Protector: Dragon Tamer

By J.A. Culican and J.A. Armitage

She's dying...to save dragons.

Julianna, a born dragon slayer, has found herself in the precarious position of being an unwitting dragon savior instead. Only her blood is able to unlock the dragons bound inside the goblin made slayers' blades. But some of the swords are missing and the dragons, slayers, and even the wolves are on a mission to find them.

The only people who know where the swords might be are the goblins, but everyone knows never to trust them. They're cunning and cruel. Somehow, Julianna and Ash must find a way to outwit the goblins into giving their locations.
Before she becomes too weak to fight the draw of the of the slayers' blades.

Start the USA Today Bestselling series from the beginning:
Book 1: Slayer
Book 2: Warrior
Book 3: Protector

• Language: English
• Publisher: J.A. Culican
• Release date: Jul 30, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386264071

J.A. Culican

J.A. Culican is a teacher by day and a writer by night. She lives in New Jersey with her husband of eleven years and their four young children. J.A. Culican's inspiration to start writing came from her children and their love for all things magical. Bedtime stories turned to reality after her oldest daughter begged her for the book from which her stories of dragons came from. In turn, the series The Keeper of Dragons was born.

Book preview

Protector

Book 3 Dragon Tamer

Armitage & Culican

Copyright © 2018 Armitage & Culican

All Rights Reserved.

All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from 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, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Edited by: Cassidy Taylor

Cover by: Covers by Christian

ASIN: B07BDN6YBJ

www.dragonrealmpress.com

To our husbands…

For supporting our love of dragons.

Chapter One

I gazed at the people surrounding me, amazed at how far we’d all come. We still had a long way to go to reach the top of the mountain, but I never thought I’d see the day that Slayers, dragons, and wolves would come together for a common cause.

Not that they were all especially happy about the situation. Apart from Alpha, Morganna and, of course, Ash and me, the others had formed very distinctive groups. The dragons took the lead with Spear heading up that group. Rocco followed behind with a group of Slayers. Then, at the very back, were Morganna and Alpha with the wolves. From where I stood, I could see all of them and the long trek ahead of us. I’d made this particular trek before but that seemed so long ago now.

After the fighting and the traveling, all of us were exhausted, including me, and we’d only just set off. It was going to take us a lot longer than it had before to traverse the rocky pathways. We hadn’t even gotten through the trees on the lower part of the mountains and I was already flagging with fatigue. The trip to the Wolvrens’ home and then back to Dronias, not to mention all the blood I’d lost, had taken its toll on me.

Are you ok? Ash asked, noticing my discomfort. I couldn’t hide anything from him, he was so perceptive.

I’m fine, I replied, plastering on a smile. I wasn’t fine, but if I said that, he’d either make me turn around and head back to my mother at the bottom of the mountain or insist on turning into his dragon form and carrying me up the mountain himself. I wasn’t willing to let either one happen. Truth be told, I was scared that if I left the group, something would come between them. Our solidarity was hanging by a thread as it was and I didn’t want to jeopardize that. As much as I hated to admit it, I was the glue that held us all together. Ok, Morganna could technically do the same job. She knew the wolves well and, of course, she was a Slayer, but it still felt like my responsibility to keep everyone together.

Do you want me to carry you for a while? asked Ash. You look really tired.

And there was my second option. The problem was, he looked tired, too, and if he carried me up the hill, the others might expect the same treatment. Besides, I really didn’t want to show weakness this early on in the trek. I shook my head and grasped his hand. Just holding onto him gave me strength and if he pulled me up a little and helped me over the rocky terrain, who else was to know?

After centuries of fighting between the Slayers and dragons, it was strange to see us working together. I could still feel the hate and dislike between the two groups. Friendship would take a long time, but with a common enemy in the Goblins, at least we could focus on something other than killing each other. Once we reached the Goblins’ cave, bloodshed would be inevitable. I wasn’t so naïve as to believe that we could sort out the problems without it. We still had many dragons to save and as I was the only one who could do it, I had to remain fit.

