Defying a Creator: The Dragon God's Wife Book 5 (Dragon Shifter Romance) E-Book

Mac Flynn

• Herausgeber: Crescent Moon Studios, Inc.
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Anna and Eastwei have overcome much to be with one another. Now their bond will be tested as they face their final adventure.

The return of the Black Reign threatens to consume the whole world for a second time, and the only thing standing in its way is Anna and her friends. They set off on their separate missions, each gathering as much information as they can to figure out how to defeat the fiend. Their foe is the mysterious peddler, a man with a box full of evil who seeks the revival of the Reign.

Their trials lead them all over the five realms, including into the deepest depths of the demon realm. There, Anna and Eastwei are confronted by a terrifying power that threatens her life and his sanity. Only their union will hold them together, but as the shadows grow long, will they be able to defy a creator god, or will everything be swallowed in its cold embrace?

Leseprobe

DEFYING A CREATOR

THE DRAGON GOD’S WIFE

BOOK 5

MAC FLYNN

CONTENTS

Copyright

Author’s Note

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Sneak Peek: Caged

A Small Favor

When’s the Next Book?

Series by Mac Flynn

About Mac Flynn

COPYRIGHT

Defying a Creator (The Dragon God’s Wife Book 5). Copyright © 2025 by Mac Flynn.

Published by Crescent Moon Studios, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, disseminated, or transmitted in any form or by any or for any use, including recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written consent of the author and/or artist. The only exceptions are short excerpts or the cover image in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All the names, characters, organizations, places and events portrayed in this novel or on the cover are either products of the author’s or artist’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author or artist.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Dear Reader,

Thank you so much for joining me on a journey through my imagination. If you’re looking for romance and adventure with a guaranteed Happily Ever After, then you’ve come to the right place. My books contain paranormal plotting and fantastical action, and I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them.

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You can keep in touch with me by joining my newsletter or checking out my website for the latest updates.

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Thank you for giving my book a chance, and Happy Reading!

- Mac Flynn

CHAPTERONE

Bright skies. A warm sun. An invitation to trouble.

I sat in the garden where it all began, my eyes closed and a smile on my lips. The sun soothed my aching muscles, still sore from my adventure in the pool. A month of recuperating hadn’t quite taken out the deep wounds I’d received.

“A nice day, is it not?”

I started and whipped my head around. Leiren strolled toward me with a gentle smile on his face. I watched in surprise as he took a seat beside me on the bench.

“You’re not watching the barrier?” I asked him.

“I heard your health had improved and came to satisfy your curiosity,” he revealed. I blinked at him. He chuckled and raised one hand. A thread of silver rose from his palm. “I noticed you showed some interest in my ability when I revealed my magic during our last adventure.”

“Then you really can use silvene magic like me?” I guessed.

“Very much so,” he confirmed as he closed his hand and the thread vanished. “I believe you and I are among the very few capable of using that particular element, making us almost as rare as Lord Eastwei.”

I lifted one hand and flexed my parted fingers. “So what does it mean to be able to use this kind of magic?”

He leaned his head back to study the sky. “I wish I had an answer to give to you, but such explanations are kept close by a higher deity than you or I.” He rolled his eyes to me and his smile widened. “However, I do know that we silvene are a very stubborn lot. Perhaps our strength comes from our confidence in our abilities.”

I snorted and dropped my hand into my lap. “I don’t think that fits me at all.”

He leaned down to catch my eye. “Then just imagine how strong you would be if you did have such confidence. You would be able to strike down those serpents tenfold with a mere look.”

His comment piqued my curiosity. “The serpent? The one I fought in the past?”

“Just the same.”

“Then did you guys know it was me who led you to Dadan all those years ago?” I inquired as I studied his face. “You and Lady Wuhel and Froumai were all there.”

His eyes twinkled. “What do you think?”

I leaned back and lifted an eyebrow. “I think you’re avoiding my question.”

“Well, let us say that we were very interested in you upon your arrival, and seeing you in your feline form at my home confirmed our suspicions,” he revealed.

“Lord Leiren! What a pleasant surprise!”

I leaned to one side and looked past Leiren to the door. Yushir and Arian strolled into the garden, the prince with a wide smile on his lips. Leiren stood and stepped to one side as Arian approached us.

