The first chapter of Dragons' Bane is now up! Check it out on my blog here.
Here is the first chapter from my published novel, "The Dragon Within".
1
“When war has torn the worlds apart
And darkness will not hide
Beware the evil of the heart
The dragon deep inside.”
Kaena knew enough about dragons to stay away from the forest, well, at least unarmed. But that chicken didn’t.
"Get back here, you, you stupid animal! You'll get us both in trouble!"
She chased the runaway chicken across the field, her brown curls bouncing over her shoulders. Her jaw clenched in determination as she stretched out her arm, trying to grasp a handful of the creature’s white plumage.
Her foot struck a rock and she flew forward, landing in the scratchy grass. The chicken kept going, squawking madly as it disappeared into the forest.
Great. She pounded the ground in frustration. This was not how her day was supposed to go. Standing up, she brushed debris from her faded skirt and ran after the chicken.
Her mind scolded her. “You can’t go in the forest! You know what’s in there!”
Kaena rolled her eyes and ducked into the dense foliage. “Oh please. I’ve been here a million nights before. If there really are dragons, why have I never seen one?” She paused. “Besides, I can’t just let that chicken go.” She shuddered, imagining the smug looks she would get from her family if she came back empty-handed.
Catch and kill a chicken? Easy. Or so she had told her parents. And maybe it would have been, if a certain scatter-brained girl hadn’t left the gate to the animal pen open.
She stopped in a small clearing and looked around for the chicken. Autumn leaves colored the trees in soft hues of browns and reds, while birds chattered to each other among their branches, but the chicken was not in sight. Kaena cupped her hand over her ear, listening for clues of which direction it may have gone.
A growl resonated deep within the forest. Her head snapped in the direction of the sound, her heart racing. She took a deep breath.
Calm down, Kaena. There are no dragons here. It’s all just silly superstition. But she wasn’t so sure.
She heard quiet clucking, followed by another growl and a screech. Her hand moved instinctively to the dagger she kept on her belt. Whatever was over there, it had found her chicken.
She crept towards the noise, her fingers tightening on the handle of her dagger. Doubt niggled at her. If it was a dragon attacking the chicken, she wouldn’t stand a chance.
A large shadow loomed in the clearing before her. She caught a glimpse of silver claws, dripping with blood.
Kaena pressed her back up against the nearest tree, listening. The creature, whatever it was, seemed to be playing with its food before eating it. Kaena’s mind screamed at her to turn back.
“You saw how big that thing is!”
She took a deep breath. “Yes, but that was just its shadow,” she argued. “It could be deceiving.” The chicken’s cries were growing weaker. “Besides, if I don’t act now, it’ll be too late.”
Praying the beast wouldn’t see her, Kaena peeked around the tree. She caught a glimpse of its yellow eye and returned her head to hiding, her heart pulsing.
A dogra. She could take a dogra. It was just a larger version of a wolf, an evil, hunchbacked wolf with flesh-ripping teeth and bone-crushing jaws. She could take it...right?
Breathing deeply, Kaena stepped out from behind the tree, poised to throw. The dogra’s oversized muzzle was buried in the mangled remains of her chicken, and it didn’t even seem to notice her.
Kaena’s shoulders fell. I should turn back now, before it sees me. But she didn’t.
With practiced aim she threw her dagger towards her target. It glanced off the dogra’s shaggy side, only drawing a small trickle of blood, but it was enough to attract its attention. The dogra let out a howl and turned around. Its yellow eyes locked onto Kaena, and she knew she was in trouble. It charged towards her, roaring. Kaena’s heart pounded. She had no weapon now, so she fled.
Her mind screamed at her. “What did you do that for? It wasn’t attacking you!”
“I don’t know! I just…” Adrenaline shot through her veins, and she grinned. “I just like this.”
Her grin disappeared as the dogra growled behind her. The coppery scent of blood stung her nostrils as she ran, her heart pounding like a drum. Luckily for her, dogras weren’t built for speed.
With the forest a blur of reddish-brown around her, she couldn’t tell which way led where anymore. She just ran and hoped she could find her way out.
