AabiLynn's Dragon Rite #3 Magic As Sharp As Swords: Dark Sorcery Strikes

By Kristie Lynn Higgins

Type: novella and the word count is about 28,300 words.
Start this fourth book in this fantasy action adventure novella series and travel where dragons have been part of the world for millenniums. Enter a realm where riders are paired with dragon hatchlings to raise and care for them and to form a bond like no other. Read AabiLynn's Dragon Rite #0 Dragon's Brood to start this exciting series.

In the fourth story, Cara faces a desperate struggle where her life has been wagered and death appears to be the only reward.

Useless... Unwanted... Unloved...

When those closest to you see you only as a useless crippled child with no hope of a future, where do you find the strength to prove them wrong?

No one believed in Cara-AabiLynn, not even her own father and the woman who raised her. Born with a stunted arm and leg, those who she loved the most saw her as worthless and withheld their love from her. Given to a cruel man to cover her father's gambling debt, Cara's life of uncertainty became one of certain hardship and despair.

AabiLynn's Dragon Rite epic dark fantasy sword and sorcery action-adventure novella series
#0 AabiLynn's Dragon Rite: Dragon's Brood: Egg Hatchlings' Ritual
#1 AabiLynn's Dragon Rite: Break Dawn Riders: Those Who Are Chosen And Those Who Are Cast Off
#2 AabiLynn's Dragon Rite: Esspell, Dragon's Sorcery: Might Of Swords, Might Of Magic
#3 AabiLynn's Dragon Rite: Magic As Sharp As Swords: Dark Sorcery Strikes

If you love stories with dragons or stories about dragons like Anne McCaffery’s Dragonriders of Pern, Cressida Cowell’s How To Train Your Dragon, or George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire a.k.a. Game of Thrones, you’ll love this series about a bond of friendship and family like no other.

My novels, novellas, short stories, and flash fiction range from science fiction, fantasy, action-adventure, horror with elements of mystery, thriller, suspense, dark fantasy, gothic, a mix of fairy tales, legends, and epic fantasy. Explore my worlds of magic, tech, werewolf, sword and sorcery, killer robots, UFO, witches, dragon baby, undead, demented games, vampires, villains, flying saucers, dungeons and dragons, werewolves, ghosts, mummies, assassins, monsters, androids, leviathan, aliens, curse of the mummy, mutants, warlocks, dragon riders, sorcerer, superheroes, zombies, mutant creatures, etc.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kristie Lynn
• Release date: Apr 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310009242

Kristie Lynn Higgins

You can also check out my author page on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/author/kristielynnhiggins

Book preview

AabiLynn’s Dragon Rite

#3 Magic As Sharp As Swords

Dark Sorcery Strikes

Kristie Lynn Higgins

Book Four of the Series

Text Copyright © 2015, 2019 by Kristie Lynn Higgins

Ebook Edition

01092019

Cover Art Copyright © 2018

Mounted Knights created by Viktor Vasnetsov

www.KristieLynnHiggins.com

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Love DRAGONS & Fantasy? Check out my complimentary books

AaBack’s Grim, Monster of Monsters,

BOTB Mystic Rose, & Dragon Rite,

The first ebook or two are complimentary for each series.

Love Science Fiction? Check out two complimentary books

SOG Series

www.KristieLynnHiggins.com

www.kristielynnhiggins.com/DRSeries.html

AabiLynn's Dragon Rite

#3

Magic As Sharp As Swords

Dark Sorcery Strikes

Book Four

Kristie Lynn Higgins

AabiLynn (uh'bee'lin): woman of a sorrowful song

Prologue

During the third rein of men, the peace the dracomen and dracowomen accomplished with the Athenia Dragons was threatened by the appearance of their dreaded enemy, the Stygian Legion. A scout, a warlock and his leviathan, had been spotted days ago near the borders of their land.

In Firedrake, the Time of Endurance had come and most of the trainees went and camped in the desert. The majority of the elders went to observe the ritual of survival.

Chapter One

Time of Endurance

The sun had less than two hours left of its day trek as it dipped towards the horizon, and a dry wind blew across the arid desert land. A sand hawk screamed as it flew overhead, searching for prey. The wind kicked up orange-yellow sand as it whipped around Cara and Black Fire’s camp. What had been a joyous exploration into their Time of Endurance had become a nightmare.

