Dragonbound: Blue Dragon

by Rebecca Shelley

  The lush vegetation slowed his fall, but bruised and battered him before he came to rest on a tree branch. He clung to the branch with his good arm, and rested his cheek against the smooth bark. Below him a river wound its way through the trees and down the mountain toward the ocean. His heart beat hard and he licked the sweat of fear from his lips. He'd escaped a Great Blue dragon. Got away with his life. Unbelievable. His mind twisted in fear for his brother. Devaj had not been so lucky.

  A chorus of frogs struck up a vibrant cacophony of croaks. A flock of scaly macaws returned to the tree to feed on the purple berries that grew between the broad green leaves and colorful flowers. Kanvar's head throbbed, and he shivered. The jungle seemed colder than he'd ever known it. The musty scent of the orange mushrooms that grew on the tree made him gag. Water dripped from the upper branches onto the back of his neck.

  He stared down into the river and wondered if any Great Black dragons lurked beneath the banks. Here and there the fin of a silver and orange fish rippled the surface.

  You can't stay here forever, Kanvar told himself. But he remained in place. Try to remember your training, he scolded himself. You know how to survive in the jungle. Just think. What to do first. But his brain remained painfully blank. He hurt too much—his broken stump of a left arm, the cut in his leg, his throbbing head, and the jungle growing colder and colder as the filtered green sunlight dimmed into evening.

  In alarm he pushed himself to sit up. The jungle never got colder at night, not like the deserts of Varna. He shivered again, taken with a chill he couldn't explain.

  He heard a faint scratching sound from the rock above him and looked up. The thick canopy blocked his view of the cliff he'd come down. The croaking frogs went silent. The macaws took to the air, rustling the leaves as they flapped away. Kanvar shivered. Sweat trickled down his face.

  Danger, his mind screamed. Yet he could not see it. Could not hear it.

  Then he felt it. The presence of the Great Blue dragon clinging to the cliff face just above him, readying to strike through the canopy. Dharanidhar had climbed stealthily down after Kanvar, hunting him as deftly as any skilled dragon hunter ever went after a dragon.

  Dharanidhar dropped through the branches, his jaws open to catch Kanvar unprepared.

  Chapter Five

  Kanvar threw himself from the tree branch and dove into the water below. He hit it hard, and his crossbow whacked the back of his head as he went under.

  The weight of the sword and crossbow pulled him toward the bottom where the current caught him and dragged him along the mud and silt.

  He resisted the urge to thrash his way back to the top and glanced up in time to see a sheet of blue flame turn the top layer of water to steam. He thrashed his leg and arms, trying to swim faster down stream, but only managed to flip himself over so his face pressed into the mud. His breath burst from his lips in a flood of bubbles.

  That's when he panicked.

  He'd never been much of a swimmer, and weighed down with the weapons and armor, he found himself unable to maneuver in the rushing torrent. He saw another flash of blue above and behind him while he struggled to get his right leg under him and push off against the river bed.

  His chest burned from lack of air, and water sucked in through his nose. I could die! The thought spurred him to thrash harder in an attempt to reach the surface now he was sure he was beyond range of Dharanidhar's fire. Chandran's earnest voice played in his mind. You won't last a day out there.

  Rage filled Kanvar. He'd fought so hard to stay alive and take care of himself ever since his mother turned against him. He could not fail now.

  He would not die here under the murky black water.

  Something clammy swam past his arm, but he was fighting too hard to reach the surface to see what it was. It came again. Something big that caught Kanvar in its wake and pressed him up against the underside of the river bank. A sparkling black coil flashed past Kanvar's face.

  Kanvar's fingers brushed a tree root dangling over the edge into the water. He grabbed it and yanked, pulling himself upward.

  His head broke the surface.

  He coughed the water out of his throat and gasped for air.

  In the last bit of twilight he looked up on the bank above him and into the raging face of the blue dragon. Dharanidhar had followed him downriver.

  Fool, Dharanidhar growled. Do you think I don't know which way water runs. Even blind I can find my way downhill. He swiped a claw toward Kanvar.

