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DEDICATION
To all the “Jenny’s” in the world
Who bear the pains each day
Of thorns you did not ask for,
That refuse to go away:
You are more special and more loved
Than you will ever see,
God's tears and care are flowing
And He longs to set you free.
ALSO:
To Roy, my Dad, who we
Sang across the Bridge of Air
To enter the Gryphonsland;
To Kris Wilson, who blossomed
As a believer and mother,
Following the Gryphon’s plan;
To Josh and Rachel Lickter,
Who guard the front line and
Fight there the good fight;
To five sons of sons and daughters:
May you stand against the Dragon
And make the darkness bright;
To Jarius Tabb, my youngest reader,
Who chose to wrestle big words and ideas
And beyond your age are wise;
To Janet, Carmine, Cissy, and Sue
Literary midwives, who faithfully
Did read, comment, and advise.
THANK YOU! rdw
Malin, OR
BACKGROUND
“MY BROTHER’S KEEPER” continues the exciting Christian Fantasy, “The Dragon’s Back” Trilogy, begun in “THE POISON OF THORNS”. Here are bards, dragons, swords, and dark villains! Living on a land shaped like a monstrous Dragon floating on a bottomless Sea, two brothers have chosen dramatically different paths to deal with the pain caused by watching the murder of their parents.
Kaleb, the eldest, has taken up thorns and sided with the black-robed Dragonmen and their gigantic Captain, Raven. Overcome by bitterness, he has vowed to exact vengeance and rescue his bother from the man he thinks is responsible for that crime, Nathan, the Master Bard.
Jason, the younger sibling, is an apprentice to that same bard and has chosen to forsake the dark poison of the thorns and follow the teachings of the Great Gryphon and His Swimmer-Son.
Out of their love for each other, both brothers seek with their entire beings to deliver their sibling from his chosen path. A violent conflagration of armed conflict is inevitable!
What other Christian authors are saying about "THE POISON OF THORNS, The Dragon's Back #1"
TRACY KRAUSS, bestselling author of "Play It Again" and "The Beat Goes On" says: "Book 1... reads somewhat like a Lewis, Tolkien or even a Rowling. Full of heraldry and lore in a make-believe otherworld, this novel is full of action and adventure…Anyone who likes fantasy with an unapologetic Christian worldview should enjoy it."
ASHLEY WINTTERS ["Ashley Dawn"], author of "Shadows from the Past" and "Shadows of Suspicion" says: "This was a superbly written book. A good vs. evil that isn't too preachy but definitely has a spiritual overtone. The imagery the author used made you actually feel like you were a part of the book. The characters were very well developed and very likeable. I rate it a 5/5. If you get the chance, you should definitely read it and I'm ready for the second one!"
“He that is born of the Gryphon,
Beneath the waves won’t sink:
Forsaking the venomous flow,
From the River will not drink.
As sons of the Gryphon’s Son,
The truth you’ll realize:
Upon the Dragon’s back,
The whole of man’s realm lies.”
(Yohann’s Song,
The Word of the Gryphon) 1
Prologue
What am I doing here? Why in the world did I ever agree to come? Jenny thought, stepping over the threshold as though it were a live poisonous snake.
Wait! I’m not ready!
Justin hadn’t even stopped to knock, to give her one last chance to back out—to turn around and run. No, he just grabbed her hand, pushed opened the door, and pulled her quickly forward, calling out, “Mom-Mom, Pop-Pop we’re here!”
She pulled back, resisting against the hand he held.
Too late! We’re inside. Someone’s coming.
“Justin,” she whispered. “I… I…” but then couldn’t get out the words that were racing through her mind and heart like a California firestorm.
I don’t even know this man, ‘cept for what you’ve told me. I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to meet someone new. He’s going to find out about… About what happened to me! He’ll think that it was my fault! He’ll know… I don’t want anybody else knowing!
Jenny looked around desperately, like a trapped wild animal, hoping to find an exit.
