Princess of Shadow and Dream: NecroSeam Chronicles

By Ellie Raine

A Princess who protects dreams. A Prince who protects the dead. Two royal heirs from different realms must work together to save both their kingdoms.

"This is a lovely book for readers who enjoy fantasy at its best."--Readers' Favorite Review

After living five-hundred years in her father's timeless realm of Dreams, Princess Myra is excited to visit the physical plane of the shadowy Death kingdom, even if it's only to assist the king of Dreams with an important mission. But when she is asked to guard the prince in his dreams, she finds he is not at all what she expected.

As a Reaper knight and heir to the underworld realm of Death, Prince Serdin is experienced at hunting undead beasts that plague this world. Dream-stalking monsters is an entirely different matter. When the prince is attacked in the subconscious realm, he is helpless to defend himself, and it's the eccentric Princess of Dreams who ends up rescuing the prince.

But, despite her strong powers, Myra is no match for a demon sorceress with an army of undead soldiers who can cross from the physical to the metaphysical domains for the first time.

Now Serdin and Myra must work together, using their magic Hallows of Death and Dream, to fight their nightmares in both realms.


This dark and enchanting fantasy novella is a prequel to the NecroSeam Chronicles series, a completely original Epic Fantasy full of magic, brotherhood, and mystery that will take readers on an adventure they won't soon forget!

• Language: English
• Publisher: ScyntheFy Press
• Release date: Nov 23, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386804253

Book preview

1

GRIM, THE REALM OF DEATH

Petrin scrambled to get away, his throat raw from the heavy wheezing, pulse thrumming painfully in his ears.

The Weeping Woods echoed with the beasts’ grating cries behind him.

At the haunting sounds, his legs spurred into a rekindled panic, and he stumbled through the misted forest of willow trees with new vigor. He dared a look over his shoulder, but slammed into a twisted trunk, toppling into a nearby creek with a chilling splash.

The creatures’ screeches worsened, and when he scrambled on all fours out of the creek with his robes dripping over the patches of dirt and soft grass, he froze. Countless glowing, white eyes surrounded him in the darkness.

One creature stepped into the dim light of the clearing. Its joints were jagged and crooked, bones creaking and clacking under black, squirming ooze that dripped around its gangling limbs like slurping worms.

It cracked its skeletal head and stalked toward its prey; it opened its dripping maw in a slow, breathless moan.

And then, as quiet as the wind that hushed through the willow leaves, the beast claimed its meal.

2

PRINCE SERDIN

Our hired oracle looked up from his crystal ball to give me a brooding shake of his head. That’s all there is of the vision, the Seer said. He removed his fingers from the aged blood stains that were spattered on the twisted trunk of the same willow tree we’d seen in the crystal ball. I’m afraid your missing Dreamcatcher was victim to the Necrofera… I wish there was more I could do, your highness.

I stood over the oracle with crossed arms, the troubling scene we’d witnessed still replaying in my memory. To my left, my two armored guards, Daniel and Lucas, had foregone their lax posture and now looked as tense as I felt.

They, like me, had their helms tucked under their arms in the misty forest of the Weeping Woods, the afternoon light filtering through the whispering branches that swayed in the cool winds. Both men’s black hair waved over their necks in the breeze, and Daniel’s leathery bat-wings fluttered nervously while Lucas’s wolf ears grew from the sides of his head.

My awaiting Flamedragon, a large reptilian creature with red-and-black marbled scales, shifted uncomfortably as it dug its wing-talons into the muddy grass, its long head looking around the woods while giving an uncertain grumble.

I stroked the dragon’s scaly neck in assurance. You’ll be fine, Raavith. If any demons appear, we can handle them. Isn’t that right, Locke? I tossed my chin up at the large crow that was perched on the dragon’s saddle. The black bird gave a fluff of his wings and puffed up his chest proudly. I grinned at the dragon. You see? Even Locke isn’t afraid. A big predator like yourself oughtn’t be, either.

Still, the Flamedragon lowered his head and chuffed skeptically, curling his barbed tail around himself.

Lucas’s horse wasn’t faring well in the nerve department either. The grey-spotted stallion whinnied and pounded a fearful hoof in the mud beside the oracle’s mare, who also didn’t seem delighted to be here, swishing her tail wildly.

Lucas rubbed his black goatee, and one of his wolf ears lowered as he rumbled, "That explains what happened to Petrin. But what of Ellise? The morning Dreamcatcher went missing six days before him. We only have an answer for where one of them went."

Daniel tightened his bat wings behind him and offered, Perhaps Petrin had tracked her to this area?

I felt my human ears stretch and grow fur as my white wolf ears sprouted and curled back. Which means she’s likely dead as well, I growled, shoving my helm over my head and hoisted myself onto my Flamedragon. Come, we should head back to the palace. My father will want to know he’s now without his Dreamcatchers.

Lucas and Daniel donned their own helms, and Lucas mounted his stallion as the oracle fumbled to pull himself onto his mare’s saddle—

A raven suddenly croaked from the treetops, darting for Lucas as the bird screeched and cried urgently in front of his helmed face. A new crow followed its example and flew to Daniel in a panic, and Locke began whistling hurriedly from atop my Flamedragon’s head.

The hairs on my neck shocked alert. Death—!

Skriririririri!

The piercing shriek echoed through the woods. No, it wasn’t a single cry. It was several.

I jabbed a commanding hand toward Lucas and Daniel. Protect the oracle—!

A horned monster shot out of the mist.

It raced toward me on disjointed, rickety legs like a misassembled skeleton. Its bones dripped with squirming, black sludge, the disgusting ichor wriggling like living snakes that glopped and splattered over the ground at every cracking step.