  The form of a Great Black serpent shot out of the water and struck Dharanidhar's claw. The serpent's two long fangs sank past the scales into Dharanidhar's flesh.

  Great Black dragon venom was deadly to humans, who could expect painful cramping, then convulsions, followed by an excruciating death. Kanvar didn't know what the poison would do to a Great Blue.

  Dharanidhar bellowed in outraged and struck at the Great Black with his other claw, intent on catching it and squeezing the life out of it. But the Black dragon was fast. He'd bitten Dharanidhar's claw and shot back down into the water before the blue could catch him.

  Foam bubbled up between Dharanidhar's jaws. He bit at his claw, enlarging the wound, sucking out the poison and spitting it toward Kanvar.

  A black coil wrapped around Kanvar's chest, jerked him loose from the root that held him up, and dragged him back under the water. The Great Black kept its coils locked around Kanvar as it sped downstream. It moved through the water faster than a Maranie schooner. Its body undulated in the water so that the coils which held Kanvar rose above the surface every few moments allowing Kanvar a desperate gasp for breath now and again.

  Terror rose in Kanvar every time the coils drug him back under the water. The dark jungle flashed past above him, fallen into night. Trees became nothing more than towering monsters in the darkness. A thunderous crashing sound came from up ahead. The last time the coils brought Kanvar to the surface, he realized that the serpent was dragging him with great speed toward a cliff, over which the river spilled in a frothy roar.

  The coils tightened in one last surge, and the Great Black serpent shot over the edge of the cliff. The water fell nearly two hundred feet straight down below Kanvar.

  The serpent spread webbed spines that ran along both sides of the front half of his body. They had been slicked down against its torso in the water, but now spread out into wings. Not like a Great Blue or Great Gold dragon's wings that could lift them off the ground in flight. The Great Black could not fly, but at this speed from that height, it could glide out away from the pounding waterfall and deadly rocks at its base. It tucked its four stubby legs tight against its body to aid in the glide. Its trajectory took them out and down in a stomach wrenching drop that landed them in a deep pool of the river. The spines flattened back against the black serpent's sides just before it hit the water.

  The momentum carried Kanvar, still clutched in its coils, down into suffocating blackness.

  Kanvar panicked, and struggled to break free of his captor.

  Be still, little Naga. The serpent's voice came into his mind. You don't want me to drop you now. I don't think you'll make it back to the surface on your own.

  Kanvar stopped thrashing and held his breath while the serpent rolled in the water and shot back up to the surface. It cut through the pool to the bank and used its stubby legs to pull itself and Kanvar up on shore.

  The coils unwound from Kanvar's chest and let him onto the fern-covered ground. Then the Great Black wrapped its body in a protective circle around Kanvar and snaked its head over to stare at him.

  Gasping for breath, Kanvar drew himself up to his knees and looked into the serpent's inky eyes. A silver fire emanated from the black dragonstone on its forehead.

  Pah. The serpent spit a string of venom well over Kanvar's head. Dharanidhar thinks he's lord of the whole jungle.

  "Y-you saved me," Kanvar said. He looked back upriver toward the waterfall, but saw no sign of Dharanidhar.

  I imagine
His Majesty, Rajahansa, would not be too happy with me if I had not. The serpent let out a long slow hiss. I'm guessing, from the looks of you, you're Amar's missing youngest son. Supposed to be dead, you are. But not long ago he let out a call that Dharanidhar had taken you, and Devaj as well.

  "I couldn't save Devaj. I tried. Abhavasimha carried him away." Kanvar shuddered, sank to the ground, and checked to make sure his crossbow and bolts were still secure on his back and that he hadn't lost the sword in the river. He was glad to find everything in place, but he feared for Devaj's life.

  The serpent hissed again and laid his head down against his coils. Don't worry, little one, Rajahansa will find a way to save your brother.

  Kanvar didn't know who Rajahansa was—some kind of king, he supposed. He just hoped the serpent was right about Rajahansa saving Devaj. Kanvar shivered. Now that he was wet, the air felt even colder than it had before. He pulled his knees up against his chest, trying to stay warm.

