Read A Dragon's Bond Online

Authors: S.B. Johnson

A Dragon's Bond (2 page)

BOOK: A Dragon's Bond
12.55Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

"
No catch. We feel it would be in all of our best interest. Your son will be tutored there and when the time comes an egg will be given to him. From that point on it will be his to care for until it hatches. Once hatched his dragon will remain bonded to him until death. Our professors will provide training for both him and his dragon."

"
When will we leave?"

"
Immediately! Our Coach is waiting outside."

"
I don't get to even think this over?" What about our home and what little stuff we have?"

"
It will be left behind other than what you will immediately need. As I said, all of the things you need will be provided. We must not leave any trace so we must burn down the house and everything left in it. I fear because of how special this boy is, you are in grave danger. We wouldn't want anyone else snooping around after we leave."

"
Very well then Mr. Coburn. Let me gather some things and we will go with you." He felt as though he really did not have a choice in the matter and at that point, Kimball didn't think things could get any worse.

Lugos stood up from his chair. "I will be waiting outside."

Kimball rushed around the house throwing a few belongings into a small bag that had been hanging from his bed post. He grabbed a spare change of clothes and a couple of extra blankets for the baby. The last thing he grabbed to put in his bag, was a small gold ring that had been sitting on the end table next to his chair. It had one single green gem in the middle. He reached down and picked up Davin who was soundly sleeping. He opened the front door and and stopped for a moment. Without looking back he closed the door behind him and covered the child with one of the extra blankets before venturing into the rain.

As Kimball looked up he saw before him a large coach with Lugos standing beside the door. The coach was not attached to horses as he had expected. It was attached to a large harness which was mounted on two large green dragons. They were large, elegant creatures, with slightly elongated bodies and necks, both of which were covered in a mass of muscle and scaled armor. The scales on the dragons were an almost iridescent green. Each displayed a massive set of wings extending out from behind their shoulders. Both were puffing bits of smoke from their noses and making a slight rumbling noise as they sat. But of all things, their eyes stood out the most. Glowing bright and brilliant green just as Davin's.

There were two men sitting at the front of the coach. They both looked over towards Kimball. He could clearly see their eyes glowing in the dark along with the dragons.

"
This way Kimball, we must be on our way." Lugos motioned to the coach as he climbed inside.

Kimball cautiously walked over, pausing for a brief moment before stepping up into the large compartment. Kimball sat down across from Lugos and held Davin tightly. Kimball reached towards Davin's little face and began to wipe off a couple of rain drops that had made their way through the blanket.

The minotaur had positioned himself on the back of the coach and appeared to be looking about, scanning the woods for potential threats. He sniffed at the air and then waived his hand at the two men on the front of the coach, motioning them to take off.

With a slight jerk the coach began to move forward and started picking up speed. Kimball looked out the window of the coach next to him and watched the trees speed by. Suddenly the bumping and jarring from the ground below disappeared. He looked towards the ground and realized it was moving further away. They had taken flight behind the two green dragons. The coach circled back around and was heading back towards Kimball's small house. With a flash, each of the dragons released a stream of fire from their mouths at the house. It immediately went up in a burst of flames. The coach circled back around again and they were on their way.

Lugos leaned over to Kimball. "Please Kimball, call me Lugos. I can't stand formalities. Besides my father was Mr. Coburn." He laughed at the sight of Kimball's face. "First time flying, huh Kimball?"

"
Yeah, I guess you could say that." Kimball snickered a little and began to lightly bounce Davin in his arms, soothing him after he had become a little restless from the abrupt take off.

"
Don't worry Kimball. You made the right choice. I assure you. All will be well and we will be at Dragon Keep soon enough." Lugos patted Kimball on his shoulder and then turned to look out his window.

CHAPTER TWO

DRAGON KEEP

The two green dragons pulled the coach through the sky. They had traveled a great distance in a short time. They had passed over the great forest and soared over the peaks of the dark mountains. Kimball looked out of his window in mere astonishment, as he watched the land below them pass by at such a quick pace.