“Please do not rise on my account!” she pleaded.

The ancient lord swept an arm toward the seat. “I rise on my own account, Lady Arian. I must return to my watch of the barrier.”

“How is it?” Yushir wondered.

“Slightly stronger for Lady Anna’s efforts, but Lady Wuhel will still craft a potion to strengthen the magic even more. If you will excuse me.” He bowed his head and slipped out of the garden.

Yushir watched him go while fiddling with his ring. “He is a very difficult book to read.”

Arian plopped down beside me and grasped one of my hands in hers. “How are you feeling?”

I grinned. “Just fine, but I’m sure you didn’t come here just to ask that.”

She blushed a little and her eyes flicked up to Yushir. “We, um, we have come to say goodbye.”

My heart skipped a beat and a little color drained from my face. “Say goodbye? Why?”

“What Arian means to say is we will be resuming my mission to speak with all the clan leaders,” Yushir spoke up.

She frowned up at him. “I had not yet finished, but yes.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Both of you are going?”

Arian’s faint red hue returned and she bowed her head. “I wish to be of use and I cannot think of a better mission than to assist Prince Yushir.”

Yushir’s face drooped at the impersonal name. “You may call me Yushir, Lady Arian.”

“And you may call me Arian,” she reminded him.

He grinned. “An apt trade we both often forget.”

“But perhaps I should be more personal with you,” Arian mused as she winked at me. “I believe my brother has given you the nickname of ‘Yushy.’”

Yushir shuddered. “I beg of you to refrain from that colloquial name, Lady-” She gave him a look of warning. “Arian.”

“When do you guys leave?” I asked them.

“The day before you do,” Yushir replied.

I blinked at him. “Me leaving? Where am I going?”

He lifted his eyebrows. “Has Dadan not told you? He intends to travel to the land of the demons and learn more about the Black Reign, particularly this individual who is spreading these seeds of evil.”

Arian gave the prince a pointed look. “Perhaps we should let Lord Eastwei explain the matter to her more fully.”

He cleared his throat. “Yes, I believe you are right, and we have a few things left to prepare for our trip.”

Arian returned her attention to me and squeezed my hand. “You will stay safe down there and return to me?”

I laughed and wrapped her in a hug. “When have I ever broken that promise to you?”

She eagerly returned the gesture. “Never.” She drew us apart and her eyes revealed reluctance. “But I fear for you. The demons are a monstrous lot and they have little love for gods.”

“No love,” Yushir chimed in as he set a hand on her shoulder. “But they do respect Dadan more than anyone else. If anyone can find anything more about the Reign in their archives, it will be him.”

Arian reluctantly stood and smiled down at me. “I hope to see you soon.”

“It’s a promise,” I swore.

She slipped away with the prince at her side. The bright, warm sun no longer allured me. I had too many questions in my head, and I set off to find the one god who could answer them. The fire dragon god himself, Lord Eastwei.

Otherwise known as my fiancé.

CHAPTERTWO

My search led me hither and thither over the bright land of the heavens. I was just about to give up when an idea came to me and I made a beeline to the music hall where he had performed so long ago. The sweet melodies of a flute reached my ears before I reached the door. I paused and listened to the melody. There was something melancholy about the tune.

I took a deep breath and peeked my head inside. Dadan sat as before on the low stage with his legs crossed. His eyes were closed and sweet music flowed from the flute. The notes transformed into wispy fog that flitted about the room.

I opened my mouth to speak but Dadan stopped playing and set the flute in his lap. His brilliant scarlet eyes opened and fell on me. “You wish to speak with me.”

I smiled and slipped inside, shutting the door behind me. “I wish you’d tell me how you always know when I’m around.”

“Your footsteps are loud and your scent unique,” he told me.

I stopped a few yards short of his position and cocked my head to one side. “What do I smell like?”

“Like the fuscha flower.”

I snorted. “Of course. Could you smell that all those years ago?”

“Yes, but I had forgotten the connection until only a short while ago,” he mused as he looked me over. “But you have more important questions than your scent.”

Right. I’d forgotten. I crossed my arms over my chest and lifted an eyebrow. “When were you going to tell me we were going to the demon land?”

“The moment we set off.”

