Kassie Kane and the Tainted Blood: Book Two of the Kane Saga

By Kelly Scidmore-Sievers

In A Land Where Magic Is Dying... A young girl destined for leadership finds herself in an epic struggle to unite the forces of good against an ever-growing power of evil. Kassie Kane must heal the rift separating the Elves, goblins, and blended peoples of Pulchritude Amity to repel the evil Czar Nefarious’ plans to enslave the land. Together with her brother Charlie Kane, who is the new magic writer, and the last of the humans in the land, they embark on a perilous journey to fulfill their destinies and bring a world of magic back to life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Outskirts Press
• Release date: Oct 28, 2015
• ISBN: 9781478768081

Kelly Scidmore-Sievers

In A Land Where Magic Is Dying... A young girl destined for leadership finds herself in an epic struggle to unite the forces of good against an ever-growing power of evil. Kassie Kane must heal the rift separating the Elves, goblins, and blended peoples of Pulchritude Amity to repel the evil Czar Nefarious’ plans to enslave the land. Together with her brother Charlie Kane, who is the new magic writer, and the last of the humans in the land, they embark on a perilous journey to fulfill their destinies and bring a world of magic back to life.

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This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places or living persons. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.

Kassie Kane and the Tainted Blood

Book Two of the Kane Saga

All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2015 Kelly Scidmore-Sievers

v4.0

Cover illustrated by Emilia Kolorova

Illustrations © 2015 Outskirts Press, Inc. All rights reserved - used with permission.

Cover Photo © 2015 thinkstockphotos.com. All rights reserved - used with permission.

This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-4787-6808-1

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015908533

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PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

I dedicate this book to my Dad and Mom, Charles and Carol Scidmore, who are my biggest fans in life. They have taught me to lead by example, to love with all my heart, to accept others as they are, to embrace differences in others, to give all that I have, to never give up hope and to forever believe.

Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.

– Harry S. Truman

Chapter One

Magical Journeys

The dirt sifted through her fingers for the tenth time. She couldn’t understand how she had gone from taking clothes out of the dryer at home to standing in some sort of wasteland. The last thing Kassie could remember was her mother asking her to start another load of wash and to fold the clothes in the dryer. While removing the clothes, Kassie had been distracted by a hole inside the dryer. It was the same shape as the blue heart stone she had found earlier in the day when she had finished taking over unloading the clothes that Charlie had not done. Out of curiosity, she had placed the heart shaped stone into the hole and from there things became fuzzy. The next thing Kassie remembered clearly was standing outside in the dirt in a place she could only describe was a dreary desolate landscape. The sun wasn’t shining, and there was a foggy gloom over the land. She had ventured no further than a few feet in either direction. But all she saw around her was dirt with a few patches of mud here and there, and to the north some haunting naked trees. The only real sign of life she had discovered was a green patch of grass and weeds where the most beautiful blue flowers grew on top of a boulder. And when she looked closely at the blue flowers, she noticed there were several blue stones lying around the stems, similar to the one Kassie had placed in the hole of the dryer.

She hadn’t ventured further in her surroundings out of fear of the unknown. And there were a lot of unknowns. The unknowns of where she was, what had brought her here and what was out there. The unknown of what was to come. In normal circumstances, discovering the unknown would have been right up her alley. She thrived on the discovery of new things. Sometimes she even longed for it, for she felt with the unknown came adventure. She completely shared her mother’s thrill for adventure. However, when Kassie looked around her surroundings, she realized this was not a normal circumstance. Something strange had happened when she placed that rock into that hole in the dryer.

As the dirt sifted through her fingers yet again, Kassie realized she’d have to make a decision on what she was going to do. The world around her was slowly getting darker, and the nighttime slowly descended upon her like a giant dark canopy. She knew it would not be safe to wander in the darkness. Besides, she felt she needed to stay put. She was hopeful someone would pass by, and they could tell her where she was and how to get home, wherever that may be from here. She looked around, confused once again, and wondered how she ended up here. She shook her head in bewilderment. Those thoughts were lost to her as she felt a slight breeze pass through her and shivered. She realized she was not equipped to cope with a cold night. She’d need to make a fire and soon. Her mother had taught her the art of making fire from two sticks and some flint. She was fortunate enough to have a mother who had taken her camping and taught her many crafty ways to cope in the wild. She smiled wistfully, thinking about her family. Charlie had never shown an interest in such things. He was too glued to writing stories and reading books, as was her father. But her mother and she enjoyed all things involving nature. Kassie had become a Girl Scout at a young age, and her mother was her troop leader. To this day, she still participated in the Girl Scouts. At this moment, she was thankful for the resourcefulness the scouts had taught her.

