Black Dragon Deceivers: Daughter of Havenglade, #2

By H.C. Harrington

Nothing Is As It Seems

After defeating the mysterious wizard, Lesmarglor, and saving Gradur Castle, Laurena had hoped for a better future. One where she could learn the secrets of her magical crystal and live in peace. 

But after a failed mission, paranoia spreads through the castle and alliances begin to shatter. Mysterious assassins threaten the Crown Prince, and images of black dragons surface in impossible places. Rumors of a dangerous cult hint that the recent problems are only the beginning of an ancient, unthinkable evil. 

With time running out, Laurena must decide whether to accept the perfect escape or to save the kingdom and herself...again. 

Killing Lesmarglor may have only been the beginning.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Havenglade Press
• Release date: Aug 6, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386061083

H.C. Harrington

H.C. Harrington is an American novelist, teacher, and lifetime learner. From Orange County, Ca. he studied Anthropology and History receiving his degree from the University of Nevada. He is the author of the Amazon #1 Best-Selling Daughter of Havenglade Fantasy Series, as well as the Fantasy Murder-Mystery The Inquisitor.After setting aside archaeological digs in the Sierra Nevadas, H.C. moved to Chengdu, China to study Mandarin Chinese. During his writing journey, he has lived and traveled to more than a dozen countries.His hobbies include traveling, playing boardgames, creating constructed languages, backpacking, and reading.

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Black Dragon Deceivers

H.C. Harrington

Black Dragon Deceivers

H.C. Harrington

Copyright © 2017

All Rights Reserved.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the internet or any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

Titles by H.C. Harrington

Daughter of Havenglade, Book One

CONTENTS

ACT ONE

Chapter One

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

ACT TWO

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

ACT THREE

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty-One

Chapter Forty-Two

Chapter Forty-Three

Epilogue

About the Author

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ACT ONE

CHAPTER ONE

Laurena shivered in the chill breeze. The moon shone brightly in the clear night sky, leaving few shadows to hide behind. But nothing could be done about that. Her moment had arrived. Five soldiers crouched silently in the dark underbrush, all staring at her intently—or perhaps nervously, she thought.

Nodding her head, she sprinted across the open ground between the shadowed woodlands and the large stone structure. When she reached the stone wall, she pressed her back against a darkened segment. A flickering light flooded out from an opening high above and the sounds of laughter and indistinct conversation floated down to her. She was close to the action, and the excitement continued to build as she breathed deeply and tried to stay focused.

She caressed the leather pouch that held her crystal and took a deep breath. She had trained hard over the last year—brutal hand-to-hand and dagger sparring sessions, followed by balance-and-rope skill training, magic classes, and a number of other skills. The more she excelled, the more she hungered for a chance to prove herself again, and this was it.

Thick vines covered some patches of the building’s exterior. Up close, she could see the vines were thick enough to support her small frame; if something went wrong, she could always float to keep from falling. She reached down and cupped the crystal’s pouch with her hand until she felt the slightest hint of warmth.

She gripped the thickest vine and tugged on it. It felt sturdy enough to hold her weight. Hand over hand, she climbed the vines. She hoped her dark cloak and hooded head blended in with the dark wall; she didn’t want to be spotted.

According to their scout’s reconnaissance, the building consisted of a spacious hall with a very high ceiling. Laurena would be entering the building through a falcon opening at roughly the height of the rafters above the hall. The previous patrons had contracted the building to accommodate the various birds of prey they used to train. They could come and go through these high entrances. Today, the high entrances would serve a different purpose. Luckily, Gradur Castle had numerous falcon openings, and Laurena was practiced in the art of contorting her body through them.

Her orders were to retrieve a bag of stolen crystals from one of the cellars and leave as if she had never been there. To do this, she had to make her way from the rafters over the hall and drop down in front of a small staircase that led to the cellar where the stolen crystals were being kept.

As she climbed, the concerns she had about this mission shot through her mind. What if someone sees me and I can’t get out quickly enough? What if the crystals have already been moved somewhere else? What if they know I’m coming? She tried to push these thoughts from her mind. As Unai used to say when they were training in the seclusion of Dorbon Forest, You can’t worry about the unknowable. And the best of plans can go awry.

She neared the top and peeked down. Falling from this height would be her undoing. She looked back toward her target. The vines stopped a couple of feet below the opening she needed to squeeze through, so she got as high as she could and braced the toes of her sandals tightly against the wall. She hunched down and exploded upward with all her strength. Reaching up with her right arm, her fingers curled around the edge and she gripped tightly as she swung her other arm up, and slowly pulled herself up into the opening.

