Dragon Spells

by Melinda Kucsera

It just stared at Bear, saying nothing at all. Not helpful.

  “If you’re looking for that Agent of Order, she’s not here. But she was.” Bear pointed to the fading infinity symbol on the ground near the door.

  The Agent of Chaos raced over to it, but the mark had faded before that insect reached it. The creature stood where that metal woman must have stood for a moment then it darted out of the open door.

  Good riddance. Its kind was nothing but trouble. What had it been doing here? Bear scanned the disorganized cave. Nothing looked out of place because only a few items had places.

  Clothes were still scattered all over the place. Books and papers covered half of a rickety table, and dishes were stacked on the other half, but they were clean. Sarn didn’t leave dirty dishes lying around, and neither did his brother. The slops bucket had been emptied that morning, so it was still empty. The pail under the dripping stalactite was almost full, and that was it. There wasn’t much in this cave.

  A purple glow caught his eye in the only corner free of clutter. Was the portal returning? Where had it gone when it had disappeared?

  When that glow didn’t grow any larger than his paw, Bear approached it. Was the portal having trouble spawning? If it was, what could he do about it? He didn’t have that sort of magic.

  Bear crouched down, and a blur slammed into his belly, knocking him onto his rump. What the hell hit me? Bear ran a paw over his translucent belly. How had that object struck me? He’d been in his spirit form, which was his natural state.

  Bear glanced around for what had hit him and saw only clothes scattered about on the floor. The book he’d been reading earlier glowed a soft purple in his peripheral vision. That couldn’t be what had hit him. Books didn’t fly around on their own. Someone had to move them, right?

  All this thinking was making him crazy. Bear reached for that book and flipped through it. But the story he’d read earlier had changed a lot in his absence. He might have fibbed a little about its contents earlier to keep Ran asking questions, so the tyke wouldn’t worry about his father.

  Sarn was a grown man, and he should learn how to use his damned magic. He just needed to practice and to stop letting other people define what was normal for him. Sarn was a mage for pity’s sake.

  Bear shook his head. Humans worried too much about what other people thought of them, but not Ran. That lovable little kid was immune to that. May that never change.

  As Bear ran his paw over the lines of text, the page shivered. Letter by letter, the words unraveled into curvy lines that gravitated toward the center of the page. They slowly formed an image of a thirtysomething-year-old woman with long dark hair, wearing a blue jacket. She looked disturbingly like Melinda.

  “I’m a drawing of her; the Scribe you’re thinking about,” the drawing said as it peeled itself off the page and stood on it.

  “How did you get into this book?” Bear tapped the opposite page.

  “She leaves a part of herself in everything she writes. I am one of those parts, but there are others in other books. It’s weird I know, just roll with it.” The drawing paced across the page, absorbing lines of text as she moved.

  “You talk like her too.” Bear lowered the book slowly to his lap.

  “Can we move on from that? My time is limited.” The drawing folded her arms over her chest.

  “Forgive my incredulity, but you’re just a drawing in a book. How are you even talking to me?” Because Bear was having a hard time believing he wasn’t under a spell or something.

  Sarn didn’t have that kind of power, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t someone else who did. There were an awful lot of people living under the mountain. One of them could have the mind gift. Though why they would use it on him, Bear couldn’t imagine. Still, just because it was improbable didn’t mean it was impossible.

  The drawing of Melinda paced some more. “Can we focus on the important part?”

  “What’s that?” Bear glared at her certain this was some sort of trick.

  “When order and chaos collide, they eventually reach equilibrium, but until they do, they disrupt the fundamental laws of the universe, making the impossible—”

  “Possible,” Bear finished for her.

  “Yes, and someone could influence that and shape the fallout if that person was in the right place at the right time. I think that’s what this is all about.” The drawing started to fade as the lines comprising it moved away and curled back into letters then words and finally, lines of text. “My time’s up here. I think there’s another version of me trying to spawn somewhere else. I feel like a pen running out of ink.”

