Dragonbound: Blue Dragon (19 page)

Kanvar looked up and realized Dharanidhar had stopped moving. He could not make his way to the cave without Kanvar.

Kanvar stood and faced off with Anilon.
Do you promise not to harm him and not let anyone else touch him? That was Dharanidhar's agreement with me. My life and bond with him in exchange for my brother's freedom.

Anilon extended a foreclaw and bowed to Kanvar.
I will guard him, I swear
.

Kanvar limped over to Dharanidhar who lifted him in his claw. Together they crossed the ground to the lower cave and strode inside. The crevice went back a ways to a jagged cavern.

Chapter Fifteen

The cave opened into
a great jagged cavern. Only a trickle of light came into the space, making Kanvar have to wait until his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He felt Dharanidhar's annoyance at his limited human sight, but then Dharanidhar changed his mind, deciding to be grateful for any sight at all.

A pungent odor filled the space, a scent Kanvar could not recognize. Dharanidhar knew it as the smell of ancient dragon hide gone, brittle like the pages of an old book. The sound of raspy breathing hissed through the chamber.

As Kanvar's eyes adjusted, he made out a massive dragon curled against one of the walls, its skin bleached to a pale blue. Though its wings were folded tight and its tail curled around it, Kanvar could tell Akshasa dwarfed Dharanidhar. Akshasa was nearly twice as big, but his scales looked brittle and hide sunken in against his bones. His eyes were closed, and only the faintest blue glow came from his dragonstone. Akshasa's scars that had looked so ghastly in Dharanidhar's memory stood out even more now, angry slashes of bone-white skin where no scales grew.

Kanvar glanced around the rest of the chamber. Akshasa's things were set carefully in great wooden trunks, carved in amazing detail with scenes from Stonefountain. Kanvar took a step toward them. The carvings were fantastic like the master of all master carvers had spent years working on the details of each face, scale, and article of clothing.

I used to carve in stone
, a faint whisper of a voice floated into Kanvar's mind.
But my claws are too soft now
.
Khalid chained me for two hundred years in his palace and made me work the stone to adorn his halls. I carved great murals and overlaid them with gold. By the fountain, I hate the smell of gold. You've been in Rajahansa's palace. I can still smell it on you.

Kanvar froze, wondering what Akshasa had done with his singing stone. Fear of the agony it caused raced through Kanvar. And he remembered from his studies as a child that it was Akshasa who had ordered the death of every Naga. None were to survive the fall of Stonefountain. And any born afterward were to be killed, immediately upon discovery. Akshasa had sworn to destroy Kanvar's entire race.

The stone is locked away in its box.
Akshasa's voice remained faint in Kanvar's mind like an old echo that forgot to die out.
Come over where I can see you, boy
.

Steeling himself, Kanvar walked over to stand in front of the almost skeletal face that rested on Akshasa's front legs. Dharanidhar set a protective claw down next to Kanvar.

The faint glow in Akshasa's dragonstone intensified, and Akshasa opened his eyes a slit and looked on Kanvar.

Akshasa let out a surprised rumble and lifted his head. His eyes opened wide.
You're a cripple? They let you live?
His jaws opened, showing teeth yellowed with age, chipped and broken.

Kanvar drew himself up, hyper aware of his half-formed left arm and twisted left leg. He turned so Akshasa could get a clear look at them.
Rajahansa and my father are very different from Khalid. Yes. They let me live. Rajahansa's son even agreed to bond with me. They thought it would be a good match
.

Kanvar reached out to Dharanidhar, rubbing his hand down the smooth scales on Dharanidhar's foreleg.
I don't like the smell of gold either, or the way it gives beneath my feet when I walk across it. Seems stupid to cover the floor with gold leafing? I declined their offer to live as they do in the palace. I'd much rather fly wild and free. I sought Dharanidhar out and bonded with him instead.

Akshasa let out an angry snort.
Khalid insisted it could not be done. The old liar. He said blue dragon blood was not compatible with the Nagas and would kill them
.

Kanvar laughed.
I'm always doing things people say I cannot do
. He lowered his hand from Dharanidhar's leg and limped closer to Akshasa.
You have every reason to hate me and all other Nagas. I know that. I've seen memories of Stonefountain. And though you would have me killed, I revere the fight you fought to bring freedom to humans and dragons alike. War now rages between dragons and humans, but let there be peace between you and I
.

Akshasa reached out a claw and wrapped it around Kanvar.

Kanvar stayed motionless as the wall of dragon flesh and bone closed around him.

Akshasa's hand shook while the ancient dragon battled in his own mind whether to kill Kanvar or let him live. Old anger and hatred twisted through Akshasa. Hurt and desperation along with the ultimate decision he'd made long ago to kill every Naga, no matter the consequences. At odds with Akshasa's brutal instinct to kill was the stark wonder that the new gold king had allowed a crippled child to live and bond with a blue dragon. That the Naga powers no longer rested solely with the Great Golds. That perhaps against all possibilities a new age had dawned on the world. A better age. A time that once, when he was very young, he had believed might be possible.

The towering claw uncurled from around Kanvar.
I am at peace
, the ancient dragon said. He lowered his head and closed his eyes. His dragonstone pulsed once and then went dark.

A great weight lifted from Kanvar's mind, and a sudden emptiness spread through him as if some large and important part of the world had slipped away.

Dharanidhar lifted Kanvar in his claw and carried him out of the darkness into the sunlight. He let out a great keening wail of sorrow. The Great Liberator was dead. The other dragons picked up the cry, and it rolled on and on for hours, not falling into silence until the sun slipped down over the horizon.

