A War for Dragons: The Cavernis Series, #2

By AMY WOLF

Mattie Sharpe, L.A. teen with a knack for trouble, is back!

 

The only problem is: so is evil sorcerer Sarug . . .Enlisting his "friends" from Hell, he opens the Gate to make total war against the dragons of ASH, Mattie, her bestie Artorius, and sometimes-beau Eli.

 

Can Mattie's penchant for strategy get them all out alive? Or will Sarug get what he wants: dragons doing his bidding just like his devilish crowd?

 

The Cavernis Series continues with more adventure, romance, and fun than a schoolful of dragons!  NOW WITH NEW COVER ART!

 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: AMY WOLF
• Release date: May 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201452964

AMY WOLF

Amy Wolf has just released the first book of in her Greek fantasy MYTHOS world. She is an Amazon Kindle Scout winner for her novel THE MISSES BRONTES' ESTABLISHMENT. Her fantasy series, THE CAVERNIS TRILOGY, is out from Red Empress Press. Amy has published 38 short stories in the SF/Fantasy press, including REALMS OF FANTASY (2) and INTERZONE (U.K.). She is a graduate of the Clarion West Writer's program and has an honors English degree from The University of London. She started her career working for the major Hollywood studios, including 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros., and was a Script Reader for MGM & Joe Roth. One of three natives out of 10 million, Amy was forced from L.A. and now lives in Honolulu. She has one adult daughter currently terrorizing L.A., and a small, barky dog.

Book preview

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

A WAR FOR DRAGONS

Book 2 of the Cavernis Series

2nd edition. May 15, 2022

Copyright ©  2022 Amy Wolf

Written by Amy Wolf

Cover Design by Cherith Vaughn Interior Map by Alex McVey

Table of Contents

Hello and Goodbye to Old Friends

Life Is a Zoo

In Chambers with Dragons

War in Georgia Without Sherman

Reunited and It Feels So Good

The Never and Not Future King

The Great White North

Claw of the Dragon

Strange Dreams

Bastard of Chivalry

An Unexpected Explosion

Dear, Sweet Rebecca

Sitting Down for Humanity

Don’t Judge a Troll by Its Cover

The Big Boat Race

Unda Rises Up

Desperately Seeking Mattie

A Break in Paradise

Vava Voom, or Take a Dragon to Lunch

New Old Enemy

Hellish Homework

How to Fight Your Demons

Count Furfur

Feizel

A Romantic Rectangle

How to Make Enemies and Deter Dragons

A Devilish Attack!

ST ENDS Forever

A New Defense

A Double Mission

Rex Redux

Flowing Like Lava

The Gates of Hell

Surrender, Praeses!

Mumbai Station

Calm Before the Fire

Mother of All Battles

Furfur Goes Down

Friends Remembered and Honors Bestowed

Cyrano

A Ceremony

––––––––

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Never laugh at live dragons.

-  J.R.R. Tolkien

Special Acknowledgments

Celia Whittome – for her Latin translations

Rachel Carr, Lisa Horton for Norwegian. Helsen din!

This book is dedicated to the memory of my mom, Sylvia Faith Wolf, our beloved Did

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Hello and Goodbye to Old Friends

Mattie actually heard herself scream.

After all she’d endured on Cavernis, she was not a screamer or crier, but the sigh of two huge dragons on a Burbank street made her break her own rule.

Artorius! she yelled, running toward him so fast it felt like flying. She bounced off his smooth blue scales.

Eli! she then said and put her arms around the brown dragon, his face bumpy and small. Had they really been apart for three whole months?

Mattie, said Artorius with affection, bending to deliver a kiss to the top of her head.We have just a few minutes to see how you’re getting on. Praeses’ orders.

Great, she lied, trying to fake a smile. It wasn’t easy to go from a knight to a boring high school senior.

How’s your mom? Artorius asked.

Good. My dad’s back now. I mean, he was ‘till he went to the Valley. He’s working at a startup.

Cool!

Yeah, Mom’s been doing a lot of O.T., so I basically hang with Felicia.

Artorius laughed. He clearly remembered the terrier from his short stint on Eart—Mundanis.

Eli cleared his throat. ASH isn’t the same without you.

He seemed to be damping down some emotion. Mattie nodded, recalling her time as student at the Academia Sollertibus Hydris, or ASH.

Eli sighed and looked down. Could it be that he was ashamed of his last lackluster goodbye?

I really miss all my friends.

