Read Dragonbound: Blue Dragon Online

Authors: Rebecca Shelley

Tags: #dragons, #dragonbound, #blue dragon, #fantasy, #epic fantasy, #YA, #magic, #R. D. Henham, #children's book, #fiction

Dragonbound: Blue Dragon (5 page)

BOOK: Dragonbound: Blue Dragon
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No use trying to get to the gate. Kanvar headed in the opposite direction. If they'd caught the Naga they would most likely take him to the town square below the watch tower. Kanvar limped toward the center of town and climbed the stairs to the bottom platform of the tower. Above him, he heard the chatter of the soldiers who manned the spy glasses.

"Don't see the Great Gold now. Wonder where it went."

"It's still cloudy, so we should see it if it flies up out of the jungle canopy. Just keep your eyes open for it."

The throng of people made its way down the main street toward the square. Kanvar shuddered. He hated crowds. There in the center of the shouting angry mob a group of soldiers surrounded a single man with wild blond hair. They'd bound his hands behind his back and tied a singing stone against his forehead with a leather thong but left the fine sword hanging at his side as if it were accursed and no one wished to touch it. Kanvar winced at the thought of how painful the singing stone must be for the captured Naga. But the Naga strode confidently amid the soldiers, head held high, his eyes scanning the crowd as if looking for someone.

They brought him into the square amid the shouting crowd. "Burn him! Burn the Naga!" The closer the singing stone came, the more its wail drowned out the cries of the angry humans. Kanvar reeled in pain and dropped his bedroll onto the platform so he could use his good arm and hand to grip the stanchion to keep himself from falling.

General Samdrasen met the soldiers just below the watch tower. The soldiers savagely forced the Naga to his knees in front of Samdrasen. The Naga glanced up as his knees slammed against the rough volcanic stone. His eyes locked with Kanvar's for a split second before the soldiers forced his head down into submission at Samdrasen's feet.

"Devaj," Kanvar cried, but his small voice was lost in the shouts from the crowd. He couldn't believe it. His brother had changed some as he grew older, but there was no doubt, the Naga was Devaj. Joy spread through Kanvar's heart and was smothered by a blanket of fear. Devaj would not survive the day.

Samdrasen held a hand up, and the shouts died down to angry mutters.

"Why have you come here?" Samdrasen demanded. "You know your life is forfeit."

"I've come seeking peace. This land is big. There is room for all. Dragons and humans once lived side by side. We could do so again," Devaj said.

Kanvar didn't know how Devaj could even talk instead of just writhing in pain from the singing stone. His announcement must have taken all Devaj's force of will to make.

Samdrasen spat in Devaj's face. "Tell that to the blues."

Devaj swallowed and looked up into Samdrasen's face.

"Don't you dare look at me." Samdrasen kicked Devaj in the jaw, sending him reeling backwards. The soldiers caught him and forced him down flat on the ground in front of Samdrasen.

"I've come to act as an emissary between you and the blues," Devaj said through gritted teeth. Kanvar could barely hear him beneath the scream of the singing stone. "I believe if both sides would just listen to each other, we could bring this war to a close."

"Never," Samdrasen said. He kicked Devaj again and ordered his soldiers to burn him.

During the brief exchange between Samdrasen and Devaj, more soldiers had erected a wooden pillar in the center of the square. The colonists brought armloads of dry straw, sticks, and logs to pile around the pillar.

The soldiers dragged Devaj over to the pillar.

"No!" Devaj shouted above the roar of approval from the crowd. "Don't do this. We can have peace. Please!"

And Kanvar stood frozen, clinging to the tower support with his good arm. He told himself to do something, to move, to save his brother. But his body remained rooted to the spot.

Devaj glanced up at him with a thin smile as the pile of wood grew at Devaj's feet and oil poured over it. Samdrasen himself carried the torch to light the fire.

A terrible roar split the air, and the bell started a wild tolling. "The blues!" the watchmen screamed. "The Great Blues!"

