Through the Never: a Science Fiction and Fantasy Collection

by J. A. Culican

  “I didn’t know. I could hardly call it arrogance.”

  “I wasn’t referring to your knowledge of what we are; I was referring to you saying that we turn into humans. Only a human would say that. I do not consider myself human in any form. I am still a dragon.”

  “But you look and sound and act like a human.”

  “Maybe humans just look and act and sound like dragons when we are in this form? Have you ever thought about it like that?”

  “That’s a bit pedantic, don’t you think?”

  “Not if you are a dragon. It’s just how we think. I take it you’ve changed your mind about killing us all now that you know the truth.”

  “Of course. I never would have if I’d have known the truth.”

  “You are the exception to the rule then. Many humans still try to kill us even when they know the truth.”

  “I’m not one of them.”

  “So, I take it you’ll go home to wherever it is you came from, then, and not disturb us again?”

  I took a sip of the water. It was deliciously cold. I needed to get my sword but how could I tell him that? In doing so, he’d know it was me that blinded one of the dragons. And yet I couldn’t go without it. It was part of me.

  “I came from the wolfren village.”

  He sat forward in his chair.

  “You are with them? You are not one of them!”

  “No. You already know I’m human.”

  “I’m surprised. They like intruders even less than we do.”

  “They asked me to come and kill you in exchange for a place to stay. I have nowhere else to go.”

  “I can think of a million places I’d rather be than with that pack of dogs,” he spat.

  “They have been nice to me.”

  “Hmmm.” He didn’t sound as though he believed me.

  “Why do you fight them?”

  “Why does anybody fight anybody? This war has been going on since way before my time. It was to do with food originally. The wolves and the dragons both eat meat. With two groups of hunters, the forest soon became empty of other animals. If you’ve lived among the wolfren, you’d have seen it yourself.”

  “I have noticed. It’s very eerie.”

  “Not really. Just the other animals have been hunted to extinction in this particular place. It left us with only the wolfren to eat and they were left with only us to eat. It was a case of eat or be eaten.”

  “That sounds bad!”

  “Not so much anymore. We now fly to the other side of the mountains where there are wild deer and farm animals.”

  “The wolfren were eating something that wasn’t dragon.”

  “Yes, there are wild deer in the forest now, too. The wolves only need to travel a short distance deeper into the forest to find food nowadays. There is enough to go around.”

  “So, why are you still fighting?”

  “Much the same reason you still fight dragons. It is all we have ever known. Our feud is so old that I’m sure no one really remembers.”

  “So why don’t you stop?”

  “If it were only that easy. If we stop fighting, the wolfren will take it as a sign of weakness. They will come up here and kill us in our beds.”

  “Not if I told them not to.”

  “I’m surprised you have much sway with them. How long have you known them?”

  “A day.”

  “A day? A whole day.” He started to laugh. “You are either more stupid than you look or have a very strange idea of who the wolfren are.”

  “I’m not stupid. It doesn’t matter how long I’ve known them. They are fighting you for the same reason you are fighting them. That reason is nothing. You both have enough food. There is no reason to fight. It’s this whole war that is stupid, not me.”

  “Aye, perhaps you are right.”

  “I am right. They don’t want any of their people hurt or killed any more than you do.”

  “Maybe that’s so, but if you tell them to stop fighting just because we’ve decided to stop fighting, they will come up here and kill us all the same.”

  He had a point. I sipped my water and tried to come up with a plan that would work. Then it came to me.

  “What if I tell them that I’ve put a spell on you. Something that will stop you from being able to come into the forest. Some kind of force field. That would stop them.”

  “You can do magic?”

  “No, but they don’t know that.”

  He laughed again. My plan meant that I would have to lie to Alpha and the other wolfren, but if it meant saving their lives, I would do it.

  “It’s certainly an interesting concept. It would mean getting my people to agree.”

  “It would also mean that the wolfren would never come up here again and your people and Drake would finally be free as long as you keep to the other side of the mountain.”

  He mulled it over and then slowly nodded his head. He invited me to meet all the other dragons. His prospect made me nervous after everything I’d told him about being a slayer, but he was nice enough not to mention it.

  The afternoon went by in a whirl, but I knew I had to get back to Alpha and the others. They would be wondering where I was. The last thing I needed was a pack of wolves coming up the mountain to find me.

  I bade farewell and as I was leaving, Drake passed me my sword. I’d not even mentioned it. It was like he just knew it belonged to me. I ruffled his hair and made my way back down the mountain.

  Chapter 5

  The journey down the mountain was much easier than my journey up. It helped that the dragons had given me a bottle filled with water to quench my thirst and keep me going. I’d have to throw it away before I got to the wolfren village because I’d never be able to adequately explain it to Alpha, but that was fine. I only wanted the water anyway.