My face drooped. “Don’t you think that would be too short a notice?”

“Not at all.”

“I’d need time to pack.”

“Puren is already taking care of that.”

“And I don’t know where this demon realm is, either.”

“I will lead the way.”

A snort escaped my lips. “So you’ve thought of everything except the most important.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “What is that?”

I folded my arms over my chest and put on my best stoic expression. “Whether I would go with you or not.”

A crooked smile slipped onto his lips. “Would you refuse me your excellent company?”

I shrugged. “I might if you don’t tell me where the demon realm is.”

“To the far north and down.”

I lifted my eyebrows. “And down? Like down in the ground?”

“Not exactly,” he mused as one of his fingers danced along the holes of the flute. “In the first wars between the gods and demons, the demons captured the lowest realm and made it their base of operations where they could emerge from any deep cave to make their attack. When the war was settled, they were allowed to keep that domain.”

“Then it is below the ground?” I wondered.

“The realm is separated from the world as the heaven realm is from the ground,” Dadan explained as he lifted the flute to eye level. “One uses magic to travel to the realms where magic also sustains the air you breathe and the sun you enjoy, though the sun in the demon realm is very muted.”

“Did the first gods make these places?” I asked him.

He set the flute back into his lap and shook his head. “No. They were created by another being. The first who created the lands and people you have seen and met.”

My ears perked up at his comment. “Like the Black Reign was one of the first? And the demons called it the Old Shade?”

He cocked his head to one side as he studied me. “You have been looking into this matter rather deeply.”

I tamped down a proud smile and shrugged. “It was all in the book Rouhe gave me, but is that what you’re talking about?”

“Just so, or so the older gods were told when they first bit into the fruit from the Diyedi Tree,” he added. “They received a brief vision of the beginning of all things.” Dadan paused and studied me. “You did not achieve such enlightenment?”

I snorted. “If I did, I forgot about it. What about you? What did you see?”

“I saw nothing. I never ate the fruit. I was born as you see me.”

“Minus a few inches,” I teased. A thought struck me and I cupped my chin in my hand. “So if everything I remember from the past is true-”

“It is.”

“Then does that mean that a few of our friends are older than you?” I guessed.

He raised his hand and studied his upturned palm. “Yes. Those who ventured with the first King of Heaven to the far east and are still around today are slightly older than I am, perhaps a few thousand years.”

“And you should not forget it!”

I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sudden and raspy old voice. Dadan looked behind me and I spun around to find myself staring at the blushing figure of Fuhel. The young maiden clasped a ball in her hands and an apologetic smile on her lips.

“My sincerest apologies, Lady Anna,” Fuhel replied as she dropped her gaze to the ball. “I am sure Grandmother did not intend to frighten you.”

“She should have more awareness of her surroundings! What did that lazyabout Eastwei teach her at his lodge? The fine art of woodworking?”

The noise seemed to come from the ball clutched between Fuhel’s hands. I crept closer and squinted into the faint mist that clouded the surface. A face emerged. It was the wizened old features of a woman with sharp, playful eyes.

“This is a late proper introduction, but you must be Anna,” the face spoke. “I am Lady Wuhel. We met some time ago.”

I blinked at the wrinkled face, so familiar and yet so foreign to me. “You’re the one who wanted to go up the hill.”

She lifted her chin. “Yes, and that fool Wyrmir almost had us miss our chance to save the boy. Were it not for your intervention, we may never have found Eastwei, but I am not here to speak of the past, but the present.” Her eyes darted to Dadan. “The elixir is nearly finished. You may pick up the concoction in a week’s time.”

“You are ahead of schedule,” he commented.

“I managed to snatch some of Anna’s blood before it all went down your greedy gullet,” she explained. Wuhel lifted her chin and a smile played across her lips. “It increased the elixir’s power tenfold and brought my work to completion four months ahead of what I planned.”

“What elixir? And why are you using my blood with it?” I questioned the head.

“It will strengthen the barrier trapping the Black Reign,” Wuhel explained to me as her smile slipped away. “But how long that may last, I cannot say. Perhaps another million years. Perhaps it will collapse tomorrow.”

“Why don’t you know?” I wondered.