These weren’t just words to Mattie. On Cavernis—a world peopled with dragons—she’d had more than share: there was Ripley, Sudha, Jimmy, the two dragons with her now, and even the Brownie Hob.

In L.A., she’d had to cut her crowd loose when they started trouble—of the partying kind—so she was often alone, except for studying sessions with David Wong. Of course, she had her pets. Felicia was sweet, to be sure, but sometimes fell one Kibble short of a Bit.

I wish... Mattie said, afraid to finish her thought, afraid that actually voicing it might increase her longing.

Hey!

Some muscular doofus trotted up on a bay rental horse. Mattie rolled her eyes. The guy was wearing just biker shorts. If he fell, his flesh would be pitted by asphalt.

Uh oh, she thought as he came closer. People from her world—Mundanis—tended to react badly when faced with dragons. Mom was a case in point.

What is this—some kind of freak show?

The rider, annoyed by a sloping branch, removed it with a snap. He was not a worshipper of Nature.

Let me deal with this, Mattie muttered to her friends. This guy—unlike her—wouldn’t be able to grasp the language of higher beasts.

You bet it is, she said to the guy. Send in the bearded lady!

She looked up, giving him her best smile. Once, not so long ago, it had charmed Eli—when he was human

You shooting? the guy asked, looking for the convoy of prop trucks and film crews that littered the streets of L.A.

Um—

Mattie was usually fast on her feet, but how to explain the lack of lights and camera?

If you’re not, I am.

He casually removed a scarred .38 from his waistband. Mattie couldn’t believe it. He didn’t bother to put on a shirt but still carried a gun? Welcome to Los Angeles, ladies and gentlemen!

It’s okay, man. Chill.

Mattie tried to keep calm in the face of a six-inch barrel. She decided to be friendly.

So, what’s your name?

Anthony, the guy said.

Cool. I like that. I’m Mattie. Mattie Sharpe.

She spread out her arms to shield her friends.

Should we turn him into short ribs? Artorius asked.

I could bite his arm and really ruin his next workout, Eli added.

No, guys, no, Mattie cautioned. "If you harm a Mundani, I’ll be the one seized by Burbank’s Finest. And with my coloring, I don’t look good in orange."

The two dragons nodded reluctantly. Anthony dismounted—to the right. Clearly, not a horseman.

I’m gone, his bay mare told Mattie’s group. C’mon, I’m only a rental. She trotted back to the Circle K Stables.

"What are those strange noises you’re making? Anthony asked Mattie. You sound like something caught in the tar pits."

She smiled. I enjoy inventing languages. Just like J.R.R. Tolkien.

Psycho. Anthony lifted his gun, aiming straight for Eli’s snout.

Not a LotR fan?

Shut the hell up.

Mattie tried to think, since that was her strength. She knew how to fight in Cavernis, but here? Bang bang you’re dead, even if you were in armor.

C’mon, she told herself, you’ve got to come up with something-or your friends will end up stuffed! Mattie searched her mind frantically. Could a relatively small bullet penetrate her friends’ scaly hide? Could this maniac get lucky and hit a vulnerable throat or belly?  She really had no idea, since Frax hadn’t covered guns in Tails, Nails, and Scales!

Mattie looked directly at Anthony. Unfortunately, for a potential killer, he was hot. Something strange came over her, like a full-body tingle. Then words emerged from her lips; words which she somehow understood:

O foedissimum monstrum, abi!

Et sine tuum telum evanescere.

Conare facilitatem discere, et in posterum,

Gere vestes in publico!

Eli and Artorius chuckled, translating the Latin as she did:

Begone, beast.

And let your weapon vanish.

Try to learn some tolerance, and next time,

Put on some clothes in public!

Mattie extended her right arm. From the tip of her index finger shot a bolt of molten silver. It zigged and zagged toward Anthony, enveloping his whole gun and making it disappear.

Whoa! he exclaimed, clutching a throbbing hand. I am so going to sue!

You do that. Mattie turned to her dragon friends. "Run! Get back to the portal!"

Eli and Artorius nodded, sprinting toward Griffith Park as they shouted back, ‘Bye, Mattie! and, Say hi to your mom for me!

She was left alone with Anthony, he of the pumped-up chest. She decided to press her advantage. Better bounce, dude, or I’ll turn you into a... thing! She waved her arms wildly, trying to look scary and/or insane.

I’m outta here! he yelled, raising his arms as he hurtled down the street.

