Zamneara

By Allie Moen

The battle arrives between Arla and Teara. Koro and Teara have created a new deadly weapon that threatens the people of Zamneara and neighboring lands more than ever. New creatures and people enter Zamneara to aid the Elfin king and queen, Alo and Arla, in the war. Zamneara is the sequel to the book Arla.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 4, 2017
• ISBN: 9781524568719

Allie Moen

Allie Moen is a teen living in South Dakota. She is a devout Christian and a cat person. Her favorite animal is a mallard duck, and once she graduates high school, she plans on going to college and becoming a marine biologist.

Book preview

Copyright © 2017 by Allie Moen.

ISBN:      Softcover      978-1-5245-6872-6

                eBook         978-1-5245-6871-9

All rights reserved. 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 copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 08/02/2017

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Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Epilogue

Appendix Of Elvin Terms And People Of Zamneara

Dedicated to the president of my fan club, Ava Mack.

Prologue

Red stripes crisscrossed the ogre’s back. Blood dripped off his weak frame. His hands were tied to a wooden pole, preventing escape. I whipped him again. It was satisfying to see him flinch away from the cord biting into his flesh.

Oh, Matius. I thought you would be such a loyal servant to me… a good ogre. My voice was honey-sweet. I am your rightful goddess queen. I could make you so happy by not cursing you. Why would you help that Elf Queen, Arla? The ogre hunched his shoulders and would not look at me. I pursed my lips and then said, "Perhaps I should bring your wife, Suitam, to join you. A few lashes on her back might loosen your tongue. I paused to think who else might sway the ogre’s will. Then I remembered he had a newborn infant. Or maybe that new one… what’s his name? Oh, yes. Icantan. Should I see if he’s awake?"

Matius finally turned his head toward me upon hearing his child’s name. He growled, "I swear to the gods if you hurt either one of them, Teara, I will kill you. I will."

I threw back my head laughed. This was what I was looking for: how I could hurt him—and control him. "I’m a goddess; I can’t die. Your ogre leader swore on the Juraka Mounts to serve me. You and your kind are now bound to me. You can’t even attempt to stop me. I smiled sweetly. Matius, please say something. If your words please me, I might choose to heal those awful new wounds. You, Suitam, your other four children, and little Icantan might have a happy life together. My voice hardened. Tell me everything you know of Arla."

The ogre swayed on his feet as though measuring the truth of my words. I knew he was trying to decide whether to dare hope for mercy from me, the goddess of sickness and mourning. He dropped his head again. No. I will not betray her. Despite the brave words, his tone was begging.

I surveyed Matius, feeling very much like a wolf circling wounded prey. I dragged my razor-sharp nails across the open lacerations on his back. Matius groaned in agony. I smiled and magically summoned a handful of salt. Poor, Matius. This will be so much easier on everyone if you would just change your mind. I bent to look into Matius’s brown eyes. He was exhausted and he wouldn’t meet my own white eyes. Are you sure you don’t want to talk? My words were soft, and even sounded a bit merciful.

The word no barely left his lips when it turned into a beautiful scream. I had thrown the salt onto his raw back. I handed the whip to a nearby ogre, loyal to me. Beat him.

Matius slumped to the ground under the vicious onslaught. I felt a surge of satisfaction at each crack, seeing him suffer. He would pay for defying me. For aiding her. I felt my power grow each time Matius cried out. Finally, I told the ogre to stop. Matius was crying.

I felt cold and detached. I had no pity for this hideous creature, only disgust. Bring his wife and tie her to the same pole. Let’s give her a matching set of stripes.

I quickly walked into Koro’s and my bedroom. We had now taken the gods’ castle as ours. I walked up to the blonde girl in there, waiting for me.

As I stroked the girl’s now-long hair, Ira smiled up at me, her adopted mother. I had made a potion to age her quickly, Ira looked about 160 for elves (16 for humans), but she was in reality only about four years old. I had taken Ira from her mother, and made it look like Ira was dead, to get Arla to become my slave, though she had broken out of her servitude. Now I had new uses to Arla’s spawn.

I sat on my bed and said to the elf girl, Ira, I think it’s time I tell you the truth. Remember how I told you about the awful Elf-Queen, Arla? And her first husband, who she killed while he was in combat to protect her against every danger?

Ira nodded. Ira said softly, Yes, Mother. Queen Arla killed her husband, King Aeron. What does this have to do with anything?

