Dragon Tamer: Insternational Field Marshal Files Book 1

By Kathleen Scott

On the tropical island paradise of Cambry, a ghastly, flesh-eating blight is killing the dragons and threatening prime hatching grounds.

Desperate to protect his beloved creatures, hatchery director Darion Archer calls on the International Field Marshall service to help investigate the outbreak and see an end to this blight. When beautiful IFM agent Serrah Gayle arrives, he is unprepared for his attraction to her--and for the fact that she has a fear of dragons.

Serrah's fear of dragons is no less daunting than her attraction to their sexy keeper. Yet to save these legendary creatures, she must face down her fears and dig deep to realize her true potential as a dragon tamer.

They can only hope it's not too late.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mystic Kat Press
• Release date: Mar 23, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393471936

Book preview

Chapter 1

The stench of rotting scales sucked all the breathable air from the lair. Darion pulled his thick homespun vest up to cover his nose and mouth to block as much of the putrid smell as possible. Opening his mouth didn’t help, it only made the taste stick to his tongue.

His assistants, Ontonio and Palmer, held torches aloft, lighting their way through the dark cave. The flames danced off crystals imbedded in the rock, giving the interior a shimmery fairytale quality incongruous with the death he knew they’d find.

Darion locked his jaws together. Pain burned in his chest and eyes.

A sharp incline in the cave floor sent the party down into the lower chamber. He knew this lair as he knew the layout of his own suite. This was Sorcha’s cave. It had been over a week since he’d last seen the big, beautiful Amethyst dragon take flight. Not unusual during nesting season, but with the blight that plagued the dragon population of late, Darion didn’t want to take any chances with his flock.

Judging from the smell, he was too late.

Where could the blight have come from? Six months ago, the entire adult female dragon population of Cambry had been alive and healthy. Now, as they came nearer to the central chamber, Darion doubted they would find Sorcha alive. If they did, they had no cure for the illness that struck so swift and mercilessly.

The ramp ended and opened into a huge room with a ceiling that spiraled upward, nearly hollowing out the interior of Mount Crag. Sorcha lay curled in the center of the sand pit. She raised her head and sent a low resonant whine echoing through the lair.

It’s all right, my love. It’s Darion. The perfect acoustics of the chamber amplified the sorrow in his voice. Gods, he wanted to hide that from her. She’d be scared if she knew he was hurting.

The large jewel-like eyes had turned to a milky white, the blight having stolen her sight.

She lifted her once-proud head and sniffed the air, trying to locate Darion in her blindness. Disregarding the foul odor emanating from the dragon’s flesh, he hurried to her.

You’re not alone, dear girl. He ran his hand down her long nose, then rubbed the spot between her eyes that made her preen and purr. Her eyes slid closed and the whine turned to a near sob.

She pulled her head from his hands and turned as if to look over her shoulder. At first he thought she wanted to know who was in the chamber with him, but Ontonio and Palmer were standing behind him, not in front where she indicated. Another low moan rumbled through Sorcha’s diseased body. Her massive tail whipped in a lazy arc. Five blue and purple eggs lay protected by the curve of her body in the warm sand of the lair.

Eggs, he breathed. Even with Sorcha’s death only moments away, he still had a chance to save her babies. You want me to take your eggs?

She gave a mournful trill.

He motioned for Ontonio and Palmer to gather the eggs, about the size of a large loaf of bread, and put them in their packs. With any luck the tiny dragons inside were still viable. Darion had no way to know if the blight could infect the reproductive process. Could the bacteria—or whatever it was—cross the soft membrane of the shells before they left the body? Or had the male dragons passed it on during the mating flight?

Gods, there was just no way to know at this point. And it killed him.

Take the eggs and start back. I’m going to stay here with Sorcha.

He took a seat in the soft sand and let her rest her weary head in his lap. Without thought he began to stroke the ridge of her eye and the soft spot directly behind her ear. A low contented hum came from her throat. Her sides billowed with each breath. Ragged scales fluttered with every movement. The disease had ravaged her so quickly. She hadn’t looked like this the last time he’d seen her. She’d been healthy and strong with a brilliant purple sheen that designated her as an Amethyst.

