Why Nasty, of all languages? She’d never heard it talk Nashidran before. Maybe it saved Nasty for nasty words.
The legless lizard twisted its head around and snapped at the fly.
The little Gray Warrior buzzed away, completely unharmed. But it must’ve been a really dumb warrior. Or Kyri-thing tasted really good. It buzzed down at the snake’s tail.
Kyri-thing reared tall, swung its head around, and hissed at the fly.
All the mosquitos in camp fell into the grass, flat on their backs.
The Gray Warrior tumbled head over wings and splatted onto the ground.
Tsai squeaked and held the scabbard between her and the snake.
Kyri’s tail thudded hard on the downed Gray Warrior. It lifted its tail and inspected the mashed fly. “This one has no forbearance for folly.”
Lorel blinked. She almost understood what it meant, but didn’t much care.
She never dreamed the legless lizard could do magic. Why hadn’t the kid warned her? She might’ve been nicer to it.
Well, probably not.
It turned to her and glared. “This one has no patience for stupidity.”
She’d remember that. “I never said nothing.”
Weaver’s cold toes. If she’d known the slithering toad could get rid of the bugs, she’d’ve been nicer to it ages ago.
Chapter 21.
The male dragon swooped into the cavern carrying a huge, writhing fish in one paw.
Viper dropped his carving tools and darted into the nearest tunnel. Blasted creature. Couldn’t it give him a little warning? Leysamura always hovered outside the opening for a few seconds. She, at least, was polite about his captivity.
Surizhan laid the thrashing sea bass on the floor and bowed to his mate. Without saying a word, he turned and crouched at edge of the cliff.
“Father of my child,” Leysamura said softly, in Old Tongue, as always.
Why Old Tongue? Was it really that Surizhan hated human languages, or that he hadn’t bothered to learn any? Viper decided it didn’t matter. He didn’t plan to speak to the creature if he could avoid it.
The blue dragon looked back at her.
“Come back at nightfall.” Leysamura dipped her head and smiled coyly. “Bring two deer.”
Surizhan’s feet danced, though he looked as if he were trying to contain himself. He bowed deeply to the red dragon and launched into the wind with a triumphant bellow.
What was the fuss about? Some draconian ritual, most likely. Too bad he couldn’t take notes about it.
Viper crept back to his shelf and rescued his abandoned tools. Could he carve a record on the tooth? No, that wouldn’t help. He’d be leaving the earrings with the dragon. Assuming she ever let him go.
She had to let him go. He had to fulfill the Kyridon’s quest. And he didn’t know how much time he had left.
Nothing he could do about it until Lorel rescued him. Or the blasted dragon freed him.
But there must be some way to document their ritual. It would make a fascinating book. Already his fingers itched to write it.
He spent the rest of the morning carving details into the earrings while he tried to figure out a way to make paper out of fungus.
After she devoured the fish – without offering him a single bite – Leysamura started pacing the length of the cavern. One hundred thirty seven steps forward, one hundred thirty nine back.
Those two missing steps might drive him insane. Did she do it on purpose? Not likely. She didn’t care what he thought.
The egg rocked madly, its markings undulating like lava. Sometimes it struggled even harder, and Leysamura would stop and watch it, worry obvious on her mobile face.
Eventually the egg calmed, and she continued her endless march.
One hundred thirty seven forward, one hundred thirty nine back.
What was she waiting for? Surely it was too early for the egg to hatch. Bahtdor eggs needed to incubate for a lunar.
Blast. How long had he been trapped here?
If the egg was hatching, the infant was in trouble. A bahtdor egg never took this long to emerge. Was it too weak to break free?
What would the dragon do to him if it died?
The suspense left him too nervous to carve. He settled on the shelf and leaned against the cold rock, watching the dragon pace, focusing on her bright aura. It slowly changed from crystalline white and blue with streaks of coppery green to include swirled gray and orange mist. Did that mean she was worried?
She continued pacing.
Her aura seemed to invade his mind.
His eyes glazed. When he couldn’t focus anymore, he leaned forward and listened to her breathe. Felt her breath in his lungs.