I said, My poor girl. Queen Arla is your birth mother. I took you from her, to protect you. You know that huge, awful scar on your back? That was from your mother. I only wonder what she has done to your little half-sister, Spotta. Ira, please promise me, that should Arla come get you, you will go with her willingly. You must spy on her for us. Tell us what she’s planning to do. No matter how nice she seems, it’s all an act, do not forget that. This way we could have our own little spy. I didn’t want to keep Ira, but she had some uses.

Ira nodded quickly. You’re my real mother. She may be my parent, but you’re my mother. I will spy on her should she get me. Mother, what about my burn scars? Did Arla do that as well?

I bit my lip then said, No. King Alo was your step-father for a little while, he did that, he couldn’t bear the thought of having to raise another man’s daughter.

Ira looked down and said, Thank you for rescuing me, Mother, from that horrible family.

As Ira walked out of my room, I remembered how I had gotten so angry at Ira when she was still a newborn because she wouldn’t stop crying, and I had cut her across her entire back. Then how Koro had burned her, whether on accident or on purpose, I didn’t know. I didn’t care either way.

The top of Ira’s face was scarred with wrinkly, pink scars. Ira was so burned, that her hairline was pushed back, because no hair could grow where she had been scorched.

I didn’t feel regret for anything about what I and Koro had done to Ira. Ira was not my baby. Ira was Arla’s spawn, which was as bad as it could get. Arla was my enemy; this was one more way to hurt Arla. That is, once Arla found out I hadn’t actually killed Ira, her first-born.

Chapter One

Spotta our daughter was bouncing on our bed. Wake up, wake up, wake up! She would actually look like a newborn when she was three years old if she was a normal baby elf. Spotta ages more quickly though, because she’s my daughter, and I’m the Chosen One.

I have every power known to elves. Spotta is my second daughter, but female elves can only have one child, except for me. Since Spotta is my second-born, she ages as quickly as humans, but lives longer than any other elves. Ira was my first daughter, but she was killed by the evil god and goddess, Koro and Teara.

Alo, my husband and king, and I rubbed the sleep from our eyes and stared at our three-year-old daughter. Alo said sleepily, What, Spotta?

Remember? The Dragon Riders! They came. Spotta jumped off as Alo and I got to our feet. She wore a bright yellow dress, the color of a sunflower.

Galynia, the goddess of children, adored our daughter, and we could never separate them. She must’ve dressed Spotta.

I pulled on a dress quickly as Alo pulled on trousers and a button-up shirt. We ran outside. Even in the pre-dawn light, we could see the striking white female dragon named Diamler. All the other male dragons were there as well. The warlocks were upon the male dragons’ backs and Rhetta, the female Rider, was seated upon Diamler. Rhetta was strikingly beautiful but harsh, like the ocean. She had gold eyes and golden hair. Rhetta was angry with everyone since her sister was murdered by the evil warlocks—locked in a room with a hungry newborn dragon.

Rhetta slid down Diamler’s back. Before we will assist you in war, I would like to ask something of you. Rhetta’s voice was strong and clear. "I hear, that you, Queen Arla, are the Chosen Elf. I’d like you to heal Diamler. Her face softened as she spoke of her dragon. She is already eight years old, and her eggs are weak-shelled and do not hatch. There isn’t much time left. Please… It was not like Rhetta to beg. I braced myself for the ultimatum. I didn’t have to wait. Otherwise, we will not help you in war against Teara and Koro."

I turned to Alo and spoke into his mind, What? Did you know about this compromise?! Alo, I don’t even know how to heal.

Alo bit his lip as he thought, Arla, I did know about the compromise. Healing through the mind, is one of the powers an elf has had, so you do as well. I believe you will be able to heal Diamler. Have faith in yourself, Arla. You can do it. Please don’t be angry with me. It was the only way the Dragon Riders would help us.

I said in his mind, "We will talk about this later." I glared at him as I turned back to the Riders.

Aloud I agreed to the ultimatum, Of course. I will try to heal Diamler.

I came forward and rested my head against Diamler’s snout. Her ice blue eyes stared at me. Her rough white scales scratched into my face.

I focused on trying to heal Diamler’s eggs, trying to make the shells as hard as they could get, but the baby dragon could still hatch out of it. I started pouring my energy into the dragon, I felt like I would collapse. It felt as if there was a suction from me to the dragon, vacuuming all power out