Rise of the Winged Serpent

By Erik Daniel Shein, Melissa Davis and Karen Fuller

Evil stirs in the darkness. Seraphina Miles can feel it bleeding into the world around her, suffocating the life of every living creature. The shadows become its playground, while it stalks the new Guardian. Evil will not stop until it possesses the magic flowing through her veins.

Part of her wants to run as fast as her feet can carry her, but Sera’s destiny prevents her from giving in to her fears. Too much is at stake. Now that she is aligned with the elemental fire rippling just beneath the surface, the fourteen-year-old must learn to control her element without unleashing its rage onto the world around her.

With the mythical phoenix at her side, Sera’s next step is to align the winged serpent, Challis, with the next Guardian, so that the golden serpent can rise again. From the very moment Sera gives Maya her amulet, the two girls find themselves on a race against time. Maya must possess the courage to become the next Guardian and harness the elemental winds that whip around her. If the new Guardian cannot master her new powers, all will be lost.

With no room for error, the girls must combine their magic to protect the world from Bianca before she unleashes the deadliest creature to ever walk the earth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: World Castle Publishing, LLC
• Release date: Feb 4, 2019
• ISBN: 9781949812305

Erik Daniel Shein

Erik Daniel Shein was born Erik Daniel Stoops, November 18th 1966. He is an American writer, and Visionary, film producer, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, and philanthropist, Pet enthusiast and animal health advocate. He is the author and co-authored of over 30 nonfiction and fiction books whose writings include six scientific articles in the field of herpetology. His children’s book, “The Forgotten Ornament” is a Christmas classic, and was endorsed by Hollywood legends Mickey and Jan Rooney.

Book preview

Chapter 1

A loud crash of glass on stone echoed around the cavern. Shards ricocheted on the floor as one lone shape stood fuming in the darkness. Having just lost a vessel of power, Bianca was ready to throw every breakable thing around her. Since her life had ended its mortal coil long ago, her soul had been reborn over and over, gaining even more power with each life. In this life, her guise had been that of a young archaeologist named Laura. Having lost the first battle with the new Guardian, she would no longer pretend.

Holding up her hand, she snapped her fingers and the torches near her burst into flames. She surveyed the area around her. Lifetimes of triumph surrounded her. The walls of the cavern were lined with fur skins that had been taken throughout the years. They brought warmth to the large cave, and a reminder that power could control everything. Some of them were from animals that existed long ago, from Tazmanian tigers to the California golden bear. All creatures great and small plastered the walls. It was a reminder of where her life had started.

Long ago, one of the Guardians had made the greatest mistake this world had ever seen. She had chosen Bianca to be the Guardian to uphold the balance of peace around them. Bianca had not possessed what it took to be a Guardian. The position as the keeper of the winged serpent, a magical creature that protected the world around it from evil, required one pure of heart. Her thoughts had been filled with power and corruption, even at such a young age. When the power of the Guardians was handed down to her, Bianca’s greedy heart had corroded the innocence of the winged serpent, changing it into a darkness that manipulated the balance and shattered its existence, sending the world down a path no one had foreseen. Humans no longer upheld the co-existence with the earth and its creatures. Species were annihilated all because man’s heart had been corrupted.

Did Bianca regret her role in this? Not even slightly. She did not have a loving bone in her body, nor did she hold any animal in high esteem. To her they were an object, a possession to use and abuse at her own will. The fact that her greed had wiped out complete species of animals did not concern her in the least. They were like anything else in this world, a means to an end.

Running her hand along the edge of the high-backed chair next to her, Bianca held her head high. The bones that crafted the chairs surrounding the gathering table were from some of the world’s largest raptors, birds who had held such grace and esteem on this world. They were now just a remnant of a time long gone. She sat down in the chair and looked across the stone table, another of her creations. The four tusks from the woolly mammoths that had been unearthed nearly a century ago supported a smooth obsidian quartz. The table was unlike any in this world.

Bianca sighed and rolled her eyes as blue flames appeared near the entrance to the cavern. She could only avoid the other Obscurans for so long. Her nails dug into the table when Cesar stepped through the portal. She prepared herself for the questions that were soon to come.

Did you bring the amulet? His green eyes seemed to glow in the darkness. His long brown hair was tied behind his head.

Had the chair next to her not been so valuable to her, Bianca would have hurled it at his head. Cesar was one of the only Obscurans that dared to push her buttons. "Did you, Cesar?"

I’ll take that as a no then. He tugged on his leather tunic before he sat down on one of the bone chairs. His fashion sense could have been described as simply medieval, since none of his clothing seemed to fit this century. He always said that artisan clothing was much better than any high-end designer. From time to time he could be seen sporting something closer to this century, but those times were few and far between.

Bianca looked away from him. The winged serpent is no longer under our control.

