Curse of the Dragon's Lair, page 1
part #1 of The Legend of Dragon's Peak Series
Curse of the Dragon’s Lair
The Legend of Dragon’s Peak
By Kali Willows
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Curse of the Dragon’s Lair – the Legend of Dragon’s Peak
Copyright 2018 by Kali Willows
Cover art by Kali Willows
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
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Table of Contents
A Note from Kali
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Epilogue
Blurb
Dragons, witches, castles, and curses, along with an army of gargoyles. What could go wrong after a few centuries’ deep freeze?
Driven to protect her sisters from meeting the same horrific fate as their mother, Vala does the unthinkable. After her bid to save her family backfires, she awakens from a frozen tomb to a dark curse that runs far deeper than a botched spell. The dragon-witch faces an ominous threat out to obliterate her magical line. Tyr and Jera have been on the run their entire lifetimes from unknown enemies who hunt the last of their kind. Passing through this small waterfront town, these brothers didn't expect to have their lives turned upside down by the chance run-in with a mysterious woman.
Can they uncover the secrets buried deep for centuries in time to save their last of their dragon-witch clans from extinction? Will the dark force looming ignite or destroy their potential dragon bonds?
Acknowledgements
We all have a history that has shaped who we are. Some try to bury the secrets of the past out of pain or remorse, or fear of how the world will see us. If we don’t acknowledge times gone by, we risk repeating them. Shedding light on the darkness heals and leads us with the choice to better define who we want to be.
Shadows can make things beautiful if you embrace them. Own your past and choose your future.
Extending a special thank you to all who cheered me on to finish this tale: my husband, my family, and my friends. Especially Angie. To have my own candid standup sounding board not only keep the spark of creativity alive, it ignites it. As always, thanks for fanning the flames.
A Note from Kali
Thank you for choosing Curse of the Dragon’s Lair for your reading pleasure!
My love for this story and its characters grew with every word I wrote and still resonates with me. Vala is a woman cast into an entirely new existence after her kind was hunted to the point of extinction. Every moment of her magical journey is fraught with danger and discovery as she delves into centuries of hidden secrets to find the truth behind the Curse of Dragon’s Peak. The driving force behind her race is her dire need to free her sisters. With allies both old and new by her side, will she find a way to end the curse? Or will the dark force that threatened to end the last of her magical line succeed?
I hope you love Vala’s story as much as I did.
Happy Reading,
Kali Willows
Prologue
The stench of sulfur from the burnt match still lingered in Vala’s nose. The warmth of dozens of candles filled the chamber as she set the final white pillar in its place outside of the circle. Despite the stone walls and little natural light from the open window just above, the vast room was aglow with the flickering flames. The light danced across the nine archways embedded in the walls of the circular room. Ornate carvings of ancient oak framed each pocket with magical Druid symbols: the tree of life, the triple horn of Odin, and other symbols of meaning to their coven. It was breathtaking and had taken her mother years of hand carving to create. Mother had planned to build statues to each of her daughters to fill the spaces. To pay tribute to the last of her precious bloodline. Sadly, she never had the chance to finish.
After an hour of preparing, she made sure every detail was flawless. From the purple silk spread smoothly across the altar’s surface, to every item on her list, hand-picked and lined up in order. Focused on the measurements she pinched between her fingers, Vala meticulously added each ingredient to the cauldron.
“A sprinkle of sea salt, a pinch of—”
“Vala.” Vesta’s voice echoed up the stone stairwell. “Vala, please. I am not joking this time.”
“I am in the sacred chambers, Vesta,” she hollered “Where was I?”
She busied herself plucking chunks of obsidian, quartz crystal, and hematite from her collection of magical tools and continued her urgent work. The witch’s powerful arsenal included a circle of gemstones, a variety of potent herbs, sea salt, candles, and her trusty dragon athame. The blade she’d claimed from her mother’s belongings just days ago, a tool she was told carried great power in magical work. Grendel called it the Dragon’s Tear. Mother had hidden it since Grendel passed away. When Vala found it, she knew she needed every ounce of power she could summon to complete the task at hand.
From the inventory she completed, it would seem she had all the tools in place to implement her plan. Now, all she had left to do was to convince her sisters to go along with her new spell. It would require no less than three to do the incantation, but nine would be the most potent. The light of the full moon would soon be upon them.
“There you are. I have searched the entire castle and the grounds for you. What in the name of Odin are you doing?”
