The Bond (Book 2) (8 page)

T–The heat of the day. Is that what makes you want to bathe?

“Who’s there?” Renata’s heart had nearly stopped, she’d been so surprised by the voice.

I am named
 . . . Nayra. H–He bathed frequently as well, Isandath. He s–sent you?

It’s not a voice, she thought, setting down the towel. It’s in my head.

She set that mystery aside for the moment and said, “Yes, I was sent by Isandath. Are you the woman I’m supposed to meet?”

I
 . . . I am the one who you are to meet.

“Okay. Well, it’s good to
 . . . to speak with you, finally. My name is Renata.”

That is a pretty name.

“Thank you.” Sitting on her legs as she was, one had started to fall asleep, so she moved it from under her and sat on the ground. Pins and needles ran up and down the leg.

There was quick movement down one of the passages, of something that sounded large, and then silence.

After a minute, Renata said, “Nayra?”

I am sorry. I
 . . . we are a nervous, ah, people. And when you moved . . .

“We? Did you bring others?” Alarmed, she looked around.

I came alone. We, my people, are nervous. Isandath always had a smile in his mind about my nervousness. But it has been, ah, years since I spoke with him. I thought . . . I feared that he had forgotten.

“No, he has not. It has taken him this long to find me. He has no children of his own, so has to search for those he feels are, ah, qualified, instead.”

I see. Good. This is good. It is almost time for my child to, ah, arrive.

“You’re about to give birth?” Renata was shocked. She had no idea how to be a mid-wife!

I–I am not. But my child will be here soon.

“Oh. Okay.” Renata was starting to wonder about the woman. Their whole conversation was odd, but even more curious, the woman still had not shown herself. Why? They were supposed to meet after all, weren’t they?

Isandath had mentioned that she had an unusual way of speaking, both in manner and in method, and Renata was understanding more and more what he meant. “How are you speaking in my mind?”

It is how we, ah, talk. We cannot speak any other way.

Renata nodded. The woman, her people, were they all mute? She drew her brows together.
Can you hear me?

I can! You are much faster than Isandath. It took him two, ah, days to speak to me this way. After that, we spoke more often.

He told me about your dream.

I–I see. I am hoping, since you are here, that you are of the same mind as Isandath? You are sad at what the, ah, Order is doing?

It’s unforgivable.
Renata pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them.
We’re both angry at the lie the Order continues to spread, at the senseless slaughter of dragons for the lie. If meeting you and your child can help dragons, then I am glad to be here to do so.

There was the sound of footfalls from deeper down one of the two passages, the one that didn’t lead to the pool. Slow, deliberate steps. But they sounded odd. Was it the caves distorting the sound? Renata stood and faced the passage.

I s–saw as much last night, but it is good . . . it is good to, ah, hear you say so.

Renata could see nothing in the darkness of the passage. She fidgeted. The steps were making too much noise. No, that wasn’t it either. They weren’t loud, just more pronounced.
Are you . . . a woman?

The footfalls stopped.

I am female. I am not sure what you are asking.

I am female? Why did she answer that way?

D–Do not be frightened. I am as nervous as you are. P–Perhaps more.

The footfalls started again, hesitantly at first, then with more regularity.

Frightened? Renata, mouth slightly open, ran the tip of her tongue along the bottom of her teeth. No, she wasn’t frightened. Anxious, more as like. For there was something not quite right, but what—

She could feel them, just barely. The footsteps. Under her feet. How was that possible?

From within the darkness of the passage, from higher than where Renata had been looking, emerged a large head and neck, then legs, body, and . . . wings?

Dark gray and enormous, Nayra was clearly, stunningly lit by the light of the fire.

With a quiet gasp, Renata sank to her knees, heart racing.

A dragon?

Blood pounded in her ears and a storm of feelings roiled within her breast: shock, fear, wonder, and awe. In the midst of the tempest, overwhelming relief and joy flooded through her.

Nayra took a step back.
Why do you cry? P–Please do not be frightened.

Completely rattled and with tears running down her cheeks, Renata explained, “I am not frightened. I’m crying because you are alive, you still exist.”

Because we didn’t kill you all, she thought, but couldn’t say.

“I’m sorry,” she said, “for what the Order has done to your people.”

Nayra lowered her head a moment, then looked back up, amber eyes glowing in the firelight.
It is a terrible thing they do. But some, ah, escaped this place. We live, some of us, far from here.

Renata took a deep breath, a little calmer now.
That is good.

She wiped her cheeks and cautiously stood, staring at the large, magnificent creature before her.
You have a fierce beauty,
she sent,
like an eagle, or a mountain cat.

Nayra raised her wings slightly and looked at herself, then returned her wings to her back.

Renata stood still, trying to make sense of this.
Isandath did not tell me you were a dragon.
She was going to have some choice words with him about that. Though, now that she thought on it, perhaps it was better that he hadn’t told her.

He did not? I–I see.

All her life Renata had been taught the lie that dragons were evil beasts that needed to be destroyed. As much as she now disagreed, and despite earlier words, she was a little frightened of the enormous creature before her. She needed to remedy that.

Can I
 . . . can I touch you?

Nayra pulled her head back slightly.

I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—

Y–You can, if you would like to.

Renata swallowed and nodded. Slowly, she made her way to Nayra, heart pounding the whole time. She then reached out and placed her left hand on the dragon’s chest. For a moment, muscles trembled beneath her palm.

