Dragon Awakening: The Dragon Master Series, #2

By Vicki Shankwitz and Megan Pitts

Continuing the journey they started in Book 1: Dragon Medallions, Skye, Phrena, and Jailynn find themselves in a strange world of Corux where dragons live, magic is commonplace, but strife thrives. Sumner, a good mage, helps the girls travel across Corux to search for the remaining dragon medallions and the golden dragon statue. With these, Skye can awaken the dragons. Then they must fight the Red Mage Mesant.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Vicki Shankwitz
• Release date: Oct 11, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386287612

Vicki Shankwitz

Born in Southern California, Vicki loved adventures whether they were real or in books. Retiring early, she and her husband traveled the country full-time for five years in an RV. During their travels, she caught the writing bug. Always having a love for science fiction and fantasy, Vicki started writing about dragons before branching into children’s books. Now settled on the Gulf Coast, she can write full-time and spend time with her family. Author of the award winning Grimbies of Agowadi, The Dragon Master Series and for kids, The Habitat Series: Goodnight, Gecko; Hello, Dolphin; and Peekaboo, Polar Bear.

Book preview

Other Books by Vicki Shankwitz

and Megan Pitts

YOUNG TEEN BOOKS AGES 12 and Up

The Dragon Master Series:

Book 1: Dragon Medallions

Book 3: Earth Dragons

Kid’s Books Ages 8 and Up

The Grimbies of AgowadiFAPA* 2017 Silver Medalist

Children’s Books Ages 0 to 8

The Habitat Series:

Desert—Goodnight GeckoFAPA* 2017 Silver Medalist

Ocean—Hello Dolphin

Arctic—Peek-a-boo, Polar Bear

*FAPA—Florida Authors and Publishers Association

C:\Users\Vickie Pc\Desktop\BOOKS\The Dragon Master Series\pictures\Corux maps\map2 - Copy.jpg

Prologue

SKYE, JAILYNN, AND Phrena – seventeen-year-old girls – attend high school as seniors at Hirkami Castle in Massachusetts. Hirkami Castle is an exclusive private school. Although most of their classes are the same as most private high schools, the primary athletic focus is on self-defense, archery, fencing, and horseback riding.

Unknown to anyone but a few friends, the three girls spent their spare time exploring unoccupied—and often restricted—parts of Hirkami Castle. On one such adventure, the three happened upon a room which appeared to be a historical archive of the castle filled with maps, documents, and other accoutrements. There, Skye found a golden medallion engraved with a dragon’s head, which she pocketed for future examination. Later, when she held the medallion, it flashed a brilliant blue and began to cause a static tingling throughout her body. Then a dragon mark—much like a tattoo—appeared on her wrist. It was not like the dragon on the face of the medallion, but that of a dragon in a circle as if to eat its own tail.

Sometime later, the three girls unwittingly were transported through a magic portal to the land of Corux—a parallel world to Earth and a world of ancient ways. It was a land filled with magic, mages, and royalty. Magic was designated as either Blue or Red depending on its purpose. Blue magic facilitated a good purpose and was used to heal, whereas Red magic facilitated destruction, caused pain, and drove the wielder to seek power over others. Stewards were presently ruling Corux, as the ruthless Red Mage, Mesant, had killed the Queen and King seventeen years prior to the arrival of Skye, Jailynn, and Phrena. While Corux had one sun and one moon like Earth, the days ran longer.

Upon their arrival in Corux, the girls found their way to the village of Gamsy. Gamsy, like most villages of Corux, had grown wary of strangers, causing their male residence to carry weapons as strangers often brought havoc and violence with them. Looking for a friendly face, the girls find their way into Airona’s store, the Star of the Blue Dragon. Airona’s store was filled with an amazing assortment of weapons and various fashion accessories—which the girls found very appealing.

While the girls were looking around the shop, Airona noted Skye’s unique necklace. Skye mentions that the necklace was like a scar on her ankle, which she showed to Airona. Suddenly, Airona’s expression changed to recognition and surprise, which confused Skye because she believed there was no way for Airona to recognize her, or know of the scar. As the girls prepare to depart from the store, Airona bestowed a unique gift upon each of the girls: Skye a dagger, Jailynn a magic, infinite-bag, and Phrena a necklace with a dragon-shaped stone holding a dragon’s tooth.

