The Black Dragon

by W. D. Newman

CHAPTER 33

  Déjà VU

  The bamboo was encased in ice and snow. The weight of the frozen precipitation caused the canes to bend outward, so that their leafy tops brushed the ground. Getting through the dense, ice covered foliage was not difficult, but navigating the bowed canes was tricky. Finally, they made it to the center of the patch, where the canes were not as crowded, and they were able to move around freely. Here, in the midst of the bamboo, a strange looking tree protruded from the ground. Although it was winter, and most trees had shed their leaves long ago, this particular tree appeared to be ancient and dead. It was short and thick, with two stubby limbs that gave the comical impression of arms. The tree’s trunk was split from the ground up, creating a rift in the center of the tree that was large enough to walk through. This opening in the tree’s trunk was the doorway back to the Alderman farm. This was the Merlin tree.

  Ben and Casey watched their grandma walk through the Merlin tree first. As her body exited the tree, on the other side of the opening, it vanished. Casey went through next and Ben followed close behind her. The first thing he noticed, as he passed through the Merlin tree, was a rise in temperature. Although it was still unusually cold in South Carolina, for this time of the year, there was no snow and ice to contend with and this made getting through the canes much easier. Once everyone was in the yard, Louise rushed them into the house.

  “I’ve got to write a note for George. I’m going to tell him that I am doing some last minute shopping at the mall and that I’ll be gone for most of the day.”

  “What about gifts?” asked Casey. “What if he asks to see what you bought?”

  “I’ve got that covered. You and Ben leave the bracelet and the staff with me. I’ll wrap them up and give them to you as a Christmas present.”

  “That might work with a bracelet,” said Ben, “but a staff with an emerald on the end?”

  “We will say that it’s a hiking stick. I’ve seen them for sale at Mast General in Greenville. I’ve also seen them for sale at the flea market.”

  “What about the emerald?”

  “They’ll think the emerald is just a pretty piece of green glass.”

  “You think it will work?”

  “I know it will.”

  Louise scribbled a note to George, laid it on the kitchen table, and grabbed her purse and car keys. She locked the door as the kids raced to the old Galaxy 500 that was parked beneath the magnolia tree in the front yard. When everyone was inside, and safely buckled, Louise turned the switch and the old car roared to life with a puff of blue smoke. She threw the car into reverse and backed onto the gravel drive. They were on their way to Atlanta.

  Louise made excellent time and the next couple of hours went by quickly. She only stopped once for gas, and soon after they were on the outskirts of Ben and Casey’s neighborhood. Charles and Carol were probably back at home from their shopping trip, but Louise did not want to take any chances. If they spotted her here, she simply would not be able to come up with an explanation for being in Atlanta, so Ben directed her to a frontage road between the main highway and their neighborhood. Here, trees shielded the road from the highway and their house was just several streets over. This was the perfect spot to let them out.

  “You two be careful and go straight home!”

  “We will,” Casey promised.

  “Yes,” Ben agreed, “we have had enough adventure.”

  “You drive safe, Grandma,” said Casey, “and we’ll see you in a couple of days.”

  The frontage road was actually a dead-end road, so Louise had to turn her car around. The old Galaxy was a large car and what should have been a simple three-point turn proved to be quite difficult. However, she eventually got the car turned around and honked the horn at her grandkids as she sped off, heading back to South Carolina.

  Ben and Casey watched their Grandma until she was out of sight and then cut through the small strip of trees to the first row of houses located on the edge of the woods. Once they were on the streets in their neighborhood, they ran all the way home. They weren’t racing, and even though Casey stayed ahead of him, Ben kept up with her the entire way.

  “Look,” said Casey, “Mom and Dad aren’t home yet.”

  Ben checked his watch. It was almost one o’clock. “They probably stopped for lunch. You know how Mom loves to shop too.”

  “Oh yeah, I keep forgetting it’s only been a couple of hours since we left.”

  Back inside, the kids discussed their recent adventure and resumed decorating the tree. They didn’t hear their parent’s car pull up and they were startled when Charles and Carol came bustling through the front door with an armful of shopping bags and grocery bags.

  “You poor kids look bored to death,” said Charles, cutting a sidelong glance at the tree as he placed the bags on the table. “And it doesn’t look like you’ve gotten much decorating done since we left. What have you two been doing?”

  “Oh, nothing,” Ben replied. “We walked down to that pond on the vacant lot to see if it was frozen over.”

  “You two need to stay away from that pond,” said Carol. “It’s dangerous. As a matter of fact, that lot is supposed to be fenced off.”

  “Well,” said Charles, planting his hands on his hips. “Was it?”

  “Yes sir,” Ben replied, his ears heating up and turning red. “It has a fence around it.”

  “No, no,” said Charles. “Was it frozen?”

  Ben nodded.

  “Cool! We’ll go down and throw some rocks on it later. You’ll have to show me where to get through the fence.”

