The Crystal Dragon Series Collection

by Katie Cherry

  The Crystal Dragon Series books 1-3

  Zilferia

  First Earth

  Quagon

  Katie Cherry

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events contained therein are solely products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. By no means will any part of this publication be reproduced, displayed, or otherwise used for personal gain without permission from the author. Doing so will result in the execution of the proper legal action required to protect all intellectual property present.

  Cover art by Christian Bentulan.

  All rights reserved. Copyright 2019 Katie Cherry.

  CONTENTS

  Zilferia

  First Earth

  Quagon

  Thank You & About the Author

  Ponorama Sneak Peek

  Zilferia

  Book One of

  The Crystal Dragon Series

  Katie Cherry

  For those who believed I could make it this far.

  Thank you!

  Prologue

  Heartbreak

  Black. A mountain of gleaming black scales before him, carrying the stench of death. Paralyzing fear streaming through his body once the gleam of huge golden eyes can be seen. The dragon’s lips slowly peel back, revealing teeth the length of a man’s arm embedded in the massive jaw. He finds his gaze riveted on a piece of meat caught between two of the fangs, acutely aware that he was about to meet the same fate.

  “Patrick.” He flinches at the sudden voice and blinks, the black scales in his vision of the past becoming fabric, cloaked around one of his followers. “…Sir. Are you alright?”

  “Yes, yes, I’m fine,” Patrick grunts, waving him away with one gloved hand. “What have you discovered?”

  “The Queen is in labor,” the man reports, straightening and slipping into his role. “The King is currently pacing outside of the door. The man we’ve hidden inside the room has been able to maintain his invisibility and remain undetected. He’s also just informed the mind reader that the Queen is not having one child as we thought.”

  “What?” Patrick tears his eyes away from a tree swaying in the wind, the notes it sang no longer soothing to him. “She’s having twins?”

  The man hesitates, then clasps his hands together with resolve. “Triplets.”

  The word reverberates through the air, piercing Patrick to the heart. His beautiful Pearl… providing another man with not only one, but three children. His heart hardens. This would not stand. “I suppose this calls for a slight change in plans, then,” he murmurs, beginning to pace. His footsteps crush the fresh grass on the hilltop.

  “Is kidnapping one of them still the plan?”

  “Yes. I have no desire to have my castle overrun by children, however. One will be enough of a handful. The other two will simply have to perish,” he decides, turning sharply on his heel. The grass tears under the stress; just the beginning of the destruction he would cause in the realm.

  The two rejoin the rest of the group, waiting for the signal from the scout planted inside the castle’s walls. The sun is just setting when the time comes for the Dragon Hunters to invade.

  The stream of black cloaks rushes towards the walls encrusted with gold and precious jewels, slipping in through the now unguarded stone gate. None of them look to the side to see the unconscious guards at the feet of the group Patrick had sent ahead, their gaze focused on their destination. They circle both gleaming entrances, looming just out of sight of anyone inside. Patrick walks silently forward, alone. The King is just coming out of the room where his wife had just given birth, his back to him.

  Patrick waits for him to turn, the taste of revenge settling on his tongue, thick and sweet. His hands clench in impatience, the movement stretching the black leather gloves, and release only when the King finally turns. The royal father stumbles back in shock, hitting the door behind him. Patrick remains standing, his back straight and proud, drawing immense satisfaction from the man fallen before him.

  The King quickly rises to his feet, turning back to the man. He peers at the face under the hood, straining to remember where he had seen it before, then chuckles. “Trying to give me a heart attack, Pat? There are other ways to announce your presence!” When Patrick doesn’t move, the King clears his throat, confused. “So… what are you doing here? I haven’t seen you in years!” Patrick ignores him and takes a step towards the door, his gaze focused and intense. The King puts up his guard, although still trying to appear gracious. “Oh, I see. You came to see Pearl,” he says, trying to distract him, shifting a little more into his way. Patrick’s eyes flash to him, irritated. “Well, I apologize, but she’s not seeing any visitors right now. I’ll have to ask you to leave and come back another time- preferably when we know you’re coming.”

  Patrick sneers and, before the King can defend himself, knocks him to the ground with a mighty blow to his regal face. His blue-gold eyes reflect the last rays of sunlight streaming through a window as he stares up at the black-cloaked villain.

  Patrick looks down on him, contempt in his crooked smile. “You still don’t get it, do you, Alexander? I’m not your friend. I never was. I was only using you to get close to Pearl.” Encouraged by the hurt and confusion on Alexander’s face as well as the blood beginning to drip from his lower lip, he continues, telling the King his story. “I fell in love with Pearl long before you ever met her. The problem was, I could never get close to her- those with spectacular Gifts always surrounded her, blocking me out of the picture. The princess never took notice of the little Giftless kid who had been shoved into a corner to be forgotten. Then I had a brilliant idea; since I couldn’t manage to get close enough to her to be her friend, perhaps if I somehow befriended someone that she was already close to, she would notice me.