Sumner, whom the girls had later found to be an Apprentice Blue Mage, had been sent to look for the new arrivals. He found the girls outside of Gamsy, and knowing that they needed his help, beckoned them to trust him and to follow him to safety. The girls reluctantly did so. Sumner brought the girls to the Mage Strofa, to whom Sumner was apprenticed. Strofa was a Blue mage that had known the girls’ fathers, and knew that they were destined for something out of the ordinary. He sensed magic within the girls, and sent them on a quest to discover their true power, and to aid in saving Corux, and Earth. Their quest was to find four golden medallions, a golden dragon statue, and to awaken the slumbering dragons.

Seeing the danger that would follow the girls, Sumner decided to help them, catching up with the girls as they left to find Nuallàn. Nuallàn is another Blue mage who helps them gather information for their quest. As they arrived at Nuallàn’s, a great wind arose, separating the girls from Sumner. As the wind calmed, a man beckoned them inside. Not knowing what to do the girls entered, and as they did the door slammed behind them, startling them. As the three girls huddled together, the room began to grow brighter, and they saw in front of them an older man with white hair and a wrinkled face.

The old man did not have the air of a mage, as Strofa had, but looked weathered and unfriendly. The old man said to the girls Welcome to my home. I hope you find it comfortable here. Sumner will meet you outside when you get there. I will say good-bye for now, and good luck to you. With that he disappeared, leaving the girls alone in the cottage.

The girls, confused, went to the front door, and found it locked. They glanced around for another exit and found a side door. As they opened the door, they fell into a dark room.

Hirkami, an Earth Dragon, felt the presence of the medallion bearer. He had been awakened when Skye had found the medallion in the castle and had been marked. Now, he could feel that Skye was in distress, but knew he could not yet make his presence known.

1

THE THREE GIRLS STOOD in the room which slowly lit up around them until it was like daylight. Now the three girls saw the entire room, and everywhere were doors. The colorfully painted doors came in all shapes and sizes, and covered all the walls, ceiling, and floor. Some were fancy, while others were plain with doorknobs and handles of every type. It appeared that no two were the same, but it was hard to tell, as there must have been a hundred doors in the room. It was an interesting mixture of doors, as if they were in a door museum, but that did not appear to be where they were. Right now, they seemed to be stuck in a room, and they were not sure how to get out. The colors and many doors made the room appear claustrophobic and overpowering.

Jailynn glanced around, her brown eyes staring in amazement. What had they gotten into now? She brushed her shoulder length black, curly hair out of her face and tried to hold back the feeling of panic. They had been through some strange things in the last few days, and it appeared that they were in for another bizarre day.

Nearby, Phrena, with her short brown hair—now a mess around her head from the wind—stood still without moving. She had opened the door that had led them into this room but never expected to find this. Her brown eyes trailed along the wall in front of her, exasperated that they were not outside with their friend Sumner. Instead, they were stuck in a room full of odd doors.

Smoothing her long red hair and taking in a full breath, Skye relaxed a bit. This was yet one more puzzle for the girls to solve, and they would do it as they had done since childhood—together. She smiled at her friends knowing exactly how they were feeling, and knowing she was the one that would have to calm their fears and hold them together.

Alright, now what do we do? Jailynn said, staring at all the doors.

We are in a room with doors. We just pick one and try it, Skye offered reluctantly.

Phrena held up her hand to stop Jailynn from touching any of the doors. We need to be careful. I already brought us through one door, and we ended up in another room. We need to think first which one it could be.

Skye said, I don’t feel any danger here. The doors may not lead us outside, but I don’t think they mean us any harm.

Skye had experienced these feelings since childhood, and the three girls had learned to listen to them. More than once these feelings had saved them from trouble, or hinted of something they needed to find. Skye did not know why she had these feelings, and she was afraid to talk about them with her parents. She and her parents were close, but she could feel their sadness when she asked about her birth parents. Her parents adopted her when she was an infant, and they rarely spoke of the time before she came to them.

The girls relaxed a bit and offered a slight smile. They examined the room to look for any differences between the doors before knocking on six or eight of them. The sound gave them no indication of their substance nor whether the door went outside or into another room. Not feeling like wood, the doors did not feel like metal nor plastic. Some sounded solid while other sounded hollow. There was something odd about these doors, but the girls could not identify it.

Phrena had a thought, What did the front door to the cottage look like? Do any of these match that door?

They thought for a moment until finally Skye said, I don’t remember what it looked like. I just remember that it was open, and a man was inside the cottage.

Wanting to make up for their predicament, Phrena said cheerfully, I think you’re right, but this door looks like an excellent choice. Maybe we can try it and see where it leads. We need to decide; I’m sure Sumner is anxiously waiting for us outside and is worried by our disappearance.