But what if it followed her out of the forest? The dogra was about half her size, but probably double her weight. Could she really take it so easily?
Kaena chanced a glance over her shoulder at her pursuer. The dogra snapped at her heels, drool dripping from its open maw.
Her foot snagged something on the ground and she flew forward, hitting the carpet of dead leaves. The dogra’s footsteps pounded closer and closer. She flipped over onto her back to see the dogra now standing over her, its yellow eyes narrowed. Drool dripped from its chin onto her face, but she was too terrified to wipe it off. She clenched her fists on the ground and braced herself for the worst.
The dogra didn't attack. Was it toying with her?
The dogra lifted its head to the sky and let out a blood-chilling howl. Kaena noticed an iron collar around its neck. This wasn’t a wild dogra. It belonged to one of General Shatek’s guards and was used to track down fugitives.
But she wasn’t a fugitive. So who had it been hunting?
Kaena slowly shifted her hand to her belt. The dogra growled at her, and she stopped. She didn’t have her dagger anyway.
I need a plan. The dogra didn’t seem to want to kill her, just guard her until its masters arrived. She could use that to her advantage.
Kaena took a deep breath and rolled to the side, out from under the dogra. She sprang up and backed into a tree.
The dogra snarled and stalked towards her. Kaena desperately scanned the area for a weapon of any kind that she could use, but there were none to be had. Her knees still felt a little shaky, and she knew she couldn’t run again.
Another creature burst out into the clearing. A flash of orange collided with the dogra and knocked it to the ground. Its long tail whipped around behind it, lined with small but sharp-looking spikes. Kaena could only stare in shock as she watched. A dragon. There really was a dragon in her forest.
The dogra got up, took one look at its attacker and fled, yelping like a wounded puppy. Kaena’s brow furrowed in confusion. Should she slip away before the dragon saw her?
The dragon turned towards her, its orange scales reflecting the sunlight. A gash ran alongside its left flank, the blood dried and crusted. She noted with interest that one of its scales was missing on its left side as well, a small patch of white skin where it should have been.
The dragon took a step towards Kaena. She froze. If it attacked her, she wouldn’t stand a chance.
Cocking its head curiously, the dragon met her gaze. A feminine voice filled Kaena’s mind. “Kaena, what are you doing here? You should be…”
Kaena jumped. Did the dragon just speak to her? How did it know her name?
“I should be what?”
The dragon looked away for a moment. “Never mind.”
A strange feeling overwhelmed Kaena. She scrutinized the dragon, taking a step towards it. Was this real?
“How are you inside my mind? And why did you save me?”
A howl rang in Kaena’s ears. The dragon glanced in the direction of the sound, then back at Kaena, its voice filled with sadness. “You shouldn’t be here. You must go. If they find you they’ll…”
Several more cries rang out, followed by men’s voices. The dogras were close, hot on the trail of a fugitive.
Fugitive. Realization dawned on Kaena as she looked at the dragon.
“They’re coming for you, aren’t they?” She threw up her hands. “Of course they are, you’re a dragon! But you don’t want them to find me. Why?”
The dragon’s eyes trained on the dense foliage surrounding the clearing. “If you are found with me, you will be found guilty of treason.”
“But why do you even care? You’re a dragon. According to everything I’ve ever been taught, you’re supposed to be a bloodthirsty killer!” She paused. “But, you’re obviously not, or I’d be dead right now, I think.” She shook her head, speaking quieter now. “You seem so familiar to me, like a face in my mind that I can’t put a name to.” She looked deep into the dragon’s eyes. “Who are you?”
The dragon was silent for a moment. It let out a heavy sigh. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you who I was, little one. You wouldn’t remember.”
“So I do know you?”
The dragon avoided her question, looking off into the woods again. The dogra’s cries grew closer. Any moment now they would be discovered.
It gazed at her once more, its eyes filled with turmoil. “They are coming for me, not you! Please, please leave. I can handle this.”
Kaena wasn’t so convinced of that. She had seen the dragon’s wounds…and who knew how many men and beasts it’d have to fight off?
