Yes.
Khollo nodded. “We are here to help you, Ezraan. We have food, supplies, anything. All you need to do is ask. Take any of the holds on the fourth level as yours.”
Kanin, with Ezraan still firmly wrapped in his tail, vaulted to the next level in a flurry of flapping wings, still favoring his left leg. He released the old man, then returned to Khollo’s side on the third level. Khollo looked upwards, wondering if Ezraan would show himself. When he did not, Khollo sighed and retreated to the hold.
“Let’s take a look at your leg,” Khollo said, gesturing for Kanin to lay down in the bowl.
Kanin sprawled in his dragon bowl, sticking his left foreleg out for Khollo’s inspection. What are you looking for? He asked curiously, studying his leg.
Khollo shrugged uncertainly and knelt beside the dragon. Anything out of the ordinary, he replied. How does it feel?
Hurts.
Khollo sighed. Where?
Move your hand over the spot and I will tell you.
Khollo gently laid a hand on Kanin’s scales, watching the dragon carefully.
Lower, and a little to the left . . . almost there. Kanin growled suddenly, and Khollo withdrew his hand. That’s it, Kanin told him.
Khollo examined the spot, which was just below the knee joint, critically. There was nothing that looked out of the ordinary, no clues as to the extent of the injury. The emerald scales were perfectly overlapped and of uniform color. There was no gash or severe bruise or anything.
“It must be something on the inside,” Khollo decided, standing. “How bad does it hurt if I press on it?”
Bad.
Khollo pursed his lips. “Too bad we don’t have a dragon healer.” He retreated towards the kitchen area, wanting to be alone with his thoughts. What if Kanin never did recover? What if this was it forever?
Khollo raked a hand through his hair. It was growing long, since he hadn’t cut it in weeks. I think I need to start researching something else besides a map, he decided finally, glancing back at Kanin. I need the knowledge of a dragon healer.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully. They heard nothing from Ezraan, and did not seek him out. The old man was effectively trapped on the level above, with no way down from the hold. Eventually, maybe, he would come around and begin the process of recovery.
Meanwhile, Kanin passed the afternoon and evening in mild discomfort, growling whenever he moved incautiously and set his foreleg throbbing again.
Khollo occupied himself by carving a scrap of wood with his dagger, paring away small shavings. He didn’t start with any objective in mind, but over time he realized that he was slowly shaping the outline of a dragon. With this goal in mind, Khollo continued his work until he had achieved a passable representation of the tail, hindquarters and midsection.
By the time he had finished that, night was falling. He ate a light dinner from his dwindling store of supplies, then checked on Kanin one last time before retiring for the night. The dragon was already asleep, growling softly to himself.
The following morning Khollo rose before the sun. The sky outside the entrance to the hold was still black, but he was well-rested and wide awake. Khollo stretched luxuriously, then dressed and made his way out to the ledge, tiptoeing around the sleeping dragon.
The horizon to the east was just starting to turn gray, the first warning of sunrise. In every direction rose the mountains, guardians of the valley, sentinels. The easternmost peaks began to glow with a soft dusky light while the others hid in the shadows for a few more minutes.
Khollo looked up to the fourth level, where they had left Ezraan, but there was no sign of the older man. The young warrior sighed, wishing there was something he could do to force his father onto the path to recovery. But he knew there wasn’t. Ezraan would have to face his demons himself if he was to truly change.
Khollo heard Kanin stirring within the hold. A moment later, the dragon’s sleepy voice resonated within his head.
Morning already?
Sorry, Khollo told him, grinning to himself. How’s the leg?
Better, but still not right, Kanin replied. Maybe I can fly today.
Are you sure?
There came a terrible screeching sound of claws and scales on rock as Kanin got to his feet. I am sure. I am sick of laying around in the hold all day long.
I don’t blame you, Khollo agreed. Do you need to hunt?
Not yet. Tomorrow or the next day maybe.
Khollo nodded slowly. To the east, the sun was finally beginning to show in the gaps between the peaks of the mountains. He turned back to the hold and was nearly trampled by Kanin, headed the other direction.
“Whoa!” Khollo cried, staggering back. He regained his balance and leaned against the massive head. “You sure you’re up to this?”
Kanin roared in reply, nearly deafening Khollo. Birds erupted from the jungle below, scolding the dragon for disturbing them. Khollo also fancied that he heard a strangled cry from a fourth-level hold, but that may have been just his imagination.
“Let me get some food for the day, then we’ll go,” Khollo promised. “Wait here.”
The young warrior jogged to the storeroom and packed enough food for two or three meals in a small bag he had constructed from some of the leather he had taken from Kanin’s kills. He also snatched up his battered water skin from the West Bank. Then he returned to the ledge and mounted up.
“Here we go,” he muttered. Ready when you are, he said to Kanin.
The dragon snorted and began to beat his wings slowly. He seemed trapped by gravity for a moment, but then Kanin pushed off from the ground and gained altitude rapidly, climbing into the gray
