Blood Bond Read online

  Emery’s face brightened a little. She fell into step beside him. They walked in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. They found the dragons outside of the city. Many of them lay curled in the sun. Six sat off to one side. Dex sat between his father and Agnot. Across from them were Warnox, Rakkah and another golden dragon he didn’t know.

  “Soren, welcome,” the deep voice of Warnox echoed in his mind. “And this must be Emery?”

  Emery’s face flushed. She glanced at the dragons as if to figure out which one spoke.

  “Yes,” Soren said, speaking aloud so Emery could be part of the conversation. He introduced her to the dragons, pausing when he got to the last golden dragon.

  “This is Thella,” Warnox said. “Her mate, Mallox, led the expedition into Sholar.”

  Soren bowed his head toward Thella, unsure what to say. He turned back to Warnox. “I have just learned General Thayer plans to assign riders to the dragons in the upcoming battle. Has he spoken to you about this?”

  “This is the first we have heard of it,” Warnox replied. “I gather you do not agree with the plan?”

  “I don’t like his attitude. He ordered Emery to stay away too.”

  Warnox looked from Agnot to Emery. “I have heard good things about you, Emery. The dragons welcome you and your help.”

  She blushed. “Thanks.”

  “I think you, Soren, should go visit the General,” Warnox continued, now staring at Soren. “As the only dragon rider, you are our emissary. It is you who should let the General know he needs both your and our permission before he makes such decisions.”

  Soren held up his hands as he shook his head. “No, no, no. Don’t put this on me.”

  “Why not? We cannot easily go into Camden, and you can.”

  “The General doesn’t like me.”

  “He doesn’t need to like you. He needs to know you are our representative.”

  “I didn’t ask to be.” Soren threw a pleading look at Dex.

  “You said you wanted to help,” the dragon said. “This is how you can help us.”

  Soren let out a long breath. “Fine. I’ll go see the General but don’t blame me if it doesn’t go well.”

  Emery held up her hand to catch his attention. “Didn’t you come out here to see Warnox about something?”

  He shot her a look. “You are trying to distract me. And it worked.” He turned to Warnox. “Rakkah and Barth have both mentioned my Bond with Dex is stronger than it should be. Could it have anything to do with my grandfather being a dragon rider?”

  “What!” Emery clutched Soren’s arm. “Your grandfather was a dragon rider? How did you find out?”

  “Rodar.”

  Warnox lowered his head. His golden eyes studied Soren. “I didn’t see the resemblance before. I do now.” He turned to Rakkah. “Tag.”

  The golden dragon lowered her head and stared at him. “I see it. The eyes.”

  “What? Tag?” Soren sputtered.

  “I knew your grandfather, Taggert Morelle or Tag as he was often called,” Rakkah said. “He shared the Blood Bond with my father Kylar.”

  “You knew him? What? How?” He took a deep breath, slowly exhaling it. “How long do dragons live?”

  “A hundred and fifty years, give or take,” Warnox said.

  Rakkah swished her tail as she glared at her mate. After a moment, she turned her gaze back to Soren. “You were right earlier. I did share the Blood Bond with someone. His name was Boyd Arlen. He and Tag were the best of friends. As I said, Tag Bonded with my father. That would have been 24 years before King Edwin banned the dragons. The ban was horrible. A connection that comforted and supported us was severed by distance. My father was one of those who was hunted and killed. Tag himself came to tell me. He was a shadow of his former self.”

  “And what of Boyd,” Emery asked, with tears in her eyes.

  “I never saw him again. Tag came one more time to visit me. Boyd hadn't handled the severance of the Bond. He couldn’t take it. Finally, he decided to end his pain.”

  “He killed himself?” Emery gasped.

  “Yes,” Rakkah said. The gold dragon turned and leapt into the air leaving Emery and Soren staring after her.

  ***

  Soren leaned against the wall, staring at the brown wooden door before him. Ten minutes had passed since Darvin had shown him where General Thayer and Colonel Hader were meeting. First, they had shown Emery a place to clean up and took her to the dining hall. He had offered to wait for her, so she could join him when he spoke with the General about the dragons. Emery had laughed.

