The Dragon's Familiar: A Dragon Shifter Romance (Falling For a Dragon Book 1) E-Book

Mac Flynn

• Herausgeber: Crescent Moon Studios, Inc.
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Seitenzahl: 283

Beschreibung

Kate Dena thought she was heading home one dreary evening. What she was really heading for was an adventure of a lifetime in a world of fantasy, magic, and romance.

Flung into a world she doesn’t understand and with magical powers she never knew she had, Kate finds herself adrift in a sea of confusion and conjury. Her best anchor turns out to be an attractive stranger who takes her under his wings, literally, and shows her the beauty his world has to offer.

Unfortunately, beneath that beauty there festers a terrible evil in the form of the King of Shadows, and he desires Kate above all else. Together the two must work together to escape from the clutches of the wicked king, even if that means eluding his agents across an entire kingdom. Along the way they learn more about each other, and as their journey takes them through bawdy taverns and under troll-infested bridges, Kate begins to realize that she’s falling for her handsome hero. Will she survive long enough to enjoy her newfound romance?

Leseprobe

THE DRAGON'S FAMILIAR

Falling For A Dragon Book 1

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

Sneak Peek: The Dragon’s Maiden

A Small Favor

When’s the Next Book?

Series by Mac Flynn

About Mac Flynn

COPYRIGHT

The Dragon’s Familiar (Falling For A Dragon Book 1). Copyright © 2023 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 except ions shirt 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

Who knew a single drop of blood could change a whole world?

I sure didn’t, at least not on that cold, dreary night so long ago. All my thoughts were focused on getting home and stepping out of the high heels I wore to make myself look taller than my middling height. Also, they were great for an impromptu tap dance in the bathrooms. Well, when nobody was looking.

What are you thinking, Kate Dena?

I sighed. There was that inner voice again, scolding me for being silly. I looked back fondly on the days when as a kid that adult voice didn’t haunt my footsteps and scold me into being a, well, an adult.

Speaking of adulting, my thoughts had wandered far too long. I heard a loud familiar honk a block ahead of me. That was the bus parked at my stop, but not for long.

Panic overtook me and I raced forward. The rear brake lights flashed off and the bus pulled away from the curb, oblivious that one passenger still remained on the sidewalk. I stumbled along the broken walk and reached the stop as the bus pulled away from the light down the street. All was lost.

Now look what happened? You should have been faster!

I glared into the growing gloom. “Seriously? How bad can walking home be?”

Me and my big mouth.

It turned out walking home wasn’t bad. It was way worse than that. Still, that was in the future, and at the present time, I had only one choice.

“Feet, get moving,” I commanded myself, and I marched forward with my heels clopping on the sidewalk.

I’d forgotten how many blocks lay between my place of work and home, but I soon found out it was a heck of a lot. The bus trip usually took a little over a half hour, but an hour later found me still far from home and feeling the pain of my choice of footwear. I hurried past a dark opening to an alley but paused and backed up a few steps to stand in the mouth of the monster.

The narrow road could hardly be called paved. Maybe ‘patches of pavement with clots of dirt and trash’ would be more accurate. Rusted trash cans overflowed like an all-you-can-eat buffet, and not a single beam of light intruded on the horrible silence.

I bit my lip. My memory recalled this being a shorter route to home, but I’d be going along a few blocks with which I wasn’t too familiar. Still, that would shave off a lot of time, and my aching feet pleaded with me to find courage.

I took a deep breath and plunged into the darkness. Little did I know that my shortcut would turn out like every other shortcut. It would become the long way home.

My high heels clacked against the bits of pavement that still remained as I skirted stinking puddles and even worse trash heaps. The alley was hardly ten feet wide and brick walls loomed up on either side of me, creating a long tunnel effect. The light at the other end didn’t guarantee an end to my journey. That was another block down and a couple of turns.

I held my breath as I passed through the stench that lingered in the air. A proper description would have been some cross between rotten eggs and gym socks used for a month without washing. I had to pause at the intersection in the middle of the large block and breath in the air that swept through the other outlets.

Noises caught my attention. They came from halfway down the part of the intersecting alley to my left. I pressed my chest against the wall and scooted closer to the corner before I peeked around the brick wall.

