Red Dragon: Dragonsbane Saga

By Madison Keller

Originally published as "The Dragon of Volcano Island" in Tarot: Arcana.

Kicked out of his mother's lair, the dragon Riastel must find a new home. And he's found the perfect place. Another dragon is already living there, but Riastel has the perfect plan.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rainbow Dog Books
• Release date: Feb 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201676759

Madison Keller

MADISON KELLER lives and writes in the Pacific Northwest. When not writing he can be found bicycling around the woods of Oregon or at the dog park with his adorable Chihuahua mix. Madison has transitioned and now goes by Ian.

Book preview

Red Dragon

Ian Madison Keller

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Rainbow Dog Press

Copyright © 2017 by Ian Madison Keller

All rights reserved. Published by Rainbow Dog Books. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.

Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

Cover by Rainbow Dog Covers

Previously published as The Dragon of Volcano Island by Ian Madison Keller in the anthology Tarot: Arcana put out by Thurston Howl Publishing

Contents

1. Part 1

2. Part 2

3. Part 3

4. Part 4

ALSO BY IAN MADISON KELLER

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Part 1

Riastel tucked his head further under his wing and let himself settle deeper into the heaping pile of gold coins. As he drifted off to sleep a mouth clamped around his neck, lifting him up and out.

Let go! Riastel howled, his thrashing send coins and gems flying.

He was deposited gently onto the cave floor. Riastel twisted and lashed out at his mother, but the tip of her tail snaked around and bopped him on the nose. Riastel, get out of the cave, go see the world. Your nest sibling left years ago.

I like it here, Riastel sat up and curled his tail around his feet. His mother, over three times his size, loomed over him. Dragons grew as they aged and Riastel hoped to one day get as big as her.

You need to find your own place in the world, Riastel. Goodbye.

Before he could respond his mother's wing came down and swept Riastel to side, sending him tumbling down the slope towards the cave's entrance.

No! Riastel grabbed frantically at his mother's gold but she snapped out a paw between him and the piles as he went past.

Riastel tumbled to a stop at the bottom of the slope. He took a moment to recover and then launched out into the crisp mountain air. His wings caught a gust and he spiraled higher and higher until the whole of the mountain range lay spread out beneath him. A smorgasbord open for the tasting. If only he knew where to start.

With no destination in mind, Riastel let the wind guide him south. Although he'd flown these mountains his entire life, he'd never ventured far outside of his mother's territory. Now with each flap of his wings Riastel flew farther into the unknown.

Flapping wing beats not his own startled him out of his musings. His clutch sister dove out of a cloud and soared up next to him.

Heard mom kicked you out, Dexta chuckled.

News travels fast. Riastel grumbled.

Dexta flapped closer, until they sailed wing-tip to wing-tip. Riastel snuck a glance at his sister. She'd grown since he'd seen her last and was now a good foot longer than him. A fresh angry red mark marred her side, barely visible against the crimson of her scales.

Ouch, what happened? Riastel asked her.