  “He doesn’t like me. Why antagonize the man with my presence?” she asked as she entered the dining hall.

  Soren had sighed and followed Darvin. He should have protested more when Warnox told him to speak to the General. But after Rakkah’s story, Warnox had taken off after the golden dragon. Now he stared at the door, trying to figure out what to say to the General. All he knew is no matter what he said, the General was unlikely to be happy. Taking a deep breath, he knocked and entered when ordered to do so.

  The room he entered was small. General Thayer and Colonel Hader sat hunched over a table, a map spread before them.

  The General scowled at him. “What are you doing here?”

  Soren put his shoulders back. “I need to talk to you about the dragons.”

  “Is that so?” The General leaned back in his chair. “Before we get to that, have you run into anyone you know lately?”

  Soren’s hands clinched into fists. He pressed his lips together. He did not want to talk about his father. General Thayer laughed. Soren’s face flushed as his heart pounded.

  “I’m not here to talk about that. I am here to talk about your plan to assign guards to the dragons.”

  The General returned to studying the map. “What of it?”

  Soren walked forward, placing his hands on the edge of the table. “You didn’t discuss this with the dragons.”

  “So, what?”

  “This is an alliance between the dragons and man. You can’t dictate what is going to happen without their input.”

  General Thayer leaned back in his chair, studying him. “And by that you mean your input.”

  Soren spread his hands. “That is what they tell me.”

  Thayer’s eye twitched. “Fine,” he said through clinched teeth. “Fine.” He rubbed his hand over his beard. And then he smiled. “If that is the way it needs to be, fine. It is less work for me. You are in charge. You find guards willing to ride the dragon.” He raised his hand. “But there will be no bonding between the guards and the dragons. And don’t take my best fighters.”

  “And Emery will work with the dragons too.”

  “No. She is a woman.” General Thayer shook his head. “She cannot go into battle.”

  Soren fought the desire to roll his eyes. “I didn’t say she was going into battle. I said she can work with the dragons.”

  General Thayer stroked his beard, shaking his head. “If you insist.”

  Soren stared at him. The man was being way too agreeable. He had expected more resistance to both demands. He wondered what he was missing. But he had gotten what he wanted so he turned to leave. As he reached the door, he thought about one more thing. He turned back. “Oh, and my father. He has nothing to do with the dragons. Nothing.”

  General Thayer regarded him for a moment before nodding. “Fine.”

  ***

  Soren sat in the dining hall mulling over the conversation with General Thayer. He had agreed to everything way too easy. He wondered why. Perhaps the General thought he would simply not be able to do it. He was sure the General would love to see him fail. But why had he agreed to stop using his father when it was obvious he had picked the man to annoy him. Actually, Soren had his father to thank for his ability to stand up to the General. It was Thayer’s smirk about his father that angered him enough to get past his fear of confronting him.

  Bevin sat across from Soren
. His face was pale and drawn. Dark circles were under his eyes. Soren hadn’t seen him since his father died.

  “How are you doing,” he asked hesitantly as he watched the man push his food around his plate.

  “I worked out with Captain Bayn’s men yesterday. The physical activity helped.” He sighed. “We buried my father at first light this morning.” He took a bite of toasted bread before tossing it back onto the plate. “Nothing tastes right.” He pushed his plate away. “What have you been doing?”

  Soren groaned. “It seems I am in charge of finding men who want to ride the dragons into battle.” He looked speculatively at Bevin. “You interested?”

  Bevin offered a weak laugh. “No. Not me. I have nothing against your dragon, and I certainly don’t have my father’s bias about your bond, but after this is over, I plan to return home. My mother and brother will need me.”

  Soren nodded. “Understandable, but riding the dragons in battle doesn’t equate to bonding with them. In fact, General Thayer declared there would be no more Blood Bonds. The alliance between man and dragon most likely won’t last beyond this battle.”