Three shadows lurked in the alley. Their bulk and stiff manner of moving told me they were all men. Two of them stood over another who sat on the ground at their feet.

The shaky voice of the man on the ground floated over to me. “P-please let me go!”

One of the men who stood over the quivering fellow shook his head. “Not until you hand over the wallet and the watch.”

My blood ran cold as I realized what I was witnessing. It was a robbery, and the men weren’t asking politely for the money. One of them had a gun, the barrel of which he pointed at their cowering victim.

The meek man on the ground shrank away from the weapon. “P-please! There’s no money in there!”

One of the other men scoffed. “That’s what they all say, isn’t it, Joe?”

Joe scowled at his cohort. “Shut the fuck up! What the fuck are you doing using my name?”

The man with the gun shrank away from Joe. “Sorry, man. I just wasn’t thinking.”

“So, what’s new?” Joe snapped before he whipped his head back to their victim. “Now fork it over!”

Joe grabbed the man’s left arm and tried to pry a fancy glistening gold watch off the smaller man’s wrist. “No!”

I don’t know what I was thinking. Maybe I wasn’t. Either way, with my heart pounding in my ears, I frantically searched the ground. My eyes fell on the remains of a bicycle, no doubt scavenged by the local crew of hobos. I grabbed a pair of broken pedals and stepped out into the intersection.

My voice was a little shaky but came out loud and clear. “Leave him alone!”

The men whipped their heads up and their eyes flashed with anger and a little fear. That’s when I lobbed my ‘grenades’ at them. In my usual style, one struck the wall close to the head of the gun-wielding assailant and clattered to the ground. The second throw, however, struck its mark. Sort of.

I had aimed for their heads, but my second throw was too short and struck the weaponless man in the groin. His eyes slightly crossed, and he stumbled to the side until his shoulder hit the brick wall. The man’s companion was understanding as he burst into laughter.

The man I had so wronged glared up at his companion before he wrenched the gun from the other man’s hand. He lifted his shaking hand and pointed the barrel at me, his eyes ablaze with fury. “I’m gonna kill you, you stupid bitch!”

Panic overtook me and I ducked behind the wall. Surely, he didn’t mean it. That’s when a bullet struck the corner and chipped off a piece of brick.

I ran.

My feet pounded against the broken pavement and my arms pumped at my sides. That’s when I heard another shot, but there was no whiz past my face. This one was quick, taken at point-blank range.

“You didn’t have to do that, Joe!”

“I’m not gonna have any witnesses!”

My blood ran cold as a realization struck me. They’d murdered their victim. Now I was next.

Footsteps echoed behind me as the men gave chase. I reached the mouth of the alley and ducked around the corner as another shot struck the bricks close beside me.

I didn’t take heed of where I went, only that I needed to get out of the line of sight as quickly as possible. Another alley presented itself across the street and, according to strict city codes, was slightly misaligned from the one from which I’d just escaped.

I raced across the street and into the alley. A shout came from one of my attackers. “Just let it go, Joe!”

“Not this one!” Joe shouted.

I reached the mouth of the alley and found it to be wider and cleaner than the others. Just my luck that there would be no trash to dive into. There was, however, an apartment building along one side, and a rusted fire escape offered my frantic mind a plan.

I scrambled over a short pile of boxes and managed to grab the bottom rung of the ladder. The ladder was so rusted that it didn’t fall down as designed, but that was good for me. With the adrenaline pumping in my veins, I managed to pull myself up and I scurried to the bottom platform.

There I waited.

I held my breath as the shadows of the men stretched into the alley. Joe still held the gun, and his eyes were full of white-hot fury as he inched forward. “Where the hell did the bitch go?”

His companion grabbed Joe’s arm and gave it a tug. “I don’t know, Joe, but we’d better scram. The cops could be here any time now.”

Joe shrugged off his friend’s hand. “You think anyone’s gonna call them around here?”

They stopped beneath my hiding spot. The gun glistened in the weak light from the lamppost outside the alley. Instinct told me to flee, but there was only one place to go, and that was up.

I eased my head back, but even that slight bit of movement made the rusty grates beneath me squeak. The men whipped their heads back and their searching eyes soon found me. Joe lifted the gun, and that was my cue to run.

