God Stones: Books 1 - 3

by Otto Schafer

  Behind him, beyond the sandbar, the trees stirred.

  Jack spun. “Who’s there!” he shouted.

  Silence.

  “I know you are there, by god – I heard you plain as day!”

  From the woods a tree rushed toward him, its roots churning through the dirt as it pulled itself forward with surprising speed.

  “Je-sus!” Jack shouted, backpedaling past his fire and into the river up to his knees.

  The tree stopped in the center of the sandbar. “Boy!”

  Jack spun around in a circle, looking for the source of the voice.

  “Boy, where is Garrett Turek?” the voice said.

  Jack looked up into the tree, trying to see if a person was in the branches, but then he realized the voice was coming from the tree itself.

  “What? I… I don’t know,” Jack said, standing still in the water.

  “Did you not yell his name twice? Did you not state your intentions to kill him?” the tree asked, its branches moving in multiple directions all at once as its newly budding leaves shook.

  “He… Yes, but…” Jack straightened. “Yeah, that’s right. I said I’m going to kill him and everything he loves. What’s it any business of yours, tree?”

  “Where is he? I have business with this human.”

  “What business do you got?” Jack asked.

  “My queen desires an audience with him,” the tree said.

  The tree sounded real proper, like big city proper, and Jack didn’t care for it. “Look, tree, if you want to kill him, you better get in line. And if you don’t want to kill him, you best get out the way.” Jack stepped up out of the water and onto the bank.

  Jack looked up at the tree, his own way of looking someone in the eyes to show he wasn’t scared and he sure as hell wasn’t backing down. Except he wasn’t sure where its eyes should be. He figured they must be up high somewhere, so he stared up, and that’s when he saw the eagles. Least he thought they were eagles, flying right toward him in a flock. Which made zero sense, since eagles don’t fly in flocks.

  “I will ask you one more time, where is Garrett? Answer or suffer.”

  Those sure as shit were not eagles. Jack’s eyes went wide as the definitely not eagles drew close and took notice of him on the sand bar. The tree, which hadn’t stopped moving its branches to and fro, suddenly froze still as a rock.

  These were huge beasts, way bigger than any eagle, and as they slowed and began their descent, Jack felt a strong sensation to run. He knew what these were, what they had to be. These were pterodactyls. There were half a dozen, plus one really big one.

  Sand stirred all around him as the beasts descended, their wings flapping. The big one was red and scaly, and now he realized it wasn’t a pterodactyl. Its long talons sank into the sandbar as it stepped past the tree. The others looked like children compared to this one. They stood in a row, watching.

  “What is your name, human?” the red dragon asked.

  “Jack.”

  “Why are you screaming Garrett Turek’s name?”

  “You could hear that?”

  “Answer me,” the dragon said, huffing two bursts of smoke through his nostrils.

  The air around Jack filled with the putrid smell of rotten eggs. Jack swallowed. “I want to kill him!”

  The dragon stared down from over thirty feet high. “Where is Turek?”

  “Probably back in Petersburg,” Jack said, pointing upstream.

  “Why then are you yelling for him here?”

  “I’m not yelling for him! I’m… I’m angry and I want to kill him. Don’t you ever yell when you’re angry?”

  “No. I burn everything when I am angry,” the red dragon said.

  “Kill the human,” said one of the smaller dragons.

  “Yes,” hissed another. “Can I eat this one?”

  The red dragon twisted his long neck back toward the younger ones. “Silence!” he bellowed. “Yes, the dökkálfar said he would be in Petersburg.” He lowered his head. “I desire this human, Garrett Turek. Tell me precisely where he is and, perhaps, I will spare your life.”

  Jack swallowed again. “Are you going to kill him?”

  “None of your concern. Now, answer me.”

  “Because I can help. I know stuff. I can find him. If you let me help, I can show you!”

  “Enough!” the red dragon said.

  Jack frowned.

  “Kill him, Goch!” a brown dragon said.

  “Oh, yes. Let me! Please, Goch, let me burn him!”

  “No. The dökkálfar Apep said if Turek is alive he will be in Petersburg. You will tell us, or I will burn it from you – starting with your toes.”

  Apep? Did he just hear the word ‘Apep’? Jack thought back to the night he met the man in the cloak. The night something in his head fractured. He asked the hooded man in the alley that night how he could find him, and the man had said he would know when the time was right and all he needed to do was—

  “I tire of this.” The red dragon opened his mouth and began to roar.

  “Wait – Apep!” Jack shouted.

  The dragon roar stopped, and all the other dragons fell silent.

  “I… I know Apep… I mean I serve him.”

  Goch leaned all the way down, bringing his nose close to Jack’s. “You serve the dökkálfar!?”

  “He lies!” said the grey dragon.

  “No! I’m not lying,” Jack pleaded. “And I know something else too! You’re not the only ones looking for Garrett.”

  “Who else seeks the descendant of Turek?” Goch demanded.

  Jack looked over at the oak tree and pointed.

