I, Dragon Series Bundle. Books 1-3: The Epic Journeys of Simon Morgenwraithe

by Nathan Roden

  It did not.

  One more quick pass and a blast of flame and the threat was over.

  Simon landed. His wings felt too heavy to lift. He exhaled heavily. Black smoke poured from the sides of his mouth.

  He smiled as he watched the calf join the herd. The smile faded when he looked back at the ten smoldering carcasses.

  “I would have been perfectly happy with a belly full of fish,” Simon said to the dead.

  “I gave you a chance. This result—was your choice.”

  He sighed. There was no need to push himself on to the shores of Islemar tonight when roasted meat littered the ground in front of him.

  Simon rested on his haunches; hidden away in a half-circle of trees. After consuming the charred remains of ten jackals, he was full and content. The screaming pressure from his empty belly was only a memory.

  It will be nightfall soon, he thought. I can sleep here tonight and join Boone and Helena in the morning.

  He dozed off.

  Three

  Simon woke to a rustling in the trees.

  He held his breath.

  Could it be King’s Guard? Or army? Not likely, he thought. Men on horseback would not travel through the forest.

  Simon looked ahead of him at the broad expanse of grassy field. There was ample room for him to take to the sky and abandon his plans to rest there for the night. But he was not only very tired,

  He was tired of running away.

  He stood up and backed up between two trees. His scales faded in color; making him almost invisible.

  There was more rustling in the trees. And then the source of the commotion showed itself.

  Three children pushed their way into the clearing. A tall boy held the hand of a younger girl. The girl held the hand of another very young boy.

  The oldest boy lifted his chin. He looked around and then stared into the eyes of the dragon.

  “Please come out,” the boy said without a trace of fear. “We won’t hurt you.”

  The girl looked up at the boy.

  “Who are you talking to?”

  Simon took a step forward.

  “That would be me.”

  The girl shrieked. She tried to run away, pulling on the older boy’s arm. The boy did not move.

  “Run, Caleb!” the girl screamed.

  “He’s a….he’s a…!”

  “He’s a dragon,” Simon said.

  The youngest boy stared at Simon and sucked his thumb. The oldest boy’s face beamed with a broad smile.

  “A dragon? A real, live dragon?”

  “Please, Caleb!” the girl continued to pull at Caleb’s arm. “He will burn us to death!”

  “No, he won’t,” Caleb said. His smile was broad and his voice was full of joy.

  “Don’t be afraid, Sara. I feel his mind and his heart. He is kind and gentle.”

  Caleb’s smile was genuine. At ease—and unafraid.

  Simon stared at the boy. He took a step forward and raised his talon. He waved it in front of Caleb’s face. The boy did not move.

  Caleb was blind.

  “Thank you, Caleb,” Simon said. “Is this your brother and sister?”

  “Yes, My Lord,” Caleb said. “My sister, Sara, and our brother Ezekiel.”

  Ezekiel pulled his thumb from his mouth.

  “Zeke!” he said loudly.

  Simon laughed.

  “It is my pleasure to meet you, Zeke! The same goes for you, Sara, and Caleb.”

  Zeke pointed at his sister.

  “Sawa!”

  He pointed at his brother.

  “Caba!”

  Simon and Caleb laughed. Even Sara smiled a little.

  “What is your name?” Sara asked.

  Simon stopped laughing. He realized that this chance meeting was enough to put the children in danger.

  “It will be dark soon,” Simon said.

  “Not for me,” Caleb said.

  “Won’t your parents worry about you?”

  “Mother has gentlemen callers,” Sara said. “We can’t go home until sunset.”

  “Let me walk with you,” Simon said. “There are packs of jackals nearby. They can be quite dangerous in numbers.”

  “Caleb won’t let them hurt us,” Sara said.

  Simon sized up the boy.

  “Do you have a weapon?”

  “No.”

  “He doesn’t hurt them,” Sara said. “He talks to them—like he talked to you.”

  “That is quite the skill,” Simon said. “Guard it closely. The king and his men have a great distrust of magic. They would like to have such abilities for themselves—or to see those with magic…go away.”

  Sara chewed on her finger.

  “No! The King has already taken our Father from us!”

  “What happened?” Simon asked.

  “Papa is dead!” Sara cried.

  “He was killed,” Caleb said, “along with many of his fellows in the King’s Army.”

  No…

  “When did this happen?” Simon asked.

  “Only weeks ago.”

  “The Kingdom is not at war,” Simon said, a tremble in his voice.

  “How did he die?”

  “They would not tell us,” Caleb said.

  Simon swallowed hard.

  Weeks ago. His escape from the dungeon beneath Morgenwraithe Castle.

  Where his fire had taken the lives of scores of men wearing the uniform of the King’s Army.

  “Your mother has gentlemen callers? But you have just lost your father…”

  “Mother says with Papa gone, things will be difficult for us,” Caleb said.

  Sadness washed over Simon.

  “What troubles you, Lord Dragon?” Caleb asked.

  “You did not say your name,” Sara said.