You’re
 . . . softer than I would have thought.
She ran her hand along Nayra’s chest, to her shoulder, her arm.
Warm too. And you have a scent, a very pleasant one.

A
 . . . scent?

Mmm hmm,
Renata replied, nodding.

She reached over and touched the leading edge of the dragon’s right wing. Nayra extended it a bit to the side, and Renata gently stroked the membrane.

Oh,
she said,
I can see light through it! So delicate and pretty.

A rumble from Nayra made Renata pull her hand back. But the rumble sounded
 . . . pleased?

It took Isandath four days before he had the courage to ask to touch me. He was as, ah, happily curious as you are now. He chose well.

Renata looked up at Nayra’s face. The dragon stared back at her and blinked slowly. Happily curious? Renata smiled. Yes, she did feel that way.

From behind the dragon, from somewhere deeper in the caves, there came a faint tapping.

Nayra tensed, eyes large, and quickly turned her head toward the sound.
She is early! I was not prepared. B–Bring your rabbit to her. I must, ah, catch something more for her to eat.
With that, Nayra spun and ran back into the passage she had emerged from.

Renata, having ducked to avoid Nayra’s large tail, stared at the darkness of the tunnel as she stood.

My rabbit?

She removed the haunch from the spit, all that was left, and tossed it in a pan to carry. She then licked her fingers clean, grabbed a lantern and the pan, and headed into the passage.

As she knew from exploring, it eventually lead to another cave, larger than the first. Once there, she raised the lantern. There were two other passages that lead from here. Which was she supposed to take? She spent a minute looking from one tunnel to the other before she noticed Nayra’s footprints, traces left in some of the dirt and sand of the floor.

Smiling, she took the left passage. When she again heard the tapping, a little louder now and coming from ahead of her, she knew she was on the right path. She was unprepared, however, for what she found when she emerged from the tunnel into the large cavern.

This room, she knew, had three other passages leading from it. Two were on ground level, one to the left, one to the back right, and the third opened at the top of a dusty, earthen incline circling up from the left to the back center of the cave. From there, a wide tunnel eventually lead to cliffs on the rocky heights above.

All that was expected. What wasn’t was what she saw near the middle of the room. Nestled atop a pile of sand and dirt, which itself sat within the curved arm of the ramp, sat an enormous egg. It was from this that the loud tapping emanated.

Renata was mesmerized by the egg. It had to be at least five feet tall. How much did that thing weigh? And the coloration of it was gorgeous.

She had no idea how long she stood staring at it. Seconds? Minutes? An hour? But when the more insistent tapping and banging was followed by a sharp cracking sound, she not only came to her senses, she jumped, nearly flipping the rabbit out of the pan.

The tapping and banging continued, and now, from the crack in the egg, Renata also heard a quiet mewling sound. She placed the pan on the ground and slowly made her way closer to the egg, which now rocked in time with the sound of the young dragon hammering her way out.

Another loud crack echoed from the walls, and a large piece of shell fell to the sand, revealing a hole, perhaps one foot wide. Renata occasionally saw movement through it as the tapping and pounding continued. Another loud cracking sound was followed by a huge shard falling to the ground. From the opening, now nearly as tall as the egg, a struggling form tumbled.

Renata ran to the little dragon, cooing and offering words of comfort as she helped the creature to its feet.

T–Thank you
, she heard in her mind.

A much smaller version of her mother, though red in color, the hatchling raised her head and looked at Renata. The little dragon’s eyes widened, vertical pupils dilating to nearly twice their original width, and she stumbled backward, tripping on her wings.

“Oh, sweetling,” Renata said, “don’t be afraid.” She moved to the young dragon and helped her to her feet again. “I’m here to help you. Your mother went to catch you something to eat.”

With a frightened wail, the hatchling ran behind the empty egg.

Renata, distraught that the young dragon might hurt herself, thought desperately about what she could do to help. The poor thing was so frightened. Perhaps if she tried talking to her in a familiar way?

I’m sorry I scared you, little one,
Renata sent.
Do not be frightened, your mother will return soon. Actually, she told me to bring you some food. Would you like to eat?

There was no response. Renata went back for the pan and brought it closer. Perhaps the smell of the rabbit would tempt the hatching.

I–I am really hungry, ah, actually.

Renata smiled.
I am going to put this down next to the egg, so don’t be scared. It’s rabbit. I think you’ll like it.

As she walked to the egg, she heard movement and slowed down. She really didn’t want to frighten the lovely young dragon. She placed the pan in front of the egg and backed away.

There. You can try it now.

From behind the egg, a head poked out, and keeping her eyes on Renata, the hatchling cautiously made her way to the pan.

My name is Renata. I really am sorry I frightened you.

The little dragon paused momentarily and then sat next to the pan. She grabbed the rabbit haunch in her delicate paws and bit into it. Her gold eyes got larger and seemed to sparkle in the light of the lantern.
T–This is really good!

Renata smiled and said,
I’m glad you like it. I caught it myself this morning.

Thank you for letting me have it.
The hatchling took another bite of the rabbit, bones and all, holding it daintily in her small paws.
And, m–my name is . . . Xochi.

What a pretty name.
Renata drew her brows together.
Your mother already named you?

Named me? She did not. It is my name. I
 . . . I chose it, I think. I do not remember.

Renata couldn’t stop smiling as she watched Xochi eat. Even as wary as she was, the young dragon was beyond adorable with her little paws holding her food.
You’re just as beautiful as your mother.