She was the god of this tiny, limited domain. As long as she kept within the bounds that Mother had set, no beast or spirit could challenge her. Everything that walked, crawled or flew was hers to devour.

  Kana had never seen Mother or heard her talk. But Mother's words had been imprinted on her shell, on the trees and on the magic that flowed around this valley.

  “When you are strong enough to break the wards, it will be safe for you to leave.”

  She was not yet strong enough. She was close, though; she was sure of it. Perhaps this hunt would put her over the threshold. She had long ago hunted out all the large game animals that lived in the valley, but bigger game would wander in from time to time, looking for a home. They found one, in her stomach.

  Right now, she was hunting her favourite prey. A human. They were far less canny than a bear, but oh so much richer. This one had not even tried to hide. He had set up camp just within the border of her domain and had stayed right there, puttering about the clearing as if he were scared of trees.

  It had taken a while for his scent to drift its way to her, but now she was here, only a short dash away from her next meal. He had made for a poor hunt, but he would make an excellent dinner.

  She started to dash forward and then… stopped? She was being restrained! By chains that she couldn’t see! She thrashed her body and then roared, trying to push her magic against what had to be a magical binding. Neither did her any good.

  “Oho! What do we have here?” The man approached her struggling form. He was clad in brightly coloured clothes and had silver attached to his ears and wrapped around his neck.

  “You must be quite a young dragon to have stumbled into my defences,” the man said.

  Kana roared in frustration and struggled against her bonds some more. The man watched closely, but once it seemed like the binding would hold, he relaxed and sat down in front of her.

  “Now, now, no need to get all riled up. Did something good happen? Why don’t you tell me your name, and we can see about getting you out of there.”

  “I’m not a fool, human,” she growled. “I know that giving you my name would give you power over me.”

  “So wise are you?” the man said with a smile. “So sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you are already within my power. Or are you twisted up like that as part of some game?”

  She growled at him but didn’t have an answer. She struggled some more, but that didn’t help either.

  “Now listen,” the man said. “If you give me your name, I can keep it safe for you. I know what I’m about. With me holding on to your name, you’ll be able to tell it to others without having to worry about a thing. All you have to do is trust me.”

  “I don’t trust you, human. Why don’t you give me your name?”

  “Well, I suppose trust has to be earned,” the man said philosophically, ignoring her question. “I guess we can sit down for a while and get to know each other. Unless there was somewhere you had to be?”

  She snarled at him, but he grinned back without fear and pulled a stick out of his pocket and put one end of it in his mouth. To her surprise, he lit one end of it and started puffing smoke, as if to imitate a dragon.

  Eyes narrowing, she tried burning him with her breath, to show him the real thing. That, too, was restrained.

  “I suppose we can discuss the alternatives.”

  “If you let me go, I will permit you to leave,” she said graciously. She was lying, of course. There was no way that this irritating little monkey could be allowed to live to tell others of her predicament.

  “Oho! So generous are you?” the man said. “Unfortunately, that is not a possible option. I have a job to do, you see.”

  “What is that?”

  “The next valley over—” the man pointed back the way he came— “is getting developed next year. That means a lot more humans coming your way.”

  “That sounds fine. I am always hungry.”

  The man laughed. “And that is why they sent me. A few hikers going missing in the wilderness is only to be expected, but it will matter if these people were to disappear.”

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  He pulled his stick out of his mouth, looked at the glowing end thoughtfully, and then put it back in. Madness.

  “The locals knew there was something in the area,” he said. “I was setting up to do what I normally do in cases like this. Set up a camp, start making the proper propitiations, contact the spirit and come to some sort of arrangement. But then you came, charging out of the forest and right into my formation! You don’t know anything about magic, do you?”

  “Magic is the birthright of all dragons,” she said proudly. “But… I haven’t learned any yet.”

  The man nodded. “Raw power is raw power,” he said, “but artifice can overcome it. And so we find ourselves. You, the powerful one, trapped and at the mercy of the weak one.”

  She started thrashing again. “This spell won’t last forever, human!” I will free myself and then feast on your entrails!”

  “So energetic, are you?” the man said. “Normally, in a case like this, I would be dealing with a spirit of the land. Angry for some reason or another. I’d find some way to appease them, build a shrine and let them live in peace. Tame them, some might say.”

  “I am a dragon!” she yelled. “I will never be tamed!”

  “It’s true that you are a different kind of spirit,” he said. “That doesn’t mean that we can’t use the same solution. If you were to confine yourself to the shrine, I can arrange for offerings, and perhaps even a priest to maintain the building. It’s a comfortable life.”

