A Shadow Flame (Book 7)

by Jordan Baker

  "I miss him too," Tash said as she shifted her form.

  "There are many things I don't understand, Tash," Lexi said. "I don't have the right words to explain it, but I do miss him."

  "Well, maybe he will come back someday," Tash said.

  "Brian and Carly said they could not feel him anywhere, and the mages used their magic and there was nothing."

  "Kasha says she can feel him," Tash told her, using her other name, since there were no other Ansari around to scold her for it. "I can feel him too. I can tell that he is very far away, but it somehow feels like he is also very close."

  "How can you feel him?" Lexi asked.

  "I am Ansari," Tash said. "That is what we do, we see things and seek the truth."

  "I wish I could feel things the way you do," Lexi said.

  "You must come see Ashan," Tash said. "Maybe he can teach you."

  "I am not very good at learning," Lexi said. "And Ashan says I already know more than I should, and I don't understand what he means by that."

  "I will ask him," Tash said. "He likes to say things in riddles."

  "It makes me mad when he does that."

  "And it isn't wise to make a dragon mad," Tash said. "Especially when they're already completely mad before you even begin!"

  "That isn't funny," Lexi said, for she had learned a lot about the dragons, and she knew that it was the greatest danger for them.

  There was a faint sound in the trees, and both Tash and Lexi froze.

  "Tash, get behind me," Lexi said in a low voice as she drew her sword.

  "I can fight," Tash whispered.

  "I know you can," she said. "But I promised Kasha to keep you out of trouble."

  Lexi disappeared in a flash of crackling energy, and Tash quickly put her foot down on some dried grass that began to smoke and she stamped it out before it caught fire. A short ways through the trees, Lexi pressed her sword up against the throat of a scrawny Darga, as she held him against the thick trunk of a tree with her free hand, her sharp nails digging into his chest. She was surprised when she noticed how weak a creature he was, and that he carried no weapon and was barely a threat, that he should have dared to try to sneak up on her.

  "What are you doing here?" she growled.

  "Please," he rasped. "I not want to fight."

  "What do you want?" Lexi pressed her sword against his throat a little harder.

  "A message for the queen," he said. "Darga want know when she will come?"

  "The queen is dead," Lexi told him as she tossed him to the ground. "I killed her myself."

  The Darga coughed as he pushed himself to his feet.

  "Yes," he said. "You are Lexi of Xalla, ruler of Xalla and leader of Darga tribes. Our queen."

  "I am your queen?"

  "Darga wait your coming," he said. "Darga keep Xalla safe for queen but there are troubles."

  "Go home, Darga," Lexi told him. "You will be waiting a long time."

  "As you command, highness," he said, giving her a deep bow that looked like something he had practiced. "Darga will wait."

  "And tell all Darga never to come to this place ever again," she growled.

  "Yes, highness," he said with a frown, then he turned and disappeared through the trees.

  Lexi began making her way back toward the rock where she had left Tash, but the young Ansari was already standing behind a tree nearby, and it was obvious that she had witnessed some if not all of the conversation with the Darga.

  "Queen Lexi?" she gasped. "The Darga think you are their queen?"

  "I am not their queen," Lexi said.

  "Maybe you would make a good queen," Tash suggested.

  "That's what those dragons say all the time and I know what they want."

  "The dragons?"

  "The drakes," Lexi said.

  "What do they want?"

  "I don't want to talk about it, Tash."

  "I know about those things, you know," she said.

  "Then you know why I don't want to talk about it," Lexi replied.

  "Do you want to go to Maramyr and visit Ariana and the hatchlings?"

  "Yes, we should go there anyway because she wants me to burn some more of those swords," Lexi said. "But you have to promise me you won't tell her about the Darga."

  "I make no promises and you know I will tell the truth," Tash said, doing her best to keep her expression serious, despite the mischievous look in her eyes.

  "Fine then we don't have to go there," Lexi said.

  "Well, I could just fly there right now," Tash said.

  "Then let me tell her," Lexi pleaded. "I should be the one. It's embarrassing."

  "All right, I will let you tell her," Tash said, then she leapt into the air and shifted to a kestrel, one of her favorite forms. "But only if you get there first."

  Lexi shook her head at how silly Tash was, thinking that she could fly faster than her, then she laughed precisely because Tash was silly and she was that way on purpose, which was a trait she seemed to have picked up from the thief named Jax. With a sigh, Lexi took another look around, then in a blinding flash she shot into the sky. Upon the rock in the forest, the faint outline of two people wavered in the air while they watched as the powerful blue dragon soared over the hills and the trees, leaving the tiny clearing behind.

  #

  NOTES

  'A Shadow Flame' is the seventh and final novel of the 'Book of One' series. In addition to several standalone novels that are planned for the same world as the 'Book of One', a new series by Jordan Baker will be announced in early 2015.