Justin squeezed her hand and turned his bright smile toward her, “It’s alright, Jenny. He won’t bite! It’s just my Granddad, the one who wrote the story I read you. You’ll do fine!”
She returned the squeeze, thankful for his support, but could only manage to manufacture a faint shadow of a smile.
Here he comes!
He had totally white hair, a white goatee, wire-rimmed glasses and wore a long-sleeved plaid flannel shirt over faded blue jeans and a pair of blue corduroy house slippers.
Well, at least he looks like an ordinary grandfather, she thought. Not the monstrous image that her fears now painted on all unknown men.
“Hello, kids,” he said in a friendly voice. “Mom-Mom’s at the store and should be back shortly.” He reached down and gave Justin a brief hug, released him and stuck out his hand in my direction before continuing, “You can just call me ‘Pop Pop’ or ‘Granddad’ if you want!”
Justin interjected, “Granddad, this is my friend, Jenny Oliver, from school.”
Justin’s Grandfather stood there with a smile on his face and his right hand extended while I built up the courage to reach out and let him touch me. As we shook hands my mind went blank.
What do I say? What do I say to him? Quick, mind, think of some words!
~ ~ ~
As I released the young girl’s tentative handshake she finally spoke to me, softly, “I… I heard about Dragonsback from Justin. I hope it’s OK that he told me your story and then brought me here?” Her young voice trailed off in a question that pleaded for acceptance like a starving beggar pleading for a tiny scrap of food.
I could hear the tears hidden in her voice. So young, I thought, so young to feel so much pain. And fear.
Concern chased a heavenward plea from my heart: Father, give me the words to help her! Let her see that You love her, in spite of what has happened.
Justin and his family live in a small rural community and I knew that the father of one of my grandson’s classmates had been convicted of child abuse. Was this young girl that Justin had brought to meet me, that same one? He had not told me so, yet I felt almost certain.
I allowed my face to brighten with my best smile when I responded, “Take a seat, kids!” After Jenny had seated herself opposite me in a recliner and Justin sat by my side on the couch looking nervous, I continued, “Why Jenny, of course, it’s alright! Justin has already told me all about how you…”
I saw her flinch involuntarily and, from the corner of my eye, saw my young grandson’s eyes widen in alarm at my words. In spite of her guarded looks, Jenny Oliver projected the exotic young beauty of someone far in excess of her ten or eleven years. Her captivating large bright-green eyes also projected the soul of someone much older, much more experienced. Our eyes made the briefest contact. Instantly Jenny lowered hers and blushed, as if afraid I had seen and she had revealed too much. She seemed to shrink inward, as though emotionally collapsing into herself.
“… and he have become such good friends,” I continued without pausing. Then I reached over to where Justin sat and tussled his unruly blond hair. His bright blue eyes showed relief and sparkled up at me in a smile that spread across his whole face. The metallic braces he wore only added to that shine. Jenny looked up with an expression of sudden relief.
“Jenny, I think it’s the highest honor ever
paid to me that my grandson likes my story so much that he chose to share it with you! Guess I feel like Nathan the Bard did when he heard his student, Jason, passing on some of the older bard’s very own songs—so proud he felt like bursting! Swelled up my head so much that I had to go out and buy a new hat!”
Both of the youngsters snickered at this.
“I know that my attempt at story tellin’ has helped Justin through some tough times he’s faced. He asked me for a written copy and told me he shared it with you because you needed to hear it, too. And that’s fine by me. Like his Mom-Mom and his mother, he has a soft heart that can’t help hurting when other people hurt. I love that about them all!”
Then I flickered my eyebrows at them above my glasses and added with a smile, “And now I suppose the both of you want to hear some more of the story?”
With this, both faces brightened again and both youngsters sang a happy chorus of “Yes!”
