by GARY DARBY
To Phigby, Amil, Scamper and the dragons, I may be called to carry Pengillstorr’s gift, but to Cara, her father, and Helmar, I am still only a Hooper.
Having Cara reject me is sharper than any Proga lance that’s ever been thrust into my body, and I’m tempted to rip the gem from my tunic and toss it away as it seems to be the object that’s come between us.
What does it matter if we won the battle of Dunadain Keep if I’ve lost Cara even if only but for a friend? In the eyes of the others it may have been a victory but to me, I feel as if Aster had plunged his sword clean through my heart.
If this supposed honor that I am to carry, this “Gem Guardian” title is to cause heartache between us, then do I really want what it represents? Am I willing to bear this price, this searing of my own soul as I see her walk away with her back turned, perhaps forever to me?
I start to go after her, but Phigby is quick to lay a restraining hand on my shoulder. “She and her father,” he murmurs, “need time to think, and that is exactly what we shall give them.”
I hesitate, my eyes still on Cara but with an aching heart at her obvious resentment. I slowly turn my gaze from her and meet the golden’s stare. She gives me the barest of nods. “Well Gem Guardian,” Phigby mutters, “what now? Where would you have us go?”
I hesitate before I raise my hand to point at the daunting mountain barrier that rises before us. “There,” I murmur, “and beyond.”
I stare long and hard at the peaks, trying to still my churning emotions, and the near overwhelming weight that’s descended on body and mind. No one speaks for a long time, each locked in their own thoughts. I look to Phigby. “I have so many questions now.”
I touch my tunic where the gemstone lies. “What does this do? What does it mean?”
I peer intently at him. “I once asked you, ‘who are you?’”
I take a deep breath. “Now I’m wondering who am I?” I give him a half-hearted shrug. “How do I find the answers?”
He studies my face for a bit before saying, “The same way any of us find answers, Hooper. We take life’s journey and along the way, if we’re lucky, we find the answers we seek.”
“A journey,” I mutter.
Phigby lifts a hand toward the towering granite peaks that rise before us. “Yes lad, and yours, and ours, I think, has just begun.”
A new journey, I think to myself, one that will obviously be dangerous but even as I dwell on the dangers we may face a sudden thought comes to mind.
I give Cara a swift glance. A journey where yes, I might find the answers to my life’s questions, but more so, perhaps I can somehow prove myself to Cara and regain her friendship.
If so, that alone would make any journey, no matter how hazardous worth the effort.
I straighten, tighten the belt around my tunic, and lift my head to gaze at the mountains that seem to march like granite walls from horizon to horizon.
“Then,” I murmur to Phigby, “that’s good enough for me.”
THE END
The story continues in Book Two
The Queen’s Vow
Other books by Gary J. Darby
Science Fiction:
The Star Scout Saga
Book One: Star Rising
Book Two: Fallen Stars: Darkest Days
Book Three: Star’s Honor
Book Four: When Stars Fall
Book Five: How Far the Stars
Fantasy:
The Legend of Hooper’s Dragons
Book One: If a Dragon Cries
Book Two: The Queen’s Vow
Book Three: On Wings of Thunder
From the author
Thank you so much for reading If A Dragon Cries, book one in my Legend of Hooper’s Dragons series and no, the story doesn’t end there. The story continues in book two, The Queen’s Vow which is now available on Amazon.
Thanks to all who’ve mentored me in this grand journey of being a literary storyteller, it’s been a great ride.
If you’d like to share your thoughts about this novel, or the upcoming books in the series, feel free to email me at [email protected]. I’m also on Facebook. I’d love to hear from you either way.
And if you can find it in your heart to do so, a review on Amazon or Goodreads, or a shout out on your social media platforms would be most appreciative. Free advertising is a blessing to starving writers, you know.
Like to know what’s upcoming in my writing? Visit my website and check out the “Member Only” page. To access the page use the password: Hooper
Again, thanks so much for reading my novel and I truly hope that whatever you read will bring you wonder, awe, and uplifting thoughts.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Professional copy editing services provided by Marthy Johnson of Copy Editing Services (CES). You may contact her at 907.720.2032 or e-mail: [email protected] if you’re an established or a budding author who needs a little help, well, maybe a lot of help with those clunky commas, or pesky pronouns, or strangled sentences.
She’s also the author of Write or Wrong, a nifty reference manual that all authors should have in their personal library as well as Breakpoint Down, an excellent mystery novel.
You might want to check out her newsletter, Word for Word, just for writers that will help you avoid the pitfalls and potholes of writing in this convoluted language we call English, or as I sometimes refer to it, Anguish. You can subscribe to her newsletter by contacting her via email.
Dedicated to the girl of my dreams and fantasies, my eternal sweetheart, Pamela and to our children and grandchildren who fill our days with wonder and awe.
Copyright © 2016 by Gary J. Darby
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form whatsoever without the author’s express permission. Scanning, uploading, or distribution of any portion of this book is theft of the author’s intellectual property.
This book is a work of fiction in its entirety. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, description of characters, fantastical creatures, places, and incidents are wholly the product of the author’s imagination.
Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental, I think.