They tried the door that Phrena suggested, but found the door locked. Phrena said, That’s encouraging. Maybe all the doors are locked except for the one we need.

They considered the doors again. Skye suggested, Let’s not open a door in the ceiling or the floor: there’s no way of knowing where those may lead. We need to pick only doors at the floor level. If we must climb to get there, then how could that lead outside?

They settled on a door in the middle of the room to their right. Jailynn grabbed the doorknob and felt it give in her hand, which was a good sign. Slowly, she turned the knob and glanced inside. She quickly realized the room contained more doors and moved to close the door. Before she could attempt to close the door, the girls were yanked into another room, as if by magic. It felt as if they were flying on a great wind which blew them from one place to the next.

Suddenly, they were laying in a heap on the floor in the new room, and the door behind them slammed shut. Once again, they were in a room with doors everywhere.

Sitting for a few moments to collect their thoughts, they checked to see that they were all in one piece. This transporting business was getting easier, but it still left the girls a bit rattled. After a few minutes, the girls were roaming the new room viewing the scene with a renewed confidence.

Jailynn said, OK. Well, that didn’t work. Now we know that even unlocked doors can be the wrong one, so we’re closer to solving the puzzle, I think. Let’s see if it is a door higher on the wall. Phrena, come help me reach this door over here. It looks like a door I’d like at my house, Jailynn said.

Painted in a light purple, the door appeared ordinary but eye catching in Jailynn’s favorite color. The old fashioned, round doorknob was gold with a flying bird and flowers. She thought it looked pretty, not caring if it made sense. At this point, they were unsure what type of door would make sense. They decided to try it anyway.

Crouching down on the ground, Phrena balanced herself while Jailynn sat on her shoulders with Skye’s help. When Phrena stood, the doorknob was still too far away for Jailynn to reach. After the failed attempt to reach high enough to grab the door handle, Jailynn showed the girls one of the cheerleading lifts that she had learned at school. Phrena and Skye faced each other, crouched a bit, and Jailynn stepped into their hands and stood, holding onto their shoulders. Phrena and Skye rose into a standing position and lifted Jailynn until she could reach the doorknob.

Before she could touch the knob, Skye said, If it looks like the wrong room, quickly close it before it sucks us in.

Slowly, Jailynn reached for the knob with her left hand and braced herself against the wall with her right. She touched the knob and gradually turned it clockwise. When she heard the latch release, she cautiously pulled the door open and peeked inside. The darkness gave her the idea that it must be another room instead of outside, as it should still be daylight. Wanting to make sure, she pulled the door open a little farther, allowing the light from her present room to filter through the crack. Now, she could make out a few shadows. Ugh, more doors. As she was about to close the door, she felt it push against her almost knocking the three of them over. She pressed hard against the door, but she could not shut it. She put all her weight into the door, try to close the door a little farther. Still the door pushed back at her. Suddenly, she lost her balance and the girls fell backwards. The door swung open all the way and sucked them into the next room, slamming closed.

■ ■ ■

This room was the same as before—doors everywhere. Was this the same room that they had just exited, or was it a new room that looked similar? Becoming discouraged, the girls were really starting to think they may never get out.

Phrena rose from the floor and dusted herself off. This isn’t working. We need to think. Obviously, the wrong doors open too and they take us into another room with doors. I think this is different than the last room, but I have seen too many doors now to be sure.

Glancing around them, the girls wondered if they had seen any of these doors before or not. Jailynn looked and did not see the purple door, making her think they must be in a new room. The girls were getting frustrated, and they still had not found any clues to which door would bring them outside. Locked or unlocked did not seem to matter and its placement. What was the key to getting out?

Stopping a moment in contemplation, Phrena stumbled onto a memory from a few days prior. They were in Strofa’s cottage discussing their upcoming quest. Remember when Strofa said that our magic had awakened, and that was why we flew through the portal? Maybe if we try to use magic, we can get out!

Skye laughed. I’m all for that, but there’s one problem. We don’t know any magic and wouldn’t know the first thing about how to channel it.

I agree, Phrena said, but we have to try something. Just think really hard about finding the right door and opening it.

Was it true that they possessed the ability to do magic? When they had been at Strofa’s cottage, Phrena had thought that she had made the Shadow Hands hiss. It could have been Sumner using his magic, but how could she be sure? The only facts they knew about magic came from what they had read in books. What did their world really know of magic? All magic there was fantasy, so, how much of what they knew was true?