Then Jenny added, “We know that Jason got rid of his thorns and his dragons, but what about his brother? Is he OK? Will they get back together? Will he really try to kill Nathan the Bard when he sees him? I know both brothers thought they saw Nathan kill their parents when they were younger, but is that really true? Is there more to that dragonmen prophesy? Will Jason…”
“Whoa, there, Jenny,” I interjected. “You’ve got as many questions as a certain journeyman bard that we all know! Have patience and you will find the answers in the second part of the story I call ‘My Brother’s Keeper!”
Jenny raised her hand tentatively waiting as though she were in school for me to acknowledge her.
“Yes, Miss Oliver do you have one more question?” I asked and winked at her.
“Mr. … Uh, Granddad?” she corrected herself, “Does Jason ever get back together with the young girl with the dark eyes? Her name was Shonna or something like that.”
“Shoshanna,” I corrected her gently then winked at her again, saying, “Oh, you want to turn this tale of mine into a love story or something, do you?” and then I just started reading out loud.
THE SIBLING PROPHECY
(Verse One)
From The Lore of the Dragonmen
Long ago the words were spoken,
And their message can't be broken:
Two shall bear the Dragon's token;
Two who share a dam and sire
Will be marked by Dragon's fire;
Two fulfill the world's desire.
Tragic depths they're lifted from,
Mighty warriors to become:
Together greater than their sum.
It is ordained and will not wait:
One is the Key and one the Gate:
To open or to seal our fate.
Each will listen to a call,
So they will mark the rise or fall
Of all who on the Dragon call.
DRAGON’S PLOT
- A Flashback -
Deep within the mountainous spines of the water-bound land called Dragonsback, in a secret place, a black-robed giant of a man knelt in quiet devotion before his sinister queen.
The Queen of the secret society of dragonmen addressed her giant protégé, a young blackrobed captain named Raven. Her soft and sultry words dripped with a sensuality that she knew few men could resist, let alone this willing lone worshipper who knelt before her.
“My dear, Raven,” she cooed and, touching him lightly and affectionately under the chin, raised the massive youth up to his full height. Though the Dragonlady had to stretch well above her normal reach, she left that hand in place.
“What is it, my Queen?” he responded, smiling at her.
The woman allowed the living shadows that were her gown to move in a way he could not help but notice, before saying to him in a voice barely above a whisper, “Now that I have your undivided attention, take a seat and tell me, my dear, how goes the search for the missing brother?” She allowed her fingers to briefly caress the side of his massively square jaw before releasing her controlling touch. His gigantic frame shuddered as she filled that last moment of contact with the exquisite blessing that the dragonmen called “the Glow.” His eyes glazed for a moment as its narcotic-like pleasure blazed through his entire body.
He bowed his head to her as he found his seat, saying softly, “You always have my full attention, my Queen. I would choose to serve no other!”
“Well said, my young Captain. But now, onto the issue at hand!” She seated herself casually on the edge of her desk opposite to the giant, her long legs still touching the ground and often exposed by the shifting shadows of her living garment.
She noted with pleasure that it took Raven a moment to shake his head clear and focus on her face instead.
“Yes, Ma’am, it’s been taken care of!” he said, getting down to business. The Dragonlady was quick to notice, however, that there seemed to be a hint of pride in his words. “I have sent word in your name throughout the Heartland for our agents to watch for our enemy, Nathan the accursed master bard, and for his young companion. I expect to hear news about them any day now. As soon as they are found, the squads of blackrobes I have waiting at the entrances to each of our underground cities will spring to action. The capture of the Swimmer and the boy is certain and it will be soon!”
“This sounds well and good,” she said with a smile of benediction in his direction, “but we want more! That bard is a clever trickster with many friends. The Master says you need to take an even more direct approach. Too much is riding on us getting our hands on that boy before it’s too late! Go out and set traps that will ensnare them. Set ambushes wherever the bard is in the habit of traveling. We might not even have days before it is too late. Be quick. Be guileful. And most of all, be creative, as I know you love to be! Surprise me, but do not disappoint me!”
