Jaekob closed his eyes and counted to three. Right on time, the scuffing noise from the were's footsteps vanished. It was on the rug...
Jaekob sat up abruptly, eyes flying wide as he brought his knife up in front of himself and shouted, "Hlqh a'atsh." A geyser of flame shot up from the floor to the ceiling, enveloping the blood-covered werewolf.
The ugly smell of burned fur and skin was immediately followed by an anguished cry that just went on and on, even after the werewolf took one more step toward him and collapsed to the floor. The fire clung to it like oil.
Jaekob pursed his lips. It was an unpleasant way to die, but he'd had no choice but to activate the powerful glyph Mikah's battlemage spell slingers had put there for his protection. All over the manor, alarms began to sound, and he heard a cacophony of shouting growing closer each second. The cavalry was just a bit too late this time, though, and now there was no way to question the werewolf about who sent it.
In the aftermath, the whole manor was put on high alert. Jaekob had been forced to give his statement to Brandon, his father's Chief of Security. Jaekob had avoided Brandon since losing Brandon's son, Kalvin. Seeing Brandon brought back painful memories of his best friend.
In the middle of the questioning, he got a weird sense of vertigo for a moment when he spotted a middle-aged fae with a brown tweed suit trying way too hard not to be noticed by anyone. The fae's efforts worked, and no one but he even seemed to see the fae. A minute later, when Jaekob got free of Brandon and looked again for the tweed-suited man, he saw no such fae. Maybe it had been his imagination. After all, he was beyond exhausted.
An hour later, when the interrogation ended and the last of the investigators and medics left the room, Jaekob felt a little better. He scowled at the idea that, despite the admirable efforts everyone had made in the middle of the night for him, no one knew much more than they had when it all began.
Jaekob huffed, put on clothes, and headed toward the kitchen. Chef would surely be happy to whip something up for an early breakfast.
Books by J.A. Culican
Novels
The Prince Returns-Keeper of Dragons book 1
The Elven Alliance-Keeper of Dragons book 2
The Mere Treaty-Keeper of Dragons book 3
The Crowns’ Accord-Keeper of Dragons book 4
Second Sight-Hollows Ground book 1
Slayer-Dragon Tamer book 1
Warrior-Dragon Tamer book 2
Protector-Dragon Tamer book 3
Spark of War-Through the Ashes Prequel
Sword of Fire-Through the Ashes 1
Embers of Darkness-Through the Ashes 2
Blaze of Magic-Through the Ashes 3
Elemental Origin-Blood of Dragons Prequel
Fire Oath-Blood of Dragons 1
Short Stories
The Golden Dragon-Keeper of Dragons short story
Jericho-Keeper of Dragons short story
Phoenix-Hollows Ground short story
Savior-Dragon Tamer short story
About J.A. Culican
J.A. Culican is a USA Today Bestselling author of the middle grade fantasy series Keeper of Dragons. Her first novel in the fictional series catapulted a trajectory of titles and awards, including top selling author on the USA Today bestsellers list and Amazon, and a rightfully earned spot as an international best seller. Additional accolades include Best Fantasy Book of 2016, Runner-up in Reality Bites Book Awards, and 1st place for Best Coming of Age Book from the Indie book Awards.
J.A. Culican holds a Master’s degree in Special Education from Niagara University, in which she has been teaching special education for over 12 years. She is also the president of the autism awareness non-profit Puzzle Peace United. J.A. Culican resides in Southern New Jersey with her husband and four young children.
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Embers of Darkness (Through the Ashes Book 2) Page 17