Only moments earlier had Cara gripped her spear and shield as she glanced at Drac’On. The leviathan drowned her hatchling by holding him in the pool, in which not that long ago, they had been playing in. Drac’On held him down with his talon as a warlock named Escoute stood between her and Black Fire. Cara had no idea what to do. She had received little training and none of it involved facing a murderous wielder of the dark arts. In a desperate attempt, Cara had turned away from the warlock and hurled her spear at the leviathan. Drac’On caught it and easily broke it in half with his claws. Her heart sank into despair, seeing how truly powerless she was. She was no dracorider; she was no warrior who could protect her dragon.

You are a brave one, Escoute said as he started for her. Brave and soon to be dead. The gem fixed between the metal claws of his wooden staff glowed bright and smoked as if ablaze. The red gem darkened like it was being consumed by some hellish inferno, and it did so until it was the color of ebony flames, and then he stated, Your scalp will also look nice on my leviathan’s harness.

Black Fire splashed about in the pool as he desperately tried to surface. He couldn't mind-synced in his panicked state, but he could sense Cara’s fears. She was so far away from him, he couldn't protect her. He clawed at the leviathan that was nearly fifteen times his size, but his attempts to injure his foe came to no avail. Cara would die if he didn't find a way to escape.

Escoute raised his staff, and the ebony flames rose high above him. Escoute knew he could easily kill the crippled girl before him, but he wanted a bit more fun before he returned to his homeland. Here he could kill or maim any he came across but back in his homeland he was restricted to killing unwanted slaves. Escoute would have preferred his last victim to have been a woman but this girl would have to do. He lowered the staff and held off her execution so that he could feast on her fright a little longer. Escoute glanced at Drac’On, and he seemed to be enjoying bobbing the young dragon in and out of the water as if he was a tiger melon.

Cara thought her life would come to an end the moment the warlock raised his fiery dark gem, but then he seemed to change his mind. She gripped her wooden shield to fend off his attack as if it were the real thing embedded with Vim Crystals. Escoute lifted his hand to one of the braids on the side of his bearded mouth and twirled it between his fingers as he ogled her. Cara took a step back in fear of what the warlock was planning for her. The only thing that kept her from running was that they had Black Fire. Cara glanced at her shield again. The armor would be useless against a magical attack, actually, it would be useless against any attack since she was the one wielding it. Black Fire flailed about, trying to escape his blue grave. She wanted to rush over and fling herself upon the leviathan and if the action would have saved Black Fire but cost her her life, Cara would have done so, but she knew the futility of it.

Maybe you should let me kill this young dragon and then we can be off, Drac’On projected to his rider as he glanced at the girl.

Why would I want to do that? Escoute projected back. Am I not allowed my own fun?

Cara overheard their conversation, and it made her fright all the more petrifying.

You were never one to take advice, Drac’On mentally replied. Do as you wish. It would have been better if I had been swift in my actions.

Escoute spoke, I will do as I please, and I think I will do something extra special. He studied the girl for a while, thinking of the most horrible execution for her. I will grant you a gift, Escoute told her as he released the braid of his full beard. I will show you the instrument of your death, and I'll do so with a demonstration. You look like you are not well educated, so let me inform you that I am a fire user what they might refer here as fire-based. I like to burn. I like to sear the flesh of my enemies and hear their pain-filled shrieks before I take their lives. He paused and studied her confused terror-filled reaction and then with delight, he added, You look baffled little one, so let me move forward with my demonstration. Escoute motioned with his staff some distance from the two of them, and then he asked, Do you see that cactus over there?

Turning to where he pointed, Cara saw a scarecrow cactus, named so for its human-like appearance. This particular one was still young, about her size, and seemed to have its hands raised as if it knew what the warlock was up to and attempted to surrender.

The outer skin is tougher than a human’s, but the inners are very gooey like us, he told her.

Escoute leaned to his staff as if it were a partner in crime, he spoke a few words to it, and then he held the staff a little aways from himself. An orange-red fireball the size of a basket formed above the smokey ebony gem. He winked at her and then flung the fireball at the scarecrow cactus, and the sphere of heat twirled end over end as its flame-like fingers grabbed at the air and left a trail of smoke.

It slammed into the cactus, and Cara thought that would be the end of the fireball, but it latched onto the plant like a desert fox biting into a rabbit. The orange-red flames devoured the green flesh of the plant. The water inside hissed and shrilled as it boiled and to Cara, it sounded like the scarecrow cactus was screaming. Her heart