  “All the same, I think I will have my feet on the ground during it. I can approach the men I trained with yesterday if you want.”

  “That would be great.”

  “Any criteria?”

  “They shouldn’t be afraid of heights. And they probably shouldn’t be new to guard. I need someone who will be able to assess the enemy’s movement.”

  Bevin nodded. “How about some older guards? There were a few this morning at the funeral. They won’t be missed from the ranks, and they certainly have the experience.”

  “That sound good too. Perhaps you can approach both groups. How long will it take?”

  “Give me two hours.”

  “Fine. Have anyone interested meet me outside of town to the North.”

  Bevin rose, leaving behind his untouched plate of food. Soren felt for the man. He remembered the heartache of losing both his sister and mother. His mother too hadn’t eaten much in the days following his sister’s death. Perhaps this assignment would do Bevin some good. It would take his mind off the grief for a little while. Plus, it saved Soren the trouble of finding volunteers.

  Two hours later, he and Dex waited outside the city. Though he had no clue how many people to expect, he was somewhat disappointed to see only five men with Bevin. Upon seeing Dex, they stopped walking, their eyes wide as they stared at the dragon.

  “This is all I could find,” Bevin said with a shrug.

  “Thank you, Bevin. This will do nicely.” He eyed the men as he spoke to Dex. “The dragons?”

  “Five of them are on their way.”

  Soren introduced himself. A few of the men tore their eyes away from Dex and glanced at him. He noted them eyeing the mark on his neck. He rubbed at it with his hand.

  Bevin introduced each man. The youngest barely looked old enough to be in the guard. Quinn was a gangly youth with blond hair. His blue eyes widened with fear as Dex stepped closer. The man beside him, Drake, appeared to be the same age as Soren. He grunted an acknowledgment as Bevin introduced him. His dark hair hung into his eyes, and his face was covered with a shaggy beard.

  The other three were older. Soren would venture to guess they were closer to his father age or perhaps even a little older. Parr, a stout fellow with a dark bushy beard, stood closest to Dex. He didn’t even acknowledge Soren. The man to his right sported a long scar down his face. He nervously ran his hand through his dirty-blond hair. He nodded to Soren as Bevin introduced him as Bryce, a guard with over thirty years’ experience. The tall man to his right was Tyrus, who also had been a guard for nearly as long. His grizzled face matched his attitude as he stared curiously from Dex to Soren.

  “Look,” Parr said, pointing. Beads of sweat ran down his forehead.

  All eyes went to the sky. Five dragons, two gold, two brown and a red, flew over the trees. The ground shook as they landed. A few of the men stepped back as Quinn collapsed. Soren smiled. Their first lesson was about to begin.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Soren picked up the leather strap, running his fingers along it. He gave it a quick pull to test its strength.

  “It’s perfect.”

  Darvin nodded. “I hoped it would fit your needs. If it works out, let me know, and I can find another one like it.”

  Yesterday Soren had inspected the harnesses his father created. Or rather his father’s apprentice’s creation as he knew the old man would have assigned someone else to work with the leather. The harnesses were almost identical to what he had done, but there was an additional band connecting two of the main pieces. He immediately saw it could make the harness sturdier. The other difference was the cuts of material were sharper. He knew that was because his was done with a knife rather than the proper cutting tool.

  “I heard Quinn fainted yesterday.”

  Soren laughed. “Yes, he did. Let’s say they all were quite nervous to meet the dragons. It got better though. Today we are going flying. Want to come?”

  Darvin held up his hands as he shook his head. “No, no. I’ll stay on the ground. Thank you.”

  “I’m going to go fix Dex’s harness,” Soren said, holding up the leather. “Thanks again for this.”

  “Do you need me to round up the men for you?”

  Soren shook his head. “I left them in the dining hall. Bevin will make sure they make it to training.”