She looked around, but didn’t find anything suitable for making a fire. Kassie felt certain it would be a cold night if she didn’t find some means to provide warmth. She knew Nevada nights could get pretty cold. Then of course there was the issue of water and food, but Kassie would have to think about that later. Right now fire and warmth was her main concern.

Kassie let the last bit of dirt drop from her fingers and slapped her hands together to rub off the dust. She had already surveyed the area around the blue flowers and hadn’t found anything suitable to make a fire. Perhaps she should explore further from the rock and see what she found, even if it was getting darker in this desolate landscape. She turned around a bit, moving backwards as she went, trying to see as far as the darkness and fog would allow. In doing so her legs became tangled, and she fell backwards into a pile of mud. Her mouth gaped open as she felt her pants immediately soak up the cold mud beneath her. She sat stunned for a minute, and then warmth started in her butt and crept up through her thighs, and before Kassie could determine what was causing the heat, the warmth turned into burning, and Kassie yelped and jumped up away from the mud.

She rubbed her buttocks and thighs and tried to smooth the burning pain away as she peered closer at the mud she had fallen into. It looked like ordinary mud at first glance, but a closer look showed small bubbles forming in the middle. Kassie leaned closer and touched the bubbles, and they enlarged and heat emanated from them. She started to process this wasn’t a normal mud pile, and she stared at the bubbling mess, fascinated. She had never heard of mud that heated and bubbled on contact. Kassie took her hand and placed it directly into the middle, and the bubbles grew enormous, and heat seared her skin. She snatched her hand back and shook off the burning mud. The heat from the mud pile exuded upwards, and she could feel it lick her face. She smiled as she lowered her hand into her lap. This was her answer to a lack of fire. She’d warm herself from the mud for the night. If the heat would last for more than a few minutes, she’d be in business.

By now the darkness had claimed the night and a chill saturated the air. Kassie followed her plan to use the mud. When the heat disappeared after a few hours, she simply placed her hand into the middle of the mud pile and let the heat redevelop before pulling her hand back out. It did a fair job keeping her warm during the long restless night. She found she could doze until the chill resurfaced, and she just repeated the process. She was thankful she had been cold at home and had pulled a hoodie over her long sleeve tee. And even though her jeans weren’t the warmest thing to wear, they helped to keep her legs covered. She only wished she’d had shoes on rather than just her fuzzy pink socks. She couldn’t imagine how she had gotten here and why she would have wandered here with only her socks on. All she could assume was when she knocked her head on the dryer, it had given her a concussion which caused some type of mental alteration, and she had wandered out of her house and into this dreary area some miles away. She just couldn’t remember ever seeing landscapes like this around home. Kassie touched the lump on her head and winced. The story seemed farfetched, but it was the best she could come up with.

Kassie pulled the hood tight around her head and let her sleeves extend over her hands. She moved as close to the mud as she felt was safe and closed her eyes, dozing off for the third time that night.

Charlie sat at the desk with the Pen of Knowledge in hand and stared at the book. So far he’d written one spell, and it was a failure. He was fumbling to understand how writing magic truly worked. He was used to writing from his thoughts, but it appeared writing magic was something that came from within, something he didn’t quite control. He wasn’t able to choose what he could write. Some unknown power within him moved the pen. He could finally feel the power of magic coursing through him when holding the pen, and he no longer doubted his role in magic, but he couldn’t understand why the spell had failed.

I’ve heard stories that even your father wrote many failed spells in his time, so be patient and it will work out, Henrietta said.

Charlie pushed his hair back from his forehead as he stared at the blank pages of the spell book. What if I write something horrendous and someone dies because of it?

Henrietta rested her hand on his shoulder, showing her unity with him. You can’t live in what ifs and maybes. I would never have invented some of my best inventions if I had done that. And I had failures. Massive failures. But I didn’t allow that to stop me. You can’t let fear stop you from doing what you are meant to do.

I know you’re right. I just hated watching that tree go up in smoke from a protection spell. If that had been a person, I’d have killed them. And then Isabella’s attitude after that disastrous test just had me thinking about the responsibility that is sitting on my shoulders. It’s a little overwhelming.