She sighed. “Because we do not know why the barrier is so weak. Eastwei has certainly overextended himself over the millennia, but I believe there is more to this than we understand.” Her eyes flickered between us. “Keep your guard up at all times.”

Eastwei inclined his head to her. “We will heed your advice.”

Wuhel grinned. “Good. Now, if there are no more questions, we will be on our way.”

I raised one hand. “I have one question.”

Wuhel lifted an eyebrow. “What is it?”

I pointed at the ball. “Why are you being carried around in a glass ball? Why didn’t you just come and see us yourself?”

She wrinkled her nose. “And miss a chance at trying out this fantastic new invention? I think not! And speaking of this invention, I believe Fuhel is forgetting to give you something.”

Fuhel’s face fell. “I had not forgotten, Grandmother, only I did not wish to interrupt you.”

“Well, whatever the reason, give them what they need.”

Fuhel tucked the orb under one arm and rummaged through her pockets. Wuhel’s face rolled to and fro as her granddaughter dipped and rummaged, searching her person.

“This is very nauseating!” Wuhel scolded her.

The young woman clapped her hand against her pocket and tears sprang into her eyes. “I cannot find them!”

“That is because you put them into your inner pocket on your right side so they would not fall out,” Wuhel reminded her.

Fuhel’s eyes brightened and she eagerly resumed her search, leading her grandmother to be jostled about. A smile brightened her face and she drew out her closed hand. She stepped forward and stretched out her hand. “Grandmother wished to give you these.”

I opened my palm and Fuhel dropped a small leather bag into my hand. The container was shut by a drawstring that I pulled loose. The leather fell down and revealed a pair of orbs similar to what Fuhel held, but much smaller. They were hardly larger than a rubber bouncing ball, though their surfaces were as clear as crystal. I held one up and could view everything through its crystalline body.

“What are these?” I asked her.

“The same as you see me using, but for travel,” Wuhel explained as she lifted her chin with a smile on her lips. “Now that I have proven this a success, these will no doubt aid you on your travel.”

I pinched one between my thumb and finger and lifted it to my curious eyes. “How do you use it?”

She huffed. “It is a simple matter of focusing all your thoughts on the person you wish to see, providing they also hold a seer stone.”

“And if they’re not the one holding the stone?” I asked her.

“Well, then it might not work.”

“Might not?” Dadan repeated.

Wuhel rolled her eyes. “I have not yet tested every use for these orbs. Perhaps they may explode if you use them too often.”

My face drooped and I quickly tucked the orb back into the leather bag. “Maybe we could wait on using these.”

“Nonsense!” Wuhel insisted as she rolled her eyes up to Fuhel. “Hurry along back now, Fuhel! I need you to fetch some water!”

“Yes, Grandmother,” Fuhel agreed. She smiled almost apologetically at us as she bowed her head. “I wish you well on your trip and I hope to see you soon.”

The girl slipped away, leaving me holding the two bombs.

CHAPTERTHREE

I carefully tucked the leather bag around them and held the pouch tightly in my hand. “Do you think we should use them?” I asked my companion as I turned to face him.

A faint smile graced Dadan’s lips. “Wuhel’s trinkets are generally considered safe.”

“Generally?”

“There have been instances where the user had troubles.”

“What kind of troubles?”

“They vanished into a void for a few days.”

My eyes widened and my mouth fell open. “A void? Were they okay?”

“Unharmed but for the trauma of floating through an eternal darkness for a few days.”

My face drooped. “I don’t like the sound of that.” I noticed a glint in his playful eyes, and I put a hand on my hip and frowned at him. “Are you telling me the truth?”

He dropped his bemused eyes to his flute and used the back of his fingers to brush away a piece of lint. “I may have embellished some parts.”

“Such as?”

“The time.”

“Which was?”

“Only a day.”

“A day in an eternal darkness. . .” I muttered as I tucked the leather bag into my pocket. “Nothing wrong with that at all. Just another normal day in the world of the gods.”

Dadan chuckled. “We have endless amusement in our long years.”

I sighed and my attention dropped to his flute. “Speaking of amusement, it’s been a while since I heard you play that.”

He followed my gaze and brushed his hand over his flute. “Very true. We both have been quite preoccupied with other matters.”