Vesta was only a year older than her, but she behaved like an overbearing mother. The fact that Vala was the youngest of the nine sisters meant everyone felt the need to mother her.
“I was soon to summon you all. I have been devising a protection spell,” she muttered as she concentrated on her agenda.
“Protection for who, and from what?” Vesta propped her hands on her hips.
“To protect the rest of us, from the mortals,” she growled. How could Vesta even ask such a question after all that had unfolded in such a short time?
“The mortals are of no consequence to us, dear sister.”
“Oh really? A swirl of frustration spun through her soul, and the heat of tears filled her eyes. “If that is true, then why have we hidden our mother’s remains in this secret place?” She pointed to the stone altar with ornate trim in the center of the room. The waist-high pedestal housed a secret door to a space built by the sisters just days ago to honor her ashes. Locked with a golden key they’d then buried in the orchard. It was their plan to ensure no other should disturb her resting place again.
“Her trial is over. None of us were found to be a threat to the village. As long as we keep to ourselves, no one will bother us anymore.”
The embers of rage in Vala’s stomach combusted. “No threat? Our mother was tried as a witch. After they hanged her in front of us, they removed her head and tore off her jaw for fear the dragon-witch could still utter curses.”
“The mortals live in fear of what they do not understand.” Vesta always tried to be the voice of reason. Perhaps more so, since she’d fallen in love with a mortal the previous summer. A mortal Vala had never been truly fond of.
“The mortals have been provoked into fear and panic by a darker force than you know,” a voice called through the window of the tower. “It is mass hysteria.”
Vala spotted her mentor, Ninna, in gargoyle form on the window ledge.
“Darker force?”
“Focus on your spell. We are here if you need us.” Ninna flew away. The gargoyles perched on the turrets of the castle every day for as long as she could remember. Friends of her mother’s, they offered protection against evil if the need should ever arise.
At her mother’s command, the gargoyles refrained from interfering during the witch trial. Kara’s final wish was to end the war on Dragon’s Peak with her execution. She wanted her family and her allies safe from harm, despite her daughters’ protests against the injustice.
Their life in Salem Harbor had crumbled in recent weeks. The mortals’ witch hunt and trial was fast,
“Before Christianity was established, we were revered as the most wonderful, benevolent creatures. Then the fanatics who preached to the masses spread poisonous lies across the lands about us. In the eyes of humans, we became monsters. They hunt us down to the point of extinction. They sacrifice maidens to satisfy the ‘beasts.’ Yet, the very people mother protected with her life fled and never told the villagers that we didn’t kill them we set them free.”
“I know you are angry. Not all mortals feel the same about us.” Vesta’s voice was soft and pleading.
“Like your lover?” Vala snarled. “And where was he during the trial? Was he there to shield us from the long arm of the law? From the judgment of his father?”
“It is more complicated than that, Vala. Please…” She dipped her head to her chest.
“No,” she barked. “Your beloved abandoned you, and us, in our time of need. He knows we protect the villagers, yet said nothing to his father in our defense.”
Vesta stood silent as tears spilled down her porcelain cheeks. There was no way she could deny the truth.
“Even now, as his child grows in your belly, where is he to protect you both?”
“To conjure spells when your heart is full of hate and anger will yield negative consequences,” their eldest sister Phoebe called from the doorway. “Your words to our sister are chilling. Her heart is already broken.”
Unwilling to admit Phoebe was right, she swallowed her guilt. Outside the window, the daylight had faded, the pinks and oranges of the sunset dissipated. In their wake, rays of dark purple and streams of the moonlit sky took their place.
“What will you have me do?” she growled.
“We will have you tell us your plan,” Adara entered the room. Second in age to Phoebe, she usually sided with youngest sister.
After her, Ember, Amaris, Blodwyn, Catrin, and Braith came in.
All nine sisters were now in the sacred chambers. All wearing the matching coven charms their mother fashioned for them in silver; the triple horn of Odin with a ruby in the center. Each took her place in the sacred circle around the altar where Vala worked.
“Phoebe is right,” Adara offered. “To cast any spell with anger or hatred in the heart of the witch can cause that spell to backfire.”
“Our hearts must all be true, and beat as one. We are a coven,” Blodwyn affirmed. “The last of our northern tribe and the dragon-witch bloodline. Mother would have wanted us to support one another.”
“You all agree with me?” Vala was confused. She expected more of a fight from the rest of them. After all, she had come to be known as the feisty one who acted on impulse in the family.
