Embers: Kingdoms of Ash, #1

By J.J. Fitch

Out of the embers, a new race of humankind and dragon is forged.

For fifteen-year old twins Lana and Aden, the black eggs they find in their poor, desert village are a way out of their miserable lives.  With a little gold in their pockets, the sisters can escape the annual marriage auction - and the mysterious eggs should fetch quite a price.

But when tiny dragons hatch from the eggs and the sisters are torn apart by their conniving mother, everything changes.

As the sisters fight to reunite, their journey is plagued with dangerous strangers and an unforgiving desert.  It is only when they discover the dragons' unique powers, do the sisters realize their potential to change their world.

If you loved Game of Thrones or Dragonriders of Pern, you won't want to miss EMBERS!

• Language: English
• Publisher: J.J. Fitch
• Release date: Jan 29, 2016
• ISBN: 9781533741387

Book preview

Chapter One

The sisters crept along the jagged edge of Ridgeback Point, careful not to misstep. Even one toe out of place, and a girl could find herself hurdling off the cliff to a sudden and gruesome death below. It wouldn’t be the first time Ridgeback village had scraped a poor soul off the rocky bottom of the cliff. And it wouldn’t be the last.

Aden stopped short when she spotted the lights of the Overhang, blinking yellow and orange like the eyes of a desert cat in the night. She hated that bar and everyone in it. She hated the smell of booze and smoke and washed up dreams. But she knew it would be a means to an end for her and Lana.

The Councilmen only came through twice a year on King Oreal’s business, and once in a while, they’d take a beautiful girl with them to the capital city. Anyone smart or beautiful enough to leave Ridgeback never came back.

Remember, don’t slouch, Aden said to her sister as she sliced the front of her linen shirt with her good arm, revealing what little feminine wiles a fifteen year-old had to show off. She pressed her shoulders back, and gave herself a small nod of approval.

Lana frowned at her twin sister. Somehow, Aden had convinced her that if they showed up at the Overhang tonight, they’d be picked as companions for the Councilmen's caravan, and then they’d leave Ridgeback. Forever.

No one could stop them. Not even their mother. That is, if it actually worked.

But, I don’t think the Councilmen are interested in a giant, Lana whimpered.

At over six feet tall, she probably towered over most of the soldiers in the Councilmen's escort. She had a habit of slouching to blend in, but it never seemed to work. Villagers would stare wherever she went and say, There goes the giant. Don’t let her crush you.

Don’t be ridiculous, Aden snapped at her and waved the stump of her left arm. You have the right body parts. That’s all they need.

Lana swallowed hard and forced herself to stand up straight.

Let's go, Aden said with a final scowl at her sister.

They headed toward the Overhang and crept in through the rickety old door. A chorus of shouts and curses met them, accompanied by the burning odor of Jerry's homemade liquor. Most of the men of Ridgeback complained that Jerry's liquor tasted like mule's urine, but didn't complain when the bill needed to be paid. Anything that dirt-cheap and strong made up for the taste.

There they are, Lana leaned down to whisper into her sister's ear. 

She pointed to a dark table in the corner. Three of the Overhang's wenches had already draped their arms over the two Councilmen deep in conversation. They laughed in shrill tones, and left pink lipstick marks along the men's jaw lines. These wenches had seen better days, decades ago.

Lana and Aden slunk across the room and grabbed empty chairs at a nearby table. They ignored the whistles and dirty suggestions from a neighboring table of men and huddled together.

What's the plan? Lana asked.

Aden peered at the men through her fingers. They were still conversing in loud voices, their noses just inches from each other.  Even the wenches with their nearly bared breasts couldn’t keep their attention.

Maybe we should just walk up and interrupt.

Lana wrinkled her nose and watched the men over her sister's head. They were the fattest men she'd ever seen in her life. The men of Ridgeback either became hard and wiry from working the mines, or so thin that their ribs popped through their skin. She'd never seen anyone with such large stomachs, besides the pregnant bellies of the women married off during the spring auction.  

I don't know if that's a good idea, Lana said.

One of the Councilmen flung his head back and gave a deep belly chuckle. He wiped tears from the corner of his eyes and sighed. The Drakon people are pure legend. You cannot seriously be suggesting there’s more to the legend.  He wiped at a line of spit trailing down his chin.  More to the stories nurses use to scare their children at night.

The other Councilman shook his head in earnest. Oh yes, my people have uncovered writings about it in the ancient texts. They can swear to its authenticity.

The men each took a large gulp from their mug, slamming down the empty cups on the last swallow.

Just follow my lead, Aden said to Lana. She paused for a moment and gazed at her sister. Don't mess this up for us.

She steadied herself and stood, just as the Councilmen decided to call it a night. They threw a couple coins at the barkeep and wobbled up the stairs, the wenches giggling on their arms. Neither one of them spared a glance at the sisters.

In the blink of an eye, they were gone.

Aden slammed her arm down on the table with a loud thump, nearly flipping it in her anger. That was our moment, our chance. Our only chance.

Lana recoiled from the sound and slouched down in her chair. Aden's eyes were wild with rage. It was best to let that fire burn off before making a sound. Much like with the cave bear that took Aden's left arm as a child, it was better to curl into a ball than to make her angrier. Aden never followed those kinds of rules. She often paid the price for her brash manners.

I got a moment for you, prrrretty ladies.

One of the Councilmen's soldiers pulled his chair up to the table, and settled between the sisters, wrapping his arm tight around Lana's shoulders. Aden could smell tobacco and old sweat reeking through his cracked armor. He buried his beard in Lana's neck, the rough whiskers of his chin scratching her skin.

Aden clenched her fist into a tight ball.  Leave her alone.

