A Dragon's Bond (3 page)

Lugos and Kimball kept on walking towards the Keep. They came to two very large wooden doors that were lined with steal strapping. As they approached, the doors began to open. With a loud creak they slowly opened up to let them inside. Lugos led the way through and Kimball followed with his son held closely in his arms.

Through the doorway opened up into a large entryway. The floors were covered with large, rough marble tiles. There were tall pillar columns running along the walls on either side. On each of the pillars hung a torch, all together lighting the large room. At the end of the room was another set of large doors, not quite as large as the ones they originally entered through. The doors opened and the tall silver haired man walked through. He walked towards Lugos and Kimball and stopped just in front of them.

"
My name is Myrdinn Mallikorr. I am the Master of The Keep and I am so glad you are here." Myrdinn looked at the small child being held by Kimball. "I see you both made it safely. Follow me. I will show you to your new quarters."

CHAPTER THREE

A FRIEND

Eight years had passed since Kimball and Davin came to live at Dragon Keep Academy. Davin had started his schooling at the academy and Kimball was working in the dragon dens.

Kimball was found to have a talent for working with the dragons. Although he was not bonded he earned a general respect from the creatures. His gentle nature was sensed by them and he was charged with cleaning their dens and performing basic maintenance work throughout the keep. It was not the most sought after job, but Kimball was content. Davin and he had much better lifestyles than they had before. Besides, the money he made went only to any extras he and Davin wanted. Myrdinn provided a place within the Keep for Kimball and Davin to live. They were on the third floor on the west side of the keep. This gave them a beautiful view of the lake and the sunset in the evening. The living quarters were simple but nice. It consisted of two bedrooms, a common living area, a bathroom and a cooking area. It was bigger, warmer and cleaner than the little shack of a house they had once lived in.

Davin had turned out to be a strong looking boy. He would not be quite as tall as his father was and was a little on the shorter side like his mother had been. He did inherit his father's stocky build however. He had light brown hair like his mother which was wavy like his dad's. He had fair skin which was also a trait he got from his mother. Unless he was mixed in with bonders and dwarfs he was very easy to pick out of a crowd. His brown hair, light skin made his glowing green eyes stand out even more than normal.

Life in the Keep was much like a normal outside life. Kimball went to work and Davin went to school. School for Davin was a little awkward at times. All of the kids his age did not have bonder's eyes like he did. He was often given a hard time and accused of thinking he was better than his fellow classmates because he did not have to wait for his gift. Even though Davin was a kind child and treated others with nothing but respect he was still picked on. Fortunately this would not go on forever. It would only be five more years until he was moved into the bonders quarters with other kids that had the same gift he did. Some of the kids that were now picking on him for being different, would soon be just like him and also go to the bonders quarters.

Not all the kids at the academy would become bonders. They were there because they either had an older sibling or a parent that was a bonder. Some of them were just children of those who worked at the academy. The academy was home to different races and creatures alike. There were minotaurs, centaurs, fauns, elves, dwarfs, and of course humans.

Out of all of the kids, there was one child that had become good friends with Davin. It was a young girl named Chloe Collins. She was the daughter of the Keep Town Mayor, Stewart Collins. Her older brother Aiden, was ten years older than she. He was the Keep Den Master. He was in charge of the den and pit areas. He held the master key to all the dragon dens and was also a bonder himself. Chloe was eight years old just as Davin was. They spent most of their time together after school playing games and running about. She was a very sweet girl, with a strong heart and a love for dragons. She was quite the opposite of her father and her older brother, who were both very self impressed and walked walked about as though they were better than other people. Her brother Aiden was the worst of the two. Not only was he full of himself, but he had a temper with a very short fuse. He was quick to anger and you did not want to be on the opposite end of that stick. He was bonded to a black dragon who he called Pain. You were wise to steer clear of Aiden unless you had specific business with him at the request of a superior figure.

Within the Keep, Aiden was fourth in command. He fell below The minotaur Commander, Goban. Goban was in charge of Keep Security and Arms. He was bonded to a male green dragon he called Em, short for Emerald. Then there was Lugos who was second in command only to Myrdinn. Lugos was not bonded any longer. He was at one time, but his dragon was brutally murdered when he was younger . Myrdinn was Master of the keep and answered to no other. Myrdinn was bonded to a brown dragon and rightfully his name was Levitás.

Chloe was a petite girl with shoulder length, straight brown hair. She had a scar that ran across her left eye. It went from just above her eyebrow down to the top of her cheek. She was very quiet and did not talk much except to Davin. She found some security in him seeing as he was different as well. Nobody knew where she got the scar from and nobody seemed to ever ask.

Davin and Chloe always seemed to find themselves butting heads with a couple of the other kids in particular. There was a boy named Blake who was a typical bully. Unfortunately he was a minotaur, so he was extra tough. There was really no sense in trying to fight back. He would just end up hitting you harder. There were two others with him all of the time. Wherever Blake was, Toby and James were never far behind.

Toby was a faun child. He was always instigating and riling up Blake. He never got much more involved other than making things worse for the person standing across from Blake.

James was a fat little dwarf boy and was not very bright. He would just chuckle and laugh at whatever the other two did. Blake would often times slug him in the shoulder for laughing too much.

It was actually these three that ended up starting Chloe and Davin's friendship. It was after school one day. Davin had heard Blake and Toby picking on someone. The distinct chuckle of James meant they were definitely up to no good as usual. Davin rounded a corner to find poor little Chloe, cornered in one of the passageways leading from class. They were poking at her scar and calling her some of the most horrid names. Chloe was probably more angry than she was hurt. You could see her fighting back a tear that was beginning to form in her eye.

