Rage of the Dragon King
Page 25
Tears dripped to the ground.
“I’m sorry,” Slavandria said, her voice as parched as the ground she stood on.
Trog cradled Eric to him. “Someone do something,” he sobbed. “Please. Don’t let him leave me.”
David glanced at the black beast lying on the ground, then glanced off in the distance toward Tulipakar and Beggar’s Field where life-giving lilies grew in the thousands. But it wasn’t nighttime and he could no longer ferry even if it were. He stooped down beside Twiller and whispered, “You can do it. You can get the lilies tonight. You can bring him back.”
Twiller stared straight ahead. “Some things are best left the way they are, Master David. There are lessons to be learned in these moments. Only the selfish would do what you ask.” He wrapped his hand around one of David’s fingers. “He is at peace.” Twiller glanced in Einar’s direction. “Let him remain there.”
Demonic laughter shattered time.
“You stupid fools!” Seyekrad stood, blood seeping from the wound on the side of his head. You think you killed him? Look! He lives!”
Seyekrad laid his hands upon the dragon. Enchantments sprang from his lips. Seconds later the beast inhaled a deep breath. He stirred and groaned, shattering the somberness. Everyone turned. Swords were drawn. Bows nocked.
Charlotte pushed away from David, her arms stiff at her sides, her lips pursed, and her eyes dark with anger. She strode toward the dragon, her fists clenched.
“You son of a bitch. You think you can take whatever you want, whenever you want.”
“Charlotte!” David shouted. “What are you doing?” He ran to her. Yanked her around. “Are you insane? You can’t go out there. He’ll kill you.”
She flung his touch aside and kept walking.
“Charlotte, stop!”
She glared at him. Her pupils swirled. The irises changed color from blue to purple then back to blue.
David backed up and blinked.
What the hell?
Einar growled and struggled to his feet. Sparks ignited on the tips of Slavandria and Lily’s fingers. The ground shook as he regained his footing. He stretched his wings to his sides, the battlefield clothed in their shadow.
Charlotte moved closer.
A stream of fire shot from Einar’s mouth in her direction.
What was left of David’s heart jumped from his chest and flew away.
She stopped at the warning, her eyes on Seyekrad as he stumbled and clawed his way onto the dragon’s neck.
David’s breath hitched. Hadn’t Eric impaled him? Ahh, how he hated magic.
“Cowards. Both of you,” Charlotte yelled.
Einar blinked at her.
“Yes, I’m talking to you, you pathetic waste. Who do you think you are, thinking you’re entitled to whatever is here, killing whenever you want?”
Einar snorted. A puff of gray smoke expelled from his nose. His voice rumbled over the land and shook the sky. “My shadow brings night, my footprints make lakes, my fire is brighter than a thousand suns. I am Einar. I am the Dragon King.”
“You are nothing,” Charlotte yelled. Sparks sizzled from her fingertips. “And I will see you pay for what you’ve done.”
David’s breath hitched. What was she doing?
Einar laughed. It tumbled across the sky. “You may try, foolish mortal. I will enjoy picking your bones from my teeth.”
He turned around, his weight crushing the ground. A collective gasp filled the air. “’Til we meet again … witch.”
Seyekrad slumped forward, his shape lost within Einar’s. The dragon flapped his wings riddled with holes, and slowly rose from the ground.
David clung to a boulder, the downdraft blowing dust in his eyes.
Threads of purple electricity sizzled at Charlotte’s fingertips. A plum mist swirled at her feet. She raised her arms and lifted her chin to the sky. Her brown hair changed and morphed into thick lilac strands that cascaded to the ground.
David watched, his mouth open. His breaths left him and he backed away needing to find something, anything to cling to. He glanced to his left at Slavandria. Lily clutched her sister’s arm and spoke. Slavandria covered her mouth with one hand, the other rested on her belly. Tears rolled down her cheeks.
David shook his head. No. It wasn’t possible.
Swirling wind howled across the valley and whipped his hair. Thunder rolled across the sky.
David dropped to his knees, tremors rocking the length of his entire body. He didn’t want to believe what he saw, but there was no denying it. Charlotte was Slavandria’s daughter, the baby she never knew she had. How did she not know? How had Lily kept it a secret for so long?
His heart ached for Charlotte, for all she’d believed that was now a lie. Her grandfather was her great-grandfather, and a Numí. A warrior of the universe. Her grandfather was Jared, the most powerful mage ever to grace the heavens.
He turned his gaze to Charlotte, to the girl he loved. The girl he would die for. But she needed no one to die for her. She was strong. She was beautiful.
And she was powerful.
