Dragonbound: Blue Dragon

by Rebecca Shelley

  Dragonbound: Blue Dragon

  Rebecca Shelley

  Copyright © 2012 Rebecca Shelley

  Second Edition 2013

  Published by Wonder Realms Books

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any print or electronic form without permission.

  All characters, places, and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual places or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Cover art © Dusan Kostic | Dreamstime.com

  Interior art © Rocich | Dreamstime.com

  Dragonbound

  Dragonbound: Blue Dragon

  Dragonbound II: White Dragon

  Dragonbound III: Copper Dragon

  Dragonbound IV: Red Dragon

  Dragonbound: Dragon Hunter's Guide

  Introduction

  Life started at Stonefountain.

  Near the bubbling fountain of power, the humans and dragons grew up together. Bound by blood, the two races became great and powerful. But with power came division. For not all were bound, and those with the power brought on by the bonding abused that power, subjecting all powerless ones to servitude.

  In time the servants rebelled against their masters. Their violent uprising left almost all the bonded dragons and humans dead. From that day on the races separated, fleeing from Stonefountain and claiming their own lands. Distrust and war grew up between humans and dragons. The humans, fearing the power of the dragon bond, killed all those born to bond with the dragons. But some survived.

  Map

  Table of Contents

  Books in the Series

  Introduction

  Map

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  About the Author

  Books by Rebecca Shelley

  Dragonbound 2: White Dragon Preview

  Prologue

  Dharanidhar perched on a rock ledge that jutted up from the jungle close to the shore. Hot sunlight glinted off the water, but could not penetrate the dense trees along the edge of the beach below him. He spread his great blue wings to the sky and let out a roar that echoed across the tops of the trees. On the sand in the shade of the trees, his mate crooned over the clutch of eggs as they rocked back and forth. Cool winds from the ocean kept the eggs from overheating in the hot climate.

  Other dragons of the pride echoed their leader's jubilant call. Soon four new hatchlings would join their number.

  Dharanidhar watched intently as an egg split open, and his first child pushed its head out into the world. It blinked wide eyes up at Dharanidhar and let out a squeak. Dharanidhar laughed. That's right, little one, he spoke into its newly awakened mind. I'm your father. Welcome to the pride.

  The baby dragon squeaked again, but the sound was drowned out by a sharp crack. A glint of steel shot through the air from the trees and buried itself in his mate's chest. She let out a gurgling cry and slumped to the ground.

  Human hunters swarmed out of the jungle, shouting triumphantly. They rushed to the eggs.

  Dharanidhar's stunned horror turned quickly to rage.

  Roaring, he dove at the humans. He could not breathe the fire that would turn the humans to ash without destroying the unhatched eggs and the new hatchling whose scales had not yet hardened. Instead, he raked the humans with his claws. Picking up two and shaking them so their necks snapped, then tossing them down to grab two more.

  Other dragons of the pride dove down to join him in battle. As soon as they reached the shore a volley of the steel darts burst from the trees, striking the dragons. Two fell on the sands beside Dharanidhar's mate.

  Dharanidhar turned to face the enemies in the jungle and found that the humans had brought up some strange contraptions from their new colony.

  "Reload the ballistae!" One of the men shouted.

  Dharanidhar sucked in a breath, stoking his fire. Just as he breathed a great spurt of superheated blue flame into the trees, a crack sounded. A steel bolt struck Dharanidhar's left eye at an angle and lodged in his eyeridge. Pain flashed through him and the left half of his vision went black.

  The jungle burst into flames, destroying the humans and their ballistae.

  Dharanidhar turned his attention back to his hatchlings and found that the remaining humans had smashed the eggs and killed all four of Dharanidhar's children.

  Seeing his wrath, the humans ran. They only made it a few steps before he turned them to ash. Pulling the steel dart from his eye, Dharanidhar flapped over to his mate. She lay motionless in the sand.

  Dead.

  He let out an angry wail. The other dragons filled the air with their keening cries. But Dharanidhar could not let himself or the rest of the pride mourn for long.

  We must move, he told the others. Quickly, gather up your eggs. We will go to the safety of the high mountains inland. But I swear, we will return, destroy the wretched human colony, and kill every last human we find there.

  Chapter One

  Heart pulsing, Kanvar pushed his way through the cloth door of the herbal shop out onto Daro's busy street. His left leg dragged behind him. It had been twisted and crippled since birth. His left arm hung at his side, half as big as a normal arm with only two fingers and a thumb. But he couldn't let his deformed body slow him down. His brother's life depended on him getting home quickly with the healing herbs.

  The afternoon sun radiated from the clay brick buildings and beat against Kanvar's face. He ducked through the crowds of people in head coverings and long cotton robes. Raised voices filled the street as shoppers bartered with the shop owners. The scent of spices and herbs made the back of his throat itch.

  He tied the pouch of herbs to a leather thong and hung it around his neck, tucking it deep under his robes, flat against his chest, where thieving hands in the crowd would be least likely to get at it. The herbs had not come cheap, but Kanvar's family was part of the elite dragon hunter jati. They could afford them. They had to, to save Devaj's life.