With a swift kick, she broke the leg on his chair and left him sprawled on the floor with his feet pointing toward the ceiling. The bar was too noisy to draw any attention to the stream of curses that followed the soldier’s descent. Aden grabbed her sister’s hand, leading her out the back door before anyone noticed the disruption.

You should’ve punched him, she growled. You should’ve kicked him between the legs. Anything to keep his slimy hands off you.

Lana stared at the ground and let Aden pull her into the dry grass behind the Overhang. It was no use lecturing her. She already felt dirty. And hopeless.

Sneaking out tonight had produced zero results. And if their mother had already found their empty bed, the night would end in an even worse spot. Lana touched her forehead and mouthed a silent prayer to the True God that they’d be able to get away with it. Just this once.

As she prayed, a rock flew out of the dark and smashed into the back of her skull. Lana swayed for a moment and fell to the ground without a sound. Her sister turned back to see the soldier from the bar close on their heels. In the pale moonlight, she caught a glimpse of his expression, and her blood ran cold. With a low stance, she pulled a knife out of her pocket and waited.

You’ll pay for that, the soldier said as he came closer.

His eyes darted between Aden’s face and the knife in her hand. When he spotted her left arm, he let out a low whistle. I see you already pissed off the wrong person.

With a single step to his right, he positioned the sisters between himself and the cliff’s edge. I guess I’ll have to take the other arm, he said, pulling a jagged blade out of his boot.

Lana awoke with a groan. She sat up and rubbed the back of her head, running her fingers over the tender spot. A slick warm liquid ran down her dark hair and onto her shoulders. She placed a finger in her mouth and spat out the blood that coated her hand. 

Leave us alone and we’ll let you live, Aden said to the soldier.

Ha! he huffed. A tramp like you’d be skinned alive for killing one of the Councilmen’s soldiers.

Not if it were in self-defense, she shot back.

The soldier laughed again until he began to cough. He wiped the spittle off his cheek, and switched his blade to the opposite hand. This isn’t the capital. Country girls like you have no rights, no say. No one would believe you.

Aden watched him shift his feet, like a bull ready to charge. Time to run, Lana, she said.

They shot off through the grass together before the soldier could catch them. Down the hill they ran, edging closer and closer to the drop. Aden was fast on her feet. No boy had ever beaten her in a footrace. But Lana was slower and heavier. She tried to use her long legs to her advantage, but the soldier was on them before they could escape through the weeds.

He wrapped his arm around Lana’s neck, pulling her toward the ground. Aden turned and thrusted her knife into his leather armor, hoping to reach a soft spot. The soldier swung his free arm, catching her across the face with a closed fist. In the midst of the blinding pain, her knife tumbled off the edge of the cliff and into the darkness.  

Aden jumped back up and wound her fingers into his wiry hair. Letting out a scream, she sunk her teeth into his hand, tasting the sharp tang of fresh blood.  She’d fought for her life many times in the harsh desert.  Animalistic survival skills were some of her biggest weapons.  The spark of madness was often there in her eyes when she felt cornered.

The soldier flung her off him with a howl of rage, sending Aden and his blade perilously close to the edge of the cliff.

Let me go, Lana wept. 

She squeezed her eyes closed and wished for it all to be over. If the soldier killed her, so be it. Lana had never been a fighter. She preferred to learn all the things that Aden hated – sewing, cooking, and reading. And Lana had often acted as a nurse when Aden came home with a black eye or a broken bone. She was never this close to the action.

I’m not going anywhere ‘til I get what I came for, the soldier whispered in Lana’s ear.

He pulled her long hair back until her neck strained. With his other hand, he ran his uneven nails across her cheek and down her shoulders. Lana shivered in her thin dress.

The cold night had just begun to set in. Even the sweltering heat of the day couldn’t keep Ridgeback from freezing during the darkness. At this time of night, Lana and Aden were usually huddled together for warmth in the straw bed they shared, holding their feet as close as they dared to the hot bricks at the foot of their bed. She wished they were there now.

I told you to let my sister go. Aden pulled herself off the ground. In her hand she held the soldier’s blade. It was nearly as long as her forearm and twice as jagged as her teeth. She held it up in the moonlight for him to see.

Let her go, she repeated.

In a flash, Aden was next to the soldier and digging the blade into the soft flesh beneath his armpit. He gasped and dropped his hold on Lana, backing away with his palms up.

Easy now, girls, he said. Didn’t mean no harm.

Aden waved the blade through the empty space between them, until his heels were next to the cliff’s edge. He swayed and swung his arms for balance, righting himself on solid ground. With a flash of panic in his eyes, he looked to Lana.  You won’t let her kill me, will you, sweet girl?

Aden snorted and used the tip of the blade to scratch an itch on her arm. She rolled her head toward Lana and smiled.  What do you think, Lana? Should I kill him?

Lana gulped and shook her head. The last thing they needed right now was blood on their hands. When the Councilmen’s caravan came through the village, it was an unwritten rule that they and all their men were not to be touched. Even by thieves and marauders. Anyone who dared to disobey that rule was guaranteed to rain disaster down on him and his community. King Oreal didn’t like it when his Councilmen were threatened.

Let’s just go, Lana said.

She put her hand on her sister’s shoulder and gently pulled. Aden sighed and turned to follow. They’d have to come up with another plan to escape Ridgeback. She wasn’t about to waste the rest of her life in this crummy hellhole.

Get out of here before I kick you over this cliff myself, the soldier grumbled under his breath.

Aden dug her heels into the ground and stopped. She turned, and without warning, charged toward the soldier with a bloody war cry. He jumped back in fright, stepping off the edge of the cliff, and stumbled backwards. His body twisted and turned as he fell two hundred feet to the rocks below.

Chapter Two

The sisters' morning slumber