  Simon hesitated.

  “I know his name,” Caleb said.

  “Please,” Simon said. “You must tell no one that you have spoken to me—or that you have seen me. It can bring you nothing but misery. And please, Caleb. You must keep your gifts a secret.”

  “Papa always told me the same thing.”

  “You remind me of someone, My Lord.”

  Simon looked wary.

  “I don’t know her name,” Caleb said. “The lady is very mysterious. She is wise in the ways of magic. I tried many times, but I could never hear her thoughts.”

  “This sorceress,” Simon said. “Or witch. How do you know her?”

  “Father used to bring her here—to the woods. He told me to call her ‘Teacher’. She taught me many things.”

  Caleb swallowed hard.

  “I don’t know if I will ever hear her voice again.”

  Sara leaned toward Simon and whispered.

  “She is a wolf.”

  Four

  The wolf stopped at the edge of the forest where a stream formed a shallow pool. She waded in and plunged her head beneath the water. The wolf moved herself about—until all traces of blood washed away from her thick fur. She stepped onto the bank and shook herself dry.

  The wolf stood on her hind legs and took human form.

  The Lady Magdalena was the only known sorceress within the kingdom of Morgenwraithe. She had a surname as a child, but that was a long time ago. For much of her life, no one seemed to care if she had a name at all.

  Magdalena used both hands to fluff out her long, black hair. She made her way to the King’s Road.

  Magdalena winced. A sharp pain in her thigh came and went.

  What a bizarre turn of events, she thought.

  My life was spared—by the dragon and his friends.

  She walked to the gates of Morgenwraithe castle. She carried an orb of light that lit her path. Four alert guards met her.

  “I am here to see the King,” she said.

  “We have orders to admit no one,” one guard said.

  “Do not be absurd!” Magdalena said. She ignored the guards and walked between them.

  All four raised
their swords, but they knew the threat was useless. Their fear was evident.

  “Please, My Lady,” the guard said quietly. “You must understand, it gives us no pleasure to detain you, but Sterling—”

  Magdalena stopped and waved her hand.

  “Yes, we must comply with the whims of Lord Sterling. Send for him if you must.”

  One guard ran toward the castle.

  He returned shortly, walking behind Sterling and Raynard. Those two were in quite a hurry.

  “What are you doing here?” Sterling snapped. “I sent men to your home! Did you not—?”

  “Of course, I saw them. That’s why I’m here! Your men told me nothing, but I knew there had to be some reason for their presence.”

  Magdalena raised her eyes to the sky.

  “And the moon is full.”

  She looked past Sterling and Raynard.

  “Was Simon here?”

  “No!” Sterling shouted. “Do not be ridiculous! And keep your voice down—”

  “Did my guards follow you?” Raynard asked.

  He turned and looked up the King’s Road.

  “I had no intention of allowing them inside my home,” Magdalena said. “I am certain they are doing a splendid job of guarding my door—just as you instructed them.”

  “Send two more men to the Lady’s home to get them,” Sterling said to Raynard.

  “And bring them directly to me!”

  “My Lord,” Raynard said quietly. “My men are spread thin.”

  Sterling glared at Raynard. He looked at Magdalena.

  “Guarding the Lady’s home has proven to be a dangerous undertaking,” Sterling said. “Send the men.”

  “Immediately.”

  “I wish to speak with Lucien,” Magdalena said.

  “The King is resting,” Sterling said. “He had a little…accident. Struck his head. No cause for alarm.”

  “But he and the Queen are safe?”

  “Of course,” Sterling purred. “Why are you concerned?”

  Magdalena glared at the other guards.

  Sterling waved them away.

  “We do not know what thoughts lurk inside of Simon’s head,” Magdalena said. “After living so many years as a wild beast, how much of that sweet little child remains? He saw fit to murder the girl who loosed him from the dungeon. If he still carries the hope of regaining his birthright, then he may see Lucien’s child as the ultimate threat.”

  Sterling laughed.

  “My Lady. I believe you have spent too much time alone in that dreary hut full of potions. What a waste that is! You are still a desirable woman—for any man willing to risk being burned alive, that is!”

  “I wonder,” Raynard said. “Will your magic tell whether the child is a boy or girl?”

  Sterling raised an eyebrow.

  “Yes. Do you have such knowledge?”

  Magdalena shook her head, perhaps too quickly.

  “No. If such magic exists, I know nothing of it. Why should it matter? We know that the Queen’s womb is fruitful, and that the couple can perform the deed. She could have a dozen more children—unless the King continues to have accidents.”

  “I do not care for your tone,” Sterling said.

  “And I do not care for your insults, My Lord.”

  “It is getting late,” Sterling said. “Captain, send a guard to see if someone has occupied the seer’s quarters. If so, throw them out. The Lady will be our guest tonight.”

  Magdalena wanted to object, but she knew it would look suspicious.

  Within an hour, Sterling would learn that two more members of the King’s Guard lay dead

  At her front door.

  Five

  Magdalena followed the guard to the castle. He held the door open.