  “Charles!”

  The next morning was Christmas Eve and everyone slept in. Ben, however, was up early and, after eating a couple of Pop Tarts, he turned on the TV. The Christmas Story was playing for the next twenty-four hours and it was tradition, now, to leave it running all day long. Carol and Casey hated the movie, but Ben and Charles loved it. At the end of the story, when the restaurant workers were singing Jingle Bells and Deck the Halls, Ben thought about Amos and his three dwarf friends. If Hob, Gob, and Nob were going to be staying with Amos to build a barn, maybe he could sneak out and see them while they were up visiting on Christmas day. The dwarves were amazing builders and Ben wouldn’t be at all surprised if they completed the barn for Old Dan in one day.

  Carol spent the afternoon baking, while Charles and the kids packed for the trip to South Carolina. The presents that were going to George and Louise’s house had been pulled out from under the tree and set aside to be loaded into the car in the morning. The gifts that were left under the tree would be opened tonight after eating supper.

  The winter day passed quickly for all of them and, by six o’clock, the sky had darkened from purple to black. The soft warm glow of Christmas trees shown from windows up and down the street and the smell of pizza, another time honored holiday tradition at the Aldermans’, filled the house. Once everyone finished eating, they gathered around the tree to open presents. With their Mom back home, it was one of the happiest Christmas Eves that Ben and Casey could remember. Santa must have also been in a festive mood this year, because he was extra generous with his gifts. After the last package was opened, Ben and Casey cleaned up the wrapping papers, ribbons, and bows that littered the living room floor, and then hurried off to bed. Tomorrow was Christmas Day.

  In the morning, after a light breakfast, Charles and Ben loaded the Honda with the luggage, presents, and food they were taking to George and Louise’s house. Jack Frost had come during the night and had painted everyone’s lawn a frosty white. It was much colder this morning and the sky was overcast as well.

  “I sure hope it doesn’t rain today,” Charles grumbled. “All we need is a little freezing rain while we are driving.”

  “That’s everything, Dad,” said Ben, stuffing the last piece of luggage into the car. They were only staying for two nights, but Casey had packed enough clothes for a week.<
br />
  “Go get your Mom and your sister. I’ll start the car and get it warmed up.”

  Fortunately, the rain Charles feared never materialized and, a couple of hours later, they pulled off a secondary road onto the gravel driveway of George and Louise’s farm. Apparently, Rebecca had arrived just moments before them; she and Joey were pulling bags of presents and dishes of food from the trunk of their car.

  “Do you guys need any help?” Charles asked, as he closed his car door and pressed the key fob to pop open the Honda’s trunk.

  “No,” Rebecca answered. “We just have this one bag and a couple of dishes.”

  “Hey, where’s Jenny?” asked Casey. “Is she inside?”

  “No, sweetie, Jenny was invited to eat Christmas dinner with her boyfriend and his family. They both will be coming by here later on this afternoon. She’s very anxious for you to meet him. Are you guys staying up for a while?”

  “We’re staying for a couple of days,” Carol answered.

  “Great! We’ll hit the mall tomorrow and get some after-Christmas shopping done.”

  “That sounds wonderful!”

  Inside, they found George relaxing in his recliner, while Louise was busy in the kitchen. He had cut down a slender cedar tree that was growing on his fence line in the back pasture, and had placed the tree in the corner of their small den. Louise had decorated it with lights; not the small modern twinkling lights, but the kind with the thick green cords and the big bulbs that glowed red, blue, green, and orange. The sweet aroma of the cedar tree was strong in the den, but Ben caught a whiff of the pan of dressing that Louise had just taken out of the oven and his stomach growled noisily.

  “Hey Grandpa!”

  “Hey sport! Come on in and close that door, it’s freezing outside!”

  The kids bustled into the den with their bags and placed the gifts under the tree. Carol and Rebecca took the food they had brought into the kitchen and began to help Louise with the meal. Charles picked a log out of the wood box on the hearth and placed it on the fire and then took a seat in the recliner beside his father to chat. While the two men talked, Ben, Casey, and Joey huddled close to the fire.

  “Can you believe it’s been six months since we’ve seen each other?” said Joey.

  “It feels like just yesterday,” Ben replied.

  “No, it feels like it’s been a million years,” said Casey.

  Ben rolled his eyes. “Hey, I’ve got an idea; let’s go see our goats!”

  “I’ll bet they are all grown up now.”

  “I know, but I still want to see them. Dinner won’t be ready for a little while, come on!”

  Louise had fed the goats earlier, so they were all up at the goat house munching on tender green bats of alfalfa hay. The kids entered the goat house through the side door and looked over the half wall, into the large stall, where the goats were busy eating. The goats had, in fact, grown much over the past six months, but Ben and Casey recognized Arnold and Tink immediately. Standing there in the barn, they told Joey about their recent adventure in Camelot.