  He bid Darvin good-bye and hurried toward the outskirts of town. He cut down an alley he had found as a short cut. His mind was already on the lesson of the day and the worry Quinn might faint again. Suddenly, someone grabbed his arm, deftly twisting it behind his back. With a jerk upward, pain radiated through his shoulder. The man shoved Soren, forcing him into a nearby building. He tried to dig in his heals, but the man overpowered him. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the darkened room. Boxes lined the shelves. The air was dry and stale. A storeroom. The man shoved him into the wall, pressing his arm into his back.

  “Don’t even think about calling your dragon,” the man breathed into his ear.

  “What do you want?”

  “Shut up.” The man jerked Soren’s arm causing pain to ripple through his shoulder again.

  “Soren, what is it? What happened?”

  “Someone grabbed me.”

  “Where are you?”

  “A storeroom off the main road.” The sound of footsteps entering the building broke Soren’s concentration. He didn’t hear what Dex said as the man behind him swung him around. His father stood in the doorway.

  “How dare you,” Joran said, his voice low as he advanced. “How dare you tell them to dismiss me?”

  He punched Soren in the jaw. Soren’s head flung back, hitting the chest of the man behind him. The man grunted as he shoved Soren forward. His father followed up with a fist to his stomach. Soren bent forward. The man behind him jerked him back into an upright position.

  His father stood in front of him, his face inches from Soren’s. “You will fix this.”

  A dragon roared in the distance.

  “You shouldn’t have called him.”

  “I didn’t.”

  “Soren, where are you?”

  He could feel Dex’s anxiety. The door was open, but there were no distinguishing features on the buildings near them.

  “I don’t know, Dex. I turned down an alley off the main road.”

  “Bevin’s on his way.”

  His father grabbed Soren’s face, forcing him to look at him.

  “You will fix this, Soren. You will tell them you need my help.”

  “No.”

  Joran backhanded him across the face as someone rushed into the room. Bevin pulled his sword as he pointed it at Soren’s father.

  “Release him.”

  For a moment, Bevin and Soren’s father stared at one another. Finally, Joran nodded to the man holding Soren. The man let go of his arm. Soren’s shoulder ache
d. He rubbed it with his hand as he hurried to Bevin’s side.

  He turned to face his father. “I won’t do it. You will have nothing more to do with me or my dragon.”

  His father’s eyes narrowed as his hand balled into a fist. Soren could tell he itched to say something, but he held his tongue. Soren turned and left. A second later, Bevin joined him on the street.

  “Who was that?”

  “My father.”

  Bevin whistled. “What did he want?”

  Soren touched his jaw, gently feeling the bruised area. He glanced at Dex, who flew above them. “Something he can’t have.”

  “Soren, are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” Soren responded as he seethed with anger. Dex must have picked up on it as he let Soren walk in silence.

  The moment he entered the training area Emery dashed over. Soren brushed aside her questions about his bruised jaw. He had forgotten he had asked her to help with this morning’s flying lesson. He sent her to help Bryce and Tyrus put harnesses on their dragons while he added the extra strap to Dex’s. By the time he was done, he was glad to see Quinn, Drake and Parr had arrived and begun harnessing their dragons. After a brief inspection, Soren determined they were good to go.

  “Mount up,” he commanded. “We will fly through some drills to get you use to flying. After that you can fly wherever you want. Practice speaking with your dragon and try to simulate what you might be doing in a battle such as surveillance. Tomorrow we will set up a few targets for those of you who want to try using your bow or rocks during the battle. We will also Blink.” He smiled at their startled reaction. He had explained Blinking to them yesterday and even then, they had protested they wouldn’t need to do that. “I know you think it won’t be necessary, but it can’t hurt to know what it feels like in case it happens.” He climbed on Dex, and the others scrambled to their dragons. “Let’s go.”

  Dex leapt into the air, and the other dragons followed. He urged Dex to fly around the town of Camden. The wind rushed by, blowing away the remaining anger.

  “It was your father again, wasn’t it?”

  Soren sighed. “Yes. He didn’t like being told he was to have nothing to do with the dragons.”