  All the dragons turned to look.

  The oak tree stood still as a statue.

  “That big-ass tree was threatening me right before you guys showed—”

  The oak tree spun, its roots ripping the earth out from under the row of young dragons like a rug being yanked from under a row of elephants. The sound of creaking and twisting wood screeched across the river as the tree thrust a sharp branch thicker than a baseball bat downward, through the chest of the closest dragon, killing it instantly.

  Goch spun and leapt forward, wrapping talons around the offending branch, snapping it like bone. The tree shouted in rage as the young dragons got to their feet. The woods beyond the sandbar began to rustle and move as more trees began to make their way onto the sandbar.

  Goch roared and let out a belt of fire. The mighty oak tree burst into flames.

  All the young dragons began to flap their wings, lifting off the ground, but the grey one wasn’t quick enough and in a final war cry the oak tree fell forward, pinning the young dragon beneath it. In the tree’s final throes of death, it stabbed branch after branch into the smaller dragon.

  Goch spread his wings.

  “Wait, you can’t leave me!” Jack shouted as the trees closed in.

  Goch leapt from the ground, flew over Jack, and wrapped him around the waist in his long talons.

  The young dragons circled, burning the woods around the stretch of river as they went.

  “Tell me, human. How do we find Garrett Turek?”

  “I’ll do better than that. I’ll show you.”

  Glossary

  Ancient Language of the Gods

  Ray doeeshozmue, rah ak ff esh!: All substance, bend to my will!

  Flah oz zaeshi ff mue, flah oz zaeshi! flah oz zaeshi!: Feed and grow my pets, feed and grow!

  Rah ak ff esh oz eshmue eshoz eshflah!: Bend to my will and ignite with fire!

  Shirayshi, akdoe!: Shadows obey!

  Akozak ak ff esh!: Transform to my will!

  Flahoz—: Relea—

  Eshakmue ff esh!: Impose my will!

  Rayzae!: Back!

  Akdoemue oz doe!: Consume and burn!

  Mue—: Def—

  Akdoe mue flah ak zae ozoz. Zaeshi ak ff esh!: Obey me roots of the earth. Grow to my will!

  Mueeshshi esh ak akdoemue: Bestow gift of tongues
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  Shirayshi, Esh akoz, oz akdoe!: Shadows I command, you obey!

  Eshesh esh zaeray!: Still his heart!

  Rayesh ak eshmue, Esh akoz oz flahmue!: Water to ice, I command you freeze!

  Spanish

  ¡Perfecta!: Perfect!

  Sí, compañera: Yes, friend

  ¡Dios mío!: My god!

  Me estás tomando el pelo: Are you kidding me

  muy obstinada: very stubborn

  ¡Culpa mía! ¡Lo siento!: My fault! Sorry!

  gigantes: giants

  ¡¿Qué diablos?!: What the hell?!

  ¡Mierda!: Shit!

  ¡Eres el amor de mi vida!: You are the love of my life

  María Purísima: Holy Mary

  Nahuatl

  noconetzin: my little child

  Acknowledgments

  First and foremost, as always, I want to thank my wife for her patience and honesty. I want to thank her for asking questions and for helping me find the answers to mine. Mostly I want to thank her for allowing me to read her the same chapter over, and over, and over. And every time you truly listened. Thank you, my love.

  I want to thank my editing team, specifically Kristen Tate at the Blue Garret. Once again, she made editing fun and I learned even more through the process. Turning my ideas into something tangible is like raising a small child. And you know what they say about raising a child – it takes a village. Kristen, you are my village. Without you and your team there is no book… at least not a very good one.

  A special thanks to the readers who took the time to not only read my work but also review it. Reviews are incredibly important to authors and I appreciate each and every one. It’s like getting a long hug when you need it most… only better.

  Finally, I want to thank my friends and colleagues who read the early drafts, for the conversations on the long Saturday trail runs and over lunch at work. Thank you for getting excited with me.

  Otto Schafer, September 2020

  This book is for anyone who ever wanted to pick up a sword and stand toe-to-talon with a dragon or stare unflinchingly into the eye of a cyclops. For anyone who weaves magic and throws down with ancient wizards even if only in their imagination.

  Part I

  THE EXPEDITION

  1

  Setting Off

  Sunday, April 17 – God Stones Day 11

  Petersburg, Illinois

  Below Petersburg, Garrett stood with his friends in the dimly lit storage room of Undertown, a secret underground city you wouldn’t find on any map. Garrett, Lenny, Pete, and David stuffed gear into backpacks, preparing for the journey of their lives, a journey to southern Mexico. Once there, they would save Sarah, a woman they’d never met, and rescue Breanne and Gabi, teenagers like themselves, from an area infested with creatures manipulated by a powerful magic known as Sentheye. Once accomplished, Garrett and the others would join the Keepers of the Light, and Garrett would lead them through a portal to another world.

