Lawrence Watt-Evans 
Blood of a Dragon 

It was definite – Dumery had no magical talent at all. He could never fulfill his dream to become a wizard’s apprentice. Hurt, angry, and mortally disappointed, he despaired of ever choosing a trade.But then Dumery spied a so-called great wizard humbling himself before a man selling dragon’s blood – the precious stuff that made difficult spells work. If Dumery couldn’t be a wizard, maybe he could become a dragon-hunter and have all those scornful wizards crawling to him.So, leaving his family, city, and comfortable home, Dumery began trailing Kensher, the man in brown – even though Kensher said he didn’t need a dragon-hunting apprentice. But when Dumery finally caught up with Kensher, he would discover Kensher’s great secret of how the precious fluid was obtained – a secret from which only Kensher’s kin could profit.Once again, Dumery would be left without career or future. Unless . . .