“When did you learn how to play?” I wondered. His hand froze over the instrument and a dark cloud settled on his brow. My heart dropped into my stomach. “Did I say something wrong?”

Dadan closed his eyes and sighed. “No. I was merely remembering some of my earliest memories learning the instrument. My second friend taught me.”

I pointed at myself. “Am I the first?”

A faint smile played across his lips. “The very first. I had not known companionship until you yowled into my life.” He opened his eyes and studied the flute in his lap. “The second was a man by the name of Lord Ansung. He was slightly younger than I in years but far wiser, and was the son of the noble House of Gao.”

“Shian’s brother,” I stated rather than guessed. “The one who helped you build the lodge and the one who. . .who betrayed you.”

He wrapped his hand around the flute and tightened his grip. “The very same. He was tasked by the then-king of the heavens to investigate our foe. Whatever he discovered made him side with the Black Reign, and I had to seal him in the Shrouded Mountains together with his master.”

My eyebrows shot up. “So you never figured out what made him turn?”

Dadan’s hard eyes stared at the flute. “No. We discovered his treason and attempted to capture him, but he overpowered the officers sent by the king and escaped to join his new master.”

I pursed my lips before I strolled over and knelt in front of him. Dadan looked up as I set my hands over his. “I won’t say I understand because so much of this happened so long ago that I can’t even comprehend those years, but I will say that I’m sorry you had to go through that. It couldn’t have been easy sealing your friend away.”

“No.”

That single word was filled with so much grief that it pulled at my heart. I swallowed the lump in my throat and managed a smile as I nodded at the flute. “How about a song like the one you played for me the first time we met in here?” Dadan pursed his lips as he studied the instrument, but I leaned down and captured his eyes. “The flute might be a reminder of your friend, but the music you make with it is just you.”

Dadan studied me for a long time. Long enough for me to squirm beneath his gaze.

“What?” I asked him as I drew my hand away. “Is there something on my face-”

His hand shot out and wrapped around mine. I started back, but not very far while his firm but gentle grip held me in place. He leaned over and pressed our lips together in a long, passionate kiss. It was long enough that I had to pull myself away to catch my breath. My cheeks were warm and my chest heaved up and down.

And Dadan looked perfectly serene as he drew away with a mischievous smile on his lips. “Thank you.”

I reached up with a shaking hand and pressed my fingers against my lips. “F-for what?”

He wrapped his hands around the flute and lifted the instrument to his mouth. “That the past should remain in the past and the present has its charms.”

Dadan closed his eyes and softly blew. A sweet, dancing melody poured forth, enveloping us in a springtime of memories. My mouth dropped open as the notes crafted twirling phantoms of mountains and rivers, and birds flew over them, twirling and diving about like dolphins. Their colors were all the colors of the air. Blues and greens and yellows and reds, and all the colors in between.

And then the flowers burst out of the floor. Thin stems grew up and sprouted dazzling blossoms that hung from the branches like lamps. Soft petals of all colors burst open and illuminated the room with their wonderful rainbow of color.

I stood and walked into the midst of the brilliant chaos. The sweet notes surrounded me in the literal and figurative sense, dancing through the air with all the joy of love lost and regained. I reached up and one of the birds landed on the edge of my palm. The creature lifted its head and opened its mouth, and a twittering song sprang from its beak. Another bird, larger than the first, joined it on my hand and together they sang a harmony of happiness.

I couldn’t help but smile at the wonderful serenade, and I was more than a little sad when the music ended. The figures faded and the songbirds vanished. A noise in Dadan’s direction made me turn and I saw him stand.

“We should see about the preparations for the trip,” Dadan announced as he strode over to me and offered me his hand. “Shall we?”

I set my hand on his and nodded. “I’m always beside you.”

“I will be sure to keep you to that promise,” he teased as he led me out of the music hall and onward to our next adventure.

CHAPTERFOUR

I leaned close against Dadan’s side as we flew over an endless forest. It was late afternoon of the same day and the gate to the heaven realm lay some fifty miles to the south of us. A wilderness of nature stretched out in front and on either side of us. The western horizon held the orange tinge of the waning sun.

The view made me shiver. Dadan tightened his arm that was wrapped around my waist and his hushed voice sounded worried. “Are you well?”

