Born of Fire (The Cloud Warrior Saga Book 8) Read Online Free PDF Page B

shown when he first came to Par-shon. He hadn’t demonstrated the same disregard for the people, had he?
    Staring at Tolman would provide no answers.
    Tan stepped past him. “How many of you were bonded to elementals before?”
    Most shifted their feet nervously until one stepped forward. She was young—possibly only twelve—and barely came up to his chin. Lanky brown hair dropped to her shoulders, but her eyes had a bright light. “I was bonded, Utu Tonah.”
    “What elemental were you bonded to?” he asked.
    “Saa, Utu Tonah.”
    Saa. Was there a reason a bonded of fire stepped forward more willingly than the others? Fire could inflame passions and lead to increased impulsiveness, traits that Tan had struggled to suppress, especially when he had nearly been twisted into one of the lisincend.
    “What is your name?” he asked the girl.
    “Fasha, Utu Tonah.”
    “Tell me, Fasha, did you learn the name of your bonded elemental?”
    Her mouth twisted and she started to smile. When Tan didn’t return the smile, hers began to fade. “Saa doesn’t have names. It is saa.”
    Asgar, will you participate in a demonstration?
    He sensed amusement. Since their arrival, Asgar had remained stationed on top of the tower. Tan hadn’t figured out why the draasin found it so entertaining to remain so high, watching down on Par-shon, but he sensed the draasin’s humor as he did.
    Of course, Maelen. Which one do I get to eat?
    Tan nearly snorted. The little ones will not be all that filling, will they?
    Not filling, but they are less chewy. What would you have me do?
    Nothing more than come down from on high. Do you think the Mother will mind if you do?
    Asgar chuckled, and fire streamed from his nostrils. He swooped down, coming to land in the middle of the garden on a fluttering of wings and a billowing wind. Tan approached him and placed his hand on one of his heated spikes. Steam rose up from places along his back where the draasin heat mixed with moisture in the air.
    The children all scrambled back toward the wall of the tower. Some whimpered softly. Only Fasha remained daring enough to stay out near the draasin.
    “Do you think the draasin has a name?” Tan asked, speaking loudly enough for all to hear, but directing his question to Fasha.
    “That is a draasin,” she said.
    Tan nodded. “He is one of the draasin, but do you think that he has a name?”
    One of the other children, a skinny boy who couldn’t have been more than eight or nine, stepped forward and pointed. “How do you know it’s a boy?”
    “Because I speak to him.”
    The boy started to smile. “Like a dog?”
    I think I will eat him, Asgar said.
    I doubt that he would provide you with even a snack.
    That’s not why I would eat him.
    Where is the challenge in the hunt?
    The challenge will be you trying to stop me. You would fail, Maelen.
    Tan smiled. “He doesn’t much care for being compared to a dog. And he doesn’t like it when I compare him to a horse, even though he can carry about as much as one.”
    The draasin snorted fire at him, and Tan didn’t move. This was a lesson the children needed to see. The draasin fire struck but parted around him, leaving him unharmed. Tan had learned long ago that draasin fire wouldn’t harm him. Neither would lisincend shaping, or pretty much any other shaping of fire. That was the benefit of his connection to the fire bond.
    Some of the children gasped, and a few laughed. A couple stepped forward, more daring.
    “How do you know he has a name?” Fasha asked.
    Tan patted Asgar on the side. “Because I gave it to him.”
    The boy leaned to one of the other children. “See? Like a dog.”
    Tan stopped in front of him, blocking the boy from Asgar. He didn’t think the draasin would attempt to eat him, but he didn’t want to take the risk. Asgar wasn’t nearly as jumpy about things like that as his father, but draasin were proud creatures, and with good reason.
    “Most of the elementals have a name