Dragonbound: Blue Dragon (22 page)

Inside the deserted colony, Kanvar licked his lips then wished he hadn't when his tongue came away with the ash's caustic taste.

The volcanic stone buildings rose like jagged pieces of darkness, defying the hot sun that burned overhead. Moisture condensed on the stone, and sweat soaked Kanvar beneath his mismatched armor. At one time, Kanvar had been used to the heat and humidity, but he'd spent the last few months in the high mountains with the Great Blue dragon pride, only coming down to visit his friends, Tana and Raahi, in the jungle village and keep his promise to train Raahi as a dragon hunter.

Kanvar's feet carried him first to the army barracks where he had spent five years indentured to the old soldier, Chandran. Though he knew it was impossible, he half hoped to see Chandran there. Kanvar tensed his shoulders, expecting a gentle reprimand for arriving so late and failing to polish Chandran's armor.

None came. Chandran's quarters were as empty as the rest of the colony. A ruby dragonfly buzzed around the room and landed on the windowsill. Sunlight glinted through its jewel abdomen. Its wings stilled for a moment, then it thrashed its tail and zipped outside.

"Chandran," Kanvar whispered as he ran his fingers along the stone table against the wall. It had served as desk, workbench, and dinner table for him and Chandran. "Father." Yes, Chandran had been more of a father to Kanvar than a master.

"I'm here."

Kanvar jumped at the sound of the crisp voice from the street. He retreated from Chandran's quarters and stepped out of the barracks. A man stood across the street. The breeze tossed his golden hair and glinted off the crown that rested on his brow. His skin was bronzed from the sun. He wore a shimmering golden robe over a white silk shirt and tan pants.

Kanvar flinched back against the barrack's rough stone walls. The last time he'd spoken with the Great Gold King, Amar, his father, Kanvar had defied him. His father had seized control of Kanvar's mind and body and tried to stop him from bonding with Dharanidhar instead of one of the Great Gold dragons his father had picked out for him.

Amar spread his hands. "I'm not going to hurt you, Kanvar."

Kanvar shuddered and secured the strongest shield he could muster around his mind to keep his father out.

"That's not necessary." Amar folded his arms and remained at a distance.

"What are you doing here?" Kanvar forced his voice to sound strong. "I told Indumauli to ask Devaj to come alone." Indumauli was a Great Black serpent who had saved Kanvar's life once. Kanvar had trusted him to get a message to his brother, Devaj.

"You're my son. Did you think I wouldn't want to see you, to talk to you? I know things have been a bit rough between us, but it doesn't have to stay that way. I care about you, Kanvar. Please . . . let's talk this out."

In the back of Kanvar's mind, he felt Dharanidhar dig his claws into the ground and growl.

Amar's dragon, the Great Gold Dragon King, Rajahansa, had been Dharanidhar's enemy for a long time. But now that Dharanidhar was bonded to Kanvar, the two dragons had agreed to an uneasy truce. Kanvar glanced around the deserted colony, though he knew Rajahansa would be invisible in the burning sunlight. Dharanidhar would have preferred to know Rajahansa's location, just to be on the safe side, and Dharanidhar relied on Kanvar's eyes to see.

"He's on the building right behind me," Amar said.

Kanvar reinforced the shields around his own mind.

"I don't need to read your mind to know you're looking for Rajahansa. Tell Dharanidhar we came to talk, not fight."

"Talk. Of course. Because Rajahansa knows Dharanidhar would win with both wings broken and one claw tied behind his back." Great Blue dragons were fighters. It's how they lived, how they made their place in the pride. In contrast, Great Gold dragons were scholars and artisans. And yet for all recorded history, the Great Golds had ruled, kept in power by their exclusive bond with Nagas like Amar. Kanvar had broken every dragon law and tradition by bonding with a Great Blue.

Amar grimaced. "I suppose Dharanidhar would win, but that's not the point. The point is I wanted to see you. To make sure you are all right. To tell you how proud I am of the Naga you've become."