  “I tried this for a few years, but I couldn’t make friends with anyone, let alone someone close to her. I was completely alone. I had actually given up by the time you arrived. But I knew I could get to you since you didn’t know any better. You did not yet realize that I was an outcast. As I predicted would happen, the beloved Princess Pearl took a liking to you immediately. It worked fine for me for a while. The three of us were friends, and everything looked brighter in my life. Until I started getting pushed out of the way. So you could have her all to yourself,” he says bitterly. “Before I could even have time to make my intentions known, she was set on you and only you, just mere months after the two of you met!” he growls, his voice heavy with years of despair.

  “You never said anything… you could have told me, Pat!” The King exclaims to his old friend, standing. Alexander was only a couple of inches shorter than Patrick, but still intimidating.

  Patrick doesn’t flinch. “That’s another thing. The whole ‘Pat’ nickname was only for Pearl to call me. Since I am no longer pretending to be your friend, you must call me by my real name.”

  “Pat…” the King starts.

  “Patrick!” he abruptly corrects him.

  “But Pat,” Alexander perseveres, “Where did you go after we got married? You disappeared for over ten years!”

  The long-lost friend glares at him before continuing his story. “I was enraged. I left, unable to see my precious Pearl with someone else. I wandered for a time in the wilderness, eventually spending a night in a dragon’s cave while it was away. I only learned of my error once it had returned. I tried to run as it approached, but the rocks around the cave were wet from the rain, and I slipped and cut myself many times before I reached the cover of the trees.

  “When the black beast landed a
t the cave, it followed the trail of blood directly to me, paralyzing me with DragonFear. I was completely unable to move. I was as good as dead,” he continues, lost in the past. “The dragon started toward me, and I mentally gave up. I was ready to die- it was a better option than crawling back to you,” Patrick sneers at Alexander, who looks on with astonished eyes. “I waited for my impending doom, but just as the dragon reared back its head and opened its mouth wide, ready to snap me up, I heard two soft twangs behind me. The dragon roared in fury, an arrow protruding from each eye, releasing me from my trance-like state. Unsure of what to do, I merely stood there, completely stunned.

  “More spears and arrows were unleashed from behind me, striking the dragon in the mouth, belly, and neck. I was lucky to survive the thrashing that resulted from the assault. Of course, I didn’t escape that encounter unscathed. All I remember was something slicing into the side of my head before I promptly passed out. When I regained consciousness, I was among my saviors. They called themselves the Dragon Hunters. They took me in as one of their own and taught me their ways. For once in my life, I wasn’t looked at differently because of my lack of Gifts. Now, ten years later, I am their leader,” he concludes, smiling smugly.

  “That’s… quite the story,” responds the King, unsure of what to say. “But what are you going to do now? I mean, why are you really here? To tell me what happened to you? I have a hard time believing that’s all it is if your life is really as great as you claim it is.”

  Patrick’s lips slowly curl into a sinister smile. “Well, I came for revenge, of course. And now is the perfect time… the perfect opportunity.”

  “Revenge? But why now…?” Alexander starts, confused. His face changes suddenly as the possibilities of what his long-lost friend means to do begin to dawn on him. “What… no! You can’t!”

  “I can, and I will,” Patrick growls, taking a step towards the door. Alexander immediately tackles him to the ground, knocking his black hood off of his face. Shocked at the sight, he scoots back, his mouth open wide with surprise and disgust. As Patrick stands, the King continues to stare, taking in the horrific scar on the left side of his face. His eye was intact, but the area below it appeared to be scraped off, revealing raw flesh and bone beneath it. It had a sickening green sheen that looked diseased. While unhealed, it also didn’t appear to be freshly inflicted. “What… what is…”

  Patrick grins, enjoying his reaction. “What, this?” he asks mockingly, indicating his face. “This is the injury I got from that dragon. The beast cut me as it turned to flee, the cowardly thing,” he mocks. “I suppose either it got infected, or it could simply be the magic of the beast that prevents it from healing, but I decided I don’t mind so much. It accents my eyes, don’t you think?” he snickers. “Now then…” he continues, his face settling into seriousness. “Stay out of my way and this will all be over with soon.”

  “Never!” The King cries, standing and using the momentum to send a fist flying into the Dragon Hunter’s face while pulling out a knife with his other hand. He holds it to Patrick’s throat, panting with anger. “There is no way I will ever let you take any of my family away from me. I’d rather die! Guards!” he calls, desperation entering his voice as he calls for his absent guards.

  “Oh, I know,” Patrick replies, his voice cool and cocky as his gaze slowly moves from the door to the King’s blue eyes. “Which is precisely why that is my revenge. I won’t kill you- just your loved ones!” Laughing, he makes a dragon-like roar deep in his throat. Before Alexander has time to react, two of Patrick’s men grab him from behind, each taking an arm and twisting it behind his back and toward his head, then lifting him off the floor. The knife clatters to the stone floor.

  The King gasps in pain as he’s lifted even higher by the brutes. Even as his shoulders pop and his arms start to pull out of their sockets, even as sharp pain is shooting down his spine, he swallows his cries and simply glares at Patrick. Ignoring his glare, the leader of the Dragon Hunters turns to the men in black rushing into the hallway. They stand by, silently waiting for the next command from their leader.

