"Devaj is a prince?" Kanvar muttered as he staggered his way along the river bank, pressing through the thick bushes and limping around wide trees that dangled roots and branches into the rushing black water. "Son of the Golden King? Heir to the throne of Stonefountain?" But that would mean Amar, Kanvar's own father, was Khalid's successor. But it couldn't be. Stonefountain had fallen a thousand years ago. Amar couldn't be that old.
Kanvar pictures Devaj's wild gold hair glimmering as it had when the soldiers marched him into the colony. Devaj had held his chin high and walked like a prince.
Kanvar staggered and nearly fell. He felt ashamed of his crippled body more acutely than ever before. He was a cripple, twisted, ugly. He dared not stand before Rajahansa, the Great Dragon King, even if Rajahansa was bound to Kanvar's father as he must be.
Kanvar stopped and leaned his stubby arm against a tree. It no longer hurt. Must not have been broken after all, he thought. He spread the two fingers and thumb that projected at the end of the odd-shaped limb. From there he looked down at his twisted leg and useless foot.
"Why?" he cried. "Why would Devaj risk his life to come in search of a little brother as repulsive and useless as I am?"
He had no answer.
A piercing scream startled him from his fevered haze.
Chapter Six
Kanvar rubbed the sweat from his eyes and glanced out into the jungle for the source of the scream. Hundreds of species of trees spread their branches from the understory up through the great canopy. Moss hung on the trunks branches as well as flowering vines and a rainbow of fungi that filled Kanvar's nose with the smell of living green and decaying wood and leaf. Heavy mist hung in the air, blurring Kanvar's eyesight. The steady throb of insects, croak of frogs, and call of birds, silenced in the wake of the scream that came once and then again.
A human scream. That of a girl.
Deep in a thick stand of trees, Kanvar saw a movement of mottled green. He unfastened his crossbow and got it armed with a shaking hand. The girl screamed again from the direction, Kanvar had seen the movement.
Kanvar left his walking stick behind and staggered toward the sound. He couldn't hold it and the crossbow at the same time. The cut in his leg throbbed with fire as he put his whole weight on it, but his leg held him up for the moment.
He blinked, trying to clear the fevered sweat from his eyes, and saw a girl, perched on a thick branch far above his head. She wore mottled green clothes that blended with the leaves around her, and her skin was the same flaked gray as the tree's bark. Only the brown pouch that hung over her shoulder and the black braid, which reached down her back, gave her away. That and the sudden cry she made as she scrambled farther out along the branch.
The cause of her cry took a moment longer for Kanvar to focus on. What he'd taken at first to be another branch of the tree, growing out of the one the girl was on, moved. As it did, the ripple of muscles and scales became visible for a moment. Focusing hard, Kanvar made out a monstrous body: four powerful legs with sharp claws, an arched spine the color of leaves down its back, a thin head with powerful jaws and cunning eyes, and a green glow emanating from between its eye ridges.
A Great Green Dragon.
Adapted to the leafy confines of the dense jungle, it was smaller than the blue and the gold dragons but still gigantic compared to Kanvar. And as invisible in the trees as a Great Gold in direct sunlight.
But the girl saw it and knew she was trapped. The drop to the ground from the high branch she was on would kill her. She scooted back a few more feet.
Kanvar moved closer, then let his crossbow down to rest on the ground in order to save his strength. Though the Great Greens' scales weren't as hard as a Great Blue, its hide was thick and strong and secreted a paralyzing poison. Kanvar's bolt would be useless against a Great Green at that height. But at a close range, it might just penetrate the Great Green's hide.
The green darted forward and swung its long whip-like tail around to rub the poison on the girl's skin. The girl yelped and threw herself from the branch before the tail touched her.
Kanvar sucked in an anguished breath, expecting the girl to fall to the jungle floor. Instead she swung in an arc away from the branch, her hand wrapped around a vine she caught as she went over the side. She made it to the next tree, grabbed another vine, and slid down it. She hit the ground running, while on the branch above, the Great Green hunched in preparation to launch itself after her.
"This way," Kanvar yelled, waving the crossbow.
