King of the Castle: Braeden the Barbarian, #2

By A. J. Gallant

The adventures of a barbarian and his amazing horse."Dragons, wizards, magical horses, and romance, this book has it all." King of the Castle is book 2 of the epic fantasy series Braeden's Path with Braeden the Barbarian. Word has escaped their borders about the fantastical castle and the invaders are on the way. And who is that beautiful vixen from another realm? Is she a friend or foe?

• Language: English
• Publisher: A. J. Gallant
• Release date: Dec 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215363140

A. J. Gallant

I write fantasy and sci-fi and some variations. It seems my imagination needs magical inspiration. More of my books will appear in the future on this site. Recently took in a starving cat that we thought was a male, but she's had four kittens.

Book preview

prologue

HUNTER SAT UNDER A LARGE OAK TREE honing his sword. Taking in a slow breath, he held it and finally released it. He had a square chin and a nicely balanced face, brown skin, and beautiful brown eyes, letting his hair grow out from the stubble that it had been. His parents had been killed by two ugly brutes when he was nine, diminishing the sparkle in his eyes. It was just after midnight, and the rain had passed, leaving a freshness in the air. The desert heat often encroached on Popiir, and this day had been humid and hot. The midday sun had been a scorcher. Hunter closed his eyes and listened to the sounds around him, the wind blowing through the branches.

You’re up late, said Lan. What are you thinking about at this hour? He was a farmer and suffering from a bout of sleeplessness. Nightmares were disturbing his sleep, and he couldn’t remember them when he awoke.

Hunter adjusted his back against the tree. Truth be told, I’m lonely. Nearly all the women are taken, and the prospect of going out searching for one is daunting.

Lan thought Hunter did seem lonely at times, and it was a small town, even though now, with the castle, he supposed it was considered a kingdom. You just have to wait until one of the girls grows into adulthood.

He ran the stone along his sword. Are you trying to cheer me up or make it worse? Almost two men for every woman here.

Yes, but your status has risen. You’re close to the king, and I don’t think there’s a woman around that doesn’t want him in their bed.

Hunter sighed. The King with a bed full of women is not going to help me.

Lan sat and looked up at the stars peeking through the clouds. One might fall out. You never know. What happened to the other one you had your eye on?

Hunter placed his sword back in its sheath. She’s the one that got mauled by the bear.

Oh, that’s right. Sorry. I don’t know where my mind is as of late. What do you think of the barbarian?

Hunter pushed his quiver of arrows that was on the ground beside him. I wouldn’t want to fight him. See the arms on him? He even has muscles on his stomach.

From good stock, that’s for sure. And now he’s our king.

CHAPTER ONE

FIVE CIRCULAR TOWERS DWARF THE LITTLE KINGDOM OF POPIIR, connected by massive walls constructed of bluestone. Windows in proportioned patterns are scattered here and there, with murder holes for the archers to launch their arrows. There’s an enormous boulder that has paths that snake around it.  Construction on several houses was at different levels of completion, though, at this hour, the workers were asleep.

Under a haphazardly cloudy sky stood Midnight Castle two hours before sunrise. The nearly full moon will soon emerge from behind a cloud, giving some light to Braeden’s castle that he named Midnight because of the mysterious goings-on within. Soaked in magic like a wet dog in the rain. At times, it gave Braeden pause as to whether it was a good idea to remain in such a bewitched place, but he was as stubborn as he was courageous. Besides, there was likely adventure in the castle itself. Exploration never hurt anyone, he liked to say, even though he knew it killed many, but what was life without a bit of adventure?  He wasn’t sure how long he could stay tied to one place. However, being King did appeal to him.

A burst of fire high over the castle lit up the sky. Some dragons liked to spew flame after dark because it was quite a sight to see against the night, even having friendly competitions with others. Some nights as many as a dozen dragons would gather and show off their fire in flight.

In another section of the sky, a complete circle of flame appeared, or close to it. A dragon was flying around and around until she ran out of breath. And then two more side by side simultaneously spewing flame, a test of endurance, with the small one running out of breath first.