Crouching down, she allowed her strength to return. She crept forward until she could see over the edge and down into the hall. A strong fire burned in the large fireplace in the middle of the hall, and candles on a long table brightened the room enough for her to see nine men playing cards and drinking from large mugs. They were going on quite loudly and seemed to be having a good time.

Perhaps this would go off without a hitch, she thought before taking a deep breath and stepping out onto the wooden rafter.

A hint of fear crept up her spine. She was now exposed. Anyone who glanced up would see her. Her dark garments would be of little help camouflaging her now.

Though the sturdy beam was firm under her feet, the width left something to be desired. She made sure to keep a good grip on the vertical support beams. Suddenly, a beam let out a creaking noise as she shifted her weight. Hiding as much of her body as she could behind a thin support beam, she gulped and drew in a shaky breath. She couldn’t bring herself to look down.

The room went still for a moment and Laurena held her breath and closed her eyes as if it would make her invisible. After the longest half-minute, the chatter at the table picked up again and she let out a sigh. She stole a glance down at them and then let her eyes wander toward the end of the hall. Near the corner of the room, the wall protruded out towards the middle of the hall in what Laurena could only imagine was the frame of a staircase going down to the cellar.

She continued to move carefully along the beam, picking up her pace as she passed the table. She was defenseless with her back to them and wanted to get down as soon as possible. As she reached the end of the beam, she knew it was time for the hard part. She was out in the open and needed to get down to ground level. Luckily, none of the chairs were facing her direction. The men sat across from each other and their hooting and hollering carried on.

She crouched down, facing the near wall and gripped the beam with both hands. Letting her legs dangle off the edge, she slowly lowered herself until she was fully extended. She peered down to check the floor beneath her. It was clear of obstruction. She let go and fell about two-and-a-half body lengths to the floor.

The floorboards creaked from the forceful impact of her weight, and she rolled out of their line of sight, crouching in front of a dark stairway leading down under the building. She got up and flattened her body against the wall, inching out from behind it until her right eye could get a view of the table; luckily, everyone was still blissfully unaware of her arrival.

Things were going well.

And Wizard Bobbin said I was a poor choice for this mission. Well, I guess I’ll show him, now, won’t I? she thought with a snide smirk. Now to find the crystals.

She walked down the stairs one at a time, keeping her ears open for any sounds. There was a possibility that there would be a guard down here. Then again, if they were as rogue as they seemed to think, then it was likely they assumed the work was done and they had gotten away with clean hands.

Who were these thieves and how did Palben know they would have the crystals?

Before she could think about answers to those questions, she reached the end of the stairs and stood in front of a cobweb-covered door. It looked to be worn from age. She put an ear to the door but the other side was as quiet as a fall night in Havoli. Not even a cricket ’s chirp to break the tension.

She grabbed the doorknob and turned as slowly as she could.

Don’t be locked. If it’s locked this gets much trickier and more dangerous. She exhaled in relief as the door clicked and opened. Slipping inside, she closed the door behind her. It was a wine cellar in disrepair. The wine racks were mostly rotted through and broken. Cobwebs decorated the room and gave it a kind of look which reminded Laurena of certain nightmares she couldn’t seem to shake.

But there, in the middle of the cellar was a wooden chair, and seated upon it was a large brown bag, tightly bound with string. She walked right up and felt the sides. The bag was filled with pieces of small, hard objects.

These must be the crystals.

But she had to be certain.

Laurena reached for her own crystal and held it securely in her hand. She concentrated on the energy coursing through her body and slowed her breathing until she could feel the crystal warming up, and then she held it close to the bag. Slowly, the bag started glowing and her crystal glowed as well.

This is it. Time to get out of here!

She snatched the bag off the chair and turned for the door when she heard a noise, like a boot scuffing on the stone floor. Then she heard it again—there was definitely someone coming toward the cellar. She looked around but there was nowhere to hide. Her heart raced as she threw the bag back on the chair and darted toward the door. As it started to open, she slipped behind it and pressed her body as close to the wall as she could, hoping he didn’t slam it open. If he did, she’d certainly be caught.

The door swung open but stopped just short of slamming into her chest. She continued holding her breath but let her hand slip down to her side where it found the hilt of a dagger.

A short, plump man entered the room and made right for the chair. He stopped short, scratched his head and looked at the chair. And then muttered something. Aah, what the—?