Figures. Send a woman….

Bianca’s eyes flashed icy blue. Her palm opened up and a shimmering ball of blue fire rippled inside it. She rolled it around from hand to hand, debating whether to toss it at him or not. Her hand ripped through the air as she made up her mind. It landed mere inches from his head.

Cesar did not even twitch. Touchy….

Oh, leave her be, Cesar. Another woman entered through the fiery portal. We’re all entitled to a bad day.

Morgen. Bianca nodded at the redhead.

Morgen smirked slightly. So, did I hear that right? We lost the winged serpent?

Cesar was about to answer for her, but Bianca sent him a warning glance. Instead, he sat back in his chair, put his hands behind his neck, and propped his boots up on the table. His lazy posture made him appear as if he did not have a care in the world.

The Guardian found all her stones. With her amulet complete, her powers will be fully activated soon. The world is about to encounter a major shift, and it won’t be in our direction if we’re not careful.

Morgen stepped slowly over to her chair, her feet barely making a whisper of sound over the stone. When she sat, Morgen pushed her black hood away from her head. So where do we go from here, Bianca?

We find more power sources. Her words were matter-of-fact, but her eyes were icy cold.

To defeat one Guardian? Cesar’s eyebrows rose incredulously.

Do you even bother to pay attention? Bianca smashed her fist on the table and electric blue sparks flew around it.

He tends to tune out whenever you start talking about prophecies. Do speak slowly, Bianca. Monotones…small words, Morgen teased him.

Laugh all you want. I may not have the sharp mind you both have, but I have enough brawn to take on any of you. Cesar pulled out a silver dagger. The small runes etched on its blade glowed green and lit up the table around them.

Bianca clucked her tongue to the roof of her mouth. Brains and brawn. We’ll need much more of both if we are going to stop them. Long ago—

Cesar cleared his throat and interrupted her. If you don’t mind. I’d rather get the Cliff’s Notes version instead of the long drawn out novel you’re about to recite.

Bianca sighed. Very well. When the first Guardian regains her powers, there will be four others that follow. We do not know from where they will come, or which element they will cling to. We can only try to stop them. Our eyes and ears are everywhere.

"Obscurans will unite against these so-called Guardians. We’re not ready to relinquish our control over this world." Morgen examined her nails and crossed her fingers together.

Yes. We will. It isn’t over. Far from it. Bianca’s nose twitched as she imagined herself ripping the amulet off that insipid little fool. Seraphina Miles might think the hardest part was past her, but that child had a lot to learn, and Bianca still had quite an arsenal at her disposal.

Speaking of the others, where are they? Morgen looked around at the empty space around them.

Here and there, I imagine. Not to worry. We’ll meet up with them soon enough, Cesar answered. His foot twitched as he whistled a merry tune only he seemed to know.

Do you mind? Bianca reached over and shoved his feet off the table. Manners of a pig…, she muttered under her breath.

I may be a pig, but I’m not the one who lost the winged serpent, challenged Cesar.

The two of them leapt out of the chair at the same time. Their hands rose in the air and static electricity crackled around them. Their firebolts left their hands at the same time, smashed into each other, and exploded carelessly in the air before him.

Morgen snapped her fingers and shook her head at them. Just a second faster….

And what? Cesar asked her.

Oh, one day you’ll see. I’m sure of it. Morgen favored him with a wicked smile.

As much as I’d like to spar with you two, there is work to do. Cesar waved his hand in the air and disappeared from sight.

He could have at least taken the portal. A waste of magic if you ask me.

Any use of magic without personal gain is a waste. But then again, he never was good at conserving it. He’s a big reason why we’re always searching for more. Bianca clucked her tongue.

Why do we keep him around then? Morgen muttered.

The same reason I keep the others. You’re all expendable.

Morgen looked down at the ground at the reminder. Her lips twitched uncomfortably as she recalled the last time someone had gone against Bianca. It had not gone well. Not at all. Right.

Goodbye, Morgen. Bianca waved her off and Morgen was quick to follow her commands. There was an order to the Obscurans. It started with Bianca, and pretty much ended with her too. That was the way of their existence, the way it had started and the way it would always be. Most had come to understand that long ago. Sure, some may push their luck from time to time, but that did not faze Bianca. Those that were easily corrupted often came with challenges. And those who pushed it too far, they were the first to go.

Bianca walked around the table, letting her fingers slide over the top. Too much was happening too soon. She would have to step up her game if she wanted to defeat the Guardian and prevent her from activating any of the others. The Obscurans had a lot of work to do. First, she needed to find another minion to do her bidding. With the winged serpent, Challis, no longer under her control, Bianca had lost the advantage. It was time to dig deep and find a new power source.