  Limping down the street, Kanvar tried to hurry but made slow progress through the crowd. He grew impatient with himself and tried to walk faster. Each step took thought and effort. Sweat soaked his skin, and the blowing sand caked against it. He kept moving, leaving behind the shops and stepping into a square where members of the farm jati sold fruits and vegetables in a maze of stands. Itchekins squawked from cages, clawing at the wooden bars and rubbing their scaly hides against the wires that held the cages together. Itchekins laid soft sweet eggs, and thoughts of cooked itchekin made Kanvar's mouth water. Of all the lesser dragons, Kanvar liked the taste of itchekin best.

  A camdor and its rider barreled through the square, most likely carrying an urgent message across town for the All Council. The camdor's four massive legs propelled its lizard-like body through the press of people. Its tail snaked out behind it. Kanvar kept well away from the camdor and its rider. Though the camdors were tamed lesser dragons, their sharp claws could kill a child if one accidentally strayed in its path.

  Kanvar kept moving. His mother feared Devaj would not survive the day without the herbs.

  "Look what we have here?" an older boy saw Kanvar and followed him across the square to the street on the far side. "A cripple. Untouchable, pile of dung. What did you do in you
r past life, murder innocent children?" The boy spit into the dirt behind Kanvar.

  Kanvar whirled to face him. "I belong to the dragon hunter jati. My grandfather was Kumar Raza, the greatest dragon hunter who ever lived."

  "Raza?" the boy's eyes widened. "You lie. Besides, I heard Raza went in search of the Great White Dragon and never returned. He's probably dead, so that makes him the worst dragon hunter that ever lived."

  Kanvar threw himself at the older boy, tackling him to the ground, and pummeling him with his good hand. The older boy tried to block Kanvar's blows, but he belonged to one of the farmer jatis and hadn't been trained in fighting like Kanvar had.

  "Never insult my grandfather again." Kanvar gave the pathetic boy a kick in the ribs for good measure then set out once more for home. He pressed his hand against his chest to be sure the herbs were still there.

  He reached his home street and entered the building which stretched the entire length of the block. It had four floors. Since Kanvar's family was elite, they lived on the top floor. That meant they got fresher air and more sunlight and were free from many of the scaly ground vermin that raided food stores and carried disease. Kanvar kicked a kitrat off the doorstep and pushed through the cloth doorway.

  Devaj always made climbing the narrow stone staircase look easy. Kanvar gasped for breath as he hauled his body up each flight. Nothing physical came easy for Kanvar, but he didn't let his crippled leg and arm stop him from doing everything anyone else in his jati could do. Sometimes it just took him longer.

  Kanvar pushed through the bright blue cloth with gold stitching that covered the doorway into his home. Inside he found a Unani doctor hovering over his brother. This doctor had gray hair and looked old enough to be the head of the Unani jati.

  Kanvar's mother stood close by, her face puckered with worry, her hands clasped tightly in front of her. She acknowledged Kanvar's entrance with a questioning look. Had he gotten the herbs? Kanvar nodded and pressed his hand against the pouch he wore around his neck.

  Sweat drenched Devaj, soaking through the sheet that covered him, and plastering his golden hair to the sides of his face. He tossed and moaned and muttered about dying of emptiness and flying away.

  The Unani lifted the sheets, revealing an angry red rash on Devaj's chest, marked with scaly white skin that peeled and sloughed off. The Unani's eyes flashed angry and hard. "Three weeks of this fever you say?"

  "Yes. Kanvar has brought herbs from Stonefountain. I think they will help."

  "I think not," the Unani said, letting the sheet drop back over Devaj.

  "The rash is new," Mother said. "Surely there is some kind of treatment for it?"

  "Yes, I have a treatment."

  Kanvar didn't like the coldness in the Unani's voice. The Unani opened his outer robe to reach into one of the pouches he had secured around his waist. "Bring me some hot water, Mani," he ordered Kanvar's mother.

  Mani retreated to the other side of the screen that separated the cooking area from the rest of the house.

  While he waited for her to return with the water, the Unani elder paced to the wide open window that looked out across the city to the bay and the ocean beyond. The blazing gold sun looked down on the baked bricks. The Unani stared out into the empty blue sky as if looking for something until Mani returned with the water.

  While the Unani mixed his medicines, he questioned Mani. "Can you recite your ancestral line?"

  "Of course I can," Mani said. "It is the most renowned dragon hunter line in all of Varna." She started listing names until the Unani waved her to silence.

  "Can you recite your husband's ancestral line?"

  There was silence for a moment. Mani's face flushed. Kanvar realized with horror his father had never made him memorize the required ancestral line. All the other boys he knew could cite their ancestors back at least twenty generations.

  "Amar isn't from Varna," Mani spluttered. "My father met him on a hunt in Kundiland. Amar has killed dozens of dragons. He's been in Kundiland hunting dragons this past two months. He's well-known for his hunting abilities and an accepted member of our jati."

  The Unani took the cup of medicine to Devaj's side. "Ah, but has he ever killed a Great dragon?"

  Mani marched over nose to nose with the Unani. "Very few men have ever killed a Great dragon."

