A Dragon's Body: A New Adult Fantasy Dragon Series (The MINATH Chronicles Book 2)

by A. L. Tippett

  A Dragon’s Body

  The MINATH Chronicles

  Book 2

  A. L. Tippett

  Copyright © 2021 A. L. Tippett

  All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means–electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise–without prior written permission of 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, locales or events is entirely coincidental.

  ISBN: 978-0-6488121-2-8

  Published by Fire Fly Books

  British spelling and grammar used throughout this book

  Contents

  Prologue - Two Years Ago

  Chapter One – Arius

  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

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  EPILOGUE

  Links

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  STOP!

  If you don't enjoy the sweet torture of a cliffhanger ending, then don't read any further! Unless, of course, you are in possession of the final instalment, A Dragon's Soul.

  Prologue - Two Years Ago

  “Hush, students. Some respect for the judge, please,” murmured Professor Tormund, a greying hippogryph and also their history teacher.

  Sera entered the Mandar City Courthouse once more, along with the nineteen other apprentices in her class. Each year the Mandar Institute for Negotiators, Alchemists, Trackers and Hunters, better known as MINATH, inducted five pupils for each profession for a four-year apprenticeship. Sera had just celebrated her twentieth birthday and entered her final year.

  “Hush,” the hippogryph repeated sternly, glaring from beneath his feathery eyebrows at the Hunter apprentices in particular. Tormund was the only mythic on the teaching staff at MINATH, but the best one there, in Sera’s opinion. He had brought the entire class out today to watch the sentencing of a court case because, in his words, “Today’s sentence could be tomorrow’s history lesson. We are here to observe the end result of your job. Never forget, every mythic you bring in is an individual with their own life. They have dreams and fears and family, just like you. Make sure you don’t bring in the wrong one.”

  The whispering and sniggering quietened as the judge took her place at the bench. Sera’s friend Hazel, an Alchemist-in-training, nudged her and jerked her head behind them. Sera followed her gaze to see two grey-uniformed guards from the Iniques Rehabilitation Centre wheel in a frame that held a sealed glass cube. A collective gasp escaped the students as they saw the mythic trapped inside the tempered glass. It was a shadow. The unique mythic was rarely seen and tended to live on the fringes of society. The black smoke that obscured its true form pulsed slowly as the guards set the cell to the right of Judge Lenka. Glancing at the internal door past the judge’s bench, Sera watched as the jury filed into the courtroom. Running her eyes over the group, she analysed them with a frown.

  Something seems… off.

  She flinched as she sensed Professor Tormund leaning over her shoulder. He whispered into her ear so softly that she had to strain to hear his words over the clicking of his beak.

  “I see your scrutiny. Have you noticed that all the jury members are humans?”

  Returning her gaze to the jury, she realised he was right. There were ten humans shuffling to their seats, the majority of whom were men.

  Mimicking his volume, she whispered, “Somehow it doesn’t seem fair for it to be only humans that pass judgement on a mythic. Like… it’s ‘them’ against ‘us.’ Like we’re better than them.”

  Keeping her focus forward, she saw him nod in her peripheral, satisfied with her evaluation. His expression dropped and he muttered darkly, “This won’t be a fair sentence.” Before Sera could ask what he meant, he straightened, his feathered head too high for her to subtly request an explanation.

  The judge cracked her gavel as the jury took their seats. The shadow throbbed in time with the sharp sound. Tendrils of the mist warped and began to vibrate slightly as the judge cleared her throat.

  “Thank you all for your time today. I ask the jury, have you made a decision?”

  “Yes, we have, your Honour.”

  “The shadow, Inca Soleque, stands accused of murder in the first degree of Hector Dower. How does the jury find?”

  “We find Inca Soleque guilty.”

  A wail echoed from the cell as Inca’s vibrations grew in strength and they pounded against the glass.

  “I didn’t do it,” they screeched, their voice warping between high and low notes. “You know it! I am innocent.”

  Judge Lenka spoke over the shadow, projecting her voice so the crowd would hear the sentence. “I hearby sentence the shadow, Inca Soleque, to death by electrocution.”

  “No,” they howled, the black tentacles solidifying and smacking their prison as the shadows spiralled and swirled, growing and filling the space as they vented their fear and rage. “You can’t do this,” Inca sobbed.

  Sera turned away, her heart twisting with compassion. She sternly reminded herself that the shadow had murdered an old man in his own home, and she shouldn’t feel sympathy for the killer. Hardening her expression, Sera raised her eyes back to the shadow and, just for a moment, red eyes stared out at her before the darkness closed around their form once more.