He felt her muscles move, her arms and legs stretching with every step, her paws on the warm sand, her wings twitching, ready to fly. He felt those wings on his own back, wings that twitched with the need to soar.
To escape from this dark cave, into the freedom of the air. To fly above the mountains, beyond the ocean. To become one with the wind.
Why was he waiting?
Seething with sky-hunger, he stood, paced forward, and vaulted off the edge of the shelf, wings spread to catch the balmy air.
And fell straight down.
He squeaked, too startled to scream.
Leysamura snatched him out of the air inches above the rocky floor. “Not yet, my hatchling. Your wings aren’t ready yet.” She set him on the icy shelf. “Keep your feet on the ground a while longer, no matter how fiercely your mind longs to fly.”
Shuddering worse than an aspen leaf, Viper sprawled flat on the cold stone and hid his eyes in the crook of his elbow. Why on Menajr had he jumped off the edge? He didn’t want to die. He had too much left to do.
Besides, a fall of twenty feet wouldn’t kill him. It would just break a few bones and make him wish he were dead.
Did he have a death wish? Maybe he did. Why else would he leap off a cliff, however small? Or obey a magical snake? Or travel with Lorel?
Or stay here without making a serious effort to escape.
Had his sleeping mind told him it was time to run? Should he try to climb down the mountainside, no matter how impossible it seemed?
Should he jump out of the cavern, and hope he really could fly?
That seemed excessive. And self-destructive. And it meant he couldn’t help with the Kyridon’s quest, unless he turned into a ghost.
Lorel couldn’t see ghosts. He wasn’t sure about Tsai’dona. The Kyridon could, and would probably translate for him, but Lorel hated to listen to the serpent.
Dead, he wouldn’t be of much use. He had to wait and hope the dragon would keep her promise to free him.
Once he finally stopped shaking, he propped his chin on his fists and watched the dragon pace. One hundred thirty seven forward, one hundred thirty nine back.
Eventually the egg stopped wiggling. Leysamura gusted out a long sigh, curled up around her egg, and fell asleep.
That was a relief. He’d spent too much time fighting off the urge to fly again. When she rested, so could he. He lit a will-fire and curled up close to it.
The cavern grew colder. Snow drifted through the entrance.
Dusk had not yet descended when Surizhan glided into the cave, a deer in each hand.
Shivering and sleepy, Viper stared at the frosty plumes of the dragon’s breath. Was it really that cold in here? He didn’t feel that cold. Lowering his body temperature must be working.
Surizhan hesitated near the opening to shake snowflakes off his back. He crept forward, laid the deer carcasses on the floor near the nest, and backed away.
Leysamura didn’t wake.
The blue dragon studied the rest of the cave. His attention settled on the shelf where Viper huddled next to his will-fire.
Viper froze. In spite of Leysamura’s warnings, this dragon hadn’t bothered with him before.
Surizhan blinked and looked away.
Praise the Thunderer. He
hated feeling like a mouse under a hawk’s gaze. But he’d hate it worse if he’d found himself in the dragon’s claws. The one in Sedra-Kei had eaten a man in three bites. Surizhan was big enough to swallow him whole.
The dragon shifted his weight, leaning a bit closer to the shelf.
Should he duck inside the nearest tunnel? Was there even a chance to get out of its reach? No, why bother. Surely this dragon didn’t know all of the tunnels and traps the way Leysamura did. And it seemed to have lost interest in him.
Besides, his will-fire had finally warmed up the rock beneath him and behind him. He felt cozy for the first time since – well, since he’d slept on top of Leysamura. Why move if he didn’t need to?
As he grew warmer, his eyelids drooped. All of his muscles relaxed.
Something moved at the edge of his vision.
Was it worth worrying over? He was so comfortable. But something about the movement made him uneasy. That was silly, since nothing could get into the cavern. Leysamura would eat anything that tried.
So what was wrong?
A blue paw reached toward him.
Viper’s heart tried to leap out of his throat. Thunderer’s dice! How could he fall asleep with Surizhan sitting right next to him?