The three girls stood back to back, in the middle of the room. They examined each door in front of them and thought hard about opening it. Trying to see beyond the door, they focus their thoughts on what is on the opposite side of the door. After a few minutes of concentrating on one door, they moved to the next. They concentrated for a long time without anything happening. Just as Phrena gave a loud sigh of failure, they felt the shaking of a door on the floor.

Was this their work, or was the cottage about to collapse? Could the door to the outside be in the floor?

Skye whispered, trying to encourage her friends, I think we’re getting somewhere. Keep doing what you’re doing.

Jailynn spoke tentatively, not wanting to break the spell. Do we need to say magic words... or maybe wave a magic wand?

Chuckling, Skye answered. I wouldn’t know what to say, and we don’t have any wands to wave. Strofa has a staff, but I don’t remember him or Sumner with any wand. Plus, Sumner never said anything when he was fighting the Shadow Hands. Let’s just try to use our brains and think about opening the doors.

Again, they tried to concentrate on the doors and on opening them. After a few more minutes, one of the doors on the floor slowly started to open. Seeing what was happening, Phrena inched her way over to the door. She was still concentrating, but it was tiring her. Concentrating very hard, she became extremely tired. Finally, she got to the door, quickly grabbed the handle, and threw open the door. Once open, the three stopped what they were doing, and Phrena fell to the floor. I’m glad that’s over, or I hope it’s over. That took a lot out of me. How are you two doing?

Jailynn answered, I feel fine, but then I couldn’t feel anything different. I doubt I helped open the door.

Feeling unsure, Skye replied, I am a bit tired, and I felt something different. I couldn’t have opened the door myself, but maybe I helped.

Well, I’m tired, and we still have to figure out if we opened the right door! Phrena whined loudly.

Kneeling over the open door, Phrena looked in. There were no more doors! However, this door had not led them outside, as it was dark inside. Abruptly, the three flew into the new room.

2

FALLING TO THE FLOOR, Phrena, Jailynn, and Skye saw mirrors covering the walls, ceiling, and floor. Not yet ready to move, the girls regarded the mirrors from their places on the floor, or what they thought was the floor. Was it the wall or ceiling? It was hard to tell since each side looked the same and there was no way to tell what was up. At first, they appeared to be ordinary mirrors. Then, as the girls rose and looked closer, they realized these were not everyday mirrors. The mirrors were of all shapes and sizes. Some had fancy jeweled frames while others had plain frames. Nevertheless, what made it odd was that none of the mirrors reflected the image in front of it.

In some mirrors, the image of the girl standing in front of the mirror may appear, but she was dressed differently, or standing in some place other than this strange room. In still other mirrors, it showed the girls in places they had never been. They thought they were closer to getting out, but now they had another room, and another set of mysteries to solve.

At first, each girl stood alone and studied the mirrors. The first mirror Phrena peered into reflected all three girls moving through a dark room with a flashlight, but only Phrena was facing it. She checked behind herself to see if the other girls were behind her, but saw they were in other parts of the room, and we're looking at their own mirror. Jailynn examined a different mirror and saw her family at home in Massachusetts sitting around the table eating dinner. She felt a tug of warmth and love, mixed with sadness thinking she may never see them again. With Skye, she saw two young girls holding hands while a third sat alone by a sandbox and appeared to be about their age. The two friends walked up to the girl and held out their hands to her. Skye realized that it was the day Phrena and Skye had met Jailynn, and they had become friends forever. The memory made her smile.

After looking at each reflection, the girls asked the others what they had seen. The glimpses of home and better times made them sad as they thought of their predicament.

To cheer them, Skye said warmly, That was a wonderful day and has changed our lives forever. We’re now inseparable and I’m glad we saw you that day, Jailynn.

Phrena sighed. I’m glad too, but I don’t know what’s up with these mirrors. They are freaky. We really need to get out of here, but how do you go through a mirror? You can’t step through it. Maybe there’s something behind the mirrors, and we just need to remove it from the wall and walk through a hole.

They each tried to peer behind the mirrors, finding that some were stuck directly to the wall while others came easily away. Nowhere could they see a door or hole through which they could crawl.

Encouragingly Phrena suggested, Well, magic worked last time. Why don’t we try that again?

Facing the mirrors, the girls concentrated on prying the mirrors off the wall. They stared for a long time, but nothing happened. Sweat poured from the girl’s brows from the effort, yet the room remained the same.

Jailynn glanced around her feeling lost. I have no clue what I’m doing. This magic stuff is not working for me!

