Dragon's Trail

by Joseph Malik

  “I still can’t believe you didn’t,” said Jarrod. “Come on. Let’s go home.”

  Carter looked out at the valley, the sunset, and the retreating soldiers. “I am home.”

  Jarrod watched them go.

  “Me, too,” he said.

  XIII

  CODA

  “Only a warrior chooses pacifism; all others are condemned to it.”

  — Unknown

  Jarrod stood with his back to Wild River Reach, enraptured by the sea.

  It had been sixteen days.

  Thunderous breakers pummeled the rocks in slow motion far below, smashing and whirling gray and white against a dozen jagged islands in the bay. Across the water, the sun hurled the last of its colors against the far side of the mountainous backbone of Ice Isle as the great ringed moon, half-hidden by the sea, prepared to shoulder its burden in the final gasp of the day.

  Every now and again a breaker would hit the rocks just right, fluming spray like scattered jewels in the sunset.

  “Not bad,” Jarrod said. “Not bad at all.”

  There were issues. The Reach was the size of Long Island, bordered by the Wilds to the north, with a dozen isolated villages and two small towns, plus the City of the Reach itself. From what he’d seen, it was a land as rugged and sheer as Patagonia: jagged sheer mountains, sparse forests, swaths of tundra. Not that he’d have much time for exploring. As Lord of Wild River Reach he was in for endless afternoons of listening to squabbles and disputes from every corner when he was here, and long days saving the rest of the world when he wasn’t.

  Saril, Bevio, and Peric, newly knighted, would be here in a couple of weeks, with Saril as Lord’s Chancellor and Peric as captain of the guard. They would be bringing a contingent of knights and Gateskeep soldiers to oversee the shift in management as the Hillwhites and their mercenaries left the Reach. The three would carry the load when Jarrod was away at court.

  The mine was the central source for Gateskeep’s silver coinage. Security couldn’t be overstressed. Theft was a problem. Smuggling was a problem. Taxes were a problem. One corner or another of the castle was always in disrepair from the constant jarring of the surf, which Jarrod could feel through his boots even up here. It was four days’ hard ride to the City of the Gate, where he now had a High Council seat and the title of Lord Protector. He’d be spending half his time at the palace at Gateskeep, and the commute was going to be a bitch.

  It was an easy ride to Regoth Ur, though, where Carter and Daorah had taken over the breeding operation for the king’s pegasi; another Hillwhite project left orphaned. Of course they’d jumped on it.

  Carter promised to visit The Reach regularly. His schedule, when not at court, would be considerably less hectic.

  Nothing was perfect.

  The view from this balcony, though, was pretty damned close.

  Jarrod’s hand rested on the hilt of his rapier, his other arm around Karra's waist. The chill and the damp didn't seem to bother her.

  Brandt Buxton would get all his students, for good. He’d miss some of them.

  He could travel home, but he’d never have the chance to stage a great comeback, to crawl out of the hole he’d dug for himself after Paris.

  He’d miss that, too.

  Karra’s hand tightened on his arm as the last of the sunlight fell behind Ice Isle.

  “Are there enough trees here for you?” he asked her.

  “No,” she said, and kissed him, tugging his lower lip gently between her fangs. “But the forests will wait.”

  He was eager to see the night.

  FINÉ

  If you enjoyed DRAGON’S TRAIL, please leave a review at your preferred retailer or Goodreads.

  Book II, THE NEW MAGIC, is scheduled for release in fall 2017.

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  Map: The Western World

  Glossary and

  Cast of Minor

  Characters

  Adielle: Princess Adielle Riongoran-Thurdin, eldest child of the royal family, ruler of Falconsrealm and heir to the throne of Gateskeep.

  Akiel: Prince Akiel of Corimann, a prince of the Faerie.

  Albar Hillwhite: Eldest son of the patrician, ore-baron Hillwhite family. Betrothed to Adielle.

  Axe Valley: One of two passages into Gateskeep from the Shieldlands, and vice versa. Often a battle site between Gateskeep and Gavria. See map.

  Damon Riongoran-Thurdin: Youngest member of the immediate royal family, second in line for the throne of Gateskeep.

  Eastern Freehold: Furthest east nation, with easy passage through Ulorak.

  Edwin Hillwhite: Brother to Albar. Duke of Horlech. See map.

  Faerie: Northeastern neighbors.