Kanvar snapped his eyes up from the square and saw a wave of Great Blue dragons appear around the closest mountain peak and skim across the trees toward the colony.  They had to have been flying low and behind the ridges to keep from sight until the final length from the mountain to the colony. And at the head, their leader, a grizzled old blue dragon who dwarfed the younger ones by far. Kanvar had seen the Great Blue leader before. He led all the blues' attacks on the colony. He was colossal and relentless and had the scars to prove it. The soldiers said he was blind in his left eye from a ballista bolt he'd taken back when the Maranies had first come to these shores. No matter how many times the Maran army wounded him and beat the blue dragons back, the colossal blue always returned to attack again.

The colonists scattered out of the square into the safety of the buildings.

"Liar," Samdrasen screamed at Devaj. "Did you think you could trick us into letting our guard down? It won't work." He thrust the torch into the oil-slicked wood and then raced along with the rest of the soldiers to the defense of the colony.

Kanvar uncurled his arm from the tower support and snatched up his bundle of possessions. He tucked it under his short left arm and hurtled down the tower stairs, using his good hand to steady himself.

He stumbled across the square, fighting the urge to run away from the piercing song from the stone bound on Devaj's forehead. The fire from the torch smoked then sprang to life, catching on the oil and wood. Kanvar glanced up at the tower to make sure the watchers were focused on the attacking blue dragons, then shook his night shirt and sandals out of the blanket and used the blanket to smother the flames.

The heat scorched his hands and face, but the dragon armor protected the rest of his body. He didn't stop beating at the flames until the fire had subsided to a heated smolder. He spread the blanket across the wood and climbed up beside Devaj.

The song from the singing stone seared his mind in intense agony as he came up close to it. Crying out, he tore the leather thong from Devaj's forehead and hurled the stone as far across the square as he could.

"Kanvar," Devaj said, his eyes streaming from the heat of the fire. "You
are
alive. Father said he felt you, so he sent me to look. But you're supposed to be dead. Mani told the All Council she'd killed you and thrown your body into the bay."

"She tried," Kanvar said, coughing from the smoke. "But you shouldn't have come. I don't know how I'm going to get you out of here alive."

"You can start by cutting my hands free. Use the sword."

Kanvar recognized the sword now that he was up close. It was his father's. A sword he'd claimed to have raided from a Great Gold's treasure hoard. Kanvar pulled it from its sheath. Ancient golden runes ran along the edges of the blade, glowing with a light of their own.

"You shouldn't have come," Kanvar said again as he set the edge of the sword against the rope that bound his brother. He had to be careful not to sever Devaj's hands along with the rope. His father had claimed the sword could go through anything, even solid steel. "They would have burned you."

Devaj laughed. "We could never leave one of our own to the mercy of these uncivilized brutes. Besides, I knew I could count on Dharanidhar to try to stop any kind of peace proceedings. His lust for human blood is insatiable."

"Who's Dharanidhar?" Kanvar asked.

"The Great Blue," Devaj said. "The blue's leader."

Kanvar shuddered, but managed to cut through the first bit of rope without drawing any of his brother's blood. "I don't know how we're going to get out of here. It won't take the watchers long to notice I'm cutting you free."

Kanvar glanced up at the tower and caught a flash of gold at the same time the watchers did. Too late for them. The Great Gold had flown out to the coast and come across the colony from the side while the watchers were focused on the attacking blues. The Great Gold let out a burst of glittering gold breath. It settled over the watchers putting them in a state of blissful ecstasy. They sank to the floor of the tower and began humming happily to themselves.

The Great Gold swooped toward Kanvar and Devaj. The precious gold dragon jewel in his forehead glowing with an inner fire of its own.

A streak of blue shot from across the square and intercepted the gold dragon. Kanvar froze in terror. It was Dharanidhar, giant and furious. The gold was less than a third his size. Dharanidhar barreled straight into the gold dragon, digging his claws into the gold's chest and tearing him through the sky out across the water. He shook the gold viciously and let him drop into the bay. Then he swung around and headed back for Devaj.

Kanvar got Devaj's hands free of the rope, but Devaj fell to his knees clutching his chest. Blood trickled from holes in his torso that matched where the Great Blue had sunk his claws into the gold.