Ash and I had only just left the leafy shade of the wooded area, beginning the long, arduous journey over the rocky, gray terrain that made up the next part of the mountains, when up ahead, Spear came to a stop. I paused under the pretense of seeing what Spear was up to, but as far as I could tell, he was simply gazing out over the view below us. I couldn’t see it from where I was near the back of the caravan; I could only see the dark forest behind me, but I knew once I cleared the tree line, I’d see fields of gold and green laid out before me like a patchwork quilt. I’d seen the view enough to remember it well and had even flown over it on Ash’s back.

Looking back up at Spear, I could see him speaking animatedly to my father. At the beginning of the hike, before the groups had split, the two had been doing well, chatting about the route, both of them leaving old wounds behind them. But as I watched them now, I could see animosity between them. They were too far ahead to hear what they were saying and the wind that whipped around us swept their voices away, but it was plain to see they were having some kind of disagreement. Nudging Ash, I pointed up at them.

Do you think we should go see what the matter is? he asked as he saw what I was pointing at.

I sighed. I’d hoped that we could at least get to the top of the mountain without problems, but it seemed it was not to be. I guess so, I said, shrugging my shoulders. I didn’t have the energy to run to them, but I knew I’d have to find some from somewhere if I didn’t want this journey to turn into an all-out war again. I huffed and puffed as I increased my pace, passing Wolvren and Slayers until Ash and I were at the front of the group.

What’s the matter? I wheezed at the two men, both of whom looked disgruntled.

I think we should camp here, my father said to me, but your friend here thinks we should carry on.

Look out there, Spear said angrily pointing behind me. The golden fields were covered in a blanket of fog. If we don’t keep going, that is what we will wake up to tomorrow. Do you have any idea how difficult it will be to navigate this terrain with no visibility? We’ve only just set off anyway. Why are we resting now?

My legs already felt like jelly with only a couple of hours of walking, but I couldn’t be seen taking sides.

My father puffed out his chest. He hated being told what to do. Not being the leader on this particular expedition was obviously not sitting well with him. We are not like you. We are human. We need a break. You know these mountains. Are you saying you won’t be able to find your way in the fog?

Spear grimaced. It’s not exactly going to make it easy, is it?

Look at Julianna. My father pointed to me. Great! Now I was being dragged into this. The poor girl is exhausted. You can’t expect her to carry on walking. We are all tired and hungry. If the fog rolls in, so be it, although I doubt it will get this high.

Spear gritted his teeth as though he was holding back what he really wanted to say. He looked over at me, and despite me trying to appear fine from the journey so far, I was obviously not doing a good job. You do look tired, he conceded. Ok, everyone. We are going to set up camp here. We all need to be rested for the next part of our journey tomorrow.

I could hear some of the others, mainly the dragons, mumbling to each other behind me, but none of them would dare to go against Spear’s orders. I caught a grin on my father’s face, but when I looked at him directly, he let it drop.

All in all, I was glad for the rest. I didn’t want to announce it to everyone, but I ached all over, especially where my scars were. My body was a map of scars crisscrossing the skin where I’d cut myself to free the dragons. My skin was no longer flawless and never would be again. Some of my scars had faded to thin, silver lines, and others still shone red, but they were all there, plain to see, each one representing the freedom of a dragon.

Two of the younger dragons, Nenno and Fox, changed into their dragon forms to light our campfire. It was getting chilly now the autumn air was coming in and with little to shield us from the wind, we needed all the warmth we could get. Thankfully, my mother and the other villagers had packed us some warm blankets along with enough food for us to feast upon, but as the flames flickered in the wind, I couldn’t help thinking I should have been stronger and insisted we carry on further up the mountain where there would be more shelter from the elements.