A shriek cut through the darkness because Dasheenta was having a nightmare; another dragon pursued her, and as in real life, she had no fire to defend herself. Another horrible scream escaped as she turned and scratched at the air; she was falling to her death. And then, with a start, she opened her eyes. Dasheenta stared longingly at the dragons accomplishing their fire dance. All that light against the night sky looked so beautiful. Her head jerked quickly to the right as she thought she heard something.

High on the castle wall, a window appeared in midair; a warrior woman gazed out and took in the scent, seeing a black dragon high above as it launched a ball of fire. Looking down, she saw guards in conversation; that would not be permitted in her realm. How could one hear the slightest sound of an enemy when one was chattering? A stealthy foe would soon make corpses of them.

And then, from the southwest came a firefly the size of a small cat. Its illumination was awe-inspiring, with a halo of bright yellow light surrounding it. And then, a posse of the beetles arrived, creating an incredible sight. Thousands went up and over the castle, higher and higher until they surrounded a black dragon who just smiled at the insects, appreciating their beauty against the night, watching as they trailed off into the distance.

The morning sun appeared to rest on the horizon, rays peeking through clouds and lighting a shittah near the castle, a thorny tree with a reddish shade of bark, its feathery leaves said to protect the bark from hot winds. A Desert Hare was chewing on a blade of grass; the rabbit was the same color as the red desert sand though here it was visible. Even the coloration inside its ears was as red as the dunes.    

The town of Popiir was on the outskirts of the Irahalak desert. The nearby forest was thought to have been conjured by a wizard as there were strange goings-on. Trees moving around and changing places with one another was only one thing observed. Some nights purple lights were perceived amongst the whispering trees though no one dared to enter to see what was occurring, at least not after the sun fell.

A doe stopped drinking from a puddle when the dragon screamed as she flew over. The animal bolted for the woods; the majestic Dasheenta was in a panic over something. The dragon had a black head with bright yellow eyes. The black of her head seemed to bleed down into her red body, which was visually appealing. Unfortunately for Braeden, she was no ordinary dragon; she was the opposite of brave and usually desperate to head in the opposite direction of trouble.

Braeden stepped out of the castle and stretched. The King wore spiked shoulder guards with spiked bracelets, steel arm bracers over his forearms, and a small leather covering over his manhood. His stomach was nicely rippled, and his arms were well-defined, making most men wary. He carried a Brocathasdo sword and a jewel-encrusted sheath on his waist that he found in the castle. This King was in his prime and an excellent specimen of a man.  And so handsome that women fought for his attention. Dasheenta, what are you screaming about so early in the morning. And what were you crying about last night? 

I had a nightmare. Look, Dragon! she screamed as loud as she could, which was deafening. Up there, look!

Braeden thought that even a deaf person would have been able to hear that shriek. Why couldn’t the castle have come with an ordinary dragon willing to defend Popiir valiantly? Instead of this broken, paranoid, frightened creature that felt inferior to just about everyone and everything. Observing a dragon panic was a pitiful sight to see.

An enormous black dragon was circling, and Dasheenta, having no fire, was afraid of it. She was sure that such a monster could do much damage; the black dragon would kill her if he got the chance. Dasheenta had come with the magical castle that had been able to fit in the palm of Braeden’s hand.

Braeden looked up and saw the dragon. He turned his head toward Dasheenta. Fight him if you have to; you’re a damn dragon, aren’t you? You’ll gain courage from battle.

Dasheenta pumped her wings as she hovered in place. What? Oh, no, no, no! You know I have no fire. What am I supposed to do? Spit on him? And look how high up he is!

Braeden now stood akimbo and laughed. Don’t tell me that you’re afraid of heights?

No, of course not. Then she cleared her throat and, under her breath, said, Maybe just a little. I’ve never been up that high. No reason to fly way up there. He’s just boasting.

The King considered that Dasheenta had more chicken in her than dragon, not to mention that she was most decidedly paranoid, but was she becoming even more so? Dragons passed over regularly, and most could care less about the machinations of insignificant humans and usually paid her no attention either.