  The Hunters jeered at the shadow as the glass cage was wheeled from the courtroom before Professor Tormund swung a wing out and clipped the closest one, Tyler, around his ears. Tyler rubbed the side of his head and shot a venomous look towards his teacher. Sera turned away in disgust at Tyler’s attitude. He might be the best Hunter in their year, but he was an arrogant jerk. She had no time for him. The hippogryph’s mouth pulled down in grief as the screams of the shadow faded once the door closed behind them.

  Sera placed a hand on his grey coat and said, “I didn’t enjoy that either, but at least Hector Dower has justice now.”

  Her teacher regarded her for a long moment before turning away. He muttered, “Does he, though?”

  Chapter One – Arius

  Arius roared his pain and frustration to the dawning sun. Five nights had passed since the storm knocked him unconscious and speared him and Seraphina into Lake Eyre, but the brightening sky did nothing to ease his agony. When he had awoken at sunset in the shallows of the lake, it had taken him a moment to realise his Soulbound was missing as the debilita
ting pain of his broken wing overwhelmed all other thoughts. Once he’d realised Sera was gone, he’d been swept into a frenzy. He’d splashed clumsily along the shoreline, dragging his useless wing, and desperately scanned the murky depths of the water, praying to the Four Gods she hadn’t been killed in the crash. Once his inner turmoil subsided enough for rationality to return, Arius realised he could still sense her soul. The relief of knowing she was alive was swiftly overtaken by fear for her safety.

  The past five days had been long, painful and full of worry. A void enveloped his chest, deepening his fear. He was afraid that she’d come to harm after the fall. He was angry that he couldn’t help her in his current state. What was the use of all his magic if he was useless to save the one he loved? Arius slammed his tail into the closest tree, the trunk snapping as if it were no more than a twig. His fury and fear constricted his throat, blinding him from logical thought. To release his pain, he spewed forth a pillar of flame and set the forest alight. Panting, he glared at the flames licking the foliage. After a minute of watching the trees burn, he sighed. He shouldn’t take his anger out on Ghaia’s creations. Before the blaze could take hold he quelled the magic of his flames and the would-be forest fire died. Once the fire had completely vanished, he dropped his head to the shaly shore of the lake and sank to his belly. Melancholy gripped him and he howled his fears to Caelhi, the Goddess of the Air. She cared for all creatures belonging to the sky, so surely she would hear his pleas to look after his Soulbound, even though Sera was one of Ghaia’s children.

  The pain was destroying him. Not from his wing; that would be fully healed in a few more days. A jagged hole had torn through his chest ever since he’d sensed Sera travelling further away from him. Now her soul was only a dim speck in the horizon of his consciousness. He had a vague sense that she was east of him, so assumed she had returned to Mandar City. Doubt slipped into his mind, warping his reason, and he wondered if she wasn’t hurt. Perhaps she’d decided to leave him. He didn’t understand how she could have abandoned him so casually. While Arius understood that she had led a life before him and had a family back in the city, he thought she wouldn’t have been able to resist the will of the Gods. They were Soulbound. But even before the binding, he thought he had meant something to her. Why would she leave him? He whined low in his throat. As soon as he was fully healed he would fly to confront her, but in the meantime he just had to keep stumbling his way toward the city.

  He rose grimly to his feet once more and marched on, dragging his broken wing. Even though it exposed him to prying eyes, he’d purposely kept his journey beside Lake Eyre since it was easier for a mythic of his size to travel in the open, especially when injured. The last thing he wanted was for his wing to get snagged on trees and bushes the entire time he was travelling.

  Something small unexpectedly buzzed past his right ear and he shook his head in annoyance. The whirring sounded again in his other ear followed by a high-pitched snigger. Nostrils flaring, he realised it was one of those damnable titters. The annoying little birds would whisper derisively between themselves and tease all who crossed their path, although it was rare to see them this far from civilisation. Another mocking snicker sounded from behind him. He swung his head and snapped his fangs at the nearest titter. Inspiration struck as his jaws closed on empty air and he stopped his hostile behaviour and sat back on his haunches.

  “Titter, show yourself. I, Arius, son of Talegar and Valenta, wish to speak to you.”

  Two titters appeared in front of him before landing on his snout. He growled low at their impertinence. The birds giggled nervously and fluttered to a nearby branch.

  “Hiya, big lizard. Hiya! What wrong with your wing?” the male of the pair called out.

  The female pecked her mate and whispered, “Hush! Great dragon eat you if you rude, eat you!”

  “He not eat me, I too quick for him while he only got one wing.”

  “What about when he better?” The second titter cuffed the male over the head with her white wing. He squawked indignantly but snapped his black beak shut.

  Arius waited patiently for their squabbling to end. “I have a task for you. Your help will earn my deep gratitude. I need you to take a message to someone for me.”

  The titters eyed him suspiciously and whispered to one another. The female titter eventually puffed her blue breast up with pride and said, “This great honour, mighty dragon.”

  The male interjected, “Where message going?”

