by R. G. Porter
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Tease Publishing LLC
www.teasepublishingllc.com
Copyright ©2010 by RG Porter
First published in 2010, 2010
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NOTICE: This work is copyrighted. It is licensed only for use by the original purchaser. Making copies of this work or distributing it to any unauthorized person by any means, including without limit email, floppy disk, file transfer, paper print out, or any other method constitutes a violation of International copyright law and subjects the violator to severe fines or imprisonment.
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER: 1
CHAPTER: 2
CHAPTER: 3
CHAPTER: 4
CHAPTER: 5
CHAPTER: 6
CHAPTER: 7
CHAPTER: 8
CHAPTER: 9
CHAPTER: 10
CHAPTER: 11
CHAPTER: 12
CHAPTER: 13
CHAPTER: 14
CHAPTER: 15
Look for these titles:
About Robyn Wren
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Curse of Innock
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Dragon Legacy
Book 1
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R.G. Porter
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TEASE PUBLISHING
www.teasepublishingllc.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Curse of the Innock: Dragon Legacy Book 1
A Tease Publishing Book/E book
Copyright(C) 2010 R.G. Porter
ISBN: 978-1-60767-104-6
Cover Artist: Amanda
Interior text design: Tonya Nagle
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
Tease Publishing LLC
www.teasepublishingllc.com
PO BOX 234
Swansboro, North Carolina 28584-0234
Tease and the T logo is Tease Publishing LLC. All rights reserved.
CHAPTER: 1
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Gabriel's eyes shot open. Red and black hues filled his vision in a rush of color. High pitched screams sliced through his mind like a knife. The smell of smoke and sulfur engulfed his senses, his stomach churning in disgust. Try as he might Gabriel couldn't place where he was, nothing around him looked familiar. His memory felt blank, as if wiped clean of all he knew, yet the one thing that kept filling his vision was the sight of a wheel turning backwards. It made no sense but the vision wouldn't go away. There was an ominous feel to the turning of the wooden wheel. Suspended in time he felt like it called to him, warned him of something. Still, he found no answers in its movement, no words to tell him where he was or why, just a black void that surrounded his mind. He tried to step forward but his body felt heavy, his muscles unwilling to listen to his commands. Cries of frustration ripped from his throat as he continued to try and force movement throughout his limbs. Gabriel closed his eyes, forcing his body to comply, determined to make some progress.
The moment his foot moved forward, shadows crossed his mind; a roar of thunder filling his ears. Gabriel's eyelids closed in protest. The wave of pain eased and he cracked his lids open once more, his mind determined to find out where he was. What he saw shocked him to his core. Broken trees and mist covered mountains surrounded the area; the ground appeared ashen as if scorched by flames. It didn't feel as if there was even a light breeze in the area, though he could hear the remaining leaves in the trees rustle in movement. Something was near him, a presence he couldn't place, yet no matter where he looked he found nothing. Scents of sulfur and charred wood filled his nostrils. Gabriel turned to his left. There had to be a reason for why he was here. This was not his home that much he knew. There was nothing familiar about this place, not to mention all life appeared to have been removed long ago. How had he gotten here? Each step he took shook the ground as he walked, crumbling the earth into dust. It was as if the whole area had been burnt to a crisp. Had there been a wildfire that had ravaged the lands? Gabriel found the notion hard to grasp, not with the magnitude of the destruction he saw. If such a thing had occurred he would have remembered, the history books would have recorded it of that he was sure of it. No, there had to be something more to this. His skin prickled with uneasiness. His surroundings felt strange, even the air had a sense of unease. There was an unnatural feel about this place. Why couldn't he remember where he was?
With every step he took the air swirled around him in a thick cocoon of dust. His body felt like lead, and his head pounded with the echoes of a thousand sounds all going off at once. He couldn't tell if they were voices of those he knew or not. He felt distracted, his concentration not what it should be. The heaviness that moved through his body bothered him, his mind a haze of chaotic thoughts that made no sense. His mind raced for answers while his pulse hammered with hunger. It felt as if he'd not eaten for years, his stomach convulsing in protest. Every part of his body felt as if he'd been through a battle, his muscles burning as if on fire. Gabriel shook his head to clear the cobwebs that covered his mind. He needed to focus and figure out what was going on, to find out where he was and how to get out of it. Gabriel searched his memory for anything, desperate to remember what had happened last. Nothing but that persistent black void stared back. He tried to push past the blackness and came into contact with a hard wall. Had he been killed? No... pain rushed through him with every movement he made. It was a clear indication he was very much alive.
"This isn't natural.” His voice felt hoarse as the words ripped from his throat. Waves of nausea washed through him. “This place can't be real.” Nothing felt solid about this place he'd woken in.
"It is natural, or was at one time, it's just not what you are used to or what you expected to see.” An unfamiliar voice stopped Gabriel in his tracks, his body twisted around to locate the source. His gaze came to rest on an older woman, her jet black hair twisted up on top of her head in an intricate design. “This land used to be quite beautiful long ago."