As she spoke, the lady in black watched the emotions play across the broad canvas of his face in response to her words: devotion to her and to his task; joy at her hinted praise, and fear at the possibility of her disapproval. He is so easy to control, she thought to herself, then smiled at him.
The giant snapped to his feet with what others who did not know him would call surprising speed for someone of his bulk and stood at attention. “I will not let you or our Master down,” he said crisply. “All will be done as you have described!”
“Sit back down, Captain,” she said softly, backing the words with a downward motion of her opened hand. “We still have important business to discuss.”
“Yes, Ma’am?” said the giant as he regained his seat.
“Do you understand why time is so essential to us at this point? Do you comprehend what it might mean if the missing brother became a Swimmer?”
“I think so,” he replied.
“Don’t you see?” she cried out, not satisfied with his answer and trying by the very force of her words to drive their import into his impressionable mind and heart. “Our very future, the future of dragonkind, might well be at stake! If young Kaleb’s sibling succumbs fully to the Enemy’s whiles, then the pair of brothers will be irrevocably damaged and the prophecy will be broken—or even worse, might be turned against us! We can’t let that happen!”
The Queen of Darkness let emotion build and pour out through her words. “If we fail now, the best we could hope for is to destroy the younger one so there’s no possibility that together they will be used to cause our downfall! But if that happens we’d have to start the whole process all over again. That would be such a waste! A whole generation lost when victory was so close at hand!”
Suddenly she slammed her fist down on the wooden desk beside her. The blackrobe giant started at the sound of that mighty percussion that reverberated through the carved scaline chamber, but she continued without pause, raising her voice to overcome and add to the dark rumbling of the echo, “Our Master wants that accursed Swimmer bard found! Wants him found and destroyed! As for the younger one, if he’s been damaged—if the Gryphon fully has him—then you are to give him full
y back to that meddling bird! If he’s become a Swimmer, then break both of his arms and legs and throw him into the sea! Let’s see if he can swim that way! Better to have him drown than face the possibility that the brothers could both turn against us! But, if that becomes necessary, make sure the older brother doesn’t find out!”
The Dark Queen paused and took a deep breath to steady her emotions. She was used to invoking passions in others, but not in letting others see hers. No one had seen her thus, so exposed, so vulnerable, for many ages of man. Wisely, the young captain did not utter a word.
She rose and walked over to him, extending her hand briefly to brush his cheek with her ecstatic blessing. She asked in a much calmer voice, “Do you know why I like you so much, my young captain?”
No answer was expected or given.
She continued, “It’s because you know your place and try to please me so much. I almost think that I can confide in you. I have not been able to do so with any mortal man for a very long time.”
He reached gently for her still extended hand with both of his and then bent to place a light kiss on it. “I live only to please you, my Queen!”
She let him continue to hold her hand as she quietly said, “I know you do and for that I am thankful.” The Dragonlady paused briefly before withdrawing her hand and then adding, “Captain, there is one more thing.”
Though he had remained seated, when he raised his head, he looked her nearly in the eye. “My Queen, how may I serve you?”
“What about the older brother, Kaleb? What progress have you made with him?”
Raven smiled as he responded, “Better each day, my Queen.”
The mysterious lady returned his smile, but prompted, “Please continue, Captain, you know how I delight in the details!”
Although they were far beneath the surface of Dragonsback, the supplicant could clearly see his Queen. Falling from a chandelier comprised of numerous small crystalline spheres, a pale green luminescence bathed the two solitary figures in a strange other-worldly brightness. Each globe encased a small amount of radiant moss, scraped from the River-moistened walls of the central caverns. The dragonmen had long ago discovered that the encapsulated moss would glow for months if combined with a few drops of the strongest water of the Dragon’s River and a portion of the potent guano which fell from the nearly invisible flying denizens, who gathered in the darkened heights above those glowing cavern walls.
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