  My name is Indumauli. The serpent said. I'll stay with you tonight. Keep you safe. But in the morning I must return to the water.

  Kanvar nodded. He knew the Great Black serpents would dry and shrivel in the sun. "But Indumauli, how can I hear your thoughts? I haven't bonded yet." The cold bit into Kanvar and he started shivering. At the same time sweat trickled down his face and back. He felt a flash of searing heat and then another stab of sharp cold. He'd been able to hear the Great Blue dragons' voices as well. He didn't know why, and it spooked him.

  The serpent rubbed the sweat off Kanvar's forehead with the tip of its black tail. Its smooth scales felt cool and soothing against his skin. You have a fever. How long have you had it? It feels exceptionally high.

  Kanvar's teeth chattered. Indumauli tightened his coils so they came to rest against Kanvar in cool soothing folds. "I-I did not feel cold until . . . just before I fell into the water."

  This high of a fever should not have come on you so fast. I don't understand it, nor how you can hear my voice in your mind if you've not yet bonded. With this kind of a fever you may not live long without bonding. Indumauli bared his fangs and let out a worried hiss.

  Fear tightened Kanvar's chest. He'd known this day would come. Fought it off for so very long. He'd just met Indumauli, but he felt safe with the serpent. "M-m-may I bond with you?"

  Indumauli jerked his head up in alarm. It swayed back and forth, snake-like. Rajahansa would kill me and nail my hide to his palace wall.

  Kanvar swallowed a lump in his throat and tried to stop shivering. "Who is this Rajahansa? Why should he care who I bond with?"

  You do not know? Indumauli rubbed the side of his head across Kanvar's cheek. No, I sense you do not. Rajahansa is the king of all dragons. The Great Gold, descended in a direct line from his grandfather, Sukhderean, the supreme ruler of Stonefountain before the blues led their ugly revolt. Your father is bound to Rajahansa. All Nagas must bond with the golds. Rajahansa picks those he feels are worthy, and they are presented to the young Nagas when they come into the fever. You must choose one of those Rajahansa has picked to be your companion.

  A rebellious surge of anger spread through Kanvar. "Why should he decide? What if I don't like any of the dragons he chooses?"

  Indumauli let out an angry hiss. You sound like one of those revolting blue dragons. Destroyed our whole society, they did. I can't believe so many of the other dragons followed them. Hush now. You're hurt and you're sick. You don't know what you're saying. Indumauli closed his eyes and thrust his head beneath his coils as if unwilling to continue the conversation.

  Shivering, Kanvar rested his shoulder against the coils. Indumauli was right. He hurt too much to think straight. His right hand started to throb, and in his fevered delirium he imagined it swelled into an angry puss-filled ball and oozed blood out of two fang holes in the back of his hand.

  Indumauli remained safely curled around him until dim light penetrated the high canopies, signaling the rise of the sun. Then the serpent stirred and unwrapped his body from around Kanvar. Little Naga. Wake up, little one.

  Kanvar heard Indumauli's voice through the fevered fog of his mind. A serpent coil lifted Kanvar to his feet. Kanvar blinked and looked down at his right hand. It was normal sized and unhurt. He shook his head. The pain in his hand must just have been a nightmare.

  The sun is coming up. I must return to the water. Indumauli said. Follow the river downstream. There is a human village there, hidden from the bumbling Maranies. These humans can help you. Trust them.

  Kanvar swayed on his feet as Indumauli slithered away and slid into the river. The morning was still early, but the jungle teemed with activity. Black monkeys swung from the trees, hunting the colorful jungle birds. The monkeys' screeches blended with the raucous bird calls and constant buzz of insects. Lizards skittered into the underbrush away from Kanvar's feet as he stumbled in the direction Indumauli had shown him.

  The jungle air felt cold against his fevered skin. The cut on his right leg hurt like a firebrand. He tried to use his twisted left leg more to ease the pressure on his right, but the crippled leg failed him and he tumbled into a thick patch of ferns. He lay on the wet ground, panting. The loamy scent of the jungle floor was so strong he could taste it. Water dripped from the fern fronds onto his hot cheeks.

  He gritted his teeth and tried to get back up, but both of his legs failed him.