But if she didn’t leave now, they’d catch her too. And Kaena knew what the penalty for aiding a dragon was.
She ran out of the clearing, as the dragon had begged, but she didn’t feel right about it. She felt like she knew the dragon personally, or did a long time ago. If it was killed or captured, she might never find out the truth, like what it had meant by her not remembering. Besides, she owed it her life. Time to return the favor.
Kaena turned around and headed back the way she had come. She didn’t know what help she could be without a weapon, but she couldn’t let the dragon die without at least trying.
The sounds of metal clanging and men yelling filled her ears, but she heard nothing from the dragon. The question was, was that a good sign or a bad one?
Without thinking, Kaena burst out into the clearing. A mixed group of vicious dogras and armored men surrounded the dragon, trying to bring it down. The dragon was fighting valiantly, but was losing the battle. It roared in pain as one of the dogras sunk its teeth into its flesh.
“Hey, leave that dragon alone!”
One of the men looked over at her and growled. “Go home, little girl, before you get in trouble.”
Kaena glanced down and saw one of the men's swords laying on the ground. She picked it up and took a defensive stance, staring down the man. “Not a chance.”
The man glared and advanced towards her. Kaena didn’t have a clue what she was doing, but she did it anyway. Her blade clashed against the man’s as she blocked his blows, even getting in a few of her own. She spun around and kicked the man’s sword right out of his hand.. He stared in shock as the blade hit the ground.
“I didn’t know I could do that,” Kaena thought. She had never picked up a sword in her life, not a proper one at least. She resisted the urge to grin at her newfound skill, and pointed the sword at the man’s neck. He didn’t seem fazed. “Put down the sword, little girl. You couldn’t kill me if you tried.”
Kaena glared at him. “Says who? I might. And I’m not a little girl.”
In her head, however, Kaena contemplated whether she really could kill a man. Her stomach churned at the thought.
The dragon lashed its tail around and hit the man in the skull, knocking him out. Kaena let out a quiet sigh of relief and turned to help the dragon fight, but she knew they were hopelessly outnumbered, even together. They didn’t stand a chance of winning. But that didn’t mean they wouldn’t try.
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“When war has torn the worlds apart
And darkness will not hide
Beware the evil of the heart
The dragon deep inside.”
Kaena knew enough about dragons to stay away from the forest, well, at least unarmed. But that chicken didn’t.
"Get back here, you, you stupid animal! You'll get us both in trouble!"
She chased the runaway chicken across the field, her brown curls bouncing over her shoulders. Her jaw clenched in determination as she stretched out her arm, trying to grasp a handful of the creature’s white plumage.
Her foot struck a rock and she flew forward, landing in the scratchy grass. The chicken kept going, squawking madly as it disappeared into the forest.
Great. She pounded the ground in frustration. This was not how her day was supposed to go. Standing up, she brushed debris from her faded skirt and ran after the chicken.
Her mind scolded her. “You can’t go in the forest! You know what’s in there!”
Kaena rolled her eyes and ducked into the dense foliage. “Oh please. I’ve been here a million nights before. If there really are dragons, why have I never seen one?” She paused. “Besides, I can’t just let that chicken go.” She shuddered, imagining the smug looks she would get from her family if she came back empty-handed.
Catch and kill a chicken? Easy. Or so she had told her parents. And maybe it would have been, if a certain scatter-brained girl hadn’t left the gate to the animal pen open.
She stopped in a small clearing and looked around for the chicken. Autumn leaves colored the trees in soft hues of browns and reds, while birds chattered to each other among their branches, but the chicken was not in sight. Kaena cupped her hand over her ear, listening for clues of which direction it may have gone.
A growl resonated deep within the forest. Her head snapped in the direction of the sound, her heart racing. She took a deep breath.
Calm down, Kaena. There are no dragons here. It’s all just silly superstition. But she wasn’t so sure.
She heard quiet clucking, followed by another growl and a screech. Her hand moved instinctively to the dagger she kept on her belt. Whatever was over there, it had found her chicken.
She crept towards the noise, her fingers tightening on the handle of her dagger. Doubt niggled at her. If it was a dragon attacking the chicken, she wouldn’t stand a chance.