"And don’t come back to the Rancho! I have... cat spies! Roaming in gangs!"

As she watched him flee, Mattie had mixed feelings. She was glad she wouldn’t be in the L.A. Times, but lonely since she already missed her friends. She hoped they’d made it to the Park, smashed their way through the portal, and were now whizzing back to Cavernis. As she picked up her backpack from the sidewalk, she sighed. Even though she could now cow a Muscle Man, she was still completely alone.

Life Is a Zoo

>

After her friends’ departure, Mattie went back to her life—what little there was of it.

She tried to study in school as hard as she had at ASH, but these subjects weren’t as fun. It was tough for trig or history to compete with TNS (Tails, Nails, and Scales) or How to Raze a Village. At Pico Pico High, no student was flying or breathing fire—unless they were on drugs.

At home, Mom was barely a ghost. She had some big project due and spent her days—not to mention evenings and weekends—at work. Dad tried to call every Saturday... when he could remember. He was working on an app called OY! whose sole purpose was to have this single word texted to as many people as possible. Did Silicon Valley know something that Mattie didn’t?

This was America: parents working endlessly while their kids looked forward to college and a lifetime of debt. If you were really lucky, you might own your own home someday. Of course, to do this in L.A., you’d have to make six figures. Mattie felt her chance of doing this was slightly more remote than being named Miss Burbank.

One day after school, she buzzed herself into her building, a corner chunk of white concrete. She bent to pet Felicia, glad that she was there. But sometimes, she just wished the dog would shut up.

Mattie, you forgot to refill my water.

Mattie, I prefer the gluten-free treats from the Petco.

Mattie, run get my leash—I have to poop.

Things fared better at Mattie’s job, which was at L.A. Zoo where she worked as an intern. Pico Pico had pulled some strings so that the post—normally reserved for college kids—this time went to her. She got to feed the animals (the herbivores, anyway), play assistant vet, and even pet the new baby hippo!

Sometimes, late at night, after the visitors and most of the employees had left, Mattie had some time for heart-to-hearts with the animals.

I’m conflicted, she told Leona, a lioness, as she stood inside her enclosure. If you put on rubber boots, it was a snap to wade across the lion’s blue moat.

Of course, I’m glad to be home, but at the same time, I miss Cavernis.

Welcome to the jungle. Just look at these cheesy backdrops. Painted rocks! All day I put up with idiots—and I’m not even allowed to eat them. How do you think that feels?

Trust me, I can relate. I’ve gone from being a Knight of the Order to someone who studies tangents.

Speaking of which, you two are always on the same one, someone squawked.

A green macaw winged into the lion’s den to land on Leona’s nose. Mattie couldn’t figure out how Tahiti escaped from his cage. When asked, the bird would squawk, I do more than just parrot, honey!

Sorry, Mattie sighed, "it just strikes me as odd. When I was in Cavernis, I wanted to come home. Now that I’m here, I miss everything there."

The tall grass is always paler. Leona nodded sagely, grabbing a cub by the nape of its neck. Just have a few kids—that’ll get you centered in no time.

I’m only eighteen, Mattie said.

"Excuse me, Miss Thing, I was only four!"

Mattie sighed as Leona swiped at her sleeping husband.

Don’t mind her, said Tahiti, scratching his neck with a four-toed claw. There’s too much breeding as is. I say pick the place that makes you happiest. Easy, right?

Mattie shook her head. "I don’t know where I belong. I can fight and strategize, so I have a purpose there. Here, I’m supposed to be with other humans, but I never see anyone. All my friends just tweet and text."

A conundrum of modern times.

Yeah, but what do I do? Mattie desperately needed guidance.

Sorry, a good therapist never gives advice. Tahiti bobbed his head up and down. You’ll find the answer in time. He flew off to his cage and mate.

How?

Mattie re-forded the moat, climbing out of the enclosure. Her boots drizzled the lighted paths as she passed zebras and gorillas. She bent to get in a golf cart whose oblong shape made it look like a Tylenol. Pressing the button to go, she cruised slowly into Australia. The ‘roos, wallabies, and koalas were doing whatever marsupials do. Since they weren’t nocturnal, that probably meant they were nighty-night.

Mattie parked in front of a Dragons of Komodo sign. This fronted a semi-circular pavilion reinforced with thick glass. Its walls were tight bamboo and its ceiling consisted of branches. As was the style of the zoo, backdrops of painted rocks framed the center wall. After all, this was L.A., so even animals lived on a set.