I get that. It is a lot of responsibility, Henrietta said.

Geez, thanks! I’m not sure that was the response I had wanted.

Henrietta giggled a little bit. Charlie adored her giggle. It was light and happy, and even in his worst mood it brought a smile to his face. Well, I didn’t know there was an expected response to your statement, she said with a smile. Her smile slowly disappeared as she became serious again. Is it really all that bad to have to be a responsible human, Charlie? We need you to take a lot of responsibility onto your shoulders…heck we need you to take the whole world on your shoulders right now, she said. Charlie’s stricken face prompted Henrietta to touch his arm as she stated, No pressure! And then she let one of her delightful smiles light up her face.

Yeah, right. No pressure!

She let go of Charlie’s arm. I’ll leave you to the business of magic, she said. I’m going to go get something to eat, and then I’ll stop back to see if you need anything in a little while.

Charlie watched her perky bounce take her from the room. He turned his attention towards the pen in his hand. I don’t like you controlling me, Charlie stated. It’s not supposed to be that way. I’m supposed to control this situation. He looked around the room to make sure he couldn’t be heard. He knew if anyone saw him talking to a pen, they’d think he’d lost what little sense he had left. He sat silent for a few minutes as if he was expecting the pen to answer back. He sighed as he realized he wasn’t going to get an answer. He turned back to the book and stared at the blank pages for a second before dipping the pen into the ink well. Then he willed the pen to write a lightning spell and put the pen to the page and started to write. To no surprise, the pen didn’t listen to Charlie. Rather the pen listened to the magic within Charlie and began to rewrite a new protection spell.

Kassie woke up to the same dreary fog as the day before. She’d managed to keep fairly warm through the night even though her sleep was sporadic. A yawn escaped her as she allowed herself to stretch her sore body. It had been a while since she had slept outside, and when she had last done so she had slept in a warm sleeping bag. This time she had to make do with her long sleeved shirt, hoodie, and fuzzy socks to keep her warm and comfortable.

She smacked her lips and realized a thirst was consuming her thoughts now. She’d have to find water, or she’d be dehydrated soon if she already wasn’t. Kassie stood and stretched again and heard a clump as something fell to the ground. She looked to see her cellphone lying at her feet. Her mouth gaped open as she realized she had put her cellphone into her pocket earlier that morning after calling her friend Alison. She smiled as she leaned over to pick up the phone. This could be a lifesaver. She could just call her mom and have her come get her. Kassie’s smile faded for a moment as she scanned the area again and realized she didn’t know where here was. She shrugged to no one in particular as she decided it was better to still call for help whether or not she could direct them to her. At least it would ease her mom and dad’s mind. She assumed they must be frantic with worry about now.

Kassie turned on the phone and unlocked it. Once unlocked, she scanned the bars at the top of the phone, and disappointment crossed her face as she realized wherever she was, there wasn’t service. Holding the phone up towards the sky, Kassie wandered around the area looking for reception. To further Kassie’s disappointment, she never found a spot in the area where the bars appeared. She got so absorbed that a few times she almost found herself stepping into the mud piles. Luckily at the last minute she realized where her feet were and was able to sidestep her heat source.

Her dismay was replaced by optimism. Even though there wasn’t service here, perhaps if she walked for a while she’d find a location where there was. She’d just have to make sure her battery lasted. Kassie held the on/off button and waited to hear the sing song signal that the phone was turned off. She’d need to reserve as much of the battery as possible.

Once the phone was off and back in the pouch of her hoodie, she looked up and stared around. She needed to travel today. She couldn’t just remain still. She’d want to see if she could find a road. She was certain if she had wandered out here in a daze that she’d likely be close to a road somewhere, but before moving on Kassie decided she’d search around the blue flowers for water. The flowers must be getting nourishment from some source to stay so vibrant and lush.

It only took her a few minutes of digging the dirt and sand around the flowers to find water seeping up from them. Kassie smiled and silently thanked her mom for teaching her resourcefulness. She sank to her knees and cupped both hands and shoveled the water into her mouth. It was a little gritty, but for the most part it did its job and quenched her thirst. She sat back and enjoyed the refreshing feeling of water. She hadn’t realized how thirsty she had been until she started drinking. It was hard to stop. When she had drunk her fill, she sat back and thought what her best plan of action would be. Darkness came quickly the night before, so anyone who would have likely passed by would have done it earlier in the day. Perhaps, she should stay put for a short while and see if anyone traveled through this way, and if not, she’d need to find her own way home.