  “Holy cow, Ben, you are one tough dude,” said Joey, with open admiration.

  “Ah,” Ben stammered as his ears began to heat up and turn red. “I didn’t really do anything.”

  “Yes you did,” said Casey. “You’re quite the hero in Camelot.”

  “Whatever. Come on; let’s get back down to the house. I’ll bet everyone is ready to eat by now.”

  On their way back to the gate, Casey was still rattling on to Joey about their recent adventures, while Ben followed along quietly behind them. Some movement in his peripheral vision caught his attention and he stopped to look across the pasture. He studied the dark green pines growing on the other side of the field. There it was again. He held his breath and his heart sped up. There! There was another one!

  “IT’S SNOWING!!!”

  The kids raced back to the house. By the time they reached the steps it was no longer spitting snow, but it was coming down steadily in big, soft, feathery flakes. Ben burst through the door with Casey and Joey right behind him. “Hey everyone, come look outside! It’s snowing!”

  George, Louise, Charles, Carol, and Rebecca hurried out onto the porch. The snow had intensified even more and was now coming down so thick that they could no longer see the goat house up in the pasture.

  “Oh my,” said Louise, “a white Christmas.”

  “It’s beautiful,” said Carol, snuggling up to Charles.

  “Yes it is,” Louise agreed, “and it’s time to eat too! Come, we have the table set and I’m hungry!”

  “Me too,” said Ben. “I can’t wait to eat some turkey.”

  “Ummm, I afraid we’re not having turkey this year, sweetheart.”

  “No turkey? Did you bake a ham?”

  “No, dear, I sent George to town to get a turkey, but he came home with something else.”

  “What?”

  “A goose!” said George. “A big fat Christmas goose. I haven’t had one since I was a little boy. You are in for some good eating.”

  “Oh no, Déjà vu,” Casey moaned.

  “Ha,” said Ben, with a smile. “Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas, everyone!”

  THE END

  *****

  BOOKS IN THIS SERIES

  THE THIRTEENTH UNICORN

  Book #1 in the Ben Alderman Series

  While spending the summer with their grandparents on a remote farm in South Carolina, Ben Alderman and his sister Casey uncover a hidden world of magic; a world their grandmother is secretly visiting. It is a world where elves and dwarves are locked in mortal combat against a witch who is trying to free the last surviving wizard from exile. The witch has been defeated once before but with the combined power of the wizard, no one will be able to stand against them. Much to Ben's dismay, he learns that he is the one foretold in the ancient elfin prophecies to bring about the downfall of the witch and save this exciting new world from destruction.

  THE BLACK DRAGON

  Book #2 in the Ben Alderman Series

  With the witch defeated, the elves begin preparations to once again take up their vigil, guarding a black dragon from Crag named Zoltan. Merlin's last enchantment has kept the dragon asleep for centuries, but when Gabriel brings Hob along to inspect the dragon, the bumbling dwarf finds Merlin's staff and accidentally breaks the enchantment. Gabriel and Hob escape from the dragon into a cave that leads them into Kahzidar; the dreaded gnome mines, where they are captured by the mad gnome king Ringwald Stonebreaker. Ben, Casey, and their Grandma must join forces once again with Amos, the shape shifter, to save Camelot from the dragon that's bent on destroying it. But first, they must rescue their friends from Kahzidar

  THE FINAL PROPHECY

  Book #3 in the Ben Alderman Series

  It's spring break and a visit to the Alderman farm leads to another exciting adventure in Camelot. Marcus, the elfin mage known as the Keeper, has been captured by Bellator, the mightiest of the twelve Immortals. Bellator is holding Marcus for ransom until Excalibur, the sword blessed by the Creator, is returned to him, but no one knows where the sword is located. Was the final prophecy of Venus given to provide hope in times of darkness or was it intended as a warning? Is Ben really the chosen one? Will he save Camelot... or destroy it?

  A NOTE TO THE READER

  Thank you for reading The Black Dragon, I truly hope you enjoyed the story! If you want to find out if Ben is the chosen one, or if you want to find out what those charms on Casey’s bracelet do, then you’ll have to get the next book; The Final Prophecy.

  Now, may I ask a favor of you? If you would like to help me out, here are some things you can do…

  1)Be sure to rate the books and leave a review. Reviews help other readers decide whether or not to give a book a chance.

  2)If you have an account on www.goodreads.com, look up W. D. Newman and become a fan; it’s a great promotional tool.

  3)If you ha
ve a Facebook account, look up The Black Dragon and “like” the page.

  4)Tell your friends about these books! Nothing encourages an author more than a lot of happy readers.

  Lastly, I hope you will continue the adventure with Ben and Casey in book three, The Final Prophecy.

  Sincerely,

  W.D. Newman.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  W. D. Newman is the penname for William Dale Porter. Dale and family live on a farm that is located in a small valley in the beautiful lake and mountain county of Pickens, South Carolina.