  With the weight of my sword firmly attached to my belt, I felt much better about everything. The last two days of my life had been quite the adventure and even though I couldn’t help but think of Xander and those I’d left behind, I knew that I needed to get away. Rocco had given me just the push I needed to break away from the village. Security was one thing, but I’d never grow as a person there. It was just too small.

  My thoughts crept to the dragons on the Triad Mountains. They were probably shifters too, locked in the same stupid, pointless war with the slayers, as the dragons and wolfren here. Fighting for the sake of fighting. I knew I’d have to go back and tell the people the truth one day, but with Xander’s young children at risk of being hurt by our indiscretions, that day would be a long way off. I only hoped they would find out themselves and then the ceaseless killing could finally stop. It wasn’t my war anymore. I was too busy ending this one. The shade of the trees was cooling and I was glad to be back amongst them. I drank the last of my water and hid the bottle behind a stone. I could have thrown it away, but a part of me knew it wouldn’t be the last time I’d visit the dragons, and maybe I’d need that bottle again someday. The trail back to the wolfren village was a clear path, probably used by the wolfren to hunt the dragons. I’d only been walking a few minutes before I heard his voice. Alpha was calling my name.

  “Alpha! I’m here,” I called back.

  He came crashing through the trees and when he saw me, he grabbed me roughly by my arms.

  “You’ve been gone so long. I thought the dragons had surely killed you!”

  I was just about to answer when he pressed his lips to mine, taking me by surprise.

  His kiss was forceful and almost violent and yet at that moment, it was just what I needed. I kissed him back, matching his passion and surprising myself at the same time. Two days ago, I wouldn’t have believed anyone who told me I’d be kissing someone other than Xander, much less enjoying it, and yet kissing Xander had never felt this right. Maybe because Xander was never really mine in the first place.

  The kissing was fierce and yet when he finally pulled away, he had nothing but tenderness in his eyes. He trul
y cared about me.

  “That was unexpected,” I finally managed to say once I’d gotten my breath back. We both broke out laughing.

  Of course, I’d seen him before and yet after our kiss, I really saw him. His eyes were beautiful. The light grey sparkled when the sun hit them. They were like mirrors and looking at him was almost like looking at myself. His hair was the same grey but with streaks of light brown and his body was to die for. How had I not noticed those muscles before?

  “You have the sword.”

  I held it up for him to see.

  “And you are not hurt?”

  “I’m fine. Not a scratch on me. The worst part was that I forgot to take water.”

  “You shouldn’t have gone without me. You could have been hurt.”

  “I could yes, but I told you I was a slayer. Slayers know how to defend themselves against dragons.”

  “So, I see.” He was impressed. I felt like a fraud.

  “You are truly a wonder. How many did you kill?”

  I swallowed. I didn’t like lying to him before that kiss, but now it felt even worse. The kiss had meant something and I knew I wanted more. And yet, not lying to him meant death, to the dragons, to the wolfren, maybe even to him. It was the only way.

  I took his hand and began to walk with him back to the wolfren village. Even though he must have known this forest like the back of his hand, it was me that led him along the path.

  “You told me that the dragons ate all the food,” I started, deliberately ignoring his last question. “Is that the full truth?”

  “We can find food. We don’t have to eat dragons. It’s just I’d rather eat them than they eat us. The animals that live deeper in the forest are harmless. There are deer, squirrels, rabbits. None of those fight back.”

  “So, if the dragons were gone, no one would starve?”

  “That’s right. Now don’t tell me you killed them all.”

  “Not exactly, but I have stopped them from being able to come into the forest.”

  He stopped in his tracks. “How could you do that? Are they all injured?”

  Now was the time. I was going to lie to him. I hated myself, but I uttered the words nonetheless.

  “No. I used up some magic I was carrying with me. I’m not a sorcerer, but magic is something you can buy if you know where to get it and have enough gold to pay for it. It just so happens that I had a little left. I used it to create an invisible barrier between the forest and the mountains. The dragons will not be able to come down here and hunt for you and you will not be able to hunt them.”

  “An invisible barrier?” He sounded unconvinced. I never was a good liar, which was probably why my relationship with Xander didn’t work out. I wasn’t sneaky enough and Rocco caught us.

  “The forest is yours again and as long as I am alive, the dragons will not be able to hurt any of us.”

  “So, you retrieved your sword before setting up the barrier?”

  Crap! I’d forgotten about the sword. I wracked my brains to come up with something quickly.

  “I found the sword lying on the ground. The dragon must have dropped it.” My lie made me realize that I’d not seen the dragon I hit in the eye. I had never felt more terrible in my life. I was a liar and a murderer. From now on, I vowed to be a better person. No more cheating, no more lying and one day, when the time was right, I’d avenge the dragons on the Triad Mountains. Today was not that day though. Today was a day for getting to know Alpha. Deep in my heart I knew he was connected to my future. I gripped his hand harder and pulled him round to face me. I kissed him again. This time it was a kiss of promise. Even though he didn’t know it, that kiss meant I‘d never lie to him again. I hoped somehow, he understood what I was trying to say to him in that tender embrace.