Kassie pulled out her phone from the pocket in her hoodie and raised it above her head once again and walked around the area but to no avail. She turned it off and deposited it back into her pocket. Her mind was made up. She’d stay put for a few hours, and if no one made an appearance, she’d move on, and perhaps she’d be found, but if not, at least she’d be prepared to move on and hopefully find her way back home, or at least to a location where her phone became useful again.

Kassie picked half of the blue flowers and was now sitting weaving them together in a crown. She had done this many times before back home with dandelions. It was a way to pass time while waiting for a possible rescue. Kassie had become desperate enough to have pulled and eaten some of the greenery surrounding the flowers. She was crazy hungry by then. They had satisfied her hunger even though the taste was bitter. She was thankful she had not become ill from eating them. So she had decided to pick as many as possible and piled them into both pockets of her jeans and the pouch of her sweatshirt. They would come in handy if she needed them later. She hoped she would not. She still believed someone would find her, or she’d stumble across someone when she left this area. She still couldn’t believe she had wandered so far from home.

She finished up the flower crown and smiled at her work. It really was beautiful. The blue flowers glittered and shined unlike any flowers she had ever seen before. She placed the crown on her head and smiled as the act made her feel younger.

Kassie sat with the crown on her head and let her toes play in the dirt. She had taken off her socks for a short while. The days were warm and the nights were cold. It felt good to sit and think about what her next action would be. She supposed she’d pick a direction and head off that way and hope she’d either find reception on her phone, or maybe she’d find a road or another person who could take her home.

She let her toes enjoy the coolness of the dirt. She looked up into the sky and tried to determine how long she had been waiting. It was hard to determine time passing in such a gloomy place. She decided it had probably been long enough. If someone had not appeared by now, they likely would not.

She put her socks back on. Then she cupped her hands and took a few more mouthfuls of water and stood up. She sure hoped she’d find water as she traveled. It would be essential to staying hydrated in this heat.

She let her eyes take in her surroundings one more time and addressed the pack of blue flowers. She whispered a quiet bye blue elegance. She let her hands reach up and touch the crown of blue flowers on her head and smiled that she’d taken some of them with her. She turned to the south, away from the haunting trees and onto the open land and started walking.

She hadn’t traveled far when she heard a scuffling noise to her right. She stopped and peered into the fog to try and see the source of the noise.

Hello? she called out. She felt excitement course through her at the possibility of having stumbled across someone so quickly.

She didn’t receive an answer. Rather the scuffling became louder and before she knew it, she was standing almost nose to nose with a strange bird animal. She jumped backwards slightly at the creatures appearance. The animal stomped it’s feet a few times and made a brrrr, sound, and then blinked wildly. Kassie stood stunned for a moment and shook her head to clear it.

The creature was familiar, but not quite. She thought the now still animal resembled an ostrich. It was tall with long thin legs and had a broad back with feathers, but not normal feathers. They were purple and pink. At first, Kassie couldn’t help but wonder if someone had painted the poor ostrich. He also seemed a bit glittery. She clucked her tongue as she could only assume this poor creature had become someone’s art project. Then at a closer look, the ostrich creature had the long neck like most ostrich’s, but this one’s head did not appear as any ostrich she’d ever seen. Rather the head reminded her of an antelope. And at closer look, there were even small antlers perching off the ostrich’s head.

How odd, Kassie thought. Then the ostrich creature brrred again and moved forward quickly bumping lightly into her, rubbing against her, sort of like her cat Frodo did back home. She giggled a little as the feathers passed against her nose, and the gesture tickled a little.

She stood there a short time and allowed the creature to rub against her, brrring as he went. She even became brave enough to pet him a few times. Then she sighed as she realized she’d need to move on and no longer had time to play with this…this…well…whatever this thing was.

I need to go,…Feathers, she said giving the creature a name. She tried to side step around the ostrich creature, but he was quick and ran in front of her before she could do so. Then he kneeled before her, and she stood puzzled at Feathers.

I wish I could stay and play, but honestly, I need to get moving.