Kimball looked over to Lugos. "So what will we do once we arrive?"

Lugos turned to Kimball and adjusted his posture a bit. "Well, first thing we will do is go and pay a visit to the Master of the keep. His name is Myrdinn. Myrdinn Mallikorr. He has been the master of the keep for many years. He is currently making arrangements for our arrival."

"
Yes, but can you tell me more about what our lives are going to be like?"

"
Oh, of course." Lugos laughed. "Let me begin by telling you more about Dragon Keep Academy. The Academy is a place where children with special gifts go to learn how to adapt to those gifts. They must learn how to properly use them as to not cause harm to others or themselves. As you may know some children like yours are gifted with the dragon's bond. This is a special bond that can not be learned. It is something that is decided at birth. You either have it or you don't. The only difference is all other children do not show signs of the gift until they are thirteen. Your son's gift is so strong, it is apparent even now. A bonders eyes will turn green and begin to glow once their gift has come alive inside of them."

Kimball was grasping his chin with his hand as he listened closely. "So why does my boy show these signs of the gift so much sooner than others?"

"
We are not sure." Lugos answered. "I am sure we will learn with time though. Now, let me continue."

"
Of course." Said Kimball. "Please continue."

"
Besides the children, there are many others who live and work at the Academy. The Academy is a self sustaining place. Much like a small city in itself. There are two main sections to the Academy. There is the town within the outer walls called Keep Town. The Keep is in the very center within the inner walls. The Keep is where the schooling is held. It consists of a variety of classroom settings, bonder housing, common and eating quarters, and different training grounds. There is also housing for certain individuals that work on the grounds that are required to be there on a regular basis. Other workers leave at the end of the day and reside in the town on the outer ring. The town is just like any other. It has a number of shops that sell different goods, supplies and food. There are also the homes of the workers that do not reside in the Keep. Some of the parents of students will actually move from where they live and will also live in the outer ring, in Keep Town. We will have to see what the master has in mind for you. I am not sure if he will have you stay within the Keep or the town."

Lugos paused for a moment. "At the beginning of each year, there is the Festival of the Egg. Each student who has been gifted with a dragon's bond will go through the ceremony and will receive an egg. Each student is allowed into the egg chamber. There, they will be united with the egg that calls out to them. For the rest of the year they will be charged with tending their egg until it hatches and then raising the new hatchling. In the event the egg does not survive, the child's gift will die with it. Once a bond is lost it can never be returned.

Kimball was carefully listening to Lugos' words. He looked down to his baby that was deeply sleeping in his arms. "Tell me more about the bond and what it means." He said, still looking down at his baby.

Lugos turned his attention to the boy resting in Kimball's arms. "Your son, like all bonders will receive an egg. If he successfully hatches that egg, it will grow into one of several types of dragons. Much like the ones that are pulling our coach. They are being led by the coachmen, which are their bonders. Each type of dragon has a unique ability and it's ability will also become their bonder's ability. There is no way to tell which type of dragon a bonder will get until it hatches. All dragons, less the Blacks can fly and the Blues can sustain life under water. They are kings of the seas and can soar through water.

"
What types of dragons are there?" Asked Kimball.

Lugos smiled. "More curious now Kimball?"

"
Yes, indeed. This is the life my son has been given. I may as well know."