  Follow Jordan Baker at Amazon's Author Central:

  http://www.amazon.com/Jordan-Baker/e/B00CF9YWR6/

  Or

  Visit Electrum Books for periodic updates and information

  http://www.electrumbooks.com

  Thank you for supporting the 'Book of One' series and the writing of Independent Authors. Please encourage others to read and promote new authors as well.

  LEGEND - THE BOOK OF ONE

  PERSONS

  Aaron Coromay - a young warrior plagued by mysterious magical headaches

  Aria - (deceased) Princess of Elvanar, House of Solari, Queen of Maramyr, mother of Ariana

  Ariana of Maramyr - House of Coromyr, Princess and heir to the throne. Half human, half elf and has magical talent.

  Berant - Lord, lesser noble of House of Belamyr

  Borrican Akandar - Prince of Kandara, second son of King Eric.

  Borric Akandar - Duke of Kandara

  Brian (of Ashford) - boyhood friend to Aaron

  Calexis of Xalla, Queen of Xalla and Empress of Xallan Empire

  Calthas - a mage of Maramyr, tutor to Ariana

  Carlis - Lord and Magistrate to the Court of Maramyr, Captain of the Al-Andor

  Cerric Coromyr - Regent of Maramyr, King of Maramyr, uncle to Ariana

  Crag Avandra - a drake of the line of the Avandra

  Coraline - mage of the priesthood

  Dakar - mage of the priesthood, first disciple of the one god

  Dash Larian - former assassin, protector of the Maramyrian throne

  Diller - Brian of Ashford's younger brother

  Draxis - half-Darga Prince of Xalla, son of Calexis

  Elric Akandar - Prince of Kandara, first son of King Eric, heir to the throne

  Erik Akandar - King of Kandara

  Ehlena Al-Aran Valamyr - heir to the House of Valamyr, and birth daughter of King Toren Al-Aran of Aghlar

  Elaine Valamyr - Lady Duchess and Princess of House of Valamyr

  Elara Valamyr - (deceased) Lady Duchess and Princess of House of Valamyr

  Gregor of Maramyr - (deceased) House of Coromyr, King and mage, father of Ariana.

  Jax Larian - a thief and Ranger

  Kaleb Alaran - Lord of White Falls, Maramyrian military commander

  Kaledra, Duke of Eastern Kandara

  Kasha - Ansari warrior

  Kaz Vakandra - younger line, cadet branch of Akandra<
br />
  Keira - Ranger of Elvanar, member of the Queens' Guard

  Kiva Vaalandra - drake of cadet branch of Alandra

  Lexi - half-Darga, Princess of Xalla, daughter of Calexis

  Matthias - brother to King Toren, adopted father of Ehlena

  Margo - Ranger of Kandara

  Manfred - Baron of Kellern - minor noble

  Milli - Innkeeper at Rivergate

  Mirdel - Duke, house of Daramyr, landholder

  Nathas - Senior Captain of Maramyrian Academy, Ranger, Maramyrian commander

  Petra - an elven healer

  Quenta - Prince of Elvanar - House of Solari, son of Laurana, Queen of the Elves

  Raz Vakandra - younger line, cadet branch of Akandra

  Rene - an elven healer

  Rolan - member of the Elven Court, and speaker

  Shadar - mage priest of Xalla

  Stavros - the last Head of the Council of Mages, and twin brother to Tarnath

  Storm Akendra - drake of the line of Akendra, cadet branch of Akandra

  Talon Akandra - legendary dragon, founder of the Dragon Throne of Kandara

  Tarnath Coromay - Aaron's uncle, former Armsmaster of Maramyr, granted title as a lesser branch of the House of Coromyr

  Tash, a young Ansari

  Toren Al-Aran, King of Aghlar, Captain of the Al-Dea

  Vale Aledra - wyvern of dragon line of Aledra

  Vana Aledra - wyvern, queen of the Aledra line

  Yanick - mage priest

  Willem - a mage of Maramyr

  Zachary - former Head of the Council of Mages

  PEOPLES

  Aghlar - seafaring people of the southwest

  Ansari - the ancients of the desert, an elder people though not a race

  Bashane - the people of the desert, who are not of the Ansari

  Darga - lizard people of the northeast

  Dragons - creatures of the northern wastes

  Elves - forest people of the west

  Kandarans - the people of the mountain lands to the north

  Maramyrians - inland people, in the land of lakes and rivers

  Mistrani - lost tribe of Ansara, seers of the past

  Maerans - pirate people of Meer Island

  Xallans - people of the east

  Table of Contents

  COPYRIGHT

  PROLOGUE

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  EPILOGUE

  NOTES

  LEGEND - THE BOOK OF ONEPERSONSAaron Coromay