Mattie walked behind the exhibit, inserting her keycard key into a door. She entered, struck as always by the trapped heat.

Hey, guys, she greeted the inmates, trying to ignore an ox skull that had been placed on the ground for mood. What’s hangin’?

Only my tongue, said Lizzy, the more flippant of the two Komodos.

I’m bored, said her mate Igor. Lizzy won’t let me lean on her.

Can you blame her? You’re ten feet long and over two hundred pounds!

Still. Igor shrugged as best as a lizard could.

I brought you some treats, Mattie said.

You? Lizzy asked.

Komodos were sometimes known to eat humans.

No, bits of a deer that expired.

Lizzy flicked her tongue. Yummy.

The lizards accepted her present as she threw it onto the dirt. No way was she feeding them by hand! Unlike dragons, they weren’t gourmands and could decide she’d make a nice appetizer. She stood on a large boulder, keeping a safe distance.

Got anything else? Igor asked.

Nope, that’s it.

How ‘bout a hand?

Mattie gave him a look that was almost as ferocious as he was. He flipped his enormous tail.

I kid because I love.

Still mooning over your dragons? Lizzie asked. So sorry we can’t breathe fire or flap our invisible wings. Boohoo, we’re just boring old monitors.

If a Komodo could pout, that’s exactly what she was doing.

Don’t be that way, said Mattie. You guys are totally interesting. Didn’t one of you take a bite out of Sharon Stone’s ex-husband?

Yes, and I must tell you, that foot tasted delicious!

The big toe was especially juicy.

Mattie laughed despite her dejection. Don’t try it on me. I once killed this mean dragon, Agravaine.

The Komodos crept back a bit. Mattie absorbed her own words. She—at seventeen—had killed. Granted, it was during a war and he was trying to bite her...

What’s that? Igor asked, widening his pupils.

I smell something, said Lizzie, flaring her oval nostrils.

Where? Mattie didn’t see or smell anything. She looked to where the Komodos were staring, at a fifteen-foot viewing window beyond which visitors usually huddled. The glass itself seemed thick but ordinary... until Mattie noticed a shimmer. She felt more red flags go off in her head than at a May Day parade.

Oh no, not again— But her own will was against her. She found herself drawn closer until she leaped off the boulder and ran full-tilt for the window.

Take it easy! Igor shouted. You can’t—

But she could: she went right through the pane without breaking it. Mattie wasn’t at all surprised to find herself in a Cube, one translucent as the glass. It lifted noiselessly as she tried to brace herself. One minute she saw the two lizards swiftly receding from view, then she was whirling through a darkness pricked by pinholes of light. Stars.

The cube rotated wildly, like those damn teacups at Disneyland! When Mattie looked down, she saw it, a thin contrail of light—red, blue, and green—ribboning in her wake. God, she hated this feeling! She tried to close her eyes, but that just made things worse.

Stop! she commanded the Cube, as if it had a brain. Oddly, it obeyed, toppling her onto the ground before exiting with a pop!

I know where I am! Mattie shouted, rising to her feet and shaking dirt from her zoo uniform. Beyond the bucolic farmland, just in the near-distance, was Georgia, where Eli was probably king. There was something about the white cathedral and low thatched village roofs that gave her a sense of comfort. This time she wasn’t a stranger.

Mattie!

Her old friend, a nāgī, came running up—slithering, actually—her cobra lower half stirring up the dust.

Sudha! Mattie yelled, flinging herself into her arms...or at least four out of her six. My gosh, you’re even prettier than when I left!

Clad in her bright red sari, Sudha—she of the perfect features, long black hair, and knockout upper half—could have been a Bollywood star.

I know.

Same old Sudha. Mattie felt the nāgī’s forked tongue graze over her cheek. When she stepped back, she gave Mattie’s outfit a puzzled survey.

Why are you dressed as a Young Dragon Scout?

Mattie shook her head. Long story.

"Yo, homegirls, what’s up with these feelings? I think I’m gonna barf!" a small voice called out.

Ripley! Mattie proffered a palm where the tiny dragon landed. Today she was dressed like a tourist in a wide Panama hat that matched her white linen suit.

Mattie didn’t want to seem rude, but she still looked around hopefully. How odd. No Artorius.

Sudha saw her expression.

Oh, Mattie, we didn’t tell him. You’re meant to be a surprise.

Mattie nodded, though she still felt a little let down.

Shall we? Sudha asked, pointing west to a narrow dirt path that led to