Kanin wheeled to his left, blasting the ground with fire, flying in a tight circle. In seconds, night turned to day and a ring of fire was formed in the jungle. By the light of the flames, Khollo could see a small clearing, and two figures moving cautiously in a circle. One was Ezraan, armed with a totally inadequate dagger that reflected the light. The other was the tiger, pacing around the circle, eying the flames, looking for an opening, a weakness.
We have to get down there and get between them, Khollo said urgently. Quickly, that beast could strike at any time and Ezraan –
I know, Kanin agreed. Hold on.
The dragon folded his wings and dropped to the ground like a boulder, shaking the earth as he landed. Khollo nearly impaled himself on the spine in front of him, then recovered and raised his bow. Smoke and flame were all around them, the tiger in front and Ezraan behind.
“Get on!” Khollo shouted to Ezraan.
Ezraan hesitated, then started towards Kanin. But the tiger turned and saw him, poised to escape. The massive cat did not hesitate, charging straight for Khollo’s father.
Khollo fired an arrow at the bounding beast and missed by a hair’s breadth. The cat kept coming, straight for Kanin’s flank. The dragon turned and spewed another a burst of fire, but the tiger was too fast. It moved to pass behind Kanin, ducking under his lashing tail.
Khollo dismounted, drawing his Sen-teel, pursuing the beast. There was nothing between it and Ezraan now.
Khollo, move! I cannot flame it when you are between us!
Khollo swore and dove to one side. A moment later, flame rushed past him, scorching the ground. But it did not reach the tiger. The beast bounded onward, then leapt towards Ezraan.
The older man tried to move out of the way, but one of the cat’s massive paws caught him across the back, tearing into him. Ezraan screamed and collapsed, the cat falling on top of him with a snarl of triumph. Khollo lunged with the Sen-teel, trying to keep the tiger from doing any more damage.
The weapon was batted from his hands and the tiger turned to face him, growling a challenge. Khollo backed away slowly, glancing at Ezraan, who was lying still, gasping for breath, sobbing with pain. The cat poised itself to pounce, and Khollo turned away slightly, trying to evade the claws, expecting them to lay open his back at any moment.
There was a tremendous whumph and Khollo heard the tiger spit and hiss angrily. He opened his eyes and saw Kanin soaring through the ring of fire, the struggling tiger grasped firmly in his claws. The dragon climbed rapidly into the sky, then released its captive. As the tiger fell, Kanin pursued it, flaming it all the way to the ground. The cat screamed and flailed horribly as it was engulfed, a living ember. Then, with a sickening crash, it hit the ground thirty meters from where Khollo stood. The tiger did not stir, and Khollo knew that it was dead.
Khollo ran to where his father had fallen, kneeling beside him. “Ezraan!”
The older man moaned softly. “Is it . . . dead?”
“Yes,” Khollo said quickly. “You’re safe now. But we’ve got to get you back to the hold and get you patched up.” Khollo found the wounds the tiger’s claws had made and examined them quickly. Blood was welling from four long deep cuts, almost exactly like those he had suffered from the vertaga.
“It’s too late for me, Khollo,” Ezraan murmured. “Go. Save your friends.”
“But you’ll – ”
“Die? Yes. It is the way of things, Khollo.” Ezraan coughed and grimaced. “There is nothing that can prevent me dying now. Already I feel the cold creeping into my limbs, the strength leaving my body.” He grimaced. “I know I haven’t been much of a father, and I’m sorry. I know that I was selfish and unfair earlier and I’m sorry. You just have a bigger heart than this old, one-eyed wreck of a man, Khollo. You’re a better person.”
Khollo shook his head. “Stop it, I’ll fix this, somehow. Well stitch up your wounds, get you back to the hold. Maybe in a few days you’ll be strong enough to – ”
“Khollo!” Ezraan said forcefully. Then, he was seized by a coughing fit. “Khollo,” he said, softer. “Do not waste what little time I have left. There are things I must tell you. First, my blessing. Will you accept it?”
Khollo bowed his head wordlessly. Ezraan reached up with his right hand, slick with blood, and rested it on Khollo’s shoulder.
“May you find happiness in the life you choose for yourself,” Ezraan whispered. “And live a long and fulfilling life. I wish this for you, Khollo, and for you, Kanin. You have not been given an easy path, but you are strong together. Be who you are, do what you can, and let the rest take care of itself.”
Khollo looked down at his father. All the resentment, all the bitterness, all of the anger he had kept bottled up since finding out his father was alive was finally draining out of him, leaving only grief and a strange emptiness.
“Stay by me,” Ezraan murmured. “Just . . . a little longer.”
“To the end,” Khollo promised.
The older man nodded and closed his eyes. “Thank you . . . my son.”
Khollo bowed his head and wept. How long he sat there, kneeling beside his dying father, he did not know. Gray dawn light was stealing across the land when Ezraan stiffened. A final deep breath escaped him and his eyes glazed over, focusing on some distant place that only he could see. By the time the sun had risen, Ezraan was dead.
Chapter 37
Khollo buried his father high on the mountains, next to