Chapter 2

The sun was just starting to make its way lower in the sky. Its flight cast shadows down the stairway leading from the ruins of Ollantaytambo, where Seraphina Miles sat waiting for her next move. The other members of the Consortium, including her father, were sitting further away from her as they discussed something they weren’t quite ready to share with her. Sera didn’t mind, though. Her thoughts were churning inside her brain, and the distance from the others was actually quite helpful.

The storms would soon be here, and they would be stuck here if they didn’t leave pretty quickly. Sera sat on the edge of one of the terraces and reflected on her summer thus far. One moment, she was a normal every day teenager sulking in the typical way one would expect. That was par for the course for her usually, but this summer was a different story. At the start of the summer, she was uprooted from her home to spend the sweltery season with a father who still called her by her full name, Seraphina. Sera hadn’t gone by that for as long as she could remember.

At first, she was just being acclimated to her new surroundings. She had been flown halfway across the world to Peru to the lost city of Machu Picchu, where her father, Doctor Jeffrey Miles, oversaw an archaeological dig site. When she had arrived there, she had learned that base camp where the archaeologists stayed was basically out in the middle of nowhere, far from the rest of civilization. While it had all the amenities one needed to live, it lacked the easy hustle and bustle of city life that she was accustomed to. Add in a father she barely knew and the fact that Sera started to have dreams of a dark sinister creature that was out to get her, and her summer was off to a big bang. From the beginning she had waved the bizarre dreams off as just random nightmares. When Sera found her dreams turning real, she decided to act on them by exploring the ancient ruins by herself. In doing so, she found an amulet that led her down a path no one could have predicted.

Sera touched the metal surrounding her neck and took a deep breath. The world tree amulet, now complete with its five magical stones, was cool to her touch. The amulet had opened up a whole new world around her, filled with magic beyond her wildest dreams. It had brought her to the mystical phoenix, Isabella, her very own spirit animal that helped protect her and guide her down her path as one of the world’s magical Guardians.

What’s eating you? The phoenix landed next to her and tilted her head as she inspected her human.

Just trying to make sense of it all. Sera moved closer and started to pet the bird with her hand for a moment before pulling it back. She imagined how crazy she must look, petting the air around her, especially since no one else could see the creature.

The world never makes complete sense. Isabella started to prune her fiery feathers that shimmered different colors up and down her body. The deep reds mingled with shades of orange and gold.

It never has. The winged serpent fluttered near them. The creature, more snake than dragon, used its small legs to land on the ledge just below them. Challis folded her wings around her body and gazed up at her. You have much work to do, Guardian.

Yes…I know…. And she did know. She fingered the amulet she had in her pocket, knowing that the next Guardian was just a few miles away. Sera couldn’t help but wonder how well her friend would take it when she handed Maya the amulet.

At least her friend had more of a head’s up than she’d had. When Sera had first come to Machu Picchu, she had barely any knowledge of its history, especially the story of the winged serpent and Dayanna, the last pure Guardian who had existed on this world. When Dayanna had chosen her replacement, she had made a drastic miscalculation on her successor, Bianca. Bianca did not have a pure heart, nor did she find value in keeping the balance between man and beast. The moment she had taken over, the people of this world started to use and abuse the animals around them. In doing so, many species had gone extinct with little to no care.

Where there is bad, there is always good though. Not every human was corrupted. Dayanna did eventually find a way to end Bianca’s rule, but the damage had already been done. The minute Bianca had taken over her darkness spread to the winged serpent, a creature meant to work beside its Guardian in creating balance. Instead, the golden dragon became possessed with the same darkness. Power, corruption, greed, it all swirled in the world around them. Would this have happened if Bianca had not gotten her hands on the magic of the Guardians? They would probably never know, for even in this lifetime, Bianca maintained her dark magic with the same exuberance of her previous lives. The only thing they could do was find each Guardian, retrieve the stones to their amulets, and attempt to restore the balance of darkness and light.

Piece o’ cake, Sera muttered to herself.

What’s that? Isabella perked up at her words. You have cake?

No. I don’t have cake. Sera rolled her eyes.

Well, maybe you need a slice. You look like you could use it. The bird gestured to her appearance and Sera laughed.

I have seen better days. It wasn’t every day that she took on a gigantic worm that wanted nothing more than to devour everything in its path, including her. And that wasn’t even the end of her day. After that, she had gone toe to toe with Laura. Sera hadn’t trusted that woman since the first day she met her. When she found out that Laura was in fact a reincarnation of Bianca, that hadn’t made her day any better, but she had survived it. Sera was a fighter.

A helicopter landed on the rise below and her father called up to her. It’s time to go, Sera.

Yep. Sera stood up and brushed herself off. She turned to the phoenix. See you at camp?

Sure. You ready, Challis? Isabella called down to the winged serpent below.