Fox and Nenno changed back into their human forms and dressed quickly in the cold air. A couple of the Slayers shifted to one side begrudgingly to let them have space by the fire.

The fire was small as we only had the wood we’d brought with us from the forest, and there were so many of us crowded around it that I could barely feel the heat from it. I had to content myself with snuggling into Ash and wrapping the pair of us in a blanket.

Even around the fire, the group was still separated into three distinct parts. No one was fighting, but no one was making any effort to talk to anyone from one of the other groups either.

How long do you think it will before someone kills someone else? joked Ash.

That’s not a bet I’d like to take, I replied quietly. He was trying to be funny, but I knew our expedition was hanging by a thread. Centuries of hatred didn’t disappear overnight, and though everyone was doing their best to not get in each other’s way, I knew it would take very little for this whole thing to blow up in our faces.

Your father looks mad.

I glanced over at him. He always looks like that. I don’t think we need to worry about him. He got what he wanted after all. I caught him grinning a while ago. He just likes to be the boss, that’s all.

What about Spear?

I sighed. Spear was as pigheaded as my father. If any two people were going to come to blows, it was them. Alpha, leader of the Wolvren, seemed happy enough to camp. As I looked over at him, I saw he was chatting to Morganna. Both of them were grinning, caught up in some shared story or joke.

Maybe we should have brought more women up here, I said, pointing at Alpha.

Ash hugged me closer to him and laughed. I think it would just give them something else to argue over, he pointed out. Maybe he was right. I couldn’t see my mother wanting to make this journey and I wouldn’t know who to bring up to keep Spear company. It certainly was a male-heavy expedition, though. Other than Morganna and me, there were a couple of female dragons who were keeping out of everyone’s way. All the rest were men.

If women were in charge, this would be so much easier, I mused.

The guys think they are in charge, but let’s be honest, without you and Morganna, none of us would be here at all. If you ask me, women are in charge here.

I didn’t feel in charge of anything, but it was nice to be thought of in that way. I stood and grabbed some food from the pile that had been put out and brought it back to Ash. Between us, we ate bread, cheese, and ham that I made into rough sandwiches, followed by a couple of cupcakes I recognized as my mother’s handiwork.  Only my mother could think of baking when the whole world was falling down around her ears.

The sky darkened, but I couldn’t see any stars. Spear had been right. The fog was already beginning to drift in.

Chapter Two

I slept better than expected in the cold night. Ash’s body heat and the thick blanket helped keep me warm. That was one of the perks of being a dragon’s girlfriend: I was never cold. I opened my eyes and blinked. I couldn’t see a thing. My first thought was that I’d somehow gone blind, before realizing the damp air around me was actually thick fog. I’d never seen anything like it. I could barely see my hand when I stretched out my arm. I nudged Ash awake.

Hmmm?

Wake up, I whispered. Everything was silent around us as though the fog was hiding the sound as well as taking our vision from us.

Woah, exclaimed Ash as he opened his eyes.

Shhh. For some reason, it felt wrong to be speaking aloud.

Through the fog came the sounds of Spear’s voice. I told him this would happen!

I can hear you, you know, replied my father tetchily. I rolled my eyes. The pair of them would be the end of me if they didn’t get over their differences.

Breakfast anyone? I asked, just to break the tension.

How are you going to make breakfast? someone shouted, maybe Nenno. Are you able to cook in the dark?

It looked like my father and Spear weren’t the only ones in bad moods. The cold, damp air was getting to everyone. I stood, dropping the blanket to the ground. The dampness clung to me. It was going to be a miserable day. I wished I’d not agreed so readily with my father about wanting to stop. Now, if anything, the cold was making my body ache more.

I felt around for my backpack and pulled my warmest sweater from it. The sounds of other people stirring from sleep filled the air. The cloying fog was the main topic of conversation and the main cause of grumbling as we packed up the camp.

Breakfast was impossible. I had to content myself with eating a bar of chocolate that my mother had packed until we got a bit further