I raced up the stairs as another bullet whizzed past me. The clamor beneath me warned me that they were climbing the ladder. I had reached the last platform when one of my heels caught in the grates. A weak cry escaped me as I looked down, and there, two floors below me, stood Joe with the barrel pointed at my head. A horrible grin stretched his face as he squeezed the trigger.

I flung myself against the wall and my foot slipped out of my shoe just as the shot rang out. The bullet struck the upper part of my arm and went straight through. A horrible white-hot pain penetrated my body, and blood began to flow freely. I wrapped my hand around the part of my arm above the bleeding as the men continued their chase.

Instinct screamed at me to continue running, and so I did up the last flight of stairs and onto the flat roof of fine gravel and trash. An ancient wooden door in the center of the roof led inside. I raced over to it and tried the knob. Locked.

I pounded my fists against the wood as tears streamed down my face. “Let me in! Somebody let me in!”

The gravel crunched behind me. I spun around to face the pair as they climbed onto the roof, the gun at the ready for the final shot. Heart pounding, I whipped my head to and fro.

There! A nearby roof! With gasping breath, I dashed across the roof and made it to the short wall that surrounded the area, but I didn’t slow down. Desperation forced me to leap onto the low wall and I used my momentum to propel myself across the gap.

Unfortunately, the cut proved to be a chasm. I fell short of the other roof but managed to grab the edge of its low wall. My momentum meant I slammed into the brick wall and had the breath knocked out of me. The agony in my arm increased two-fold as I hung there, unable to pull myself up.

Some of the blood from my arm dripped off my sleeve and fell to the ground some seventy feet below me. My life fluid dropped into a puddle, and a soft ripple disturbed the water. The wind suddenly picked up beneath my feet and the gusts distorted the colors in the water, creating a strange picture that didn’t match the gap.

A chuckle came from behind me. I twisted my head around and found Joe leering at me with his companion just behind him. There was no mercy in his eyes.

The wind tugged at my feet as I felt my fingers slip, and I slowly slid closer to my doom. The puddle seemed to stretch across the whole width of the alley as the strange colors swirled about creating a new picture that reflected a completely different place.

Joe lifted the barrel of the gun and grinned. “Like shooting fish in a barrel.”

One doom for another. The ground would have more mercy than the man with the gun. I opened my hands and fell to my death. Only it wasn’t death that awaited me. It was just the beginning of my journey.

CHAPTERTWO

I shut my eyes and my body tensed as I prepared for the feel of cold water and hard earth. What I felt, however, was only a whoosh of chilly air and then a touch of a soft wind against my cheeks. I opened my eyes and found myself in a thick mist. The white stuff flew past me in blobs like cream, and I realized it wasn’t mist but clouds, and I was falling through them.

A few openings appeared in the clouds, and I glimpsed thousands of sparkling lights below me. They dotted the landscape of houses large and small, dwarfed by ancient temples, stone ruins, and a castle atop a black stone that towered above all else on its craggy rock that overlooked a large but crowded bay.

This had to be a dream. Or heaven. Either way, I was a thousand feet above those twinkling lights, and falling fast.

What really caught my attention, and my hope, was a small fleet of some half dozen wooden ships with large billowing sails. They weren’t in the bay, however, but high in the air. Still, they were lower than where I was falling and a couple hundred yards away.

I twisted around and looked up. The cloud bank from where I had emerged had a gaping vortex that slowly closed, shutting off my view of the puddle through which I’d dropped.

A bitter wind stampeded past me, and I tumbled head over heels. I managed to right myself, but my mind could imagine the horrible end that awaited me at the end of this cold journey.

Movement from the ships caught my attention, and I glimpsed a throng of people on the deck of the largest vessel. One of the figures leapt onto the side wall of the ship and my eyes widened as a pair of birds’ wings burst out of their back. They flapped hard and took off from the vessel. Hope was kindled within me as they made a straight shot toward my diving position. As they neared, I could make out a black plate of armor on their chest and chain-mail leggings and sleeves.

The man, or whatever he was, flew just slightly above me and extended his hand toward me. As the old saying goes, any salvation in a snowstorm, so I twisted around and stretched out my own hand.