She walked around the now kneeling ostrielope, but not before he stood again and ran in front of her and knelt down. She shook her head at the creature and smiled. Stepping forward a few steps until she was next to Feathers, she reached out and petted him again feeling the softness of his colorful feathers.

Okay? There. I petted you. Now I must go.

For the third time, she moved around the kneeling ostrielope, and once again he jumped up and ran around her kneeling in her way. She shook her head and looked Feathers in the eyes. She saw something there from this odd creature that didn’t feel normal. Something mystical. She couldn’t explain what she did next. Something had overcome her. A sudden impulse which she couldn’t explain propelled her forward, and she straddled the ostrielope’s back. Before she knew what had happened, Feathers stood and took off at breakneck speed. Her body flew backward and her hands grasped for the creatures neck, and she held on for dear life.

Chapter Two

Unleashed

Forerunner pulled the rope tighter on the miniature dragon. Listerviere spat out small patches of fire as he tried to catch his breath. You know more than you are saying, Forerunner accused. You don’t fool me, you fiend.

Forerunner stood outside the Cursed Forest having brought his troop of goblins back to where he had last seen the other humans. He had hoped he’d find a trail or a lead of some sort to guide him to where they had gone next. He was certain wherever they may have gone was likely where he would find Dim and the magic writer. He hadn’t found any trail of the other humans, but he’d been fortunate enough to stumble upon Listerviere. The way the dragon had avoided his gaze indicated he knew more than he claimed of the humans.

So, you haven’t seen any humans in these parts you say, Forerunner stated as he let his hairy palm caress the rope in his hands. Listerviere, having very little air, was only able to answer with a small spat of smoke.

He turned and started walking towards a freshly dug mound of dirt. As he went he tugged on the rope and dragged the dragon with him hearing the puff of smoke expel from the dragon’s mouth. Hmm, what do we have here? He stopped in front of the mound and let go of the rope. Listerviere gasped and tried to draw in what small amount of air he could through his airway.

Forerunner kicked the mound with his large hairy foot and watched the loose dirt fly outwards. Warts, Forerunner yelled. A smallish lighter green goblin ran forward and stopped at Forerunner’s feet. Forerunner pointed towards the mound and demanded, Dig.

Warts ran back to the wagon that the hyenions were pulling and grabbed a makeshift shovel, and he went immediately to do what was demanded of him. Forerunner turned away from the mound and focused his attention back on the dragon who, while gasping, was slowly inching his way back towards the forest. Forerunner merely stepped forward onto the rope Listerviere was dragging with him. The choking dragon had almost made it back to the forest when the evil goblin ruler stepped on the rope.

Tsk, tsk, are you trying to run away? His foot on the rope halted the dragon, and he jerked backwards and gasped out a small puff of smoke as the rope choked him even further. I’m not done with you, my friend.

Found something, sir, growled Warts.

Forerunner bent down and picked up the rope and handed it to Warts, and then he moved swiftly to the now uncovered hole in the ground. There he found the decaying remains of a wolf. He sighed. He had hoped he would find the remains of one of the humans and hopefully find some clue to send him in the right direction. Instead it was just a wolf.

He moved back to Warts to grab the rope. Cover that thing back up. He’s stinking up the whole area. Forerunner tugged on the rope and felt resistance. He tugged harder and looked down into Warts face only to find it transfixed on something in the distance. The goblin ruler followed his servant’s gaze to find none other than a wood nymph stirring and staring at Warts. Forerunner had heard stories of wood nymphs before. Supposedly they had seducing powers that were hard to avoid. He looked her up and down and couldn’t comprehend how anyone could be taken with her wiles. He looked back at Warts and found obviously Warts did not share his opinion as the drooling goblin servant never let his gaze leave the wood nymph.

Forerunner pulled harder on the rope, but Warts had a death grip on it. That’s good my lovely, the wood nymph purred to the hypnotized goblin. Now bring the rope here and release our friend Listerviere.

Forerunner shoved Warts to his left and yanked to his right to try and regain control of the rope. Release the rope or die, he commanded. Warts stumbled slightly but his grip never loosened. Instead, he lifted his free hand and shoved Forerunner who then stumbled and collapsed to the ground. Being the goblin ruler was twice the size of Warts, it came as a surprise to him that his small subservient follower was able to muster the strength to knock him down.

Warts stumbled forward and fell before the wood nymph and released the rope. As the rope dropped to the ground, the goblin servant started loosening the knot from