A Bond of Flame: A Young Adult Fantasy Adventure

By Richard Fierce

Sometimes there’s a fine line between truth and a lie.

Eldwin’s quest to become a dragon rider seems hopeless, but he won’t let his dream to bond with a dragon die. A sell-sword job with a caravan promises a decent payment, and offers him a chance to continue his quest.

The caravan he guards has a secret, and when he uncovers it, he can hardly believe his change of luck. However, despite the turn of events, his life only gets harder and a chance meeting with an enemy brings Eldwin to a moral dilemma.

He must now face the truth, which will shatter everything he’s believed.

Fans of Sarah K.L. Wilson’s Dragon School, Christopher Paolini’s Eragon and Anne McCaffrey’s Dragon Riders of Pern will feel right at home.

A Bond of Flame is the second episode of the series Dragon Riders of Osnen.

Dragon Riders of Osnen series:

Book 1: Trial by Sorcery

Book 2: A Bond of Flame

Book 3: The Warrior's Call

Book 4: The Coin of Souls

Book 5: Wings of Terror

Book 6: Eyes of Stone

Book 7: Tooth and Claw

Book 8: A Servant of Souls

Book 9: Smoke and Shadow

Book 10: The Dark Rider

Book 11: The Song of Bones

Book 12: Sword and Crown

Book 13: Tides of Darkness

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dragonfire Press
• Release date: Feb 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9781947329263

Richard Fierce

Richard Fierce is a fantasy author best known for his novella The Last Page. He's been writing since childhood, but became seriously vested in it in 2007. Since then, he's written several novels and a few short stories. In 2000, Richard won Poet of the Year for his poem The Darkness. He's also one of the creative brains behind the Allatoona Book Festival, a literary event in Acworth, Georgia. A recovering retail worker, he now works in the tech industry when he's not busy writing. He has three step-daughters, three huskies and two cats. His love affair with fantasy was born in high school when a friend's mother gave him a copy of Dragons of Spring Dawning by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.  

Book preview

1

The Necra Desert stretched like an affliction as far as I could see, nothing but rolling hills of dark sand and heat. Every so often, a gust of wind would blow over the caravan, but it did little to bring any reprieve from the high temperature. And when the breeze left as quickly as it appeared, it always made things worse by leaving me with a mouth full of gritty sand.

I trudged alongside a massive wooden cart that contained something valuable, though I didn’t know what it was. The man who had hired me as a guard didn’t provide any information other than where they were going and how much he was paying. I suspected it was some sort of animal. There were odd noises that often came from within the cart, and I’d seen the caravan leader toss a pig inside.

At this point, I was forced to take any job that kept me moving. I didn’t know if Master Pevus had dragoons searching for me, but I wasn’t going to take any chances by staying in any one place too long.

Besides, I was tracking down every rumor I heard about unbonded dragons. In the month since my escape from the Citadel, I’d traveled hundreds of miles. Every time I thought I was getting close to finding something, it turned out to be unsubstantiated claims or simple farmers who didn’t know the difference between a dragon and a large bird. My suspicions that Master Pevus had lied about where the school got their dragons grew with every failure.

I lifted my canteen and drank sparingly of the warm water that remained. Our trip across the desert had taken several days longer than planned and our supplies were running low. I licked my parched lips and heaved a sigh as I felt sand grinding between my toes. After this job was done, I didn’t want to see another desert for a very long time.

A droplet of sweat dripped down my forehead and into my eye before I could wipe it away, temporarily blinding me. I muttered to myself as I used the hem of my shirt to wipe my eye, vainly trying to use a portion that had the least amount of sand on it. Moments like this provided the only excitement on this trip. The master of the caravan had made guarding his cart seem like it was going to be highly dangerous. The only danger I’d seen so far was a rattlesnake, and it had steered clear of our small group.

Sand Devil!

The alarmed cry broke the monotony like shattered glass. I quickly drew my blade and looked for the scout who cried the warning. It was Geoff. He was roughly a hundred yards from the main caravan, standing atop a hill. He waved his arms frantically. I had never seen a Sand Devil before, but the other guards had tried to describe one a few days ago. When the creature topped the hill, my eyes widened in disbelief.

It was a lizard-like creature, roughly ten feet in length. Along its back were spines that rose two feet in height, though they were covered with a large flap of skin that made the spines appear to be a fin. It moved quickly, gaining on Geoff faster than I would have expected. Another guard, Vance, sprinted ahead.

Adrenaline started to course through me and I followed after Vance. Running was made difficult as the sand shifted beneath my boots, but we arrived just as the Sand Devil was snapping at Geoff’s heels. Vance weaved to the right and jabbed his spear into the creature’s side, but it was covered in thick scales and the strike didn’t pierce through.

Take the other side! Vance yelled at me.

I moved to the creature’s left side and kept my sword up and ready. Now that it was outnumbered, the Sand Devil backstepped defensively but kept its gaze on Geoff.

What did you do to make him so angry? Vance asked jokingly.

I think it smells the— Geoff abruptly stopped talking at a glare from Vance.

Yeah, I know what it’s after, Vance said lowly. His grip on the spear tightened. And it’ll have to kill us all before it gets anywhere near it.

I assumed they were talking about whatever was in the cart. My palms were sweating, and the hilt of my sword was starting to slip from my grasp. I cursed my mangled hand and quickly brushed my palm along my pant leg.

That was all the Sand Devil needed. It whipped around in a circle, slamming its tail forcefully into Vance. The blow sent the man tumbling into the sand. The Sand Devil opened its maw wide and charged me. My feet faltered in the sand as I tried to move out of the creature’s reach, and I fell onto my knees.

The Sand Devil screeched madly as its heavy body crashed into me, throwing me face-first into the sand. I gasped, the air forced from my lungs, and tried to get out from under the beast. It felt as if a large stone was on top of me, and it was impossible to get free. Panic started to set in. I struggled to breathe, not only from the weight atop me but also from my head being buried in the sand.

Just as my vision started to become fuzzy, the weight of the beast was removed. I rolled onto my back and inhaled precious air, then looked around to see what was happening. Vance had drawn the Sand Devil’s attention and was keeping it at bay by thrusting at it with his spear. Geoff was lying in the sand, unmoving. I struggled to my feet and retrieved my sword from the sand, then hurried over to Geoff.

He was breathing, and he wasn’t wounded from what I could see, but he still needed to be looked over by the old wizard who doubled as a healer. I turned back toward Vance.

How do we kill this thing? I asked.

Its scales are too strong, Vance replied. We can only pierce the flesh of its belly. We’ll have to find a way to flip it onto its back.

That seems impossible, I said, shaking my head.

Very few things are impossible.

The Sand Devil charged him suddenly. Vance threw himself to the side, narrowly escaping the mouthful of sharp teeth that tried to bite him. As I watched the beast move, I noticed that the spiny fin on its back swayed back and forth in opposition to the