Burden's Edge (Fury of a Rising Dragon Book 1)

by Sever Bronny

  There was a sickening crack, followed by a weak gasp.

  Deyon flopped backward against the wall and slid to its base as a twisted heap of jelly legs and limp arms, Burden’s Edge protruding from his belly.

  The exertion finished Augum. He also fell back against a nearby wall and slid to a sitting heap. He could only move to grab for breath, conscious of how little time he had left. His head was pounding, and blood dribbled from his nose, a side effect of pushing his arcane boundaries.

  Deyon moaned. His eyes focused on a pocket and out floated a small, stoppered vial filled with milky liquid. That vial floated to Deyon’s mouth. He gripped the cork, bit into it, and then used his telekinesis to yank the vial from the stopper, spilling some of the liquid. He spat out the cork and tipped the floating vial into his mouth, greedily swallowing the remainder. Then the vial fell to the ground, rolling to a stop near the blow pipe.

  The two dying enemies, chests rising with rapid breaths, eyed each other from across the space. Deyon’s belly wound belched with blood while Augum’s insides boiled.

  “Poppy milk,” Deyon murmured, eyes closing. “What sweetness …” He took a shuddering breath. “You stole my love from me. But now you will breathe no more. She will be avenged.”

  Augum’s muscles tightened from the poison. “I have something for you,” he gurgled through the burning pain. He telekinetically pulled the half-dagger pendant from his pocket, floated it over to the assassin, and carefully slipped it over his head.

  “Nia …” Deyon whispered through chattering teeth. His lips were already turning blue, his face paling from the loss of blood.

  “You will … join her soon,” Augum whispered, unable to stop his body from shaking.

  Both their voices were garbled with pain.

  “I was going to … to kill your Leera first today.”

  “Why … didn’t … you?”

  “Not even … an enemy … deserves such … pain …”

  Augum gave a grateful nod as his muscles involuntarily tightened further, feeling like taut bowstrings. Even with Centarro, he could not force his mind to relax them.

  “I wish you … never crossed … my path …” Augum wheezed. Yet his pity extended only so far, for the man was, after all, an assassin—a professional taker of lives.

  Deyon’s eyes wandered to the hilt of Burden’s Edge protruding from his belly. The blood was pooling on the floor around him. “You are … far more dangerous … than even I anticipated. Your unique spell combinations … those maneuvers … make you a … formidable foe. And what you … did to me … at the end there was a … Feat of Legend. You would have been … a mythic Arcaner.”

  Augum gave a sardonic grunt. “Why did … why did they send three of you?”

  “It’s auspicious. Three on three. And lovers against lovers. We intended on … killing you all.”

  “And was that … was that you last night … prodding my castle’s defenses?”

  “Yes.”

  “Were you alone?”

  “Yes.”

  Then the castle was safe. “You can dispel high degree enchantments …”

  “Not … quite. Call it … slipping through the cracks, so to speak. Ancient assassin knowledge. Secret knowledge. But the Fates … they told me … it wasn’t the right … time.”

  Augum had so many questions, but no time to ask them all. His heartbeat was weakening. “And who … hired … you?”

  “It is not … for me … to reveal.”

  Augum made a point of looking at the pendant around Deyon’s neck. Deyon glanced down at it too. It seemed to change his mind. “You truly … do not … know?”

  “The Canterrans.”

  “No …”

  “No?”

  “No … a noble. A Solian … noble.”

  “A traitor then … but who?”

  “Someone … terrified … of Arcaners … returning …”

  “Who—!” Other than his friends, the only people who knew his intentions to declare prior to the Occupation Ceremony had been Iron Byron … and Katrina. Which one of them had betrayed him?

  Deyon’s voice fell to a weak whisper. “The … who … matters … not … for … our … kind … have … been … enemies … since … the … beginning …”

  “Please … tell me …” …

  “You … have … been … a … worthy … opponent. Sleep … oh child … forever sleep.” Deyon gave a deep shuddering gasp. “My love … I … come … to … you … now …”

  Augum’s voice was but a murmur as his body twitched. “Who? Tell … me …”

  But Deyon’s eyes were sightless. All that remained was a quiet, eternal stillness.

  Augum wheezed as he stared at the body, and the poison continued to dig a grave into his soul, aided by the rapidly approaching fog of Centarro. He was aware enough to know that once he crossed the side effect threshold of the spell, he would be at the mercy of happenstance and would thus silently perish.

  The precious remainder of Centarro’s powerful insight told him he needed to live and find the girls. He needed to share what he had learned here.

  Augum summoned his courage and looked down at his other pocket, fighting off black walls of unconsciousness. His limbs had seized, forcing him to resort to Telekinesis. The antidote shakily floated out and over to his mouth. He gripped the glass vial with his chattering teeth. Then, with determined precision, he telekinetically yanked on the stopper, praying to the gods that he did not spill a drop.