  The Unani held out the cup to Mani. "Give this to your son."

  Mani took it, sat down on the bed, and ran her fingertips across Devaj's sweat-soaked forehead. She started to lift his head up to drink, but she sniffed the medicine cup, and her eyes widened. "This smells like snakelily. That's poisonous. It could kill a grown man in minutes."

  "Yes," the Unani said, rubbing his hands on his robes. "A quick and painless death. Your son is doomed one way or another. This is the most merciful way."

  "No," Kanvar shouted. He would not sit by and let this merciless Unani elder kill his brother. He hobbled forward and threw himself across the bed, blocking his mother from administering the poison.

  "I don't understand," Mani said. She held the cup away from her in horror.

  "Do you not?" the Unani said. "Then I will be very clear. Your husband is a Naga. The boy has dragon sickness. He must bond with a Great dragon or he will die a slow painful death. His very existence is a curse to humanity. By our laws he must be killed before he gets a chance to bond with one of those monsters. If you do not give your son that drink, I'll take his case to the All Council. They will send men to hunt and kill him as well as your husband."

  "It can't be." Mani's hands shook so the poisoned drink sloshed over the sides of the cup. "My husband is a dragon hunter, not one of the dragonbound, not a Naga."

  "Suit yourself," the Unani said. He straightened his robes and headed for the door. "I'll be back with the Naga hunters to finish the job. If you have a singing stone, I suggest you get it ready to use against your husband when he returns. He is a Naga. He has controlled your mind and forced you to love him so he can breed more of his evil kind."

  The Unani pushed his way past the door cover.

  Kanvar eased himself off of his brother. Devaj moaned and blinked up at Kanvar. "So empty," he cried. "So alone."

  "No," Kanvar said, gripping Devaj's hand. "You aren't alone. Mother and I are here with you."

  Kanvar looked up at his mother. "What are we to do? The Unani must be wrong."

  Mani set the cup down on the dragonhide-covered table beside the bed and went to a locked chest she kept in the corner. It was grandfather's chest. Kanvar had been allowed to look inside once or twice. It held grandfather Raza's dragon armor, his spear, sword and crossbow. And grandfather's singing stone. All his tools for hunting dragons.

  "Your father's ship is back from Kundiland. It came into port a few minutes before you arrived. He could be home at any time." Mani lifted Grandfather's heavy crossbow out of the chest. Raza was a big man and had designed and built the double-firing crossbow himself.

  Straining, Mani cranked the handle to cock the bow. One string first, and then the other. She fitted two of the steel bolts into the grooves. The crossbow bolts were sharp and strong and could pierce dragon scales.

  Kanvar had spent many a pleasant afternoon practicing with the smaller crossbow his father had bought for him. But that was only a toy compared to Grandfather Raza's bow. Now Kanvar tensed as he watched his mother ready the crossbow. He couldn't understand why she would need it. If father had returned, he could recite his family lines and prove that he was not a Naga. The All Council's men would leave Devaj alone.

  Footsteps sounded on the stairs, and a deep voice called out. "Mani, I'm back. You won't believe the hunt we had."

  Mani winced and moved the crossbow behind her back while she reached into the chest and grabbed the little iron box that housed Grandfather's singing stone.

  Kanvar's father pushed his way past the curtain into the room.

  "Father." Kanvar limped over and wrapped his arms around his father.

  "Greetings, l
ittle one," Father said, returning the embrace and then peeling himself free of Kanvar. He caught a look at Kanvar's frightened face. "Are you crying, boy?"

  Kanvar wiped the moisture from his eyes and backed away.

  Mani remained across the room where she stood stiff-backed in front of Raza's chest. "Amar, thank goodness you're home. Devaj has a fever. The Unani thinks he's going to die."

  "A fever?" Amar's face lit with a bright smile. "Devaj? Are you sure?" He strode across the room to the bed where Devaj lay pale and sweat soaked.

  "Why are you smiling?" Mani's voice shook. "I just told you our son is dying."

  "No. Not dying." He stroked the hair back from Devaj's face.

  Without a sound Mani moved the crossbow out from behind her back.

  Amar whirled to face her.

  "You read my mind," Mani said, flipping open the little iron box with her left hand. "Deceiver. You are a Naga." She aimed the crossbow at Father's chest.

  Kanvar cried out in alarm. It seemed insanity had dug its sharp talons into his world.

  "Now, Mani, put the bow away," Father said. "You don't need it. I'm your husband. I love you, and you love me."

  "Don't try to use your mind control on me." Mani grabbed the singing stone from the box and let the box clatter to the floor. She held up the glowing blue stone.

  A painful rush of singing voices filled Kanvar's mind.

  Amar reeled against the bed, and Devaj cried out in pain.

  Mani took aim and fired a crossbow bolt at Amar's chest. The weight of the bow and her shaking hands let the bolt go astray, and it sliced across Amar's right shoulder and buried itself in the wall behind the bed. Amar turned with the momentum of the shot and grabbed up Devaj from the bed. He raced for the open window.

  Kanvar, run! Kanvar thought he heard his father's voice in his mind, like a faint echo behind the painful cut of the singing stone voices.