Laurena focused on the bag. When she’d tossed it, she barely hit the chair and the bag hung over the side haphazardly and a faint glow could still be seen through the bag. She’d have to think fast.

The man continued toward the chair.

Laurena pulled out her dagger and rushed toward him.

As he reached down to pick up the bag, the hilt of her dagger came down hard on the back of his head. He grunted and tried to turn his head around but crumpled to the floor before he could catch sight of her.

That was close. I need to get out of here.

She considered trying to hide him but he looked far too heavy for her to move, and there wasn’t really any place to put him in the empty wine cellar. She noticed a tattoo on the side of his arm. It was too faded to make out the letters but there was definitely a dark-colored dragon, perhaps a black dragon. The eyes still held a vivid red color, which didn’t seem quite right, considering the rest of the tattoo was so faded and blotted.

As she stepped over his body, she could hear his shallow breaths. He’d be okay but the headache he’d have in the morning would be a real pain in the ass.

She grabbed the bag and checked out the door.

All clear. So far so good. All she had to do was open the adjacent window, drop the bag outside and let one of her teammates do the rest. Marki was to wait close by and watch for the window to open, grab the bag, and return to the rendezvous point where Laurena would be making her way to.

She went out the door, not bothering to close it, lest the hinges cry out to the owners that a thief was at work in their very hall. The window was straight ahead. This was going to be an easy job. The only nuisance was the design of the windows—they were more like oval-shaped slits. Too thin for someone to slip through but wide enough to toss out a small bag.

As she neared the window, a cool wind rushed past her, as if a large door had opened and closed in the hall. Then a voice called out, Stop, thief!

She didn’t turn, instead she ran over to the window, pushed up on the pane and squeezed the bag through the opening. She heard it land softly into the thick grass below.

She could hear footsteps and chairs being knocked around under the shouts of the men. She glanced at the one who spotted her.

It was Marki!

He wasn’t outside after all.

Would there be someone to pick up the drop? She had no time to think about that now. She leaped onto a chair and then stared up at the rafters almost two body lengths above her. She felt the gem on her forehead begin to warm. She wasn’t supposed to use the mysterious power of the Trax stone but she had no choice. A glow brightened her field of vision and she leaped up, grabbing the horizontal rafter with both hands and pulled herself up. This was a lot easier than it would have been a year ago, before the training. She felt like a completely different girl now.

People were throwing things at her and yelling. She rose on the rafter, established her balance and was hit square in the face with a small hard object. It hurt terribly and red clouded her vision. She swayed backward but was able to grab hold of a vertical beam and managed to wrap herself around it as her vision came back to normal.

I’ve got to keep moving!

She could distinguish Marki from the other voices. She’s trying to get away. Give me that crossbow, he yelled.

Marki had been chosen for this mission because he’d provided the knight’s castle security detail with information on the missing crystals and refused any sort of reward, he had only asked to go along and help retrieve them. Laurena had seen no risk when they let him join the group, but he had stuck close to her, almost following her around. There had been a strange question about where she had found the Trax stone, which he referred to as such a beautiful rune.

She ran along the rafter as fast as she could, barely keeping her balance and narrowly avoiding a plate thrown up at her, which smashed against the wall, exploding into pieces. She was getting close to the opening and all she could think of was the word crossbow. Hopefully, Marki wasn’t a good shot.

Laurena was within steps of the opening when a wood panel dropped down, blocking her escape. Some kind of storm shutter, no doubt. She reached the end of the rafter and slammed into the wooden barrier with her shoulder, but it wouldn’t budge. The impact sent a sharp pain down her arm. She tried to lift it but it was of no use. They had closed off her only obvious route of escape and the group of men were now crowded around below her.

She looked down and made eye contact with Marki, who was pointing a crossbow at her. Her heart beat faster. This had gotten way out of hand. But it wasn’t her fault. She had handled everything correctly. Why would Marki give them the information about the crystals and then betray them?

She hopped behind a vertical beam, barely dodging the arrow zipping past her. She heard it crash into the stone wall behind her. That was too close. I’ve got to get out of here!

Without thinking, she hopped on top of the only object within her range—a tall bookshelf about a body length beneath her. She landed on top of it but too close to the edge, and the impact of her weight sent it toppling to the ground. The books fell from their shelves as Laurena did her best to try to balance on the falling bookcase.

Realizing it was of no use, Laurena jumped off the bookcase and tumbled to the ground.