I smiled up at him. “Just thinking about the night. It gets kind of cold out here and we’re heading north. It must be even colder this direction.”

“On the contrary, the temperature increases.”

I cocked my head to one side. “It gets warmer? How?”

He turned his focus to the way ahead of us. “That.”

I leaned forward and squinted. A dark patch of earth stretched out before us and I was reminded of the Tianfeld. That thought and the memories connected to it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

“Is that another battlefield?” I asked him.

“They are the Westen Feld, or the Wastelands,” he revealed as a soft breeze blew over us from that direction.

I wrinkled my nose. “What’s that smell? It’s like rotten eggs.”

“There are mountains filled with fire and they often pour their hot earth out through their cones.”

I stiffened and my eyes widened. “Cones? Like a volcano cone?”

He lifted an eyebrow. “I am not familiar with this word, but we shall reach one of these mountains very soon.”

We flew over the trees and they grew more sparse and twisted. Their limbs were stunted and gnarled. The undergrowth struggled to break through the blackened earth. The cool evening air melted into a mess of heat and faint bits of gray ash. The specks of burned earth floated around us, creating a gentle snowstorm. One of the pieces landed on my nose and I yelped, quickly beating it off. The ash had left a nice little burn mark on the tip of my nose.

“I don’t think I like this place,” I commented as I rubbed the good skin around the burn.

“There is more ash than I remember during my last visit,” Dadan mused as he swept his arm over us. A transparent red barrier formed around our little cloud and the ash was deflected.

“When was that?”

“About a hundred thousand years ago.”

“Never going to get used to these timelines. . .” I muttered to myself as we continued into the nightmarish lands of the Westen Feld.

The trees completely vanished and the scrubs stopped growing. There was only blackened earth that created uneven ground. Piles of large volcanic rock, formed by falling stones and cooling lava, dotted the area here and there like ancient sentinels. A few small fissures allowed steam to escape and create mist over the land, hiding much of the land.

“Nice place,” I commented. “Perfect for a horror story. How do the demons live here?”

“They live away from the main vents of the smiths.”

I blinked at him. “The what?”

“I believe they are what you call a ‘volcano,’” he guessed as we ascended to dodge a small hill. A small bit of lava gurgled out of the cone. “The people of the lands once believed that blacksmiths once worked underground and the explosions were their fury after a failed work.”

“I guess that makes as much sense as anything,” I mused as I studied another larger hill in the distance. “How often do these smiths vent their rage?”

“Not often-”

It was at that moment that one of them vented their rage. The ground shook beneath us and the chattering earth caused a shockwave that climbed up to our location. I yelped and clung to Dadan as he came to a stop. Some of the piles beneath us collapsed and a fissure two feet wide and thirty feet long opened, swallowing up the earth until its gullet was satisfied. The gap collapsed into itself, leaving only a depression as a scar of its existence.

I managed to slow my heartbeat long enough to look up into Dadan’s worried face. “Was that unusual or are we just lucky?”

He pursed his lips and stared ahead of us. “We shall inquire of the demon king.”

Dadan tightened his grip around me and we flew forward at a faster speed. The world beneath our feet was now a blur and the hot ash blew past us so quickly that the scenery became a hazy outline of grays and blacks.

For some reason, the view made my innards churn. I clutched my arm over my stomach and doubled over. “Could we stop for a second?”

Dadan whipped his head down to me and set his other hand on my arm. “Are you feeling well?”

I shut my eyes and clenched my teeth as my stomach tumbled again. “I don’t think so.”

Dadan slowed and we descended. I was glad to feel the solid earth beneath my feet and Dadan gently guided me over to a blackened rock. He swept his hand over the stone and his fire shot out, brushing away the ash and leaving a clean spot for me to sit. His transparent barrier continued to protect us as ash floated down to cover the earth.

I gladly settled myself on the seat and smiled up at him. “I’m sorry. I guess this place is getting to me.”

“We will be out of the area soon,” he assured me as he inspected my person. “But you are sure you feel well?”

“A lot better,” I told him as I rubbed my stomach. “So not all of the demon land looks like this?”

“Not where they reside,” he confirmed.

“Then I’d like to see that,” I insisted as I eased myself onto my feet.

“You are sure you are quite well?” he persisted.