  “Thank you, Sire. I remember the way.”

  The guard followed her anyway. She knew he would.

  Magdalena stopped at the door of her old room. It had also been her daughter Arienna’s room.

  The guard reached past her to open the door.

  “No. Please, wait.”

  The guard observed her pained expression. He nodded, turned, and left her alone.

  Magdalena reached for the door handle. Her hand shook. She closed her eyes and opened the door.

  Almost everything was just as she remembered it. On the day that Arienna died by the Queen’s hand, Magdalena destroyed many items that had furnished the room. The destroyed tables, mirrors, and vases she later picked up and threw out of the window.

  No one had dared to intervene on that dark day. Magdalena’s fury continued until she was overcome by grief and exhaustion.

  She then placed a spell on the room—so it would stay as it was.

  Forever.

  Not even a speck of dust, mold, or dirt could remain.

  And absolutely nothing could be removed from the room.

  Magdalena opened the wardrobe. She tenderly touched Arienna’s dresses. She pulled one against her face and inhaled.

  Magdalena could still smell the scent of rose water. The rare bottle of imported rose water had been a gift to her daughter. She acquired it by special request from the captain of a merchant ship.

  The expensive bottle was Magdalena’s name day gift to Arienna. She wrapped it with great care and gave it to her daughter three months after the King moved the gifted young girl into the castle. On that day, Arienna became the King’s Seer.

  Arienna replaced her own mother in that position of the King’s court.

  Arienna was a frightened and miserable child in those early days. King Bailin kept her isolated and permitted only brief visits between mother and daughter. Arienna slowly resigned herself to her new life.

  At each precious meeting between them, Magdalena kissed her daughter’s cheek. She closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of rose water mixed with Arienna’s purity and innocence.

  It made her weep, then.

  And it made her weep, now.

  Magdalena looked around the room. All the things that Arienna held precious were still there—on the tops of tables, and on the top shelf of her wardrobe.

  There were dolls and animal figures carved from wood: pinwheels and noisemakers. Unusual and beautiful stones they found together on long walks outside of the castle walls. This happened in the days when Arienna was still a wide-eyed and curious child.

  Every treasure was displayed with the greatest care.

  Magdalena put a hand to her mouth and stifled a cry.

  For so many years, she had dwelt on the memory of her daughter being forced into the role of the King’s mistress. And for the past twelve years she could not see past the nightmare—the nightmare day when her lovely daughter became a victim of the queen’s mad rage.

  Magdalena was an orphan, born to a farmer and his wife in the heart of the Southlands. Her mother died young. Failed crops meant that her father could not feed them. With nowhere else to turn, he sold his sons into slavery—to slave-traders from the north. A short time later, she was sold as well. She saw her father and her Gram killed by the man who dragged her to Morgenwraithe.

  The good times had been so few—and so long ago that Magdalena was not sure she hadn’t made them up. She had faint memories of being tossed about by laughing boys. Her brothers.

  Sherman. Tanner. Were they real? Had they ever been real?

  Sterling Morgenwraithe was Arienna’s father—the result of loveless, drunken rape. Magdalena refused to think about that truth—ever.

  Arienna had been everything to her. And she was gone.

  The reminders of Arienna’s youth and innocence took Magdalena’s breath away. She cried herself to sleep on the bed—the bed that also held the scent of rose water.

  Magdalena was startled awake by pounding on the door. She wiped her eyes and opened the door to find two very agitated men.

  Sterling and Raynard.

  “We would like a word, My Lady,” Sterling sneered.

  Magdalena stepped into the hall and
closed the door behind her.

  “There are two more murdered guards outside of your door. That makes a total of four—”

  “Murdered?” Magdalena exclaimed. “What are you talking about?”

  “Two more of my men,” Raynard fought to keep his composure. “Members of the King’s Guard—defenders of the realm—”

  “You know nothing about this?” Sterling fumed.

  Magdalena glared at him.

  “I will not dignify that with a response.”

  “One of them had his skull crushed,” Sterling said. He watched the sorceress for her reaction.

  “His blood stains the steel that covers your walls. The other guard was ravaged—ripped apart—as if by a mad beast!”

  “The dragon was here!” Magdalena shouted. “Why did you lie to me?”

  “It was not the work of the dragon,” Raynard said. ”The man’s neck was torn open—but not by anything of that size. The dragon’s jaws would have taken the man’s head, if not half of his body.”

  “Then we have yet another dangerous beast to deal with,” Magdalena said.

  “What beast could overcome two guards wearing armor and carrying steel?” Raynard asked.

  “And what beast bashes a man’s head against a wall?” Sterling asked.

  “Perhaps your time would be better spent finding this beast, instead of interrupting my rest with yet another interrogation,” Magdalena said. “This…this…beast was at my front door! Need I remind you that—?”

  “No!” Sterling spat. “You will remain protected. We will continue to use the kingdom’s resources to keep you alive—as we have for over twelve years!”

  Sterling looked at Raynard and motioned with a nod of his head. Raynard turned and walked away.