Kanvar straightened and stepped away from the wall. He could hardly believe what his father had said. For months he'd feared his father's wrath for bonding with Dharanidhar. Nightmares of his father yelling at him had more than once woken him in a cold sweat. "Y-you . . . you're not angry?" He didn't dare let himself hope.

A firm hand clapped down on Kanvar's shoulder. "Hey, little brother. You're looking good, considering the vile company you've been keeping."

Kanvar jumped and reached for his crossbow. His right hand closed on empty air, and he remembered he'd left it in Dharanidhar's cave, not expecting to need it for a visit with his brother.

Devaj stepped back. "Pretty good reflexes there." He slugged Kanvar on the arm. "But lousy observation skills. You let me come up right beside you without even noticing. Are you a dragon hunter or not?" A wide grin split Devaj's face, and his eyes sparkled with good humor. He dressed and looked very much like Amar, except for the perpetual air of fun that hung about Devaj and not his father.

"Well," Kanvar spluttered. "I was—" He waved his hand toward Amar who kept his distance across the street.

Devaj laughed. "Any excuse will do, but that wouldn't keep you alive if I were a rapacious green serpent."

"Devaj." Kanvar's throat tightened. The last he'd seen his brother, Devaj had nearly died. Only a powerful elixir had restarted his heart.

"Kanvar." Devaj grabbed him in a tight hug. "You saved my life. Twice."

"Three times at least." Kanvar returned Devaj's hug. A warm feeling swelled inside him. He was glad to see his brother alive and well. "And I don't keep vile company. The Great Blue dragons are majestic and loyal friends."

Devaj stepped back, rested both hands on Kanvar's shoulders, and stared into Kanvar's face. "Thank you, Kanvar. You risked so much . . . gave up so much to save me."

Kanvar looked down and twitched. He knew Devaj meant that Kanvar had given up bonding with one of Rajahansa's sons and offered himself to Dharanidhar instead in exchange for Devaj's life. But Kanvar didn't feel like he'd lost anything by bonding with Dharanidhar. His bond with the Great Blue dragon was so much more fulfilling than he had ever imagined possible. "I didn't give up anything," Kanvar choked out. "I gained a great treasure. One I'm very happy with."

Devaj rubbed a smudge from his robe, left by Kanvar's ash-speckled armor. "I'm glad you're happy, little brother. Father and I have been worried about you. Has Dharanidhar been treating you all right?"

Kanvar grimaced. "He was a bit rough at first, on accident, not on purpose. He didn't know he could hurt my mind, but we've worked that out now." Kanvar didn't mention the first night after they'd bonded when Dharanidhar had forced him to eat raw meat. Dhar had simply not known humans preferred their food cooked.

Devaj nodded. "Neither of you have any training. You should return to the palace with us so Parmver can help you."

Parmver was an ancient Naga who had rescued the royal line when the Great Blue dragons led the slave revolt at Stonefountain a thousand years before. Kanvar liked Parmver and wouldn't mind seeing him again, but Dharanidhar growled in the back of Kanvar's mind.
They say they want to help us, but when we got there, they'd never let us go free again. They might even try to break our bond and force you to bond with one of them.

"N-n-no. I won't go back to the palace." Kanvar shuddered and headed toward the gates, putting more distance between himself and his father, though he doubted he could move fast enough to get away if Rajahansa decided to grab him.

Devaj kept pace with him. Not hard since Devaj had two good legs and Kanvar a twisted, crippled leg that always dragged along behind him. "Kanvar, I don't know what Dharanidhar just told you, but I'm betting he's wrong. Father and I only want to help you, not hurt you in any way."

Kanvar looked over his shoulder and found that his father had made no move to follow. A glance at the rooftop showed no ripple of gold that would mean Rajahansa had taken flight. Kanvar forced himself to limp faster. He might get away after all.

"Kanvar wait." Devaj caught hold of his good arm and forced him to halt. "All right. Forget the whole idea of going to the palace. I'm sorry I suggested it. At least tell me why you wanted to talk to me before you run off again. It must have been important, or you wouldn't have sent Indumauli with the message."