  “I believe she’s in Mandar City. I’m not sure precisely where. Her name is Seraphina but you may hear her called Sera. She’s a young woman with beautiful auburn hair, tanned skin and a smattering of freckles across her cheeks. She has a golden scar on her palm. She carries a knife named Firinne in a sheath on her belt. She is a Tracker for the MRO so will likely be wearing her green uniform.”

  They had been nodding along, absorbing his description, but screeched at that. “A Tracker! We no help them!”

  “She’s different to other Trackers. She has bound herself to me and will help us in the future.”

  They muttered sullenly under their breath, feathers fluffed in protest. A rumble built in his throat at their reluctance and his chest glowed with barely contained fire. He bared his fangs at the titters, so trapped in his own fear of losing his Soulbound that he refused to acknowledge theirs.

  “Fine, fine,” acquiesced the female. “We do what you ask. What we say to her?”

  The flames that had begun licking his throat subsided and he forced himself to relax. He let the breath he’d been holding out in a rush and murmured, “Thank you.” He bowed his head. “I need you to find her and tell her Arius is on his way. If she’s hurt or imprisoned, tell her I’m coming to save her. I need her to be safe. I need her with me.” He bit back the emotion that threatened to overwhelm him again and ducked his head momentarily. Raising his emerald eyes to look into the red eyes of the titters, he said, “I will owe you a favour if you do this for me. Once you have delivered the message, find me.” With a grimace, he flexed his injured wing and said, “By that time, I will have returned to the skies. Fly fast, little ones, and find my love.”

  Chapter Two

  Sera stared blankly at her computer. The words swam on the screen as she struggled to focus on the report she was typing up. It had been five days since she had been found on the road into Mandar City with no memory of what happened to her. She had been relegated to desk duties until she received clearance from the Mythic Relations Office’s medical team. The fact that she couldn’t remember anything from the eleven days she’d been gone didn’t help her case. So, for the time being, she was stuck in the office transcribing hard copies of reports from forty years ago onto the MRO’s online filing system.

  The morning sunlight streamed through the windows that lined one side of the Tracker’s Hub, practically begging her to leave the stuffy office and take Balthazar out for a training ride. She tapped her fingers aimlessly against the arm of her office chair and leaned back. It creaked and rolled away from the desk. She huffed in frustration and tugged herself closer to the screen. The pile of paperwork to her right teetered precariously. She glared at it. Shoving her chair away, she stood up with the intention of straightening the pile but the wheels caught on a loose strand in the carpet and stalled its movement. Growling under her breath, she leant down to unwind the snag from the wheel.

  “Tracker Seraphina?”

  She twisted and rose hastily to see who had summoned her but cracked her head on the underside of her desk. “For Ghaia’s sake!” She rubbed the spot as she staggered upright, eyes watering.

  Negotiator Aaron stood in front of her desk wearing a bemused smile. “Sorry to bother you, but I wanted to see how you were going with the archives?”

  She glanced at the tower of reports that still threatened to collapse, raised an eyebrow at him and asked blandly, “How does it look like I’m going?”

  He chuckled nervously, running a dark-skinned hand
over his cropped black hair. “It does look like a big job, but I’m sure you will get it completed in no time.” He offered her an encouraging grin as he walked around her desk and helped to straighten the reports.

  She dropped her shoulders and sighed. It’s not his fault that I’m stuck here. She returned his smile and said, “Thanks, Negotiator Aaron. I appreciate the help. Sorry I’ve been short with you.”

  He beamed at her and said, “Just call me Aaron.” He waved a hand dismissively and continued, “No need to apologise. I am just so thrilled that someone is finally moving the records across. Once we have easy access to all that precious information, we will be able to analyse the data to see whether there are any correlations between the activities of the mythics from then to now. Just imagine if we could use forty years of data to predict potential threats before they happen and could actually help those mythics before they start down the wrong path. The opportunities are endless!”

  His enthusiasm was infectious and, even though she hated the job, Sera felt a renewed sense of motivation to complete her task, now that there was a purpose. She nodded to him and sat back down. “I’d better get back onto it, then.”

  He flashed her a winning smile and ran his hands over his head again. “Before I go… I was just wondering whether you were going with anyone to the ceremony this weekend?”

  She stared at him blankly and asked, “What ceremony?”

  “The Choosing Ceremony for this year's graduates from MINATH.”

  “Oh! I’d forgotten about that.”

  “All previous graduates were invited; didn’t you get a letter?” Aaron quirked an eyebrow.

  “Yeah, I did. Sorry, I forgot.” She scrubbed a hand over her face before explaining, “My housemate, Hazel – she’s an Alchemist here – she’s on the organising committee. It’s all she’s been talking about lately. I’ve just… had a lot on my mind.” She lifted her lips at the Negotiator in a tired approximation of a smile.