Our fingers entwined with each other, and I felt a strange warm spark flow through my entire body. A brilliant white light radiated out of our connection and flowed over me like a tidal wave of sea foam that twined around each other to create illuminated strands.

The next moment huge white wings burst out of my back, ripping the rear of my shirt and coat to shreds. The sensation was a mixture of pain and pleasure, like eating your favorite ice cream too quickly. My newborn wings enveloped the startled man in a flurry of loose feathers, and he jerked back, breaking our connection. I was left to fall on my own.

I tried to reconnect with him, and in doing so the wind tucked under my wings, slowing my descent as I glided across the uneven rooftops of that metropolis. I could now see small gardens and trees scattered among the mismatched houses and businesses. People hurried along the shadowed streets with lamp in hand to light their way along the dark paths.

I found myself gliding toward a canopy of trees situated near a large church-like building that resembled a miniature cathedral. A small, enclosed courtyard surrounded by a high stone wall held a large tree that stretched up nearly as high as the gabled roof.

As I neared the ground, I noticed more feathers flying loose behind me. I looked over my shoulder and my heart stopped.

The wings were breaking apart.

The loss accelerated, and my altitude took a nosedive along with me. I crashed headfirst into the thick branches of that majestic tree, and my theories about this being a dream or heaven were dashed to pieces along with my body. I tumbled through the branches as the last of my feathers fell away around me. The final landing onto smoothed cobblestones some twelve feet below the last of the branches knocked the air out of me.

I lay there on my back, my bruised body bemoaning my fate. The worst pain came from the gunshot wound in my arm. Blood still poured out, though some had congealed enough with my shirt to make an ugly mess.

Through the branches, I caught a glimpse of the sky. The flying ships had moved closer to my position, and more than one winged man now flew in the sky. They appeared to be growing larger with each passing moment. Maybe the angels were ready to take me now.

The ground vibrated beneath me as footsteps hurried over to where I lay. A shadowy figure leaned over me, and a gentle raspy voice of a man reached my ears. “Don’t try to move too suddenly. I have called for help.”

More forms appeared and the first figure stepped back. His voice urged on the others. “Hurry now. We must get her inside before they come.”

Like a faraway dream, I felt myself lifted onto a stretcher by many hands and borne inside. The hallway down which we traveled was lit by small hanging lamps, and those illuminated the thick stones that made up the walls. I was carried into a small room where I was set down on a soft bed.

A gentle hand brushed over me, touching each spot with a tenderness of a mother. However, I winced when their inspection came to the gun wound. The hands drew away for a moment, and the next I felt the fingers apply a rough gummy mixture to the hole. I winced as a sharp pain shot through me.

“My sincerest apologies,” the man whispered as he finished his work. “Now I will bandage the wound, and you will rest.”

I tried to focus on his face. The only source of light was a lamp on the nightstand beside the bed. The light was cast more on me and left my savior’s face in a gentle shadow. I could see the man wore a habit, and his hood was drawn back to expose his balding head.

He worked quickly, with the expertise of many years of practice, and soon I felt dozens of bandages wrapped about my body. The poultice he had put on my arm soothed the pain, and a warm cloth over my forehead tamped down the chill in my bones from the cold fall.

A commotion in the hall forced the man to turn toward the door just as he finished his work, and another person swept into the room. “Father, they are here!”

I tensed at the panic in the new man’s voice. The ‘father’ leaned down and patted my hand. “I will return in a moment.” He turned to the messenger and used a hand to gesture down at me. “If you must, take her into the catacombs.”

The second man bowed his head as the first hurried away. I heard voices, some irritated and mixed with the soothing tones of the father. Nothing could be made out, but a heavy ring of marching footsteps caught my attention. I tensed as the noises grew louder, but something stopped them.

A long tense moment was punctuated by my quick heartbeat. I tried to sit up, but my aching body gave me a firm ‘no.’ The man left with me bent down and grasped my shoulder to pin me to the bed. The lamplight caught his face and revealed a young man of thirty with short brown hair and a tanned complexion.

There was fear in his eyes as he whispered to me. “Please don’t move, miss. They might hear you.”

I both feared and desired to know who ‘they’ were, but the noises started up again. The marching men moved away until their noises were swallowed by silence. My keeper breathed a sigh of relief, and a few moments later the door opened, and the other man slipped back inside.

