Piasa: Legends Series

By Maggie Adams

"What do you seek, child? I see your heart is troubled," the shadowy figure asked.
"Father, I am conflicted within my heart. Our history with the monsters of blood, the day-walkers of old, tells us to beware, to call upon the ancients to protect us as we battle this evil."
The figure nodded. "It is so, Child."
"But with the utmost respect, Father, I have met one, and he is nothing as our ancestors have described. He is honest and true, trying to protect his tribe from the very evil we have battled against. I have seen it with my own eyes. How can I destroy what has saved my life?" 
"He has tasted your blood?" The shadow recoiled at the thought.
"No! He fought an evil sorceress, his own mother, to save me and my friends. I would have died if they had not called upon the Piasa Bird to save me."
"You speak of legends long dead, daughter. You were mistaken in your thoughts. The Piasa Bird is extinct."
"No, Father, he lives. The last of his kind. Unique, just as I am unique."
She pulled her shawl away from her shoulders, exposing the birthmark of the dragon. It glowed with an inner light of green. The figure stepped back.
"How long, Daughter?"
"Since the day the sorceress tried to take my soul and my powers. The dragon's tears saved me, but now, my mark aches and glows."
The figure was silent for several minutes. Delta worried she would never get an answer to her problem. Finally, he spoke, "There is only one reason for your mark to glow, Daughter. You are the key to banishing this evil from your world. You must turn these evils on to each other, so they will each destroy the other and leave your world forever."
"Very well, Father. I will turn the day-walker against the dragon. My prayers and offerings will be centered on their demise."

Delta Malone, shaman, shop owner and unbeknownst to her, destined soulmate of the rarest dragon, is about to embark on the greatest adventure of her life - she will attempt to pit the most powerful vampire against the fiercest dragon in an effort to control her own destiny and prevent the elimination of mankind.

Jackson Thibedeaoux, the last of the great Piasa Bird Dragons, has come home to die. Or at least, that what he thinks until he meets the beautiful, soulful, Delta, saves her from an evil sorceress, and realizes she is his fated mate. He knows she has secrets, but it's nothing he can't handle, right? After all, he's the fiercest dragon of all time with the most powerful friends in the shifter world.

But when he learns his soulmate's secret, it's up to him and his friends to convince her to throw caution to the wind and damn her destiny in favor of love, or else all of them are doomed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Maggie Adams
• Release date: Nov 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201018214

Maggie Adams

Maggie Adams is an internationally known contemporary romance author. Her first book in the Tempered Steel Series, Whistlin’ Dixie, debuted in Top 100 for Women’s Fiction, humor, on November 2014. Since then, she has consistently made the best seller 5-star list with her Tempered Steel Series.  She also writes erotica, paranormal romance, young adult romance and women’s fiction. Maggie’s books can be found on eBook and paperback on her website and all book sites. When she’s not writing, she can be found dancing, singing and cooking (usually all at the same time), and spending time with her family and friends. .

Book preview

Prologue

O

nce upon a time, when the earth was new and both light and dark magic was in abundance, man and beast inhabited the land in harmony. Through their hard work, the world thrived, and the gods and goddesses were pleased. As a reward, dark magic and mischief were banished, and everyone was welcome to live as they wanted without repercussion except for one rule: beast and man should not become one. The gods feared that creature would become more powerful than they could control.

During that time, a young maiden fell in love with her Piasa companion, keeping their forbidden love a secret and simply asking the gods for a long and happy life together. The gods were shrewd and saw through their ploy, decreeing that they should never be together again. The lovers were banished to the ends of the earth as an example to those who dared defy the gods.

The maiden and the Piasa vowed revenge against those who had declared their love was forbidden. Growing up with the stories of days long past, they began a quest to find the banished dark magic.

It took many years, but the pair found the magic. The lovers told the dark magic of their heartbreaking tale and their need for retribution, wanting to unleash the magic upon the earth in exchange for their freedom. After hearing their plea, the darkness consented but with one caveat: their union would produce a child, and the evil would be given to that child.

The pair agreed, and a child was born. However, when the darkness came, disguised as a witch, the lovers refused to give up the child and fled to the gods for help and mercy.

The witch, a skadegamutc, knowing she would be banished once again, cursed the earth, the gods, and all its inhabitants. The earth shook and cracked with her anger, and great waves flooded the earth, leaving high bluffs and tiny islands. It divided the earth into many pieces, and a great battle ensued between the goodness of the land and the evil invading it. The war left death and destruction in its wake. Once the gods realized their gift of magic was being used and abused in such a way, they gathered all magic, both good and bad, into a fiery ball and hurled it far and away into the nexus of the earth, the sky, and the water.

