Read Dragonbound: Blue Dragon Online
Authors: Rebecca Shelley
Tags: #dragons, #dragonbound, #blue dragon, #fantasy, #epic fantasy, #YA, #magic, #R. D. Henham, #children's book, #fiction
Dragonbound: Blue Dragon
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
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Dreamstime.com
Interior art ©
Rocich
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Dreamstime.com
Dragonbound
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
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 your 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.