The girl saw the weapon, switched directions, and ran straight for Kanvar.
The green pivoted to face them and dove from the high branch. It spread its massive front and back legs. Thick flaps of skin billowed out between the forelimbs and the back, allowing the green to glide safely and swiftly to the ground. It landed right behind the girl and swung its tail at her again.
The girl jumped as she sped past Kanvar. The long green tail passed under her feet and slid along the side of Kanvar's leg as the green pulled it back around.
Kanvar smelled the caustic scent of the poison, but his dragonhide armor, even mismatched as it was, saved him. He froze anyway, with the crossbow leveled at the green as it charged toward him.
He waited until the green's chest was less than a foot away before releasing the bolt. It flew true, puncturing the dragon's hide and tearing through its heart.
The green's momentum propelled it forward, and Kanvar had to leap to the side to keep from being smashed as it fell in its death throes. The green light glimmered for a moment in the dragonstone on its forehead then went out.
Kanvar felt the sudden loss of life like a tearing in his own chest. He bit his lip in sorrow. He hadn't even tried to talk to the dragon. If he had, perhaps he would have been able to save both the Great Green and the girl. Kanvar wondered what Rajahansa's punishment might be for murdering a Great dragon. Better not to find out. Better to stay as far away from the Dragon King as possible.
The girl stopped her flight and turned to face him. "You killed it."
Her words cut into him in sharp accusation.
"You killed a Great dragon. I don't believe it." She took a step back toward him. "Weren't you terrified? I've never seen a dragon hunter stand his ground like that. You should have shot so much sooner."
Kanvar rubbed the sweat out of his eyes and shivered. She wasn't accusing him? She sounded impressed instead. Her smooth skin looked beautiful in the green jungle light and her lips parted in a smile as she breathed deeply to catch her breath.
"Not with this crossbow," he answered her. "It doesn't have enough force to kill a Great dragon at a distance."
Her eyes flashed from the crossbow to Kanvar's crippled arm and leg. She leaned her head to the side to get another view of him, and the smile faded from her face. "What kind of a dragon hunter are you?"
Kanvar gritted his teeth, turned away from the girl, and limped over to the fallen dragon. He was used to people seeing him as a useless cripple. He'd only forgotten for a moment in the rush of energy brought on by facing down the Great Green and casting his eyes on such a beautiful girl. Stupid. No girl would have anything to do with him no matter how many dragons he killed.
He strapped the crossbow onto his back and reached out a hand to the smooth green dragonstone. He'd killed a Great dragon, and here was the stone to prove it. He need only pry it from the dead dragon's corpse. It would be worth a lot of money as well as high praise in the dragon hunter jati.
A hand slapped Kanvar's fingers away from the stone with a stinging blow.
"You can't take the dragonstone," the girl said. She pushed him away from the fallen dragon. "It's a Great dragon. Would you dishonor the dead?"
Kanvar blinked at her. A moment ago she'd seemed pleased that he'd killed it. "I just saved your life," he protested.
The girl flushed and hugged the leather pouch to her side, which was full of purple fruit she'd been gathering in the tree. "Yes. Thank you. But you can't take the st
one. Its power gives life to the jungle. Our village will be cursed if you don't let it lie where it has fallen."
"Cursed?" Kanvar stumbled back away from the dead dragon. Yes cursed. What would Indumauli think of him now? What would the Dragon King say? Kanvar imagined his own hide being peeled from his body and hung on the King's palace wall. He shuddered. "I'm sorry," he cried as he forced himself to limp away as fast as he could. "Sorry. It was a mistake."
His foot caught on a root, and he fell. The fern fronds closed over him as he hit the ground. The last of his will and strength gave way to fevered delirium.
He barely felt the hands of the girl as she knelt next to him and examined his wounded leg. He hardly noticed when other villagers joined her, lifted him onto a stretcher made of woven vines between two poles. He didn't come back to himself until hours later when he heard a couple of men whispering above him and realized he lay on a mat in a round house, woven of sticks and covered with thick fronds to keep the rain out.
"It's the dragon fever," one of the voices said.