When it was all over, very little remained of the once fertile earth, but the gods were merciful to those left behind and allowed them to live off the land and rebuild. They also realized that love is the heartbeat of goodness and should never be forbidden. So, they fashioned man and beast as one to help rebuild the earth.

But the great battle had made man wary of the beast and the beast distrustful of man, as each believed it was the other’s selfishness that had caused this destruction. And thus, the man beast, or shifter as it was called, was banished from the lands, sent away as outcasts to live or die in seclusion.

And the gods were once again displeased with all the inhabitants of earth and declared that powerful magic should never be used again until pure goodness can be proven to flourish in the hearts of both man and beast.

And so it is today...

In the tiny village of Grafton, Illinois, a small community at the conflux of the Mississippi River and the Missouri River, very few humans know of the shifter community that lives within the town, and no one, human nor shifter, knows that it holds the secret to the greatest legend ever told.

Chapter One

D

elta Malone mixed the herbs, throwing them into the flames, and closed her dark brown eyes. Chanting the ancient verse to assemble those who have passed through the veil throughout the centuries, she succumbed to her trance. Her breathing became labored, her lithe body began swaying, and her long dark hair gently whipped around her as her dream state took over her physical being. Her mind was transported through the veil as her body collapsed onto the cold, hard earth.

She stood within death’s dimension, shadowy figures moaning in sorrow at their plight, others sighing in pleasure of the nirvana perceived within their hearts. All of those who she had known within her life who had passed onto their reward or their penance were here. She paid no heed to the outstretched hands of those in despair, only intent on searching for the one she sought. Stepping further into the clouds and fog, she made her way toward her tribal elders. A figure emerged from the crowd, large and dark with the marks of her ancestors tattooed upon his arms and chest. His long white hair flowed across his shoulders. He was a spirit, as if his body, though visible, was also shadowed by magic. This was her great grandfather, her mentor, and the most powerful shaman she had ever known. She kneeled down in front of him, head bowed in respect.

What do you seek, child? I see your heart is troubled, the shadowy figure asked.

Grandfather, I am conflicted within my heart. Our history with the monsters of blood, the day-walkers of old, tells us to beware, to call upon the ancients to protect us as we battle this evil.

The figure nodded. It is so, child.

But with the utmost respect, Grandfather, I have met one, and he is nothing like our ancestors have described. He is honest and true, trying to protect his tribe from the very evil we have battled against. I have seen it with my own eyes. How can I destroy that which has saved my life?

He has tasted your blood? The shaman recoiled at the thought.

No! He fought an evil sorceress, his own mother, to save me and my friends. I would have died if they had not called upon the Piasa Bird to save me.

You speak of legends long dead, granddaughter. You were mistaken in your thoughts. The Piasa Bird is extinct, killed by Ouatoga after the Great Battle.

No, Grandfather, he lives. The last of his kind. Unique, just as I am unique.

She pulled her shawl away from her shoulders, exposing the birthmark of the Piasa. It glowed with an inner light of green. The figure stepped back.

How long, Granddaughter?

Since the day the sorceress tried to take my soul and my powers. The Piasa’s tears saved me, but now, my mark aches and glows.

You were saved by the tribe when your own mother abandoned you as evil due to your mark of the beast. Many thought it was a sign, and that the devil that plagued our ancestors was coming back; that the skadegamutc witch was reborn in you. I, however, saw the vision of what is to be and took you in. It is now time for you to fulfill the destiny that was envisioned for you long ago.

Tell me, then, Grandfather, of the mark, and my destiny. How am I to proceed to fulfill what was seen?

The shadowy figure remained silent for several minutes. Delta worried she would never get an answer to her problem, but she dutifully waited in silence, body folded over her knees in complete subjugation to her leader. Finally, he spoke, There is only one reason for your mark to glow, Granddaughter. You are the key to banishing this evil from your world. You must turn these evils against each other, so they will destroy one another and leave your world forever.

Delta was alarmed. But, Grandfather, I am a simple shaman who happens to interpret dreams. I cannot create such a fight. It is not within me.

The shadowy figure closed the gap between them. You have invoked the ancients to cleanse the evil once before. You must finish it. It is your destiny. His hollowed orbs shone with an intense red light.

Delta sensed his eagerness. His elevated aura was almost red, and she cringed. Her ancestor had always been kind and patient. His reaction to her news was almost one of impatience and want. This was not what she expected; she was but a pawn in this centuries-old fight. Perhaps, he was simply keen for the