  “Wait, who set this in motion? I know you know.” Bear shook the book, but the drawing was gone, leaving only a chaotic story behind. It was a jumbled set of notes hastily typed in the thick of things, where Bear should be.

  Bear set the book on the floor and shuddered as waves of chaos washed over him, breaking apart the magic inside him. But he was a creature of mind and spirit, so he couldn’t be destroyed by the army of clockwork roaches scuttling through the open door. None was longer than one of Ran’s little fingers, but together, they dragged a shimmering net of chaos behind them.

  Bear dropped into his furry anchor, animating the stuffed bear, and its paw brushed the open book. To reach his friends, he needed a portal to Melinda’s realm. But the magic that operated that portal was highly ordered. Could it work properly in this chaos?

  Purple light wreathed him, and his stuffed body thinned out until it was two-dimensional. Bear shrunk down to a picture on the page and broke apart into individual lines that formed words as a purple glow attracted the two halves of the book, slamming it closed.

  “We’ll never speak of this indignity again,” Bear said aloud to anyone who was listening. “Do you hear me, book? This is not going in the final draft.”

  Then Bear was falling through purple light. I’m coming, Ran. At least I think I am. If you’re in trouble, get your father to use his damned magic and shield you until I get there. If that sweet child was at the other end of this wild ride. He’d better be. Bear had a feeling his little friend’s trouble was only just beginning.

  To be continued in Rogue Spells.

  Note From a Character

  Fictional characters are hard on homes. I don’t recommend you invite us over unless you want your home remodeled in the process. But your inbox and e-reading devices are safe though, so don’t let that stop you from grabbing a copy of our other adventures, https://melindakucsera.com/the-curse-breaker-saga,(the ones that take place in our world). If you do, you'll find out what Papa does every night at work.

  Why’s This Story From My Perspective?

  Hi, I’m Ran, Sarn’s son and sidekick.

  I took over Melinda’s newsletter in 2017 when it became clear she had no idea how to promote the books she wrote. Since we, her characters, only exist when you read us—you can see how important it is to get our books in front of you as often as we can.

  If you like this book, you’ll like our full-length adventures. They take place wholly in our world though. We only invade yours in our newsletter adventures and the books based on them.

  Thank you for reading Dragon Spells.

  What Did I Say That So Enraged The Dragon?

  I’m not sure I want to admit that because my brilliant ploy to get rid of her for a while did work. So, I was free to return to my fantasy world and pursue my other goal—finding out just what Papa did every night at this mysterious thing called ‘work.’

  Unfortunately, that while wasn’t nearly long enough to accomplish my mission. But next time, it might be especially since that dragon can’t pull the same trick twice. So, I think I’ll just leave you to wonder what I said.

  If you subscribe to our weekly newsletter adventure, at https://www.mkucsera.com/welcome-characters,then you’ll witness all my interactions with that dragon as they happen.

  No pressure. Okay, maybe a little pressure. You know you want to join us. W
e have dragons.

  —Ran, son of the Curse Breaker, Sarn

  About the Author

  Melinda Kucsera writes fantastic short stories, novels, and books when not being kidnapped by dragons or chased by armies of fictional creatures. (We do, on occasion, rescue her.) She leaves the running of her newsletter to a cast of lovable characters who hog her inbox.

  Enough about her, it’s us you’re interested in, her cast of characters. Join us every week for a new story at www.mkucsera.com/welcomecharacters. Let us take over your inbox. We promise to behave.

  Read More from Melinda Kucsera

  https://melindakucsera.com/the-curse-breaker-saga/

  About the Cast

  Dragon Spells starred many members of our extended cast, and some of them have their own books. Here’s a quick rundown of who’s who and where you can read more about them.