A large shadow loomed in the clearing before her. She caught a glimpse of silver claws, dripping with blood.
Kaena pressed her back up against the nearest tree, listening. The creature, whatever it was, seemed to be playing with its food before eating it. Kaena’s mind screamed at her to turn back.
“You saw how big that thing is!”
She took a deep breath. “Yes, but that was just its shadow,” she argued. “It could be deceiving.” The chicken’s cries were growing weaker. “Besides, if I don’t act now, it’ll be too late.”
Praying the beast wouldn’t see her, Kaena peeked around the tree. She caught a glimpse of its yellow eye and returned her head to hiding, her heart pulsing.
A dogra. She could take a dogra. It was just a larger version of a wolf, an evil, hunchbacked wolf with flesh-ripping teeth and bone-crushing jaws. She could take it...right?
Breathing deeply, Kaena stepped out from behind the tree, poised to throw. The dogra’s oversized muzzle was buried in the mangled remains of her chicken, and it didn’t even seem to notice her.
Kaena’s shoulders fell. I should turn back now, before it sees me. But she didn’t.
With practiced aim she threw her dagger towards her target. It glanced off the dogra’s shaggy side, only drawing a small trickle of blood, but it was enough to attract its attention. The dogra let out a howl and turned around. Its yellow eyes locked onto Kaena, and she knew she was in trouble. It charged towards her, roaring. Kaena’s heart pounded. She had no weapon now, so she fled.
Her mind screamed at her. “What did you do that for? It wasn’t attacking you!”
“I don’t know! I just…” Adrenaline shot through her veins, and she grinned. “I just like this.”
Her grin disappeared as the dogra growled behind her. The coppery scent of blood stung her nostrils as she ran, her heart pounding like a drum. Luckily for her, dogras weren’t built for speed.
With the forest a blur of reddish-brown around her, she couldn’t tell which way led where anymore. She just ran and hoped she could find her way out.
But what if it followed her out of the forest? The dogra was about half her size, but probably double her weight. Could she really take it so easily?
Kaena chanced a glance over her shoulder at her pursuer. The dogra snapped at her heels, drool dripping from its open maw.
Her foot snagged something on the ground and she flew forward, hitting the carpet of dead leaves. The dogra’s footsteps pounded closer and closer. She flipped over onto her back to see the dogra now standing over her, its yellow eyes narrowed. Drool dripped from its chin onto her face, but she was too terrified to wipe it off. She clenched her fists on the ground and braced herself for the worst.
The dogra didn't attack. Was it toying with her?
The dogra lifted its head to the sky and let out a blood-chilling howl. Kaena noticed an iron collar around its neck. This wasn’t a wild dogra. It belonged to one of General Shatek’s guards and was used to track down fugitives.
But she wasn’t a fugitive. So who had it been hunting?
Kaena slowly shifted her hand to her belt. The dogra growled at her, and she stopped. She didn’t have her dagger anyway.
I need a plan. The dogra didn’t seem to want to kill her, just guard her until its masters arrived. She could use that to her advantage.
Kaena took a deep breath and rolled to the side, out from under the dogra. She sprang up and backed into a tree.
The dogra snarled and stalked towards her. Kaena desperately scanned the area for a weapon of any kind that she could use, but there were none to be had. Her knees still felt a little shaky, and she knew she couldn’t run again.
Another creature burst out into the clearing. A flash of orange collided with the dogra and knocked it to the ground. Its long tail whipped around behind it, lined with small but sharp-looking spikes. Kaena could only stare in shock as she watched. A dragon. There really was a dragon in her forest.
The dogra got up, took one look at its attacker and fled, yelping like a wounded puppy. Kaena’s brow furrowed in confusion. Should she slip away before the dragon saw her?
The dragon turned towards her, its orange scales reflecting the sunlight. A gash ran alongside its left flank, the blood dried and crusted. She noted with interest that one of its scales was missing on its left side as well, a small patch of white skin where it should have been.
The dragon took a step towards Kaena. She froze. If it attacked her, she wouldn’t stand a chance.
