Ramaeka (The Ramaeka Series Book 1) by G. Corin Read Free Book Online

no
understand,” he tried again shrugging his shoulders in pantomime.  She nodded,
then she began to gesture, Ramaeka quickly caught on.  She was hungry and
thirsty.  He gestured to her to wait and hurried away.
    It was no
problem for him to slip in to one of the smaller kitchens without being noticed
and snitch a few vegetable and meat pastries, stopping only to make sure they
weren’t made from humans.  He grabbed a few pieces of fruit as well and a jug
of water, tying the food together into a cloth bundle.  He quickly hurried back
to the cell.  When he got there the human was once again sitting in the corner,
blanket tucked around her, but she immediately jumped up as he approached. 
Nervously he placed the jug on to the ground and carefully pushed it between
two of the bars.  The human slowly reached out took hold of it, smelling the
contents before drinking.  As she did do he pushed the bundle through the
bars.  The human carefully laid the jug down and took up the bundle.  She was
pretty smart, Ramaeka decided admiringly as she carefully examined each object
of food, obviously checking for poison or whether it was consumable for
humans.  She took a bite from a pastry then looked up and smiled at him.  It
was strange really, Ramaeka thought, that they ate a creature that looked so
much like them.  The human looked almost exactly like a female dragon in lesser
form, save perhaps that her eyes were slightly smaller and the tips of her ears
less pointed.  He felt decidedly squeamish at the thought of consuming someone
like her.
    The human
pointed at the food and said something, Ramaeka blinked at her in confusion. 
She pointed again and said the same word, then pointed at the jug of water and
said a different word. 
    “Oh,” said
Ramaeka.  “That’s what you call them.” 
    He carefully
repeated the words pointing at each object in turn; he then said the Draconian
word for each which she quickly repeated.  She then pointed at herself.  
    “Alekra” she
pronounced carefully.  Ramaeka pointed at himself and solemnly pronounced his
own name.  She listened intently and then repeated him.
    “Ramaeka.” 
    He grinned
absurdly pleased, however before he could say anything else, echoing footsteps
marked the approach of another dragon.  The human, Alekra, quickly shuffled
back into the corner, hiding the food and water behind her under the blanket. 
Ramaeka jumped up and ran up the passage, he slipped around the corner and
dashed in the opposite direction of the footsteps, not stopping until he got to
his sleeping chamber.  Pulling the curtain across the entrance, he flopped onto
his sleeper completely out of breath.  Isahn was right, humans were intelligent
he thought happily, she had said his name, and told him hers!  But what on
Amaria was his father keeping her for?  He transformed into his greater form
and curled into a ball tiredly.  Surely his father wasn’t keeping her to eat? 
He could have fresh meat anytime he wanted, including human, so why keep one
alive in the fortress.  He yawned widely, he was too tired to think properly,
it had been a long day, and his entire body was still aching from almost being
crushed by a dim rock dragon.  He needed to rest and allow his body to heal,
tomorrow however he would try to see the human, no Alekra, and find out why she
was there.
     
     
    It wasn’t
until after evening meal the next day that Ramaeka had the chance to sneak away
to see Alekra again, he had been given several days worth of punishment duty
for yesterday’s antics.
    He collected
some more food and drink on the way past the kitchens, luckily Bakara wasn’t
there and he was able to sneak in and out without being seen.  He trotted back
to the passage, carefully looking around the corner in case any dragon was
about.  Rocks! he thought as he saw his father and his oldest sister Ramapaiete
standing outside the cell, he pressed himself back against the rock.  He
hesitated,