  The Curse Breaker Series

  https://melindakucsera.com/the-curse-breaker-saga/

  Sarn

  Ran

  Miren

  Bear

  Sovvan

  The Adversary

  Mount Eredren, Shayari

  Plus, a host of other characters both human and not

  The His Angelic Keeper Series

  https://melindakucsera.com/his-angelic-keeper/

  Sovvan

  Misriah

  The Final Fate (Fay)

  Shonofar

  Korontis

  The Memory Eaters

  The Agents of Chaos

  The Gray Between

  The Robin of Larkspur Series

  https://melindakucsera.com/the-robin-of-larkspur-series/

  Robin

  Rosalie

  Sarn

  Miren

  Plus, other characters who didn’t fit in this narrative

  The Divergent Heroes Series

  https://melindakucsera.com/divergent-heroes-series/

  Sarn

  Miren

  And other characters who didn’t fit in this narrative

  Would You Please Leave a Review?

  As an author, I appreciate the feedback I receive from readers. Reviews help other readers to make an informed decision before buying my book. If you enjoyed Dragon Spells, please consider leaving a short review.

  Thank you for reading Dragon Spells.

  Want Free Stories?

  So, do I! Who am I? I’m Ran, one of the stars of this book. Did you know each week the cast of Melinda’s stories take readers on an adventure? Go behind and between the scenes to where no story has gone before.

  What are you waiting for? Join us. Just go to www.mkucsera.com/welcomecharacters to sign up.

  Memoriam

  This book is dedicated to my sister Carolyn who died in 2014 at the age of 29. Before she died, she requested I publish Curse Breaker: Enchanted and its sequels. I hope there are eBook readers in heaven, so she can see her last request fulfilled again. Dragon Spells, published in June 2020.

  Thank you for always being there even when you were mad at me. I will never forget you or my promise to you. I’ll keep publishing stories until I have no more to tell.

  I promise.

  —Melinda “the Scribe”

  Stay in Touch!

  Leave a comment on my Facebook page: http://bit.ly/MKFBPG or join our mailing list for a free weekly adventure here: www.mkucsera.com/welcomecharacters

  [Please note, Ran, the son of Sarn, is usually the one answering correspondence, so don’t be surprised when he writes back.]

  We also host a website, www.melindakucsera.com, where we post weekly adventures of Ran and all the cast members, giving you behind-the-scenes glimpses of their antics both on and off the page.

  Thank you for reading!

  The Curse Breaker Companion Series

  DRAGON SPELLS

  ROGUE SPELLS*

  *Forthcoming

  The Curse Breaker Series

  Follow Sarn and his son and their adventures in:

  CURSE BREAKER: ENCHANTED

  https://melindakucsera.com/the-more-epic-version/

  HIS ANGELIC KEEPER

  https://melindakucsera.com/his-angelic-keeper/

  CURSE BREAKER: DARKENS

  https://melindakucsera.com/darkens/

  CURSE BREAKER: FACETED

  https://melindakucsera.com/curse-breaker-faceted/

  CURSE BREAKER: FALLS

  https://melindakucsera.com/curse-breaker-falls/

  CURSE BREAKER: BOOKS 1-4

  https://melindakucsera.com/curse-breaker-books-1-4/

  CURSE BREAKER: SUNDERED

  https://melindakucsera.com/curse-breaker-sundered/

  HIS ANGELIC KEEPER: HIDDEN*

  https://melindakucsera.wordpress.com/his-angelic-keeper-hidden/

  CURSE BREAKER: HIDDEN*

  http://melindakucsera.com/curse-breaker-hidden/

  *Forthcoming

  The Divergent Heroes Series

  RELIC HUNTER

  https://melindakucsera.com/relic-hunter/

  MAGE HUNTER*

  *Forthcoming

  The Robin of Larkspur Series

  Follow Robin’s adventures:

  HUNTER’S NIGHT

  https://melindakucsera.com/hunters-night/

  ROGUE NIGHT

  https://melindakucsera.com/rogue-night/

  ROGUE RANGER*

  http://melindakucsera.com/Rogue-Ranger

  *Forthcoming

  The His Angelic Keeper Series

  Follow Sovvan as her adventures continue.

  HIS ANGELIC KEEPER

  https://melindakucsera.com/his-angelic-keeper/

  HIS ANGELIC KEEPER: HIDDEN*

  https://melindakucsera.wordpress.com/his-angelic-keeper-hidden/

  *Forthcoming