Cocking its head curiously, the dragon met her gaze. A feminine voice filled Kaena’s mind. “Kaena, what are you doing here? You should be…”
Kaena jumped. Did the dragon just speak to her? How did it know her name?
“I should be what?”
The dragon looked away for a moment. “Never mind.”
A strange feeling overwhelmed Kaena. She scrutinized the dragon, taking a step towards it. Was this real?
“How are you inside my mind? And why did you save me?”
A howl rang in Kaena’s ears. The dragon glanced in the direction of the sound, then back at Kaena, its voice filled with sadness. “You shouldn’t be here. You must go. If they find you they’ll…”
Several more cries rang out, followed by men’s voices. The dogras were close, hot on the trail of a fugitive.
Fugitive. Realization dawned on Kaena as she looked at the dragon.
“They’re coming for you, aren’t they?” She threw up her hands. “Of course they are, you’re a dragon! But you don’t want them to find me. Why?”
The dragon’s eyes trained on the dense foliage surrounding the clearing. “If you are found with me, you will be found guilty of treason.”
“But why do you even care? You’re a dragon. According to everything I’ve ever been taught, you’re supposed to be a bloodthirsty killer!” She paused. “But, you’re obviously not, or I’d be dead right now, I think.” She shook her head, speaking quieter now. “You seem so familiar to me, like a face in my mind that I can’t put a name to.” She looked deep into the dragon’s eyes. “Who are you?”
The dragon was silent for a moment. It let out a heavy sigh. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you who I was, little one. You wouldn’t remember.”
“So I do know you?”
The dragon avoided her question, looking off into the woods again. The dogra’s cries grew closer. Any moment now they would be discovered.
It gazed at her once more, its eyes filled with turmoil. “They are coming for me, not you! Please, please leave. I can handle this.”
Kaena wasn’t so convinced of that. She had seen the dragon’s wounds…and who knew how many men and beasts it’d have to fight off?
But if she didn’t leave now, they’d catch her too. And Kaena knew what the penalty for aiding a dragon was.
She ran out of the clearing, as the dragon had begged, but she didn’t feel right about it. She felt like she knew the dragon personally, or did a long time ago. If it was killed or captured, she might never find out the truth, like what it had meant by her not remembering. Besides, she owed it her life. Time to return the favor.
Kaena turned around and headed back the way she had come. She didn’t know what help she could be without a weapon, but she couldn’t let the dragon die without at least trying.
The sounds of metal clanging and men yelling filled her ears, but she heard nothing from the dragon. The question was, was that a good sign or a bad one?
Without thinking, Kaena burst out into the clearing. A mixed group of vicious dogras and armored men surrounded the dragon, trying to bring it down. The dragon was fighting valiantly, but was losing the battle. It roared in pain as one of the dogras sunk its teeth into its flesh.
“Hey, leave that dragon alone!”
One of the men looked over at her and growled. “Go home, little girl, before you get in trouble.”
Kaena glanced down and saw one of the men's swords laying on the ground. She picked it up and took a defensive stance, staring down the man. “Not a chance.”
The man glared and advanced towards her. Kaena didn’t have a clue what she was doing, but she did it anyway. Her blade clashed against the man’s as she blocked his blows, even getting in a few of her own. She spun around and kicked the man’s sword right out of his hand.. He stared in shock as the blade hit the ground.
“I didn’t know I could do that,” Kaena thought. She had never picked up a sword in her life, not a proper one at least. She resisted the urge to grin at her newfound skill, and pointed the sword at the man’s neck. He didn’t seem fazed. “Put down the sword, little girl. You couldn’t kill me if you tried.”
Kaena glared at him. “Says who? I might. And I’m not a little girl.”
In her head, however, Kaena contemplated whether she really could kill a man. Her stomach churned at the thought.
The dragon lashed its tail around and hit the man in the skull, knocking him out. Kaena let out a quiet sigh of relief and turned to help the dragon fight, but she knew they were hopelessly outnumbered, even together. They didn’t stand a chance of winning. But that didn’t mean they wouldn’t try.
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