  The cork popped off, and in one quick motion, he flipped the vial and swallowed the contents. A sweet and balmy feeling crept through his body, cooling the molten pain.

  His eyes settled on the pendant hanging from Deyon’s neck. He recalled carrying Leera to her bed, her arms curled around his neck, her head resting against his chest, the gentle scent of her. And as the Centarric fog thickened his thoughts into molasses and the antidote warred against the poison, he held Leera in his arms … and she held on to him.

  A Note from the Author

  New to the tale of Augum, Bridget and Leera? Want to experience their first epic adventure together? While you’re waiting for the next book in the Fury of a Rising Dragon series, lose yourself in The Arinthian Line, a complete series that begins with Arcane (The Arinthian Line, book 1), available from Amazon.

  Want an email notice of the release of the next book in the Fury of a Rising Dragon series?

  Simply subscribe to my newsletter HERE. I only email once a month (if that), so you don’t have to worry about mailbox clutter. (If your reader won't load the link, go to severbronny.com/contact and subscribe from there.)

  Next up in the Fury of a Rising Dragon series, due 2018:

  Honor’s Price (Fury of a Rising Dragon, book 2)

  Champion’s Wrath (Fury of a Rising Dragon, book 3)

  Personal thoughts:

  I had a blast writing Burden’s Edge. It challenged me on a whole new level. In this book, I wanted to explore the various pressures Augum felt, and how those pressures affected him, as well as those around him. But I did not foresee the direction the book ended up taking. I thought there’d be more dungeon exploring and survival like in the first series. Instead I got a whole pile of intrigue.

  But part of the fun of the craft is allowing your characters to lead you in new directions. Honor’s Price is about halfway finished at the time of this letter, and there’s already more exploring of ancient places. I’m excited about its direction, and I’m just as excited as you are to discover what happens next.

  I consider myself to have one of the best jobs in the world. When I go to work, I step into the trio’s shoes and get to live in their world. And it’s your passion of their story, dear reader, that made that happen. You have my sincere gratitude for making this author’s dreams come true.

  Thank you so much for joining me on Augum, Bridget and Leera’s second grand adventure. Feel free to email me with your thoughts (see below), otherwise we’ll meet again in
Honor’s Price.

  All my best to you and those you love,

  —Sever

  November 2nd, 2017

  P.S. Honest reviews play a vital part in readers discovering new books. Please do consider taking a quick moment to leave one on Amazon.com and/or Goodreads.com for Burden’s Edge. Thank you :)

  Advance Reader Team

  Want a chance to read my next book before its retail release? Consider joining my Advance Reader Team at severbronny.com/team

  Connect

  I love hearing from readers. Want to tell me what you thought of the series, ask a question, report an issue, or just say hello? Email me anytime at sever@severbronny.com

  Or connect with me at the following, where I post more routinely:

  severbronny.com

  facebook.com/authorseverbronny

  Also by the Author:

  The Arinthian Line

  Arcane (The Arinthian Line, book 1)

  Riven (The Arinthian Line, book 2)

  Valor (The Arinthian Line, book 3)

  Clash (The Arinthian Line, book 4)

  Legend (The Arinthian Line, book 5)

  Blurb for Arcane (The Arinthian Line, book 1):

  Fourteen-year-old Augum grew up with bullies instead of friends. In a kingdom where superstition trumped the written word, he fought loneliness by reading books and doing hard labor. It was a typical life for a gutter-born orphan.

  An inferno changes everything. And Augum, having lost it all, begins again. He finds a mentor and even befriends Bridget and Leera, two passionate and quirky girls willing to give him a chance. Together they dream of becoming warlocks.

  But Augum’s mentor possesses an ancient and highly sought-after artifact. When an ambitious tyrant suddenly turns up demanding it, Augum resists—and discovers something about himself that changes the course of history. As the tyrant plunges them into a harrowing ordeal, Augum will have to use newly-learned spells to try to save the only thing he has left . . . a friendship forged in fire.

  Available on Amazon.

  About the Author

  Sever Bronny is a full-time author living in Victoria, British Columbia. He has written the epic coming-of-age series The Arinthian Line (Arcane, Riven, Valor, Clash, Legend), and is working through the follow-up series, Fury of a Rising Dragon (Burden’s Edge, Honor’s Price [due 2018], Champion’s Wrath [due late 2018]). He has also released three albums with his industrial-rock music project Tribal Machine, including the full-length concept album The Orwellian Night. One of his songs can be heard in the feature-length film The Gene Generation. Connect with him at his website severbronny.com and facebook.com/authorseverbronny.