Kanvar blinked, trying to get his eyes to focus on the faces of the men who stood over him. Their skin was gray like the girl's had been, and they too were dressed in green clothing. The man who spoke of the dragon fever was older, wrinkled, with wispy strands of gray hair.
"I don't think so. Dragon fever is too rare. We haven't had a Naga birthed in the village for generations if you don't count Aadi, and he's a long shot," a younger man said. He had thick black hair, which hung free to his shoulders, and he wore a feathered crown on his brow. "The cut in his leg is infected. That's what is causing the fever. It will take time to heal. Then we'll see."
"Yes, we'll see." The older man said. "And when you admit the truth, you know what must be done. We cannot keep a Naga here in the village. It would mean his death and the wrath of the Great King upon us."
Kanvar moaned and tried to sit up. The older man already suspected he was a Naga. He had to get away before the younger one, the village leader from the looks of him, ordered Kanvar killed.
"Easy there now." The village leader pressed a strong hand against Kanvar's chest, forcing him back down. "You need rest and food. Our healer has already cleaned and rebandaged your wound. Don't know how you cut yourself with your own sword. Mighty careless." He chuckled.
Kanvar reached to his side and his back and cried out in alarm as he realized his weapons were missing and his armor gone from his body. "My sword? My bow?"
"Don't fret," the old man said motioning to Kanvar's things in a pile beside his sleeping mat. "Everything is here." He patted the sword in its sheath, which lay at the top of the pile. "Dangerous sword, that. It shocked me when I touched the handle. Wouldn't let me draw it out." His eyes flashed, and his thoughts spun into Kanvar's mind.
The old man recognized the sword. Knew it belonged to the Dragon King's Naga. And so he had no doubt that Kanvar's fever was not caused by the wound in his leg. He knew exactly what and who Kanvar was.
"You need not fear me," the old man said, seeing Kanvar's alarm. "Come," he said to the younger man, taking his arm and leading him out of the hut. "Our young friend needs his rest, and I believe Tana has brought him some food."
The two men ducked out of the hut, but before Kanvar could get up, dress, and try to slip away unnoticed, the girl he'd met in the jungle came in with a wooden bowl and spoon. She knelt on the mat next to Kanvar. "Father said you are awake and should eat something. Try this, you'll like it. It's cool and may help with the fever."
She used the spoon to scoop a small amount of pinkish paste from the bowl and held it out to Kanvar's lips.
Shaking with the effort, Kanvar forced himself to sit and take the spoon from her hand. "I may be a cripple, but I can feed myself." He gulped the paste and felt it slide smooth and cool across his tongue and down his throat. It was an odd mixture of sweet and sour. He choked when he remembered the sour scent of the snakelily in the cup his mother had given him so long ago.
He dropped the spoon into the bowl and pushed it away. They knew he was a Naga. Of course they would try to poison him. He rolled over and grabbed his sword, drawing it from the sheath, hoping he hadn't already taken enough poison to finish him.
"What's wrong?" the girl cried, jumping to her feet and backing away. "Did I put too much orchid nectar in? Honestly, you'd think I was trying to poison you." She took a spoonful of paste herself, letting it linger on her tongue for a moment before swallowing. "No. It tastes perfect. Everyone in the village loves my poi. What's the matter with you?"
Kanvar lowered the sword. "Sorry. I thought you were trying to kill me. You wouldn't be the first." Kanvar stared down at the glowing gold runes on the sword blade. "My own mother. Why should I expect anything different from strangers?" And yet Indumauli had said he should trust the villagers.
"Oh." The girl huffed, flipped her long braid over her shoulder, and returned to the mat. "My name is Tana, and I'm not trying to kill you. You did save my life. I'm sorry about our disagreement over the dragonstone." She held the bowl back out to Kanvar.
Kanvar's stomach grumbled, and he took it, not sure exactly how long it had been since he'd eaten last. The cool paste eased his burning throat, but did nothing to lessen his heated skin.
Indumauli had said Kanvar didn't have long to live. He would need to bond soon. But to whom? He thought perhaps if he reached out with his mind he might sense his father like he'd done when trying to calm the camdor.