He scrambled into the tunnel.
Please, Thunderer, let it be that he was victim to another vulture dream. In a minute he’d wake up and be thoroughly embarrassed. It was just another indigestion nightmare. Too much fungus clogging his gut.
Enormous indigo fingers closed around him before he’d run ten feet.
Viper squirmed. He kicked. He pounded his fists against the gigantic fingers. He’d have cussed in Old Tongue if he’d remembered any swearwords. No point in cursing if his enemy couldn’t understand him.
Surizhan pulled his hand from the tunnel, opened his fingers, and examined his captive. “What have we here?”
Viper leaned back on the dragon’s warm palm. No point in struggling now. He was thirty feet above the ground; falling would hurt. A lot.
No point in screaming, either. He was more afraid of startling Leysamura into an attacking mood than he was of his present captor. Leysamura would bite off Surizhan’s ears if the male dragon killed her toy.
Of course, Surizhan would make his life miserable if he showed any weakness. He tried to slow his breathing, and stared the dragon down, eye to eye.
Crystalline red with splotches of blue and teal green overwhelmed his sight. Thunderer protect him, the dragon had an amazingly complicated aura, even worse than Leysamura’s. Viper fought to ignore the aura, and to stare into the dragon’s gold-flecked eyes.
Surizhan stared back, and his lips quirked upward. “So that’s why she keeps you. A rare pet to have, a true hatchling. I haven’t seen one in years. I wonder if you’ll prove out.” He put Viper back on the shelf and nudged him toward the tunnels.
Abandoning dignity, Viper fled.
He had to stop running from everything. But until he was as strong as his foes, running was all he could do. What was as strong as a dragon? A wizard? Those two sure didn’t act like it. Besides, he’d never become a wizard. Didn’t want to be a wizard.
Someday he’d be smart enough he wouldn’t get into a mess like this one. But by then he’d be bored or dead.
He laughed at himself and settled next to a peephole.
Surizhan rustled his wings and bowed to Leysamura. “Is it time?”
Leysamura lifted her head from her nest of dry grass. “Near enough.” She eyed the deer from her position around the undulating egg.
The blue dragon strutted forward, picked up both carcasses and carried them to her.
Viper pressed his face against the peephole. Finally the ritual would begin. Too bad he hadn’t figured out a way to make paper. If he hadn’t fallen asleep, he might have.
Right. In a single afternoon, out of waxy fungus? In his dreams. He’d simply work at memorizing the ritual until he could create some sort of writing material.
Leysamura snatched a deer from Surizhan’s hand and devoured it in three bites. She contemplated the egg while she licked her bloody fingers clean.
Surizhan nudged the second deer closer to the edge of the nest and backed away.
The egg began to rock.
Leysamura scooped up the carcass. Using her claws as knives, she swiftly skinned it, laid the hide upon the rock, furred side down, and proceeded to fillet the remains. The legs and bones she tossed to Surizhan, who ate them midair. The soft flesh and organs she arranged on the hide.
Viper had never dreamed the dragon was capable of skinning her prey. It opened wondrous possibilities. Trevor had owned books written on calfskin. Vellum made beautiful, durable pages. Would deerskin work? Would the dragon give him a deer hide to experiment on?
The metallic scent of raw meat seemed to excite the egg. It rocked harder and harder, straining constantly in one direction.
Leysamura leaned closer. The tip of her tail thudded against the ground. Rocks danced from her drumming.
The egg continued to wiggle.
Surizhan slowly drooped to the cavern floor. One huge paw crept up and covered his snout.
Red light flared as the sun set. Darkness descended inside the cavern.
Viper created a small, dim will-light and ordered it to hover near his grill. Please Thunderer, let both dragons be too distracted to notice the will-lamp was essentially useless, and that he was using darksight.
Minutes crept by. Hours? And still the egg pitched and shuddered.
How long had the infant been fighting to shove itself free? He only knew it had been too long. A bahtdor calf would have died by now.
Leysamura began to keen, at first moaning deep in her throat, but soon her howl filled the cavern.
Surizhan covered both eyes with his paws.