Darion didn’t know how long he sat there holding onto Sorcha and crooning loving words into her ears, but he would forever remember the last shuddery breath she took. And the moment he felt her incredible spirit leave her body.

He walked from the lair into the fading light towards the settlement surrounded by the music of the dragons’ dirge. With each step he vowed to find the source of the blight, if it took him until his own spirit left his body.

Chapter 2

International Field Marshal Agent Serrah Gayle stepped off the shuttle and shoved her sunglasses on her nose. Damn, no one warned her Cambry sunshine could blind a person. What with the towering white crystal spires of the central coliseum and the reflection of the emerald seas surrounding the island, it was any wonder the natives had any retina left.

Cambry was located in the Southern Hemisphere of Isolode, the planet responsible for the Ganenth Protectorate, an intergalactic cooperate of Isolode held worlds. The planet was named after the Mother Goddess of Creation, Ganenth was her consort—or so the legends read.

Serrah walked down the main concourse of the shuttle station and waited with the rest of the travelers to collect her luggage. When the call had come for an investigator, her superiors had withheld the nature of the investigation. Normal procedure called for the complaint to go to review before an agent was sent into the field to gather data to determine if a formal investigation was even warranted. Her superiors had waived the red tape and given her a shuttle pass leaving that afternoon. Very curious.

After seventeen hours aboard a shuttle with honeymooning couples and students on holiday, she couldn’t wait to get to work. Too many happy people in close quarters tended to make her nervous. They had no idea what the real world was like and she hadn’t been able to do even a preliminary survey on the case to drown out their excited voices.

The file uploaded onto her handheld hadn’t given her much information on what exactly the case entailed. Normally, her jurisdiction included illegal shipping, black market goods, bootlegging and drug trafficking. Looking around at the pristine paradise before her, she could very well imagine Cambry could be a haven for all those activities and more.

As far as she was concerned everyone was a suspect, and everyone had something to hide.

However, everyone knew that the island of Cambry was famous for its dragons. The very thought made her shudder.

A cold chill ran down her spine as a long buried memory surfaced. She shook it off and glanced at her watch as the luggage began its slow jaunt around the carousel. Her lonely bag sat like a black splotch among the colorful pieces packed by vacationers. It stood out for both its official capacity and unimaginative design. All her tech equipment she had in the briefcase slung over her right shoulder that she secured in a death grip.

Serrah squared her shoulders and walked to retrieve her bag. She shrugged her briefcase higher on the other shoulder and turned towards the passenger pick-up. Someone from Calusia settlement had the dubious honor of picking her up, though she hadn’t been given a contact name or description. Neither of which made a seasoned agent such as herself very comfortable with the situation. Even a small scrap of information from her supervisor would have been preferable than going into an unknown blind.

For that reason she had her left hand casually at the level of her stun rod should she need it in a hurry.

A tall man stood alone at the end of the walkway, hands folded behind his back, scanning the crowd for someone. The outfit he wore looked more like glorified pajamas than actual daywear. Loose twill pants tied at his trim waist were topped with a gauzy vest he had buttoned up, but wore without a shirt underneath. Muscular arms were clasped behind his back in a deceptively casual pose as he watched people leaving the shuttle port.

Her gaze was drawn to him, not just for the unusual way he dressed, but because there was something otherworldly in his presence. Sorrow hung about his shoulders like a rough-hewn cloak. He wore no sunshades.

Eyes the same color as the lagoon that flanked the Kella City shuttle port turned on her.

He stepped forward and bowed. Agent Gayle?

Serrah nodded. At least he seemed formal and respectful—and he knew her name. She didn’t always get such a greeting. People were usually not eager to make her acquaintance. And you are?

Darion Archer. I run the hatching ground at Calusia settlement.

Hatching ground?

Dragons.

The unease expanded its range to include both her chest and gut. She attempted to modulate her breathing to keep from hyperventilating.

It’s going to be fine. You can do this. It’s an investigation like all others. Get the information and make a determination if there’s been a crime or not.

She jerked her gaze back to his and tried quell her growing fear.

Can I help you with those? He leaned over to take her bags, but she jerked them back from his grasp.

I can manage, thank you. Yes, he was only being helpful, but