Dragon Debt (Book of Swords by Fred Saberhagen)

Trav Gorman is a young man with an ancient burden--he has come into possession of the Lost Sword Dragonslicer.

Worse for him, he has assumed the responsibility for a cute dragon, Piddling, the runt of the clutch. So needy, requiring protection and human love to survive.

Trav gives the tiny dragon all that and more until the true meaning of his devotion tears apart his family and his life and threatens the world around him.

Dragon Debt was originally published in Fred Saberhagen's anthology An Armory of Swords and is reprinted with permission.