Kanvar swallowed hard and pulled away from his brother's grip. A swarm of jewel dragonflies zipped in and out of the open shop window where Kanvar had once purchased his crossbow. The shop stood empty now except for the glint of color refracted through the dragonflies. Their wings filled the air with a soft buzz. Kanvar wiped the sweat out of his eyes and faced Devaj.

"I-I've been having nightmares. Grandfather Raza is in great danger. We've got to find him, bring him back, and restore his memories before it's too late." The vivid image of a Great White dragon loomed up in Kanvar's mind. Swirls of frost clung to its translucent wings. The dragonstone in its forehead blazed a blinding white. It blew a blast of frigid breath at Kumar Raza, and Raza froze solid, killed instantly by the cold.

"Kanvar." A gold heat warmed him and wrapped protectively around his mind, forcing the nightmare back into his memories. He felt Devaj's hand resting on his forehead and the silky thread of Devaj's thoughts in his own mind. Kanvar's mind shields had failed when the waking nightmare had enveloped him.

Kanvar gasped and pushed his brother away. "Leave me alone. Don't do that."

Devaj's thoughts vanished from Kanvar's mind and the warmth with them.

Kanvar shivered despite the hot sun in the sky. "You saw, didn't you? Grandfather is in trouble and it's father's fault. He sent Grandfather Raza on a quest to kill the Great White dragon, without his memories, his training, his weapons or armor. Father wants Raza to die."

"Father doesn't want any such thing. He sent Grandfather away to keep you and me safe. Grandfather found out father was a Naga. Grandfather would have killed us. It was the only way." Devaj glanced back toward Amar and then returned his gaze to Kanvar. "Please, little brother, our father is a good man, a kind and gentle man. I don't know why you continue to believe the worst about him. He loves you and would do anything to keep you safe."

"I don't want to be safe. I want my grandfather back. If father cares about either Grandfather or me, he'll tell me where to find him. He knows. Ask him for me, Devaj. Please. Convince him to tell me where Grandfather is, so I can go get him."

Devaj frowned. His sudden sternness surprised Kanvar.

"Kanvar, even if you found Grandfather. Even if you saved him from the Great White dragon. The moment you unlocked his memories, he'd turn against you. He would kill you without thinking twice. You are a Naga. Dragonbound. Enemy. The most reprehensible of all living beings to him. Kumar Raza will never accept you and love you the way father and I do."

"Never mind," Kanvar said. "I knew father wouldn't help me, but I thought you might." Kanvar's heart felt as heavy as his useless left leg as he limped away. He knew Devaj was right, but it made no difference. Kanvar vowed to find his grandfather anyway, save him from the Great White dragon, and restore his memories.

"Kanvar," his father called from far behind him. "He's with the Tuniit tribe. They roam the coast of the Great North between the Varnan colony at Illulissat and the Teniteqilaq Sound."

Kanvar twisted back to stare at his father.

Amar nodded at Kanvar, then a ripple of gold swooped from the building, picked up Amar, and glided away. A second ripple snatched Devaj from the street and followed the first.

Kanvar grimaced. His friend, Raahi thought the Great Gold dragons' ability to remain invisible in direct sunlight was the best of the dragon traits. It gave Kanvar the shivers. He sagged against the closest building. The rough stone pressed into his armor. The shrill call of birds and chatter of black monkeys wafted from the jungle and bounced between the deserted buildings. Watching his father and Devaj fly away left Kanvar feeling as empty as the streets.

That went well
, Dharanidhar rumbled in Kanvar's mind.
They didn't try to blast me with their joy breath and drag you back to the palace. They told you exactly what you wanted to know. So what are you upset about?

I don't know
, Kanvar answered.
Father and Devaj are my family. I just . . . wish I could figure out how to get along with them.

Dharanidhar sent a ripple of comfort through Kanvar's mind.
Your Grandfather Raza is family too. Maybe after you've saved him, you'll feel better about your father. Now come on. I can't stand here all day waiting for my eyesight back.

Kanvar pushed himself away from the wall and headed out the gates. At least he wouldn't be alone in his search for Kumar Raza. Dharanidhar would go with him and help him.

Chapter Two