  “I would never agree to be confined!” she scoffed.

  “Hmm. You understand gold, don’t you?”

  “Of course! And silver as well. Your ornaments will make a fine addition to my horde once I’ve killed you.”

  “Still so confident, are you? Then, do you know how much gold men will pay for the blood that flows through your veins?”

  “What?”

  “And your horns, of course. Your scales, some of your internal organs. All of them are valuable alchemical ingredients.”

  “I… don’t understand.”

  “Do you not? Understand this, young dragon. You have to go from here, or at least cease to be a threat to the encroaching humans. One of the ways for this to happen, the most profitable one from my perspective, is for you to die.”

  “You can’t kill me, I’m more powerful than you!”

  “And how do you propose that you stop me, hmm?”

  She stopped. Stopped struggling and yelling and tried to think. She was helpless. Unable to move, unable to stop even this weak human from… killing her? It was impossible, but it was true.

  “I see that it’s starting to sink in,” the man said. “Rest assured, though, that is the option that I would least like to take. Far better if we move you somewhere else.”

  “I can’t… leave this valley,” she admitted sullenly.

  “The formation? Well-crafted as it is, it is easily dispelled from the outside.”

  “If I can’t break it myself, then I’m not ready to leave! Mother said…”

  “Ah, so young are you? It seems like we have a second shell for you to grow within. Then perhaps I know a place for you to go. A school.”

  “What is this school?” She knew the word; language was part of her birthright. A place where children gathered, an easy hunt.

  “A place where children can learn about the world,” he said. “There is a group that I know of. They would take you, protect you, and teach you. As long as certain assurances are given.”

  “This is a human school. You want me to go there and not kill humans,” she realised.

  He shrugged. “It’s a dangerous world out there,” he said. “To tell you not to kill, that would put you in more danger. Say, rather, to limit the reasons for which you kill humans.”

  “And if I don’t, you’ll kill me?”

  The man sighed. “If you don’t, I will talk to you some more. The spell won’t last forever, but it will last a long time. Time enough for us to find some solution that doesn’t mean killing you.”

  “I’m already tired of this conversation,” she decided. “What do I have to do to attend this school?”

  “You’ll need a name, first of all. There are lots of things you’ll need, but a name is the first one.”

  “I have a name,” she said. “I don’t want to tell it to you.”

  “So suspicious are you? You can’t keep that attitude if you’re to live among humans. They give their names out all the time.”

  “How? Does that not make them vulnerable?”

  “Ah, humans are different from spirits,” the man said. “We keep our names held close, and just let the sound out. There are ways for spirits and sorcerers to pry it out of our grasp, but it’s not easy. If you let me, I’ll keep a hold of your name for you.”

  “I just have to trust you,” she said.

  “I’m a very trustworthy fellow! Everyone says so.”

  She snorted. But she still didn’t have any other choices left to her. “It’s Kana,” she said.

  As she said her name, she felt the power of it leave her and go to him. The man smiled. He let go of his smoking stick, almost all burned up, and stubbed it out on the ground. She felt the bindings around her start to loosen.

  “Well done, Kana. The next thing you’ll need is a human name, one that binds you as part of the group.”

  “A second name?” she said doubtfully.

  “A family name. It will bring you closer to humanity. Since you asked for it earlier, I will give you my name.”

  He said the word. She felt the power of it, felt it attach to her as she was named. Names could do this, she knew. Every name that a dragon was called had some power, if only a little. Coming from someone who held her name, it had as much meaning as her first name. It felt different, though.

  “Your first name identifies you,” the man said. “Your family name binds you, but only as you choose. You’ll be able to swear oaths to the school custodians that will bind you. They’ll require that for you to go to the school.”

  Released from the trap, Kana’s magic swelled around her. She could kill him now, she supposed, or at least she could try. He had her name, though, so she’d doubted that she would succeed.

  Besides, she had his name now, or at least part of it. Killing him felt a little like killing herself.

  She chose not to try. Instead, she spoke.

  “I am… Konoe Kana,” she said. She felt the words form a channel for her magic that she hadn’t known of before. Now that she’d seen it, it felt so simple, like she should always have been able to do this.

  Her body dissolved into a cloud, and then she stepped out of it. On two legs, two human legs. She had assumed the form of a teenage girl, beautiful, proud and completely naked.

  “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Kana-chan,” Konoe said. “Now, let’s see if we can find you some clothes.”