Arcs sparked from her fingertips electrifying the storm clouds gathering above. Thunder boomed and lightning filled the sky.
All around him, bodies lay strewn about the valley, some moving, but most lay dead.
Fires burned.
Worst of all, Einar lived, and the two beings who could destroy him and save the realm were also dead. It was all for nothing. The war. The belief they could make a difference.
Behind him, Trog sobbed, his anguish gut-wrenching. David buried his face in his palms, his heart shattered in pieces.
And as those remaining in the desolation clung to those they’d loved and lost, the heavens felt their sorrow.
The clouds thickened.
And the rains came.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Chronicles of Fallhollow stories have been floating through my imagination since I was a little girl. For too many years, life kept me from following my dream and bringing this story to life. Finally, after much prodding, along with my own relentless determination, I finally set my mind to the task and put the story down. It wasn't until a friend of mine almost twisted my arm to the point of it falling off that I decided to send the first book to Month9Books with the slimmest hope someone else would love the tale as much as I did. Imagine my surprise when it was accepted for publication. That was in 2015. Now, as I hold book two, it's still hard to believe that my dreams have come true and that this story is out in the world. Soon, the final book in the trilogy will find its way to you and it will be a bittersweet end to a story that has been with me for so long. Until then, it is with immense gratitude that I thank the following people for without them, I wouldn't be where I am today:
My husband, Tom—for making dinner, for bragging about me and my books to anyone who would listen. For supplying me with endless cups of coffee and for being my beacon of light when it felt like the world around me was dark and hopeless. I couldn't have done any of this without you.
My kids, Kevin, Bryan, Heather and Clarissa: you've been my inspiration and my biggest fans. I love you more than you know. I'll always remember our own adventure with the miniature 'vorgrants' and the canoes.
Jahlee and Lily: you may be pups, but you've stayed up with me into the wee hours of the morning, keeping my feet warm, keeping me company, giving me kisses when I needed them. My heart swells with your unconditional love. I can't imagine my life without you.
My editor, Cameron Yeager, who never fails to challenge me to be the best writer I can be. You have taught me so much and put a special shine on this book in particular. You're amazing in so many ways.
For the entire team at Month9Books: thank you for your enthusiasm, your support, your patience in answering all my silly, inane questions. Georgia McBride, you get a special thank you for being the amazing publisher you are, for taking a chance on a nobody author with big
dreams and a story that dreamed to be told. You have been patient with me and have always been supportive of me and my goals. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I also want to thank the following for their undying devotion to this project and my writing in general. I love you guys to the moon and back a gazillion, bazillion times over:
Jennifer Eaton, Sheryl Winters, Valerie Sutton, Jonathan Marx, Kyle Jackson, Shannon Carper: you are the best beta readers a writer could hope for. If I had Einar's wealth, I'd give it all to you and still owe you more. I won't share my coffee or chocolate, though. The line has to be drawn somewhere.
Scott McQueen, my Facebook buddy, my fan, my dragon collector: your enthusiasm, support and unlimited supply of dragon and fantasy pictures have gotten me through some tough writing. Your encouragement when I was floundering, and your love for Trog and my story is appreciated more than you know. I can't thank you enough for connecting with me on Social Media. Keep the pictures coming.
Paula, Marian, Diana, Joan, Dilip and all the old CGI crew: thank you for believing in me and following me on my adventure.
And you, my precious, dear reader: thank you for coming along with me on this journey. I hope you’re enjoying the story, and I hope that you’ll stick around for the final book to see how the adventure ends. I promise it will be an explosive finale.
J. Keller Ford
J. Keller Ford (known to all as Jenny) is a scribbler of Young Adult and New Adult speculative fiction. As a young Army brat, she traveled the world and wandered the halls of some of Germany’s most extraordinary castles in hopes of finding snarky dragons, chivalrous knights and wondrous magic that permeated her imagination. What she found remains etched in her topsy-turvy mind and oozes out in sweeping tales of courage, sacrifice, honor and everlasting love.
When not torturing her keyboard or trying to silence the voices in her head, Jenny spends time collecting seashells, bowling, swimming, screaming on roller coasters and traveling. Jenny is a mom to four magnificent and noble offspring, and currently lives in paradise on the west coast of Florida with a quirky knight who was silly enough to marry her, and a menagerie of royal pets. Published works include short stories, The Amulet of Ormisez, Dragon Flight, The Passing of Millie Hudson, and her first novel in The Chronicles of Fallhollow series, IN THE SHADOW OF THE DRAGON KING.
You can connect with Jenny at:
http://www.j-keller-ford.com/
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JKellerFord.Author/
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Acknowledgements
About the Author
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