of Alien. Do you think he’s okay?”
Aik had no idea what that meant. “I … no, I guess not.” Spin was right — it was a stupid question. Why am I talking to a machine, or whatever you are? He said a quick prayer to Jor’Oss to placate her, just in case her wild magic was at work here. “I’m going to take a closer look.”
“Suit yourself.”
Aik pulled up his friend’s shirt and recoiled.
Raven’s stomach was moving.
He turned away, his gut twisting, dry heaving and covering his mouth. He managed to keep it down, barely.
He’d only gotten a brief glimpse of the thing before Raven’s wild gyrations had knocked him over — his jaw was still sore from the blow. Whatever it was, it had been long and sleek, white and scaly, with short black claws. How had it fit inside that little egg? And were those claws tearing up Raven’s stomach? “What in Heaven’s Reach was that thing?”
“Sorry. I have insufficient evidence to determine its nature. Please enable a full body scan.”
Aik snorted. Now the little familiar was just mocking him with long words.
Whatever the creature was, it was doing no good inside Raven’s stomach. I could cut it out.
His short sword was in his hand before he took a step back to reconsider. What if it refused to come out? With those claws, it could tear Raven to bits. And how would he sew Raven back together again? He was no surgeon. Raven would surely bleed to death long before Aik could find someone to help put him back together. He bit his lip. “I don’t know what to do.” He paced back and forth, kicking some of Raven’s loose things out of his way.
“Aik, pick me up.” Spin was using that same voice his mother used to when she was annoyed with him for being a dimwit but trying not to let him know.
“What? Why?” Aik stared at Raven’s familiar, blinking.
“Look, I know you’re four quarts short of a gallon, but listen to me. You can do this. Just pick me up.”
What the farking hell is a gallon? “Um … sure?” Aik reached into Raven’s pocket and pulled the thing out. “Now what?”
“Lift up Raven’s shirt and hold me over his stomach.”
Um, all right … “Got it.”
In seconds, a golden light flashed over his friend’s moving belly. An image appeared in the air above the familiar. It was fuzzy, but Aik could make out the long tail, and a blunt snout. “What is it?”
“Unknown. But it’s not doing any apparent damage in there.”
Aik breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank the gods.” He looked around the messy lair. “I have to find help.” But who would believe me?
“Does Gullton have any real doctors?” Spin’s sarcastic tone said he’d already answered his own question.
The Guard had a medic on call at all hours, but Doc Jyn was a hundred years old if he was a day, and he’d never make the journey down the cliff face, let alone through the tunnels. “I know one, but he’ll be no help with something like this.”
Aik needed someone who would at least listen to him, knew something about medicine, and could make the trip back to Raven’s lair.
Silya.
He discarded the idea out of hand. Why would she help him, after all he’d done to her? Especially with Raven. She’d sooner see the thief dead than speak to him.
Raven moaned and shifted on the bed, clutching his stomach.
“Rave, you’ll come through this. I’ll figure something out.” Despite Spin’s assurances, Aik was scared to death for Raven. He knelt at his friend’s side to touch his forehead — it was hot with fever. He waited a few seconds to see if Raven would awaken.
Raven shuddered, then settled into a troubled slumber, muttering in his sleep.
Aik stared at his pale white face. “What should I do?”
“Find someone who’s smarter than you are.” Spin said it so matter-of-factly, it was almost worse than his previous tone.
“Not helpful.” But the familiar was right. He needed someone who could figure this out — it was way above his pay grade.
It was Silya, or nothing.