“I sent the raven to spy on Vesta’s lover,” Catrin offered, her words dripping with disdain. “Sadly, he has turned against us, no doubt to appease his father, the magistrate. As my raven listened, he rallied the town to storm the castle. The villagers are climbing the hill as we speak, laden with torches and pitchforks. They know about her unborn child and mean to hang the rest of us for witchcraft.”
No matter how much she knew he would betray them, Vala didn’t want to be right at the expense of her sister’s broken heart.
“You said you might have a way to help us hide the castle? Are you planning to blow up Dragon’s Peak?” Phoebe folded her arms, her eyes lit up with mischief.
“Not exactly.” Vala smiled. “It is a new spell I was working on. I improvised from mother’s spells. If it works, no one should be able to see or find the castle. They will not know we exist any longer.”
“What about Ninna and her clan?” Blodwyn asked. “This is their home, and they offer protection when in need?”
“I asked Ninna to give some of her blood so that the spell will not affect the gargoyles.” Vala held up a goblet filled with the red liquid and poured it into the cauldron. “Sounds ambitious,” Adara stepped to the altar and traced her fingers over the open parchment pages of their family book of shadows. Vala flinched as the pads of her fingers smeared the wet ink.
“Sounds mysterious.” Catrin stood beside her. “Do tell?”
“May the mortals forever be banished from our lives, even—” She glanced up to Vesta’s red, tear-soaked face and bit her lip.
“Be careful, sister,” Phoebe uttered. “Your words are laced with frost.”
“What do you mean?”
“It means your heart has gone cold, and your intentions are marred by hostile emotions.”
“Apologies,” she sighed. “You are right. My grief blinds me at times.” Vala inhaled deeply then hugged Vesta. “I am sorry he failed you.”
“I am sorry I didn’t believe your first instincts about him,” she sobbed.
Vala thumbed away her sister’s tears. “Hush now. All will be fine soon enough.”
An awkward silence blanketed the circle, with occasional crackles of flaming candles.
“All right, little sprite, show us?” Phoebe inched forward, her ice blue eyes lit up with curiosity.
“Please,” Vesta concurred and let go of their embrace. She squared her shoulders in a show of renewed strength. “I cannot lose my sisters, or my child. We must protect ourselves, and each other.”
“So be it,” she exhaled. “The salt and quartz is to cleanse and protect. Rosemary to ward off evil, and we all have the charms mother made us.” She held up her necklace. “But, most of all, we have the power of the full moon, and the spirits of our ancestors.” Vala eyed the new crypt door.
“So we will cast a spell to hide the castle?” Blodwyn inquired.
Vesta straightened her back. “Hide it all from prying eyes?”
“Essentially, yes,” Vala concurred.
Catrin cleared her throat. “What about our flight of dragons from the south? Would they not come to help?”
“There is no time to await their arrival, nor is there a way to seek them out.” Phoebe muttered. “After the war, their numbers dwindled, and the remaining dragons have scattered to the winds for fear of being hunted down. For now, we shall follow Vala’s plan and hide everything.”
“Dragons will have the sight, linked by true blood. If we need them, they will find us,” Phoebe assured the coven. “One spell to hide us won’t ensure our long-term safety. This is a fast solution to an urgent threat.”
“Time grows short. We must cast the circle.” Vala shared the steps she outlined for the spell. “I have already spread the salt around the threshold of Dragon’s Peak from the hill.”
“I have colored the spell candles with beet juice, coal, and blackberries, and anointed them with rosemary oil.”
She handed one candle to each sister. “Put them in the holders in this order. Red is for protection,” she directed and walked around the altar in a circle. “For fast action and strength. The light purple is for meditation, success, and divination. Black is for protection, banishing, destroying evil, binding, and repelling. White is for purification and peace. Magenta is for quick change.”
They set the candles in place. “Here, gather handfuls of salt to protect the circle outside of the candles. Once the circle is complete, we do not leave it until we are done casting the spell.”
The sisters all completed the tasks.
“To allow other dragons to find us, we must each add our blood to the potion.” Vala collected the athame and cut the edge of her palm. She held the seeping wound over the cauldron and allowed it to spill into the bubbling mixture. Vesta held her hand out, accepted the knife, and did the same. All nine sisters followed her actions.
Next, she wiped the blood off the blade and tucked it into her waist sash. “Now, we light the candles, stand in the circle, and join hands,” she instructed.
Vesta stepped back with one foot, her lips quivered, and she shook her head. “But…” Fear filled her amber eyes.