But if he called his father here, he would have to face the Dragon King. And if Rajahansa did miraculously forgive him for killing the Great Green and offer to let him bond, it would be to a Gold dragon of Rajahansa's choosing. That felt wrong to Kanvar. If only Indumauli had agreed to bond with Kanvar. Or if Kanvar had spared the Great Green and convinced it to bond with him, than Kanvar might have had a chance to survive and choose his own companion.
Tana watched him with big green eyes as he finished the last of the poi. "I could bring you something more filling if you think you could stomach it."
Kanvar shook his head. The fever had weakened him too much.
Tana set the bowl aside and settled onto the mat next to Kanvar. She ran a silky hand down Kanvar's stubby left arm.
He pulled away in shock. No one touched his arm like that. Everyone kept their distance from him, as if their own arm might shrivel up like his if they got too close.
"Oh stop," Tana scolded. "That didn't hurt and I know it." She wrapped her cool fingers around Kanvar's deformed left hand. "There, you see, I'm not attacking you, just holding your hand. Has it always been like this?"
Kanvar swallowed. He felt uncomfortable having her so close, having her touch him, and at the same time so good. He could hardly believe anyone would dare hold his left hand and look him in the eye as if he were an equal, as if he were . . . normal.
"Yes or no?" Tana said with a touch of impatience. "It was an easy question."
Kanvar cleared his throat, unsure if he trusted himself to speak. "Yes," he croaked. "I was born this way. But why do you care?"
Tana laughed and pressed her other hand against Kanvar's cheek. "You saved my life. You stood down a Great Green dragon. You're braver than any boy I've ever met. Can't we be friends?"
Kanvar opened his mouth to say yes, but his answer was drowned out by the rush of feet running up to the hut. The village leader pushed his way in, along with four men whose bare chests rippled with muscles. The leader grabbed Tana and jerked her away from Kanvar. "Get the Naga dressed, and bring him quickly," he ordered the men, than dragged Tana out of the hut.
Kanvar dove for his sword, but he was too slow. Two of the men grabbed him. A third snatched up his weapons, and the fourth lifted his clothes from the ground.
Outside the hut, Tana's voice raised into an angry yell. "Let me go. What do you think you're doing with him? I told you, he saved my life."
"Indumauli cast the sacred stones out of the river. His orders are clear. We must take the boy to the cliff
now."
"No," Tana screamed. "He only killed the Great Green to save my life. It wasn't his fault. Please."
Kanvar made no effort to fight the men who held and dressed him. If he had to face death again, he didn't want to do it half-naked. He felt sorry for Tana. She'd offered to be his friend without knowing what he was. But he couldn't understand why Indumauli had betrayed him. Was it because he'd killed the Great Green? Or because he questioned Rajahansa's power to choose Kanvar's fate?
The men replaced Kanvar's sword at his side and tightened the crossbow in its harness on his back, but held his arms tight so he couldn't reach the weapons. When they dragged him out of the hut, both Tana and her father were gone.
He found himself standing on a platform high up in the trees. Other huts crowded around the one he'd been in, circling the trunk of a forest giant. The tree's branches spread out and intertwined with neighboring trees, creating thick walkways over to other platforms and huts. An upper canopy blocked view of the village from above, and an under canopy blocked the sight of the village from the jungle floor. Indumauli was right. The Maranies had never seen or suspected the village existed in the jungle so close to the colony.
The men lifted Kanvar between them and hurried him across a network of branches to reach a black volcanic rock cliff, which rose into the air above them and disappeared above the upper canopy. Steps had been carved into the stone just wide enough for a single person to ascend at a time. They'd have to set Kanvar down if they intended to take him up there. Some of them going in front of Kanvar and the others prodding him up from behind.
Kanvar searched the cliff face for hanging vines he might seize when he made a jump for it. He hadn't died yet, and he didn't intend to do so now, at least without a fight.
The men set Kanvar down at the base of the stairs and motioned for him to go up.
Kanvar backed away. "Never." He bolted back across the branches toward Tana's hut, searching for some way down from the village. He had to get away. Couldn't let the men drag him up to some cliff to kill him.
Dragonbound: Blue Dragon Page 6