  Right. No problem, Garrett thought, as he slung his pack over his shoulders and pulled the straps tight. Despite the buzz of nervous energy radiating from his friends, the moment felt surreal, like he wasn’t really getting ready to travel two thousand miles into a foreign country, across a world deteriorating into chaos and strewn with giants, dragons, and god only knew what else. He looked down at his hands to find them shaking uncontrollably. His stepfather, Phillip, along with other members of the Keepers of the Light, had ensured they’d trained Garrett in countless disciplines, including cartography. So why so many doubts? Oh, wait, maybe it had to do with the fact that, his entire life, nearly everyone he ever trusted had lied to him. Add to that the fact that he had barely traveled outside of Illinois, and he was about to do it against his mother’s wishes.

  He steadied his hands and took a calming breath. All the doubts swimming through his mind like a capsized canoeist in white water didn’t matter. The only decision he was sure of was the one he’d already made. He was leaving the Keepers entrusted to his brother James, and he was leaving for Mexico tonight. Breanne was out there, and she needed him.

  Garrett’s entire life had been a lie. Not just one lie, but lies upon lies, and right now he knew only one truth. He had to find Breanne – period. Nothing was more important.

  The storage room door swung inward as James entered the room. “Alright, I woke Edward and Paul and told them you were leaving for Mexico now. They seemed surprised. But they’re up and moving. You have all night to travel, and if you move quick, you can get far and clear of the dragons before first light.”

  The dragons his brother referred to were the ones the Moores had reported seeing on their way to Petersburg. According to them, the dragons were burning everything in a large radius and working their way toward Petersburg. There could only be one reason they were here, and Garrett knew he was that reason.

  “And Mom?” Garrett asked.

  “She may come to check on you, but if we hurry, you’ll be long gone. We’ll make our way out through an exit few people other than me know about.”

  “Garrett, are you sure you don’t want to tell her you’re leaving?” Lenny asked.

  “Yeah, Garrett. I mean, who knows when you will get to see her again,” David said.

  Garrett could only nod, but his heart ached at the deceit. Despite how his mom, James, and most everyone else had lied to him about who he was, dishonesty didn’t come easy for him. “Look, if this prophecy thing is true, we will see her in Mexico at the portal to the other world.”

  James nodded. “On my life, I will get her – and everyone – there.”

  Garrett pressed his lips into a tight smile. “I know you will. Just tell her I’m doing what I am supposed to do. I’m following my heart.”

  The door swung in again, replaced by the silhouette of a massive man. Edward ducked low to keep from hitting his head on the door frame as he entered the room with Paul on his heels.

  Garrett couldn’t get over how huge Bre’s brother was and just how much his facial features reminded him of both his siblings, but especially Paul.

  “We doing this?” Edward asked.

  “We are.” Garrett nodded, pressing his lips into a tight line. He had promised Paul only days ago, when they were back in the tunnel, that he would find Bre, and he planned to keep that promise. God, how days seemed like years.

  Paul’s lips hinted at a smile and he returned the nod.

  “Well, grab your packs and let’s go,” Garrett said.

  “Wait, Garrett?”

  “Yeah, James?”

  “When they brought you in that night and changed you into dry clothes, they found this in your pocket.” James held out a shiny chrome Zippo lighter.

  Garrett took the Zippo and frowned. He opened the lid and thumbed the flint wheel. The lighter sparked a tiny, steady flame into existence. “Wow, it still works. I’m sorry, forgot I had it,” he said, reaching up with his other hand to close the lid.

  James stopped him, softly placing a hand on Garrett’s forearm. “Garrett, look at the flame. This little flame lit when we blew the house up on top of Apep, and it lit when you needed it to illuminate the chamber holding the dragon and the giant. It was this tiny flame that provided you the light you needed to fight. Look at it, Garrett. Now, think of yourself,” James said. “Like this little flame, you are the light of this world. Whatever happens, don’t forget your destiny. You are small, but like this little flame, you are powerful.”

  Garrett’s scowl deepened, and he nodded. “I won’t forget.”

  “I know you won’t, just like I knew this lighter would light when I needed it to. I have faith in you. I have always had faith in you.”

  This time, when Garrett reached to close the lid, his brother only nodded. The lid snapped shut, stifling the flame until called upon again. He extended the lighter toward James.

  “No. You keep it. This time though, don’t forget you have it. When the time comes, it will be there just like you will be there for al
l the Keepers.”

  Garrett stuffed the lighter in his pocket. “Thanks, James.”

  James nodded, drawing in a deep breath. “Listen, I wanted to provide you horses, but I honestly don’t think you would get far on them. Not with dragons lurking about. If you walk, even covering thirty miles a day, it will take you seventy days to get to southern Mexico.”

  “James, we can’t take that long. That Sarah lady can’t hold out seventy days!” David interjected.

  “Right. That’s why I am equipping you all with mountain bikes.”

  “This is huge! This will seriously cut down on travel time! Plus, how in the hell would David have kept up on foot?” Lenny asked.