Gabriel's eyes drifted across the area, the remnants of the land littered with dead trees and withered fields. “I'll have to take your word for it. From what I can tell there is no life left here.” He couldn't even tell what the place might have looked like when it had been alive; the shell of what remained slowly fading into the past. “What happened here anyway?"
"Ah, that is a long story.” The sadness in her voice drew his attention. Her large dove eyes held knowledge and pain he couldn't fathom. “There is much you do not know Gabriel, many things that have been awoken that have lain dormant for far too long. There is a time of change coming, one which has long been foretold. This is but the beginning."
"I don't understand. What has been woken?” None of it made sense to him.
The woman's hand rose to hush his words, her body ethereal as she moved about the area. “You will find the truth as you fully wake to who you are.” He could hear her voice echo both around him and inside his mind, reverberating with every syllable she uttered. There was a shift in the area with each step she took, the ground welcoming her touch. “There is great deception and evil on the road before you, be wary of those you will see. The past you've left is only the beginning; your true path still lies before you."
Fragments of memories whirled before his eyes.
So much that pain exploded in his veins, the force more than he could handle. Gabriel found himself on his knees. Try as he might to rise he couldn't. Another rush of pain caused him to double over, his mind filled with visions of fire and death. In the chaos screams of the innocent echoed through his mind. Images of a village littered with people rushed through his memory, women and children running in fear from a hoard of miss-shaped creatures and a dark cloud rushed through their town. Another jolt rocked through his body as more visions replaced the first. The people he'd first observed now held still on the ground, their eyes vacant of life. In the middle of the village a large statue stood erect, the carving so detailed that Gabriel had to rub his eyes, stunned at the intricacy of its designs. Each carving he knew held special meaning, symbolized things he didn't understand. His gaze came to rest on the main carving a large beast wrapped around the pole. The moment his mind recognized what it was another wave of pain rocked through his mind, which set his body rocking with fiery heat.
"Do not force the visions."
His hands gripped the sides of his head to stave off the pounding in his mind. “Why are you showing me these things?” Gabriel was starting to think he was going insane.
"I am showing you nothing. These are available to you; your soul chooses to see them. You will not understand it all this soon, your mind cannot handle it this early. Eventually it will all make sense, just do not rush it.” Before he could ask more the woman's figure dissolved into mist and vanished into the darkness.
This was not what he needed. He still didn't know where he was. Gabriel turned to head in the direction the woman had gone only to find darkness in place of the destruction he'd seen. His hand reached out searching for something to grab hold of but found only emptiness. Turning back, Gabriel began to head back in the direction he'd come only to find that the world he'd woken in was gone. In the moment that the woman had left everything he'd been surrounded by had gone with her leaving him stranded in nothing but a void of darkness. Gabriel tried to move but found he couldn't, it was as if a vice had been wrapped around his body securing him where he stood. In the distance he could hear the sound of eerie laughter taunting him to move. As it got closer red eyes formed all around him, a coldness unlike anything he'd felt before working its way into his bones. Before he could say another word he felt unconsciousness weave a cocoon around him sealing him in its embrace.
Gabriel where are you? A soft voice echoed in his mind, the warmth spreading across his soul. His body shook at the sound. He knew that voice. His mind reached out for the source, to find the owner. The sound eased the emptiness that filled him, removing the cold he'd felt earlier. Find me Gabriel, please. I'm lost without you. You promised you'd never stop looking for me. Please find me. Urgency laced her words. Why was she so familiar? Gabriel's head pounded as his mind raced for answers. Was he dreaming? Where was he? His body felt like lead, the darkness that surrounded him a constant weight that held him at bay.
"It's time mortal.” A crack of thunder broke through the haze of his dream, waking him from his deep slumber. Curiosity replaced the hesitation when he felt the heaviness lift from his body. Gabriel tested his sight as he opened one eye first then the other, the warm glow of the fire light bright compared to the darkness he'd been trapped in. Nothing about the area looked familiar, the smooth walls of the cave foreign to him.
"Where am I?” His voice sounded rough to even his own ears, hoarse as if he'd never spoken.
"I have little time to deal with you mortal so I will make this brief.” Annoyance laced the stranger's voice, a clear indication it was not pleased to be here. “You are in a cave that will end up becoming very familiar to you. I suggest you learn your bearings quickly."
"A cave, what about my home?"
"No questions yet... there is much we need to go over.” Gabriel's gaze drifted to the stranger as his vision finally began to grow stronger. Repulsion coiled in his stomach as the creature's features became clearer to him. Haphazard memories flooded his mind, his body going numb. Innok. Danielle. Elroy. Oh God.
"Danielle. Where is she?” He needed to find her.
"You don't listen very well, do you? If you wish to survive you must heed what I say. Now where was I? Oh yes. Remember the cave. It will keep you safe. Now."
Gabriel's palm held tight to the side of the cave. “I want to know where Danielle is.” He didn't care about anything else. He had to find her. The fog that continued to plague his memory worried him.