She crawled underneath a long table and scurried to the other side.

The men were coming toward her from all directions.

She felt for her crystal—it was still warm but not primed, and her body was weakening. She concentrated and produced some tiny spheres of green energy, sending them at the two closest men. She released the tension and the energy collapsed, knocking the two men to the floor.

She was too vulnerable in her current position.

She spread her arms and created a thin wall of energy, covering her upper body in a green swirling glow.

She could see the impression it made on the men. Several stopped dead in their tracks. Nonetheless, an arrow hit dead center and bounced off the glowing surface.

A sharp pain spread through her back and down her spine, almost like getting poked with a knife. The energy field dissipated and she weakened even more. She hadn’t had time to connect with her crystal, and the Trax stone usually didn’t have any effect without it.

Someone grabbed hold of her arm and she reached into her cloak with her free hand to pull out a dagger. Before she could free the dagger from its sheath, another man grabbed hold of that arm as well. She stomped hard on his foot and he let out a string of what she assumed to be curses in a dialect she wasn’t familiar with. The two men pulled at her and pinned her to the ground.

This was it.

Hold her still. She heard a voice call out and the rest of the men went silent. She tilted her head to get a glimpse but could only see his boots.

Stand her up, he said. She knew from the slightly raspy voice that it was Marki.

They raised her up but kept a tight hold on her.

She struggled against them. What do you want? Why did you double-cross Havenglade? she snapped at him.

He stared into her eyes, a serious expression on his face. Where did you find that stone? he asked, pointing one shaky finger at the stone resting on her forehead.

All this to try to steal something you couldn’t use or possibly understand? she asked incredulously.

Marki looked toward the ceiling and let out a loud cackle. He returned his gaze to Laurena and started clapping his hands. Someone’s been searching for this for a long time, my dear, he said.

Before she could ask what he was talking about, the large double doors of the hall smashed open and soldiers streamed through. They bore the Havenglade insignia but weren’t part of the group Laurena rode in with.

The men dropped her on the ground and went straight for the soldiers.

Laurena got up in a hurry and made eye contact with Marki. They both held the gaze for what felt like an eternity until Marki winked and turned to run.

He ran toward the window where Laurena had dropped off the bag of crystals.

She pulled out her daggers and charged after him.

As he reached the narrow window, something impossible happened. He raised himself up to the window and slipped right through, as if he had shrunk in the span of seconds. Laurena reached the window and looked out, but Marki was nowhere to be found and the bag of crystals was gone.

She turned back, troubled by what had transpired. Had he really fit through that small wooden slit? He was taller with much wider shoulders, and even she couldn’t have possibly gotten through.

Student Laurena! a squeaky voice called out.

She cringed, knowing that voice could only be Wizard Bobbin. He still insisted on adding student when he addressed her.

How annoying.

She trudged over to him, her head slightly downcast, looking at her own feet.

You certainly know how to turn a simple task into a dramatic and dangerous endeavor, Wizard Bobbin said, shaking his head in disapproval.

Anger rose up inside Laurena. It wasn’t my fault. I did everything the way we planned it. It was Marki! He double-crossed us, she said, pounding her fist into her other palm.

Wizard Bobbin turned to a soldier on his right, and whispered something into his ear. The soldier listened and then shook his head.

Laurena glanced around the hall. The strange group of men all lay dead on the ground. Blood pooled next to the bodies. Who were they?

Marki? Where is Marki? Did he run off to the cellar? Wizard Bobbin asked.

Laurena shook her head and fidgeted with her daggers before returning them to her cloak. No, he—well—I saw him escape through that window, she said as she pointed to the window nearest the stairwell.

Wizard Bobbin pointed a finger toward a couple of soldiers and then towards the window. The two fully armored soldiers heeded his command with swords drawn. The taller one reached the window and stared out, seemingly considering the dimensions of the slit window. He muttered something to the other soldier. They both chuckled and as they walked back, their faces morphed into a more serious demeanor.

The taller soldier stopped next to Laurena, facing Wizard Bobbin. After inspection, it is clear that the lady was mistaken. Perhaps in the commotion, she believed she saw someone go toward the window, but it would be impossible for any man to squeeze through that window, the soldier said.

Laurena felt like she was in some sort of nightmare—it wouldn’t have been the first one in recent days. No, it was Marki. He ratted me out. I was set to make my escape and then he alerted those men. I tried to get away but they caught me, she said. Her nerves were starting to act up.

She tried to relax and breathe deeply. There’d be no use in