  It accomplished something. When we finally broke apart, he didn’t ask me another question about the dragons or the magic barrier.

  “I barely know you and yet I feel as though I’ve been searching for you my whole life.”

  “I feel the same way, too.”

  He held me close, pulling me into his arms. I’d never felt so safe in my whole life.

  “You have saved my people, and more than that, you have saved me.”

  “I only did what I promised to do.”

  “You are the bravest warrior I have ever known. I want you to stay.”

  “In the village?”

  “With me.”

  As we walked back to the village, I knew I’d found my new home. I was one of the pack!

  * * *

  The End

  Continue the Dragon Tamer Series with book 1, Slayer.

  * * *

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  About the Author

  Three-time USA Today Bestselling author, J.A. Culican is a teacher by day and a writer by night. She lives in New Jersey with her husband of eleven years and their four young children.

  J.A. Culican’s inspiration to start writing came from her children and their love for all things magical. Bedtime stories turned to reality after her oldest daughter begged her for the book from which her stories of dragons came from. In turn, the series The Keeper of Dragons was born.

  Read More from J.A. Culican

  www.jaculican.com

  Neurogenesis

  Brandon Barr

  Neurogenesis © copyright 2017 Brandon Barr

  * * *

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  About Neurogenesis

  At Ledmeer Cadet Academy, new enlistee Javen Worth is pitted against a psychotic superior officer and discovers that at Ledmeer, killing students is not only allowed, but encouraged.

  Officer Nero has earned the reputation of cruelest instructor at the military academy. He’s also the man in charge of taking care of insubordinate students.

  Killing them is his preferred method.

  When Javen Worth walks in to his class, he’s given a test that will change his life forever. Nothing is as it appears….

  Neurogenesis

  Javen Worth stepped into the ICT lobby of Ledmeer Cadet Academy with his heart thundering in his chest. He hadn’t felt this kind of raw fear since his after-school fight with Dirk behind Mr. Smeby’s Terran history mural. Sure, he was fresh meat here at the academy, but mentally he’d prepped himself for that. He was expecting to get verbally slapped around and treated like a Moonie.

  But the possibility that he might die at the academy hadn’t crossed his mind…not until today.

  Now he found himself questioning his decision to enlist, and it was only day one.

  Just inside the ICT door he paused. He was at the infamous Sergeant Nero’s station. He had no idea what ICT stood for, but Sergeant Nero—he had one hell of a picture painted in his mind of that man.

  After stopping at Stamina, Weapons, Gene, and Psych, he had accrued a very elaborate depiction of Nero. According to the stories he’d heard that day, the sergeant was a grizzled man with red nappy hair who patrolled the school corridors with an orangutan called Sockets. The student officer from Gene said it became “Sockets” after it tore the arm off a kid, beat him one breath away fr
om death with the dismembered arm, then chewed his ears off while he lay there unconscious.

  Despite the gruesome picture of the deranged orangutan, it was Nero himself that all the cadets seemed to fear.

  At Weapons, a scrawny cadet with sharp eyes had issued him his sidearm and said, “Shoot a guy in the front, spend a week in the hole. Shoot a guy in the back and they sic Sergeant Nero on you, and bitch, you gonna die.”

  After that, the sharp-eyed cadet handed him the Ledmeer Academy killing policy, and said warmly, “The school prefers you settle scores in the arena with fists, but if you duel it’s a slap on the wrist for the winner and a half-assed military funeral if you lose.”

  Javen sucked in a lung full of air and stepped into the ICT station at the Ledmeer Cadet Academy. This was his fifth and last station before he received his military placement scores. It had taken less than a couple of hours for Javen to confirm that the next few years of his life would be pure hell.

  He’d come with a bunch of noble crap in his mind about fighting the colonists and clearing Luna of Moonies. His parents had signed the military contract with visions of Javen following in their political footsteps and running for the Senate or High Council as his mother had. They had other motives too, though they thought they were hiding them well enough. Sometimes his parents seemed to forget he was seventeen, not seven, and capable of reading between the lines. Despite his parents’ hidden agenda, he’d been excited about joining.

  It had been a grand idea in his head only hours ago.

  He was the property of the Terran government now for four years. And a complete fool, he thought.

  Javen took a deep breath to calm the pounding inside his chest, and strode further into the ICT room. The station had an immaculate lobby. The walls were lined with recent photographs of the war. Epic shots of Terran forces charging over a moon berm. A black-and-white of a Terran soldier posing in front of captured colonists.