"Fine, if I promise to take you to her when I'm done talking will you shut up and listen?” What could Gabriel say? He wanted more than anything to go to Danielle and if listening to this thing would allow him that then what could he lose?
"Say your peace demon.” Resting his back against the inner wall Gabriel allowed his mind to fill with visions of Danielle. The cool rock helped ease the heat of his skin. His arm still felt sluggish from lack of movement as he attempted to raise it up to knead the back of his neck. He prayed he could find Danielle, to see her flame red hair blowing in the wind while her laughter surrounded him. Never had he needed to hold her as much as he did right now.
A loud grunt interrupted his thoughts. “Then listen mortal and stop day dreaming.” He couldn't miss the annoyance in the demon's voice. It didn't like being here any more than he wanted him around. What was worse is that he'd allowed the creature to notice his lack of attention. He would have to be more careful in the future.
"What then, and be quick about it.” Gabriel's patience had been lost long ago. He had a few things to take care of, one of which was dealing with Lord Elroy.
"As I said earlier, you need to remember this cave; it is your safe haven during the day. Be mindful of humans while you are not yourself. If you are followed you will need to make your way back to this place.” Why would anyone try to harm him? The question lingered in the air as he tilted his head toward the demon, his eyes searching out the truth. Soulless eyes stared back.
"Why?"
"Have you forgotten already?"
"What are you talking about?” His hand raised to his head, the pounding increased with each breath. If Gabriel hadn't known better he could have sworn he'd spent the night drinking.
The demon's lips curled in a smile that Gabriel knew was anything but kind. “Because mortal. By day you are the Black Dragon Arusa.” Fear and remembrance slammed into him. “Ah yes you are beginning to recall the change. It was not a dream but reality. You will go through that every rise of the sun. The beast will take over. You will no longer function as Gabriel, but hunger as the Dragon."
"No.” Defiance pulsed through his blood. Sporadic images raced through his mind. A large black dragon, its eyes the color of emeralds stared back at him. How could this be? Why couldn't he remember what had happened?
"Your memory will return but for now you will have to heed my words."
"How can I trust you? You aren't even mortal. You could easily have taken my memories and implanted this in its place."
The laughter he heard next confirmed his fears. The demon had no need to lie; the truth was far more frightening. “You have no choice. The curse was cast and cannot be broke at your whim. The dragon will fly by day. You cannot control the dragon. You will kill and you will remember.” Laughter honed through hell erupted from the demon's lips. “It shall be fun to watch your agony each moon rise mortal, to see the anguish you feel at the knowledge of the lives you have taken."
"I'll kill myself first.” No way would he let the beast inside kill an innocent. Not if he could stop it.
"You can't. The Dragon is immortal and as such so are you. Now, I promised to take you to your ‘woman’ so..."
"Wait. You said I couldn't kill myself yet earlier you said I could be harmed.” Gabriel watched as the demon hesitated caught in his own omission.
"That I did. You can be harmed, you can feel pain, but you cannot die due to the blood of the dragon that runs through your veins.” Gabriel waited but nothing more came f
rom the minion's lips.
"Tell me."
"No.” In a blink of an eye Gabriel found the world spinning in a whirl of grey and black. Space and time stopped ‘til he found his hand rested on top of a grave marker next to an old oak tree. It took a few minutes for his vision to adjust to the change in the light. The moment his head turned to what his hand rested on his heart stopped. He knew the words he read would be burned into his memory for the rest of his life.
Danielle Salis
Beloved daughter taken too soon
Born December 10 1025 Died May 20 1048
A roar of anger burst through his throat as he fell to his knees. His arms wrapped around the stone. He felt the marker give way only to crumble beneath his fingers. Confusion moved through his mind.
"What is wrong with the stone? Didn't they feel she was worthy of a proper burial marker?” His fury ran hot. He couldn't believe her family would be so cruel as to let her have such a shameful headstone.
"Ah. I see I forgot to mention one more thing."
Gabriel rose, anger tightening in his stomach. “What could you possibly forget to mention this time demon?” Unsure how much more he could take, Gabriel stilled his mind for the next blow.
"Well when you were first cursed Innok felt it was best to make you sleep for a while. He felt you needed time to allow your need for revenge to cool some.” Sleep? He knew he'd felt tired but it couldn't have been for too long. Could it?
His body shifted toward his enemy, his heart hardened. “How long demon?"
"Are you sure you want to know?” Now the thing was toying with him, the smirk that trickled across its face a clear sign of challenge.
"Do you really wish to test me?” Gabriel had had enough. Nothing mattered in life anymore. They'd taken the one thing he'd loved and killed it. All that was left was revenge.
"Fine, you're no fun.” Just when he'd thought he'd have to ring the demon's neck for the answer it jumped to the nearest branch, spinning as it went. “You've been asleep for nearly fifty years I would say. Everyone you knew and loved are dead mortal. Well, all except for Elroy. The arrogant fool couldn't shut his mouth. He was cursed as well, never to die. So you can't kill him either."