The older man dragged a chair over to the bed and nodded at his younger companion. “You may leave us.”

The man nodded and hurried out of the room, being mindful to close the door behind him.

I tried to sit up again, but the stranger set a hand on my arm and smiled down at me. “There is no need to worry. I have sent them away under the ruse that you left us shortly after your fall from the sky.” He released me and leaned back to study my face. “When you are rested, perhaps you might tell me of how you came to fall from the heavens. But,” He eased himself into the chair with a soft groan and dipped his hands into the wide bell sleeves of his habit, “for now rest. I will speak to you in the morning.”

My mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and confusion, and my body ached from my hard crash. There was also a faint pain in my back out of where the wings had exploded. All of that and the soft chirp of crickets outside my window caused a wave of exhaustion to flood over me. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to drift into slumber.

CHAPTERTHREE

The next morning, I awoke with a bitter ache in my bones, but I still felt better than the night before. Sunlight streamed through a narrow window in the wall beside the bed, and I heard the faint chirp of birds outside.

The chair beside the bed was empty and the door was shut, but a tray of food sat on the nightstand. The board boasted an orange, a glass of milk, and buttered toast. I eased myself to a seated position and found my arms to be shaky but with a little more strength than last night. Even my bullet wound felt no worse than a bruised toe.

I made quick work of the orange and milk, and the food and drink revitalized me. The new energy gave me new curiosity, so I swung my legs over the side of the bed and slipped my feet onto the floor. I rested my weight on my legs and found them shaky, but still useful.

With some assistance from the wall behind the head of the bed, I rose to my feet. Voices out in the hall, however, gave me pause, but the footsteps passed the door and faded to nothing. I snatched the piece of toast from the tray and shuffled over to the door, nibbling away at the buttery goodness.

Upon reaching the door I leaned my ear against it and listened. Not a sound came to me. I tried the handle. Unlocked.

I stuck my head out into the hall and found the passage dotted with doors on either side. A few square windows high up in the wall above my head and spaced evenly apart allowed natural light into the passages. The ends of the hall disappeared around corners that turned in the direction I faced.

There wasn’t a soul in sight, so I tiptoed rightward from where a faint sound of voices emanated. That direction meant I soon ended at the corner where it turned left down another wider corridor. This hall was much shorter, lasting only twenty feet before it ended at a pair of large doors. The sounds came from there.

I crept forward and tried to peek through the wood, but they had been built well and not a single knot hole could be found. The sounds had died to a soft murmur.

My curiosity got the better of me, so I stuffed the rest of my bread into my mouth and pushed open the doors. Though they must have weighed a hundred pounds apiece, they swung easily on their well-greased hinges.

The way opened into the nave of the cathedral, and I found myself staring down the center aisle. Wooden benches on either side had each been carved from a single tree. At the opposite end stood the altar decorated in bright purple cloth and with a large candelabra atop the blanket. A huge organ stood to the left of the altar, and its golden pipes ran up the wall and ended a few feet shy of the vaulted ceiling. A few people sat in prayer on the benches but didn’t look up at my intrusion.

I considered my options, and company sounded better than seclusion. Besides, I had questions I wanted to ask that old man. Lots of questions.

I slipped around the left-hand aisle where a few long, narrow tables stood along the walls, and coarse prayer books sat in stacks on their tops. I stopped by a stack and picked one up. The handwritten title on the cover was in an unfamiliar language, and the uneven pages stuck out from the worn covers. I opened the book to find pictures and more words in the foreign script.

“Does an angel need to brush up on her hymns?”

In my surprise, I dropped the book and spun around to find myself staring at the most handsome man I’d ever seen. He sat atop the back of one of the benches with one foot on the smooth arm. The other leg dangled over the side of the pew, and he leaned forward on one bent arm over that leg as he stared at me with a pair of brilliant blue eyes. As I looked into them, they seemed to swirl with an unusual green color, like the brilliant emerald of the sea. He had sandy black hair and a tanned complexion, and on his tempting lips was a crooked smile.

As I stared at him a chuckle escaped those handsome lips. “Have I caught the angel’s lips in my basket?” He hopped down off the top of the pew, and his landing was as soft as a feather.