But the infant continued to fight.
How long could it survive? Why didn’t anyone do something?
Why didn’t he do something?
The twitching, malformed body of the bahtdor calf he’d tried to save hovered in his memory. Acid roared up his throat just thinking about it. Did he want to go through that again? Would the dragons blame him, if the infant died?
The egg’s struggles slowed.
Leysamura through back her head and screamed.
The dragons could only kill him once. He had to help that baby.
How? With a chant? The stir-the-pot chant might scramble the egg. Sweep-the-floor was even worse. Open-the-basket? No, the egg didn’t have an opening; it needed one.
What could he do?
Create a new chant. It was all he could do. Demanding something simple and direct meant less that could go wrong. Praise the Thunderer he’d been forced to speak Old Tongue so much. He knew all the words he’d need.
He concentrated on a sharp stick at the edge of the nest and chanted quietly:
“Baton, rise, wake,
“Action now take.
“The eggshell you shall nick,
“Without damage to the chick.”
The stick rose into the air, swung about, and slashed the sharp end across the egg.
Yikes! Had it gone in too deep?
Had it touched the egg at all? He couldn’t see the slightest mark in the sluggishly shifting shell.
No, of course it didn’t work. Dragon hide was as tough as dragon teeth. He’d wager the eggshell was just as resilient. He needed a better tool.
Diamonds littered the cavern floor. He sighted a razor-edged crystal a few feet from the nest and tried again. “Diamond, rise, wake.”
Glittering movement shot across the cavern and skimmed the edge of the egg.
A minute gash appeared on the shell.
He held his breath. Was that enough? Should he try again?
Both dragons turned their heads and glared suspiciously in his direction. Could they sense his magic even through stone?
A tiny, velvety nose burst through the rip. Little nostrils flared eagerly.
Leysamu
ra gasped. Surizhan leapt to his feet.
The egg surged again, and the infant’s head broke through the shell.
Viper cheered aloud. The little guy was safe now! He’d never seen a bahtdor calf that didn’t survive once it had gotten its head free.
The baby dragon twisted and writhed until its blue-striped burgundy shoulders were free of the shell. It stopped for a brief rest, its chest heaving from its struggles. It soon began to fight again, and shoved its arms into the crisp air. It rolled and wriggled, and plop! The infant fell free of its egg.
Viper clapped his hands and cheered. “Light a candle to the Wind Dancer!”
Leysamura nudged the eggshell off the end of the tiny tail.
Utterly exhausted, the baby dragon sprawled on the dried grass. Limp diminutive wings twitched and fluttered.
“Welcome, my daughter.” Leysamura licked the infant’s back.
Surizhan crooned and waltzed around the main chamber.
Viper slapped both hands over his mouth to keep from laughing aloud. Who’d have guessed a dragon could act sillier than a Setoyan warrior celebrating the birth of his first son?
Leysamura leaned back the instant the baby tried to sit up. She watched attentively as the child pulled herself into a sitting position. As soon as she seemed stable, Leysamura poked a piece of liver into the infant’s mouth.
The baby mouthed the organ hesitantly, but with increasing enthusiasm. Even before her mouth was empty, she waddled to the meat-laden hide. In minutes she devoured half the venison.
What an appetite. Viper hoped it would take a few lunars before she managed to scale his little cliff. He had a feeling she’d be just as successful at catching him as Leysamura was, and seven times more inclined to eat him.
Thunderer! He prayed he wouldn’t still be here in even one lunar to see her climb the cliff. The Kyridon’s quest couldn’t wait that much longer.
Once her belly was as rounded as her discarded egg, the infant tottered the six steps back to her mother. With a deep, contented sigh, she settled into sleep.
Leysamura looked fondly at the still-waltzing blue dragon. “Surizhan, would you care to finish this repast?”
Surizhan stopped his dance and bowed to Leysamura. “Thank you, my fleet wing.” He dragged the hide back into the main area and ate the filleted meat, leaving only one piece. This he laid on Viper’s grill.
Dragon's Child (The Mindbender's Rise Book 4) Page 17