"
Well there are a total of six dragon types. They are clearly distinguished by their color. The three common types are the Greens, Reds and Blues. Most commonly a bonder will end up with one of these three dragons. Both Greens and Reds breath fire. But the greens are much larger in size and much stronger. Thus granting their bonders with sheer brute strength. An elf bonded to a green dragon could easily overpower either of us, even though we double them in size. The Red dragons are well known for their hot tempers. Their bonders can manipulate and create fire. Then there are the Blues. They are a medium sized dragon. The same as the Reds. They are able to breath under water as I stated before. Instead of breathing fire, they can spray a very cold gas. This gas will freeze just about anything it comes in contact with. Their bonders are granted with the ability to control water. The bonder is able to change water to ice and ice to water. Now we get to the three more rare dragons. One is considered to be very lucky to be bonded with one of these. First there is the Golds. They are small dragons, but very fast. They shoot compressed balls of energy that explode on impact. The Gold's bonder can also construct this energy and throw it at will. Next are the Blacks. They are small like the Golds. Blacks are also fire breathers but are the one dragon that is considered completely flightless. They are sometimes referred to as shadow dragons because of their ability to camouflage themselves to the point of almost being undetectable and in the night you would not be able to see them at all if they were concealed in the shadows. This cloaking ability is what is passed to their bonders. Finally there are the Browns. A medium sized dragon like the Blues and Reds. The Browns also breath fire. They have the strange ability to control gravity. Although they have no wings they are still able to fly like the winged dragons. The bonder of a Brown can also control gravity. They are able to levitate themselves as well as other objects."

Kimball looked in amazement. "This is all quite interesting but where do you keep them all?"

Lugos grinned. "The Keep is actually quite large. It has several levels, both upper and lower. The lower levels are where the dragons are kept. Each of the bonder's quarters has a chamber that leads to their dragon's den or stable as they are referred to. Other than the den keeper the bonder is the only one with access to their dragon's den."

From outside the coach, Lugos and Kimball heard a loud voice call out. "Sir, we are approaching the Keep. We will be landing momentarily."

Kimball looked back out the window. Over the horizon he could see an enormous structure beginning to take form in the distance. As they got closer the structure became more clear. It was magnificent. The first thing that caught his eye was the large clock tower that stood tall in the center of the Keep. It towered in comparison to the rest. The keep was setting on the side of a large hill above a wide stretched lake. The water was crystal clear and so calm it reflected the sky and a mirror image of the Keep. The sun was beginning to rise and the black of the night sky was now slowly being engulfed in an red orange hue. The outer wall was menacing and was clearly meant to keep out intruders. On the wall there were several red dragons pacing back and forth along side their bonders. They looked up to the coach as it approached the Keep. Past the outer wall was the Keep Town. It was filled with the hustle and bustle of people moving about and smoke bellowed from the chimneys of the buildings below. It was not a large city but was not a tiny town either. It seemed a decent size and was clearly well populated. Across the town the inner wall could be seen. It was equally as menacing as the outer wall, if not more. It was quite a bit taller yet not as thick as the outer wall. After crossing over the inner wall, the coach began to circle the Keep. The back side of the Keep sat at the edge of a cliff, dropping down to the ocean below. The keep itself was an outstanding sight. There were six tall bell towers at each corner of the hexagonal Keep. The clock tower stood in the very center of the keep and was four sided. It was clear that it could be seen from anywhere within. Each of the walls were lined with windows and there appeared to be four levels of the main structure above ground. After making a full circle around the Keep the coach began to descend back to the earth below. After touching down to the ground it slowed down quickly and came to a halt.

The coach bounced a bit as the large minotaur got down from the back of it. He walked around and opened the door. He stepped to one side to make way for Lugos and Kimball. Lugos stood up from his seat and stepped through the door and down to the ground. Kimball with Davin still in his arms, stood as well and got out of the coach. Lugos motioned to Kimball and began to head towards the Keep. After Lugos and Kimball were clear of the coach, the minotaur waived his hands at the two drivers. The coach took off again and circled back around to the keep.

BOOK: A Dragon's Bond
12.55Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

Holloway Falls by Neil Cross
Heartbreaker by Susan Howatch
Lone Wolf Justice by Cynthia Sax
Weekends in Carolina by Jennifer Lohmann
Murder Well-Done by Claudia Bishop
The First Lie by Diane Chamberlain
The Shadow's Edge by Patrick Dakin
The Hard Way on Purpose by David Giffels
The High King's Tomb by Kristen Britain