Kristin Stecklein - The Dragons Guardian

Kaylyns Story

Book 1:

Dragons Guardian

Kristin Stecklein

Copyright 2016 Kristin Stecklein

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 1535133600

ISBN-13:9781535133609

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My thanks and appreciation goes to:

My family For reading the continual support and helping me to find new fans.

Angela For always keeping it interesting and fun.

My friends and fans For choosing my books when I know there are millions more out there. Thank you for your feedback and excitement. I always love hearing about how youre impatiently waiting for the next.

Chapter 1

B ehave, Kaylyn, I muttered to myself, stalking across the rocky ground. I kicked a stone moodily, glaring at the scenery I would have otherwise appreciated. I was at the edge of the Esperion Mountains, the mountain range that ran from the north part of Centralia to the western deserts. Id followed the mountain range in the distance until the dirt had started to turn to rock, then followed the shadows westward. The sun was starting to sink behind the mountains, turning the sky a glorious series of colors that I wasnt in the mood to enjoy.

Act like a lady, Kaylyn. I continued to mutter blackly. You need to catch a husband someday. You dont want to be an old maid, do you? I kicked another stone. As if turning thirteen makes me an old maid.

The horse whickered behind me. I glared at it a moment, in case it was mocking me, then went back to grab a torch, items for making a fire, and a sack of soft powder from the carriage the horse had pulled. Inside was a trunk of clothes, a pack with a dwindling food supply, and various items I hadnt wanted to leave behind. The horses food was on top of the carriage.

So what if Ive never had a suitor? Theyd rather have my sisters anyway. Maybe I dont want to get married. I apparently wouldnt make a good wife anyway. I slammed the end of the torch into the soft ground, then proceeded to light a fire, grimly satisfied. Here was something that my sisters and my mother couldnt manage to do. I could at least do something as simple as lighting a fire far better than they ever could. And since it was the end of February, Id need that skill to keep warm.

The fire lit, I opened the sack of green-colored powder and sprinkled some of the powder onto the fire. The delight of watching the flames turn green, grow stronger with the momentary flare then fade back to the warm colors of a fire never ceased to interest me. Amina, my only friend, had spent four hours with me, playing with green powder, watching the different shades it turned as more or less of the powder was dropped in. The only real danger was making sure the flames didnt grow so high they caught my clothing on fire. That was less of a worry for me because my sleeves only just covered my shoulders. If anyone else had seen me, Id have been in trouble. The top was obviously too small for me, because any appearance of shoulders was scandalous. The flames couldnt have caught my hair, which Id cut half an hour away from home. My black hair now swung just above my shoulders. My hair hadnt been that short since Id been a child. If my mother ever saw me, shed hide me away until my hair reached an acceptable length again.

I guess Im hopeless, I said, feeling more peaceful as I watched the flames turn an emerald shade. Which is why Im never going back. You wont miss me anyway. I gave a mocking curtsey to an invisible gentleman. Oh, yes, I think all women have a duty to bear eight children, I said with syrupy sweetness. And that women shouldnt risk waiting to marry in case they turn eighteen and become spinsters. Hah! I made a derisive noise. Id rather be a spinster. I stuck my hand in the bag to grab more powder. And I will never marry for money.

Id played with the green powder for maybe five minutes when a roar startled me. The sound was so huge and so foreign it could only have been one thing.

Dragon, I breathed, scrambling to my feet. Although dragons lived in the Esperion Mountains, people rarely saw them. Those that did encounter a dragon almost always came away with a story of their near death. I didnt care how dangerous it was; I had to see a dragon.

There came another roar, and this time I could clearly understand the anger in the sound. I was more careful as I climbed up the rocky ledge to peer curiously over the edge, then froze in horror.

There was a huge, white dragon on the ground, one wing furled, the other looking as if it had been stepped on by some huge being. The dragon was curled, hissing in defiance, roaring in pain and anger at the dozens of brown wyverns overhead. Some had landed, but those were more endangered. All dragons could blow flame and the long neck allowed them to twist it in any direction. I watched the dragon send flame at an overeager wyvern in front, and the creature shrieked, trying to escape its death without success. For all that wyverns looked like dragons, they were far stupider. They were also smaller, so the dragon had the advantage of bulk. Wyverns were roughly the size of a horse and their tails were short and stubby. Adult dragons were usually more than three times their size with long tails like their necks. However, the number of wyverns gave them the advantage; they were winning.