The monster leapt for me and latched its fangs onto my armored leg, startling my Flamedragon, and the reptile launched us upward.

Newly airborne, I grunted and shook my caught leg, but the gelatinous creature only bit harder, nearly cracking my armor. I yelped in pain as the bone nearly broke under the pressure.

My Flamedragon whipped its barbed tail around and slammed it into the clinging beast, forcing the demon to open its jaws at last and drop like a stone to the muddy ground below.

But it wasn’t dead yet.

I leaned over the saddle and spotted the thing splattering in a sludgy heap on the distant ground. Then like a sticky pool of spilt goo, the thing slurped back together, unharmed. Once it shook itself, it found a new target to scuttle after: my wolf-eared guard on horseback.

To your left, Lucas! I hollered, nearly slipping off the saddle, my armor clattering hectically.

I quickly pulled myself back on, locking my knees tighter to adjust for my flying steed’s erratic, batting wings. At my awkward movements, the dragon curled its head around, the reptile’s marbled red-and-black scales stretching over its long neck to give me a grumbling chuff from its fanged snout.

Oh, don’t give me that look, I snapped. I’m still learning how to apply our riding lessons during hunts.

The dragon snorted a puff of smoke through its nostrils and turned forward again. I peered down at the ground, finding Lucas. He must have heard my earlier warning because his long-staved, glowing scythe was already in hand and slicing in a smooth arc from the side of his steed, cutting into the dripping, black creature.

The skeletal demon was ripped in half, cut through the heart as well. As the pieces collapsed under the hooves of his stallion, the black tar that had been slithering over its skin hissed off its bones and evaporated, leaving naught but the skeleton behind, which was then crushed under his stallion’s trampling hooves.

I let out a relieved sigh—then jerked back the reins of my dragon as a different, winged beast screeched in front of me.

Its squirming ‘skin’ glopped like gelatin as its boney wings crookedly snapped and creaked to keep itself airborne.

With a startled squall, my Flamedragon peeled open his snout and let loose a scorching gout of fire at the demon.

The beast shrieked in pain and reared back to get away from the flames. But I knew the reprieve wouldn’t last long.

The Necrofera, the wild dead, were undead corpses whose spirits hadn’t been reaped in time. They’d been left to rot inside their vessels, manifesting into unholy creatures who thirsted for souls. No amount of fire would wound them, at least not for long. They had a nasty habit of healing themselves. There was only one way to properly kill the beasts.

I reached a hand to the chained necklace around my throat, grabbing the glowing sphere that dangled from a magnetic holder there, and plucked it off the links. I touched my thumb against the ripple-like rune etched into the metal ball, and a golden light shone through the slits of my fingers.

The sphere melted like liquid silver in my palm, stretching and shaping into a long-staved, curved scythe. It solidified with a soft clash as I brandished my newly formed weapon.

The beast sped for Raavith, and the dragon lurched down to dodge, then wheeled upward in a circle until I was upside-down—and right above the demon.

As my Flamedragon reached the apex of his loop, I ripped a determined yell and sliced my scythe over the Necrofera’s gummy chest.

A soft squish sounded from its heart. The beast gave a curdled scream as its blackened tar—the rotted soul that had hidden its bones—evaporated to reveal the skeleton underneath which tumbled to the forest floor below.

I leaned over the side of my saddle and spotted Daniel down there as well. The bat shifter was busy protecting the oracle and finishing a kill of his own—a kill that seemed to be the last of the threat, thankfully. But Daniel and the oracle were directly under the raining bones of my last demon.

Watch your head, Daniel! I called down.

A femur plunked against Daniel’s silver helm before the bat snapped his gaze up.

When he saw the bones hurtling straight for them, Daniel grabbed the frightened Seer off his horse and flew them out of the way. The bones clattered to the dirt where the men had previously been, startling the horse.

Daniel lifted his visor, shaking a fist at me. Careful where you drop your mess, you royal bastard! I just got this plate polished yesterday!

I shrugged apologetically. Beside Daniel and the oracle, Lucas wheeled his horse around and inspected the terrain.

I don’t see any more, Serdin, Lucas called up to me. I think we got the last of this insomniac pack. If there are more, they likely won’t be awake at this time of day.

I think you’re right, I called down, scanning the forest from above. Then I pulled my Flamedragon by the reins and had it land beside my two friends, sliding off the saddle. Still, keep your scythes nearby.

Obviously, Lucas scoffed and reached into one of the satchels hanging from his horse’s saddle. He pulled out a coffin-shaped gem no bigger than his hand. After a quick count of the skeleton piles scattered about the woods, Lucas announced, There were six in this lot. You two help me clean this up, will you?

He waved his hand toward the nearest pile of bones. Along with the motion, his fingers gleamed with violet lights as he evoked his Hallows—what we call the Soul’s Blessing, a gift of magic bestowed upon worthy souls by the Gods themselves.

Roughly one in five-thousand shifters evoked one element of Hallows in the world of Nirus, its magical type befitting his or her native realm: Land, Sky, Ocean, Dream, or—of course—Death. A rare few evoked two elements, but never any more. Unless you were a Relicblood, like myself.

As a member of the royal Death Bloodline, I evoked all three of my nation’s elements: fire, death, and poison. These were the perks of being the descendant of a Goddess’s prophetic child. Death, my original ancestor, had been the soul-daughter of the holy Seamstress of Souls.

So, helping Lucas and Daniel raise the skeletons around the forest was as natural as breathing for me.

As I evoked my Death Hallows—what we call Necrovoking—violet magic drained from my soul and wove out through my fingertips, manifesting into glowing strings. These threads of light wrapped around the demons’ bones one by one and gripped the pieces tight as I yanked my hand back in a pulling motion.

The bones lifted off