  He turns back to Alexander. “As much as I would love to see you dead and the fair Pearl a widow, I’m afraid that’s not the punishment I have in store for you. Oh, no… you need to stay alive and suffer.” Snapping his fingers, he signals for two men to go into the room that the King was trying so hard to keep them out of. Alexander holds his breath, waiting for the sounds of struggle as the two guards and the doctor defend his wife and children. There’s nothing.

  Patrick laughs at his confused face. “That’s right. I made sure to take care of the doctor and the guards. I had my men subdue them all while we were talking. I also had a man in the room before you even went in. Thanks to his Gift of invisibility and the Gift of another of my men of reading minds, I know all about your three children. Crystal and her… unique dragon eye abilities, Rex, and Hunter, the one you have labeled as the runt of the family. Most likely to become Giftless; is that what you’re worried about? …Perhaps you should worry. I hear children tend to take after those who raise them,” he chuckles, turning his back to the father, eagerly awaiting his prize.

  The King growls and starts to struggle, but someone comes up behind him and drives a needle into his neck, causing him to lose all control of his muscles. His brain fogs up and he can’t think clearly. The thin man steps away, a now empty syringe dangling from his long, thin fingers. As the King hangs limply from the two men’s grip, he’s still aware of what’s going on around him, although he can’t do anything about it. The door opens and the two men come out; one holding three little bundles, and the other dragging the bound and gagged doctor behind him. Tears run down her face, making evident her fear for the fate of the royal newborns as well as her own.

  “No…” the King moans, unable to do anything else.

  Patrick laughs, taking one of the babies, and, looking into its sleeping face, announces, “This one, Hunter, will come with us. We will raise him to hate his parents, the Dragons, and we will teach him our ways. He will be the future leader after me and will continue the destruction of all Dragons!” His men laugh at the pun made from the royal family’s last name. “Unless, of course, Alexander here decides to try anything… in which case, we can always kill him.

  “Now, with the other two… I have no need for them, so I suppose we’ll kill them? Throw them out and let them struggle to survive before finally dying; abandoned to a world of pain?” The King’s anguished cries are drowned out by the many Dragon Hunters cheering.

  Something suddenly snaps inside of the King. His brain is clear, and he fills with sudden, immense power. Without knowing what he’s doing, Alexander looks at Crystal and Rex with his newly revealed dragon eyes, instinctively knowing he didn’t have the power to save all three of the children. The gold stare intensified with emotion and energy. Without stopping to ponder whether it was even possible, moves them both as far away from Patrick as he can- all with his mind. They disappear, to the astonishment of everyone in the room.

  The King, now drained of energy, passes out on the floor with a thump as the stunned men holding him release their grip.

  Patrick’s mind reels at the powerful magic he had just witnessed as he instinctively clutches the last Dragon child to his chest. Leading the Dragon Hunters in a hasty retreat, he glances down at the child, Hunter; relieved that he still possessed the one heir required for Alexander’s undoing.

  The group sweeps back out of the gate in the wall, their dark capes billowing in the cold wind. With the King and Queen’s last baby in his arms and darkness in his heart, Patrick leads his men as they flee the scene. They move swiftly in the dark, and the night soon swallows them up, leaving behind only despair and broken hearts.

  Chapter One

  A Rude Awakening

  The sun is hot on my neck as I kneel in the dirt. I examine my fingers in front of me. They’re dirty, and a little green under the nails. I sigh and look down at the
bucket resting between the plant I’m picking from and me. The peas this year are small and shriveled. I’ve yet to find much that’s salvageable. Groaning, I heave myself back onto my feet, dusting off my faded blue jeans. Lifting the embarrassingly light bucket, I trudge back down the little-worn path through our small farm. Our handful of chickens scatter as I approach and the cow stares at me with heavy eyes as I walk past her. I want to check on how she’s doing, but I know better. She’s very temperamental now that she’s further in her pregnancy and she only lets dad near her.

  “Crystal! Back so soon?” Mom greets me at the door, stress and worry deepening the few wrinkles she’s been developing.

  “It’s as bad as we thought,” I reply, setting the bucket down. “The peas aren’t producing much either.” I hesitate before continuing. “I don’t know that we’ll be able to make it off of just this. If the rest of the summer is this low in yield…” I pause and take one of her hands in mine. “Mom, you know I saved my money from working for the Hansen’s last summer. It might be enough for the four of us.”

  Tears well up in her eyes. “I can’t ask you to do that. That money is yours. It’s the responsibility of your father and me to take care of you and your sister.”

  “Mom. We don’t have a choice anymore. I know you’ve been trying, but there’s only so much we can do since dad lost his job.” I smile at her to let her know it’s okay. “It’s really alright, mom. I’ll go to the store this evening and get what we need. Okay?”

  She nods, giving me a sad smile. “I’m sorry you have to deal with this on top of…” her voice trails off and she avoids looking me in the eye.