  "No!" Kanvar shouted in frustration. "By the fountain, I won't die here. Not like this." He'd known surviving in the jungle wouldn't be easy. But he hadn't counted on taking a deep wound to his good leg. "I can't let this stop me," he muttered. But fear snaked through his gut.

  He looked around for predators. Doubtless, he smelled like blood, and there were plenty of lesser dragons and other animals in the jungle who would make a meal of him if given the chance.

  The black monkeys had fallen silent and were staring hungrily at him from the trees. They would run from a healthy human, but had been known to pick dead bodies free of everything and scatter the bones beyond recovery.

  "Get lost!" Kanvar waved his arms and shouted at them. But they remained in place on the branches, looking down at him.

  "Stupid monkeys." Kanvar crawled to a fallen log and tore a small branch off to use as a make-shift crutch. With the help of the crutch he managed to hobble a few steps. The band of monkeys screamed and scattered. Birds flew up in a rush of bright feathers.

  "That's right. You should fear me," Kanvar shouted after then. "I am a dragon hunter with a sword and a crossbow and armor."

  The insects fell silent.

  Uh-oh, Kanvar thought. Maybe it's not me they're running from.

  The ferns rustled. Kanvar searched the leafy ground. The ferns swayed again in a line to his left.

  Had to be a lesser serpent. A big one. Hopefully not poisonous.

  But the waving fronds ran in a circle around Kanvar.

  No time to load the crossbow.

  Kanvar propped the crutch up under his left arm and pulled the sword from its sheath. It felt heavy in his hand at first, too big for him, too awkward. Then the runes flared to life, and the weight eased. The handle molded itself to fit his hand.

  The serpent circled one more time and then shot toward Kanvar. He still couldn't see it in the tall foliage, just its track. Which meant the serpent was ahead of where Kanvar imagined it.

  A great green coil slammed against the back of his legs and knocked him to the ground.

  Then the serpent was on him, wrapping coil after tight coil around Kanvar's torso. But Kanvar had swung his sword arm out so it wouldn't be trapped against him. He hacked at the snake's body. The sword sank unhindered through the serpent. Kanvar barely stopped it in time from coming out the other side and slicing into himself again.

  The coils fell away from Kanvar, and he staggered to his feet.

  The massive serpent lay dead, severed in half except for a thin flap of skin. Kanvar wiped the green blood off the blade against Devaj's shirt which was still bound over the
wound on his leg. Then he sheathed the sword and retrieved his walking stick.

  A warm feeling of gratitude filled him that Devaj had taken the time to fasten the sword to Kanvar's belt. He must have hoped it would somehow keep Kanvar alive.

  An amazing sword. He'd loved looking at it as a child while his father polished and sharpened it. But it had only been a thing of beauty then. Now Kanvar realized it had to be something far greater. He rubbed the hilt and felt a tingle of magic spread through his hand and up his arm. Powerful magic. No wonder the Maranie soldiers had feared to touch it and opted instead to burn it along with Devaj.

  Kanvar let his hand linger on the tingling hilt. He'd used the sword to blind Dharanidhar, but there hadn't been time then to notice the power. Now, Kanvar strained his fevered mind to remember early lessons about the fall of Stonefountain and the Great War. There had been a legend in all of that about the golden king who carried a magic sword, forged with all the skill of the ancients and powers birthed by the fountain. A weapon created at the height of civilization for the most powerful man alive, Khalid, the Naga bound to the Great Gold Dragon King. But Khalid had been murdered in his sleep at the start of the revolution. No one knew what happened to the sword.

  Kanvar imagined what it must have been like to live in the city at Stonefountain before it fell. Legend said the streets and buildings were all made of gold. And the golden king lived in a palace as big as all of Daro at the top of the hill where the fountain bubbled. It sounded perfect. Too perfect, and it had crumbled.

  Sweat trickled into Kanvar's eyes and violent shivers took him. His fevered mind imagined he heard Abhavasimha's voice once again. And what do we have here? The Great Blue dragon held Devaj's limp body. Looks like the young Naga princeling. Such a fine prize.