Waiting for Dharanidhar's wing to heal grated on Kanvar's nerves. He was stuck on the ground out in the open with Devaj. And the temperature dropped at night near to freezing.

It's the altitude
, Dharanidhar told him. The sweltering heat of the jungle didn't reach the high peaks and valleys. During the cold season, snow even covered the mountains and dusted the valley floor. The blues preferred it that way. Cold and high.

Kanvar rubbed Devaj's icy skin. The clothes he wore could not keep him warm.

Dharanidhar instructed the young blues to gather firewood. Then Dharanidhar set it alight with a lick of blue flame. Kanvar took his own jacket off and wrapped it around his brother then dragged him over close to the fire.

Devaj did not stir. The back of his head was swollen and matted with blood where he'd cracked it on the rocks when Dharanidhar had dropped him days before. A cold wind whistled across the valley, accenting the dark silence. It made Kanvar nervous after so many years of hearing the throbbing call of insects and other jungle creatures at night.

Dharanidhar settled down beside Kanvar and Devaj and wrapped his tail in a circle around them and the fire. A reflection of the flames glimmered from his polished blue scales.

The blue dragons left their lairs and flew off to hunt in the dark. The young ones brought back food for Dharanidhar and Kanvar. Kanvar cooked his portion over the fire, showing Dharanidhar how humans prepared their food.

After Kanvar had eaten, he walked down to the lake for a drink from the crystal waters. The icy cold liquid slid down his throat. When he returned, he found Devaj's skin had turned a dusky blue. His chest no longer rose and fell.

"No," he cried, shaking his brother. "Devaj. Wake up. Breathe."

Kanvar pressed his hand against Devaj's forehead and tried with all his strength to touch his brother's mind. He felt nothing. Then a glimmer of gold and light, and his father's mind swirled into his own.
Parmver says you must breathe for him. Cover his mouth and nose with your own mouth and force the air into his lungs. Between breathes make his heart beat by pressing down on his chest. We're coming. Don't stop until we get there
.

 
You're coming here
? Kanvar said in alarm as he hurried to follow Parmver's instructions.
You can't. It's the blue dragons' stronghold
.
You've been at war with each other since the fall of Stonefountain. They'll kill you.

We'll have to take that chance.
His father's mind slipped away.

Kanvar puffed into Devaj's mouth and watched his chest rise and then fall again. He pressed hard on Devaj's chest in a rhythm he thought a beating heart should make. Then he breathed again for his brother.

Keeping his brother's heart beating and air in his lungs took all of Kanvar's strength and concentration. He felt Dharanidhar close by, worried. Listening for the sound of Rajahansa's wings.

Anilon clattered to an abrupt landing beside Dharanidhar.
Rajahansa and another gold dragon have been sighted coming this way. They must be following Kanvar's mind. Tell him to block his thoughts. How many blues should I send to stop them?

Let them come
, Dharanidhar ordered.

What? Let Rajahansa into our mountains? He'll discover where we nest. The Nagas will come and enslave us all.

Let them come, I said!
Dharanidhar barely stopped short of forcing Anilon to obey him.

Anilon backed away, considering for the first time disobeying Dharanidhar, even challenging him for leadership. If the gold dragons found the blues' refuge, all would be lost. He stood up on his back legs and spread his wings.

Kanvar breathed for himself. For his brother. Forced Devaj's heart to beat. He wanted to say something to ease the conflict between the two old friends, but could not divert his concentration from his brother.

Anilon.
Dharanidhar stayed on all four feet, his tail wrapped protectively around Kanvar and Devaj.
Don't do this. Trust me, just this once. The Nagas can no longer enslave us. My mind is now as powerful as Rajahansa's. Let Rajahansa come for the prince. I will deal with him
.

Anilon let out an angry spurt of blue fire.
If you're wrong, you've doomed us all
.

I'm not wrong
.

Anilon dropped back down to all fours. Despite Dharanidhar's reassurance he called all the blue dragons back from their nightly hunt and had them perch on the cliffs above the lake, ready to fight.

It seemed like forever before Kanvar felt the throb of Rajahansa's wings fanning the air above him.

The Great Gold King landed by the lake along with Ceiron, Parmver's dragon who had the same brittle, sunken skin as Akshasa. Parmver slid from Ceiron's back and hobbled over to Kanvar and Devaj with a vial of orange liquid. He pushed Kanvar away, lifted Devaj's head and poured the liquid into his mouth. Then stroked his throat, forcing the liquid down.

Nothing happened.

Parmver started counting under his breath. When he reached ten, Devaj's body jerked. He coughed. And then sucked in a breath of air. His eyes fluttered open.

Kanvar let out a breath he'd been holding. "Devaj," he cried, grabbing his brother's hand. "You're alive. Thank the fountain, you're alive."

Devaj blinked up at Parmver and Kanvar. "Where am I?"

"You probably don't want to know," Kanvar said. He turned his gaze to the gold dragons by the lake. Anolin had placed himself between Dharanidhar and the golds, reared up and spread his wings ready to fight, though fear coursed through him at facing the Gold King and his Naga. He had an iron box in his claw, and Kanvar realized he'd retrieved Akshasa's stone from the cave.

"No." Kanvar darted forward before Anolin could open the box.

Dharanidhar moved faster. His claw closed around Anilon's, trapping the iron box in his grip.
Rajahansa and I need to talk. Perhaps we should have taken the time to do it long ago
.