It was that day Davin first learned how tough even a boy minotaur was. Davin had rushed over to aid Chloe. He through his shoulder into the back of the unsuspecting minotaur, only to find himself on the ground. He probably would have been better off just running into a wall. Blake hadn't even budged. Then the punishment came. Blake turned around and after giving a snort, he began to kick at Davin who was already on the ground holding his shoulder in pain. The beating only lasted for about thirty seconds or so, but to Davin it felt like a lifetime.

It wasn't until that point when Chloe finally spoke up and let out a yell and started calling for help. Blake turned towards her, let out another snort and proceeded to run off down the corridor with Toby and James following quickly behind.

When one of the teachers finally came to their aid the bullies were long gone and all that was left was the signs of the attack. Davin ended up with three broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder. As much as the they wanted the three kids to be punished for what they had done, neither of them said a word. Fearing that it would simply make matters worse for them both.

For the next few weeks, Davin would come home almost every day with a black eye, bloody lip or bloody nose. Still, neither he, nor Chloe said anything. Unfortunately for Davin he seemed to get the raw end of the deal. Chloe got teased and he got beat up.

From that point on he and Chloe were the best of friends. Always looking out for one another. They just did their best to steer clear of Blake and his lackey friends.

CHAPTER FOUR

THE EGG CHAMBER

Classes had ended for the day. Davin packed away his books in his bag and threw it over his shoulder. He stood up from his desk and headed for the classroom door. Just then Chloe ran up behind him and excitedly began tapping him on the shoulder.

"
Davin! You have to see what I found." She said in giddy but hushed voice. "Come on, follow me."

Without hesitation she grabbed Davin by the hand and pulled him along as she ran through the corridors leading out of the classroom area. After running for a while she stopped at one of the corners and peeked around. She turned to him abruptly.

"
Now Davin. You mustn't tell anybody about this. It's our secret. Promise you won't say anything?"

"
Yeah, okay. I guess so" he replied, with a suspicious tone of voice.

"
No. Seriously Davin. You have to Promise."

"
Okay, okay. I promise. I won't tell anyone."

Chloe looked back around the corner one more time. She pulled Davin by the hand again, leading him around the corner to a door at the end of the hall.

"
Well...." He started.

She put her finger to her mouth and shushed him as she grabbed the lamp that was sitting on the shelf next to the door. She turned the handle and pulled the door. She winced as it made a slight creaking sound as it opened. With the door now open she quickly pushed Davin in and closed it behind them.

"
Really Chloe? This is a stinking broom closet. What is so special about a broom closet? Besides the fact that it really does stink."

"
No silly. I know this is a broom closet. It's what's in here that is so spectacular." She said as she let out a slight giggle.

Chloe held the lamp down to the floor. The light from the lamp splashed onto the floor and revealed a large metal grate in front of their feet.

"
Really! A ventilation grate Chloe."

"
Davin. You really do need to trust me on this one. Do you know where this goes? It leads straight to the egg chamber."

"
Whoa! No way!" He said with much more enthusiasm in his voice.

The hole beneath the grate was just big enough for the two small children to climb into. The grate was clearly loose, as the bolts that once held it in place had rusted away.

"
Chloe, how exactly do you know that this leads to the egg chamber?" Davin shot her an inquisitive look.

"
My brother. He had been looking over some plans of the Keep. He left them laying out and I just so happen to sneak a peek. We will have to come back later after dark though. There will be less guards walking about once we get to the area where the chamber is. If we were to go now, we would surely be heard. Meet me here late tonight after everyone else has turned in for the evening. Unless of course you are too scared."

Davin postured up and stuck out his chest slightly. "Scared! I am not scared."

Chloe smiled. "It's settled then. I'll meet you here tonight."

Chloe put her ear to the door to see if she could hear anyone walking in the hall outside. After a brief moment, she seemed satisfied that nobody was out there. She opened the door and cringed again at the creek the door made as it opened. The two kids quickly jumped out of the closet and shut the door behind them.

Chloe smiled at Davin again. "I will see you tonight then." She said as she hurried off down the hall.

Davin followed the hallway back towards the classroom. He passed the classroom and turned the corner leading to the main stairwell. As he walked through the doorway to enter the stairwell, he heard James' familiar chuckle. At that point he knew it was coming. Before he could prepare himself he tripped over the hoof that stuck out from behind the wall of the doorway. Davin fell to the ground and smacked his head on the hard stone floor. The three boys began laughing. James was now chuckling even louder than before.

Blake reached over and slugged James in the arm. "Shut up you buffoon. Somebody is going to hear you. Come on, let's get out of here before somebody comes." He snorted.

The three trouble makers ran out through the door and disappeared around the corner. Davin reached his hand up to his head where it had hit the ground. It stung as he touched it. He quickly pulled his hand away. He looked down at his hand to see blood dripping from his fingers. He groaned a little and put his hands against the floor and began to push himself up. He stood up slowly and began to get a little light headed. Davin braced himself against the wall for a moment as his head cleared. Once he felt stable enough, he began walking up the stairs. He was not looking forward to the two flights of stairs to get to the floor he and his father's place was on.

Once to the top of the stairs, Davin walked sluggishly down the hall towards his quarters. When he reached the door he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small brass key. He placed the key in the lock of the door and turned it. With a click, the door unlocked and he turned the handle and opened the door.