The Shaman of Neroterra (Tales of Azuleah)
Page 6
A dragon? Tales of such great beasts had been told to Lucius as a child, but he thought the dragons had vanished long ago. "Please, Lord Kraegyn, have mercy. What does a dragon desire from me?"
"Mercy?" Kraegyn grunted. "Mercy shall do you no good, Ellyllei. Your flesh shall burn from the sapphire flame I spew, and none will remember Lucius again!"
Kraegyn reared up and spread his wings. The dragon's nostrils opened wide as he breathed in the fog in the air. He let out a fierce growl, and blue fire erupted from his jaw into the cavern above. The chamber's immense height was revealed in the crackling flame. The walls climbed nearly fifty feet, ending in an iron grate where the night sky peered through. Between the grate and the room below, dozens of steel perches protruded from the walls. Then they disappeared into darkness when the dragon exhaled the last of its fire and quickly crawled on all fours before Lucius.
Lucius ran toward the staircase, but Kraegyn anticipated his plan and slashed at the foot of the steps with the long claws of his wing arm. Lucius jumped back to avoid the swipe and stumbled, falling backwards on the bones of Kraegyn's victims.
"Foolish boy! You will not escape this chamber, save through dust and ash!" Kraegyn thrust his claw upon Lucius and pinned him with all his weight. Lucius yelled in pain at the monstrous weight. He struggled to free himself, but to no avail. He quickly realized he would die in the dark chamber and endure the same fate as those he now lay upon.
"Be still now, Ellyllei. You will be one with your fathers and share their doom!" Kraegyn said. The black dragon inhaled the remaining mist in the room and snarled as his jaws gaped open.
Lucius felt the blood drain from his face as flames ignited inside the dragon's mouth. Kraegyn lifted his talons from Lucius' chest and propelled the flame at his body. The fire singed his face and chest, delivering torrents of agony throughout his body. Lucius screamed, but his voice was drowned out by the sound of Kraegyn's laughter. Seconds later, darkness overtook him.
Siegfried Silverhart woke up abruptly when he heard his brother's scream. With elven swiftness, he jumped from his bed and snatched the elf dagger, Riome, from the wall. He ran outside his bedroom into an elegantly decorated hallway, well lit by the moonlight cascading from open slits in the ceiling. His brother's yells persisted as he dashed to the last door at the end of the hall. Siegfried quickly opened the door, dagger at the ready, and lunged inside. He saw his human brother struggling on the bed, tossing his head wildly from side to side. A violent nightmare was upon him. Siegfried set the dagger down and lit a candle on his brother's wall. He stood beside the bed and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder trying to shake his brother awake, but he continued to suffer in his sleep.
"Brother, please wake!" Siegfried cried. "Lucius! Wake up!"
Lucius gasped loudly and finally opened his eyes. He looked up at the elf standing over him, not recognizing him at first. He examined Siegfried’s silver locks of hair, his fair face, and the pointed ears characteristic of his race.
"Siegfried?" Lucius whispered.
"Yes, Lucius. It is I," he said smiling.
"Did I have another nightmare?"
"Yes. This one more terrible than the last," Siegfried said. The elf grabbed a glass pitcher from a nightstand and poured water into a small cup then handed it to Lucius.
Lucius sat up and drank the water. "It was worse than any of the previous dreams."
"We should talk about it in the morning. For now, you should rest for tomorrow. It shall be a busy day for both of us."
Lucius sighed. "Yes, I know. Please don't tell Father about this. I know how worried he can get over a foolish dream."
"I won't say a word." Siegfried took the cup from Lucius and set it back on the stand. "Rest now, Lucius. The light of D'arya shall be upon you."
Lucius nodded and lay down, pulling the velvet covers to his shoulders as his mind sank to rest. Siegfried walked out of the room and quietly sang an elven song of protection before closing the door. He returned to his bedroom where he lay on his bed pondering the nature of his brother's dream before drifting to sleep.
For Readers
Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for taking the time to read all the way to this point! I’m always thrilled when somebody new discovers my work and takes the time to read it. It’s one of the most rewarding things about being an author. With that being said, the second most rewarding thing is receiving feedback from you about my books.
As a writer, I want to know whether or not you enjoyed this book. I want to continually improve my writing so that the stories I publish are entertaining, engaging, and meaningful to you. It’s hard to do that if you don’t tell me what you thought! It doesn’t matter if you loved or hated this book, the feedback you provide to me is invaluable for the next project I work on. So, I’m begging you (no, really, I’m on knees as I type this) please leave a review.
Go to the book’s page on Amazon or on Goodreads and tell me your honest opinion about this book. It would mean the world to me and you’d help an author get better at his craft. Thanks again!
Sincerely,
Daniel
About the Author
Daniel Adorno is an author of fantasy and science fiction novels. He enjoys teaching aspiring writers the craft and blogs about writing, self-publishing, and book cover design at danieladorno.com. When he’s not writing, Daniel loves to create digital art and spend time with his wife and two sons. He resides in the cold tundra of Minnesota.
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