I laughed. “I’m better, but I’ll feel really well when we get out of here.”

Dadan quickly looped his arm around my waist and drew me close to his side. We flew into the sky and over the blackened ruins of the world. I searched for a sign of change in the land but the horizon was filled with blacks and grays.

It was another half hour of quick flight before Dadan descended. I clutched onto him as we reached the ground but didn’t quite land. Instead, he zipped us over the uneven earth, dodging rocks and boulders, and mounds of cooled lava.

My heart pounded in my chest. “What are we doing?”

“The entrance to the demon realm is close but it is difficult to spot from the air,” he told me as his sharp, glowing eyes searched the area. “And the land has changed much since I was last here.”

“Not for the better?”

“No.”

We flew for another thirty yards before I felt Dadan stiffen. “There.”

I barely had time to squint at the blackened way in front of us before a gaping hole opened in the earth. Though the crater was large, its blackened walls matched perfectly with the rest of its surroundings, masking the entrance.

Dadan tightened his grip on me. “Hold tight.”

My eyes bulged out of my head as we dove at breakneck speed into the black chasm. I screamed and clutched onto him as we dropped down into the abyss. The sky overhead disappeared and the only light came from Dadan’s magic. His fire illuminated the rough walls which were pocked with countless tunnels of every size and shape. They ran off the main tunnel at odd and straight angles, sometimes large enough to walk through and others too small for a cat.

And some of them weren’t empty.

I gasped as we sped past one particularly small one. It was hardly a foot round, but what it lacked in space it made up for in its residents. We flew past and Dadan’s light illuminated the bowels of the hole, stirring awake hundreds of small centipedes. The insects scurried out like a monstrous wave and crawled across the wall trying to reach us. A few desperate creatures lunged across the gap and landed on our barrier over our heads. They opened their tusk-filled mouths and hissed at us.

I was glad when Dadan’s magic burst up and reduced them to ash.

“Friendly place,” I commented.

“The demons encouraged creatures to take residence in these caves to protect them from the other gods,” Dadan explained. “Though the wars ended long ago, the creatures remained and reproduced.”

“Please tell me the rest of the place has a nicer welcome.”

“See for yourself.”

CHAPTERFIVE

A faint light appeared beneath our feet and I felt a strange sensation that reminded me of traveling through the heaven portal. We burst out of the tunnel and into a completely different world. The land a half mile beneath our feet stretched on forever in all directions, but there was no sky. A ceiling capped off this new world and a plethora of glowing mushrooms, some larger than me, grew out of the roof. They came in all the shapes and colors of wild mushrooms, but all of them had one thing in common: they all glowed. The mushrooms put out a soft, white light that illuminated the world beneath us.

The light fed strange plants. Slender trees of blue bark stretched up hundreds of feet toward the ceiling, their elephant-ear shaped leaves the size of cars. Smaller versions of those trees were scattered about the trunk and ferns covered the ground. Huge, thick stalks sprouted from the ferns and rows of trumpet-like flowers bloomed along the stems. Bluish colored grass grew between the larger plants and nestled against the banks of rivers filled with crystal-clear water.

“Are. . .are we below ground?” I asked my companion.

“Yes and no. This is the realm of the demons set apart for them by the creators,” Dadan reminded me as he pointed above us. I followed his finger and beheld a faint swirling black mass in the tunnel we had traveled down. “We traveled through a portal to enter this enclosed space.”

“And people actually live down here?” I wondered as he lowered us toward the surface.

“People and animals,” he confirmed as he nodded at a nearby glade.

A herd of pale colored deer munched on the grass in the meadow. They looked up at our coming and stampeded off, disappearing into the brush and rousing a mess of small sparrows that roosted in the trees. The birds took flight, revealing a plumage of reds, greens, and many other colors as they scattered.

I followed the path of some of the birds and a faint light in the distance caught my attention. “What’s that?” I inquired of my guide.

“The capital of the demons,” he told me as we began to descend.

I clutched onto him as the ground approached. “What are you doing? Aren’t we going to fly?”

“That would be considered rude as the demons are incapable of flight,” Dadan told me as he set us on some grass. “We will meet them on the road.”

My pulse quickened. “Meet them? Meet who?”