Look, he’s coming down. Talk to him and see what he wants. Better yet, use your feminine wiles and befriend him. He was tempted to say he could use a real dragon around here but didn’t.

Dasheenta flew to the castle as fast as she could though she got stuck in the entrance, unable to get past the portcullis, tail, and rear-end protruding from the entry. The ground shook as the black dragon landed with a loud thud. Braeden didn’t think there would be much he could accomplish against such a massive beast.

What do we have here? said the dragon. I could smell the female from way up there, a comely dragon she is. And now I get to see the best part of her. Ceriothian lifted her tail with his nose and sniffed forcefully. She smells delightful.

Dasheenta was not impressed. What’s going on back there? Who’s sniffing my butt?

Dragon! hollered Braeden. Back your fat ass up! She’s under my protection.

Ceriothian turned and snorted at the barbarian; the heat was like sticking his head in a fiery hearth. You are as silly as you are small. A human can’t protect a dragon.

What a humorous dragon you are. Braeden pulled his sword as if he could intimidate such a beast. Now, back away before I throw a spell on you.  

Ceriothian shook his head disdainfully and went back to sniffing Dasheenta; the opportunity to mate was much too tempting to bother with this little fellow. Instead, she kicked him, knocking one of his teeth out, and it hurt. She knocked out my tooth? Oh, I like them feisty. Come here you!

"You don’t want to be mating with her." Braeden would endeavor to outwit the dragon. But, just like people, they weren’t all intelligent.

And why not?

Braeden scratched his head. She’s of inferior stock.

Ceriothian brought down one of his substantial red eyes to the barbarian’s level.

"I would have thought that you might have smelled it, a superior dragon like yourself. Dasheenta doesn’t have fire. And she’s a scardy cat, frightened of everything, and she has the ganawuwi disease, which only affects dragons. So you are a dragon."

Ceriothian backed away from her. He had never heard of it, but it was best not to take chances. What will that do?

It won’t kill you, but all your scales will fall off, and eventually, you’ll have no fire.

Ceriothian envisioned such a dilemma. He would have little defense against other dragons without scales and occasionally liked to battle. She still has all her scales, as far as I can tell?

Yes, but they will fall soon.

Of all the luck. It wouldn’t be wise to mate with an inferior dragon and a sick one at that. He took to the air, his wing almost hit the barbarian as he lifted off, and it wasn’t long before he was out of view.

Dasheenta struggled to back up. Is he gone? 

He’s gone. Are you stuck?

I think so.

I’ll go the other way and see if I can’t raise those bars so you can back out.

All right then. What did he want?

You couldn’t hear? He wanted to mate.

Oh? Mate with me?

He damn well doesn't want to mate with me.

Dasheenta giggled at that last statement. Mate with me? Why would anyone want to mate with me? I am such an inferior dragon. If only I had fire. She had an unexpected thought: she might be receptive to hatching some eggs. Having baby dragons to raise might take her mind off of things. Dasheenta might not always be so scared; eventually, they could protect her. Yes, under the protection of her children might just be the way to go? Did she dare consent? Would she die of fright from mating with such a monster? That didn’t seem likely. It was something to think about, and already she was becoming preoccupied with visions of baby dragons. But would they be normal or end up just like me? Normal, I think; I know of no other dragons like me.

The bars raised, and Dasheenta managed to back out.

Braeden examined the rectangular rocks on the ground in the courtyard that made up a part of the area, surprised to find several with his likeness. On one, he was riding Finn; on another, he was sitting on his throne. Although the images were relatively small, he could make them out. The King imagined that magic could accomplish just about anything, and often that was a problem. And how dangerous was it going to be to live in this castle? He knew of at least one ghost that haunted the halls.

The ground, saturated from a thundershower that went through the area overnight, showed reflections of the magnificent castle. Braeden went from staring at one of the reflective images to wielding his sword as several men looked on, impressed with the talent of the new Barbarian King. Battling no one, he was going through thrusts and parry movements, his muscular frame a sight to behold, his speed and the sound of his sword cutting through the air inspiring hopeful knights. No one would want a battle to the death against such a formidable fighter. Finally, Braeden turned and saw a