Dharanidhar settled onto the square in front of them. Devaj swore, struggled to his feet, and thrust Kanvar behind him. Dharanidhar's great wings beat furious gusts of air, and his tail lashed out behind him, toppling the closest building. The dragon roared in fury. Kanvar sensed its intent to kill Devaj, but couldn't make out the dragon's voice in his head.

"It's not what you think," Devaj said, holding his hands palm-out toward the angry dragon. "I just came for the boy. You can carry on fighting all you want, though your failure to embrace peace will someday bring a horrible price."

The dragon growled and lowered its head so its one good eye could get a look at Devaj and Kanvar behind him. The scales on Dharanidhar's face were pitted and scarred from fighting. His left eye was a milky white orb, but he turned his head and his right eye focused on Kanvar. The dragon jewel in the center of his forehead between his eyecrests burned a deep blue. It was the biggest jewel Kanvar had ever seen, easily dwarfing all the ones Grandpa Raza had pried from the Great dragons he'd slain. The dragon jewel marked the difference between the lesser dragons and the Great Dragons. Some figured it was the jewel itself that lent mind speech to the dragons. True or not, all the Great Dragons grew a jewel of their skin color in their foreheads.

Kanvar had always considered Great Dragons to be magnificent and awe inspiring. But Dharanidhar's scarred face twisted Kanvar's gut with revulsion. Dharanidhar's jaws opened, revealing teeth worn sharp by constant use against enemies.

Kanvar could not make out the words Dharanidhar spoke into Devaj's mind, but Kanvar could sense his intent to kill Devaj and Kanvar. The ancient blue wouldn't let another repulsive Naga bond and come into power.

Just as Dharanidhar lunged to finish them, Kanvar shoved Devaj aside, lifted the sword, and thrust it into Dharanidhar's good eye. Kanvar doubted he could defeat the blue dragon, but he didn't intend to die without a fight. He pulled the sword free and tried to stab a second time, but Dharanidhar reared back and let out a roar that shook the ground. He sucked in a deep breath.

Devaj wrapped his arms around Kanvar and dove to the side as Dharanidhar let out a torch of intense blue flame.

But the ancient dragon, though cruelly injured, had not lost his wits. Devaj's dive away from the flames threw both of them straight into Dharanidhar's waiting claw. The claw snapped shut around both the humans, and Dharanidhar leapt into the air. He hovered for a moment, cocking his head to listen, getting his bearings from the sounds of the battle that raged along the colony wall between the soldiers and the other blues. With a sweep of his wings Dharanidhar swooped out of the colony and over the jungle back toward the mountains. He roared a command and the other blues broke off the fight and came after him.

Chapter Four

 

 

The sudden rush of wind
stole Kanvar's breath as the Great Blue Dragon shot through the air.

Kanvar knew he should be terrified. Dharanidhar's pain and fury at being blinded, screamed into Kanvar's mind. He could not block the dragon's boiling hatred for humanity. Dharanidhar's emotions crashed against him like thunderous waves. Despite that, the sudden joy of flight made Kanvar's heart leap. All his life he'd spent struggling along the ground. Limping. Forcing his deformed body to move with great effort. Now he flew, the wind in his face, the jungle trees flashing by below him, the mountain slopes rising up ahead. He let out a cry of exhilaration.

Dharanidhar clamped his claw tighter, and Kanvar's cry went from joy to pain as his father's sword, trapped unsheathed at his side, cut through his armor and into his leg. No dragon armor could have protected his body from that sword. Kanvar's leg burned from the cut of the hot steel pressed into it. The opposite edge of the sword had to be cutting into the Great Blue dragon's claw as well, but Dharanidhar's hold remained tight around Kanvar and Devaj. The earthy scent of the dragon's blood mixed with Kanvar's own, making his head spin.

Devaj moaned and stared out across the ocean, his eyes fixed on the crumpled gold form of his dragon. The dragon was still moving, though, swimming toward shore.

BOOK: Dragonbound: Blue Dragon
5.61Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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