Of course. Challis unfolded her wings and shook them out behind her. When she rose into the air, there was barely a sound. Even the wind seemed to be silent beneath her sturdy wings.

Sera watched the two animals disappear from sight with their glowing lights trailing behind them. She climbed down the terrace to where her father was waiting with the others and gave him a half smile as he ushered her safely onto the helicopter. Sitting across from him, Sera could see the way his face had aged in just a few hours. When Sera had disappeared, the others had no choice but to wait for her to return. The members of the Consortium had no real powers, not like her own. At least that was what she had come to understand. They seemed to only have financial backing that had allowed them access to places like Machu Picchu, where they could explore the past as they waited for the first Guardian to make herself known.

Sera still did not know a lot about the Consortium. She was learning her new role as quickly as possible, because this Guardian role didn’t seem to come with a handbook. It was a role that existed centuries ago, long forgotten by most, except for the few who had passed the stories down through the generations until the Consortium was formed. Sera was still not sure what their roles were, but was sure as she progressed with her role as a Guardian they would be more clear with their intentions.

If anyone had told Sera that her summer would be filled with magic and intrigue, Sera would have laughed in their faces. Holding up her hands in front of her, she saw a crackling energy pulsing at their fingertips. Magic. It coursed through her in ways she still didn’t understand. Would the other Guardians be just as clueless as she was? So far she had been able to cast a shield and heal the winged serpent from the dark spell she was under. She also could see spiritual imprints of animals who had passed long ago. It was a magic older than time itself. Who knew what else lay beneath the surface?

Lightning struck the clouds far ahead of them and Sera shivered. Like a reminder of the darkness that circled around them, the storm was going to beat down on them very soon. Thankfully they were near their destination, base camp at Machu Picchu, where they would weather out the storm until they were able to move forward again. As much as she wanted to bring Maya into her confidence, tonight was not going to be the right time for that. She only hoped that tomorrow would be a brighter day.

Chapter 3

When they touched down in base camp near Machu Picchu, most of the people were already safely huddled inside their tents as they prepared for the rain to fall. Sera climbed out of the helicopter. She was sure her father would want to talk about what had happened earlier that day. Sera didn’t really want to talk about it though. How could she? While the members of the Consortium believed in magic and restoring the Guardian’s powers to the world, she wasn’t all that sure they could handle the truths she had learned.

Did they even know about the Obscurans? It was less than likely that they did. If their main focus had been on returning the Guardians to the earth, they could have missed a lot of other signs. Sera wasn’t looking forward to telling them either, mostly because she had no idea what to say. Dayanna’s spirit had barely had time to tell her about Bianca and her followers before she disappeared.

Sera touched the spirit stone in the middle of her amulet. In a way, giving her spirit to the amulet kept Dayanna with Sera all the time, but it was still not the same. Dayanna’s guilt from choosing the wrong Guardian centuries ago had stayed with her even in the afterlife. No one should have to hang on to their misdeeds that long.

Sera? Her father held his hand out to her as if he wanted her to grasp his, but Sera wasn’t the child she had been long ago. She barely remembered being carefree enough to hold someone’s hand. Even though they were getting along fairly well now, it did not mean she was completely comfortable around him.

Sera’s mom always said that had been the worst moment for her—the moment Sera let go of her hand. It was her first streak of independence; the first time Sera had gone into her classroom with her awkward smile plastered on her face. Was it sad that Sera had kept it painted on her face most of the time, even when she did not feel like smiling? Probably. Although, being a teenager now, she didn’t even bother to hide her malcontent with the world around her. It was almost expected.

I won’t bite, Sera. Jeffrey gave her a reassuring smile.

Sera returned it and shuffled forward awkwardly. She grasped his hand and was surprised that it didn’t make her feel as weird as she thought it would. Instead, her heart felt a little lighter, even though her mind was weighed down with the new responsibilities circling through it.

Let’s go to the HUB, Sera. We can weather out the storm there.

Sera nodded. Right.

The two of them walked hand in hand up to the two-story glass building that was the HUB. The building was created with some of the strongest glass in the world. There were solar panels on the roof that powered the entire building. Upstairs was where they kept all the artifacts they had already found at Machu Picchu. While the Consortium had been here to find the next Guardian, they were also regular archaeologists who were intent on finding the history from the world around them through the things that had been left behind long ago. These artifacts were often buried deeper than the world’s darkest secrets. The search for these artifacts allowed them to be here in an official capacity, as well as for their own personal reasons.

Sera hoped that she would find out more about the Consortium and what they did. She had taken a leap of faith in what her father believed, even though it had seemed extremely farfetched. If she hadn’t been thrown into this crazy whirlwind adventure with little to no crash course in how to use her abilities, Sera might have had time to ask more questions. Unfortunately, when the magic found her, the only thing she had time for was finding the winged serpent and bringing her back to this world. How many