Then maybe you’re not concentrating enough! Phrena remarked snidely.

Well, maybe you can do it all by yourself seeing you are so good at it! Jailynn shouted angrily.

Well, maybe I will! And then I will get all the glory without you! Phrena said.

Skye took a deep breath to calm herself down. Ok girls, let’s take a break for a second before we start fighting.

She could feel the tension rising in the room between them. They were getting increasingly annoyed with their predicament of being stuck in another room with no obvious way to get out.

I don’t know how any of us are doing any magic at this point, Jailynn. Our training didn’t cover this, but we’re just trying to do what we can. If this doesn’t work, we’ll go on to something else, Skye said reassuringly.

Again, Skye felt a bit of a nudging, but no strong feelings of power. Jailynn felt nothing and Phrena, tired as she was, could barely concentrate on the mirrors.

You two think of something while I rest; that took too much out of me. Phrena sat on the floor as far away from the mirrors as she could, which was not far as there was little room between each mirror.

Skye and Jailynn strode over to a nearby mirror while Phrena rested. They gazed into a mirror on the floor and saw Blake and Skye standing together. It was not an intimate pose, yet seemed unsettling to them. Skye jumped back in surprise and then looked to her side. Only Jailynn stood there. Why was Blake and not Rubin, or even Sumner, at her side? That was too weird. Jailynn saw it as well and glanced jealously at Skye.

Jailynn asked jealously, Skye, why would Blake be standing by your side? He’s my boyfriend and not yours.

"I don’t know, Jailynn. That’s odd. There’s never been a time when Blake and I have been alone together for any reason. You know there’s no way I’d try to take your boyfriend from you, right?" Skye said.

Yeah, I know Jailynn sighed. I guess I’m just getting tired and irritated. Jailynn stood silent for a moment clearing her head. Alright, what’s next?

Feeling a bit rested and not wanting to miss out, Phrena rose and joined the girls. They wandered the room peering into the mirrors at random trying to make sense of their reflections. One showed Jailynn with purses stacked up all over her room. There were hundreds of them in varying sizes, shapes, and colors and came in shoulder and clutch styles. Some were fancy while others were of plain black leather. The piles were waist high and would have been fun to wade through.

Phrena, trying to soothe things over, said, Jailynn, look! Wouldn’t you love that collection of purses? Those are amazing!

Jailynn laughed, and the girls continued their search.

The next mirror showed the three girls playing soccer with Blake, Rubin, and Ethan. It was the day before they went on Christmas break. They had played for a while, but no one’s heart was in it. After spending so much time together, they knew that they would not see each other for about a week. Rubin and Blake planned on meeting at Phrena’s house for a Christmas party. It was sad to think that they had been so busy in Corux that the girls had barely given the boys a thought.

I miss them. They must be safe at school by now and wondering what happened to us. I feel terrible for not thinking of them before, but I hope we would have if we hadn’t been so preoccupied here. Jailynn thought aloud. Her friends agreed and moved around with less enthusiasm than before.

Thoughts back with the mirrors, they found no logic to what they reflected. The mirrors showed images of past events, but also of events that were unfamiliar. Some appeared to show the girls interests or fears.

Next, they saw a mirror with Jailynn and Blake. They appeared dressed in everyday clothes, but they were in the land of Corux. Walking the streets of Courant, they wandered and talked to the villagers as if they were friends. Now that was odd. Jailynn pointed out the oddity and touched the mirror. It seemed fluid instead of solid. She put her arm in the mirror to see if she could feel a way to get out. Then whoosh, the girls zapped into another room.

■ ■ ■

This room held mirrors as well and appeared much the same as the room they just left. The girls landed hard and took a few minutes to collect their thoughts. Brushing themselves off, they got back to work.

Jailynn said, Now that was a weird feeling. This blustering around is getting old. I’d like to get out of here, but I think we need to be careful, or we’ll continue to go into different rooms forever. These mirrors are as odd as the doors, and it seems there’s no significance to what appears in them! Let’s get back to work before I go batty.

Well, you are very easily baffled, so I’m not surprised that you are starting to go batty. Phrena said.

At least I don’t eat my way through a tough situation. Jailynn replied nastily.

OK, ladies. Calm down. We will not get anywhere if you continue to bicker and pick at each other. How are we to finish a dangerous quest if we can’t even work on a small task for a few hours? Skye said.

Jailynn hung her head and then went to Phrena and said she was sorry. Soon the girls moved their separate directions s and peered into the mirrors. Phrena saw a large open room that looked like one of