  Falconsrealm: Gateskeep’s largest territory, a mountainous region traditionally ruled by the heir to the throne of Gateskeep.

  Gateskeep: Northwestern country that includes Gateskeep, Falconsrealm, Ice Isle, and The Shieldlands. See map.

  Gavria: The nation south of Gateskeep. See map.

  Gbatu: Collectively, all the races and tribes of subhumans. There are over a hundred subspecies of gbatu. The most common species range from three to four feet in height and are lightly-furred, tool-using, and intelligent. They live in tribes which consider themselves to be at war with every other species in the realm, including each other.

  Greatsword: A large war sword. Typically wielded two-handed but balanced for one-hand use. A late 14th-Century greatsword is Carter Sorenson’s weapon of choice. A smaller, earlier version, the gran espée de guerre, is Jarrod’s.

  Guard’s sword: The only heavy swords allowed to be worn within castle walls in Gateskeep, except by royalty, knights, and riders. Uniform in design with a heavy iron blade, steel edges, and a simple hilt.

  Ice Isle: Gateskeep’s northern principality and northernmost territory. Ruled by the second heir to the throne, Prince Damon Riongoran-Thurdin. See map.

  Javal: Knight Captain Sir Javal Riongoran-Thurdin of Ravenhurst Keep. Mentor to Jarrod Torrealday and cousin to Princess Adielle Riongoran-Thurdin and Prince Damon Riongoran-Thurdin. Orphaned by the battlefield loss of his father Duke Brannon Riongoran-Thurdin, Javal was raised by Lord Nor of Ravenhurst.

  Loth of Hwarthar: General and Warlord of Gavria. He slew Javal’s father at Axe Valley.

  Rider: In Gateskeep and Falconsrealm, a title below true knight, merited by skill at arms or exceptional performance in combat. A rider will rise in social standing upon attaining knighthood. Knights often refer to each other as “rider” as a term of respect.

  Rorthos Riongoran-Thurdin: King of Gateskeep.

  Saxe: A cleaver-like, single-edged shortsword. Used primarily in the Shieldlands of Gateskeep.

  Sheth: Colloquial name for a giant variety of gbatu.

  Shieldlands: Southern territory of Gateskeep. See map.

  Ulorak: A Gavrian territory and trading crossroads with the Eastern Freehold, Ulorak was originally a commonwealth of Gavria, though it was claimed by the Eastern Freehold once it fell into disrepair after the death of Sabbaghian the Black. Ulorak became sovereign under King Ulo Sabbaghian, and then became a Gavrian territory once again when King Ulo accepted appointment as Lord High Sorcerer of Gavria. See map.

  Acknowledgments

  This book would not have been possible without a great many people.

  First and foremost, I want to thank whatever gods are responsible for giving me one of the world’s greatest living swordsmiths as my brother and long-time sparring partner: Michael “Tinker” Pearce.

  I owe an immense debt of gratitude to SGM (ret.) Michael Jarnevic, whose ruthless and inexhaustible red pen—immortalized in the sleeve of his service uniform at the Indiana Military Museum—did more for my writing mechanics than anything in the 10 years prior. It was SGM Mike who kicked me in the ass to put my stuff out there: “There’s n
o shame in being a failed writer, Joe.”

  Monique Fischer, my editor, put her fist out and tagged in as my composition coach and stylistic sparring partner, taking up where SGM Mike left off. Monique has a unique gift for calling me on my bullshit without screwing with my voice, and this book would not be what it is without her.

  My graphics team, Lynn Stevenson and West Coast Design, crafted the cover.

  I’d like to thank the incomparable Tiana Warner for her encouragement and for writing one hell of a book on self-publishing. Get it.

  Thank you to my beta readers, too numerous to mention.

  Thank you to Badger, the Keeper of Stories.

  This book wouldn’t be here at all, and neither would I, if not for one of the finest professional soldiers I’ve ever known, who fought to keep me alive long after he could have quit with no one thinking the less of him for it. I won’t embarrass him by naming him here; he’d tell you he was just doing his job. I found an old manuscript of Dragon’s Trail on a hard drive when I was in the hospital, so in a way, he’s responsible for this.

  I wrote the final version of Dragon’s Trail on a steady diet of Bulleit Rye, cheap Chinese food, late 50’s hard bop, and both volumes of Tom Waits’ The Early Years.