Robert Blanchard [Blanchard - The Treachery Of A Weasel

To my readers, especially the ones who never stopped asking for this book! Sorry it took so long I hope you enjoy!

To Racheal and J.T. We all put up with each others craziness and yet were always there for each other the true definition of family.

To my brother, Dre. If ever I was in a battle, I would always want you by my side.

To Jen. Your love and support have pulled me through some difficult times. Thank you for always reading my stuff and providing valuable feedback!

To Kate. We may clash sometimes, but to the bitter end were always there for each other. We should both get awards for how much crap we have to deal with from each other.

To my other kids: Sami, Sarah Jean, Phoenix, Jaden, and Isaiah. Each time I see you, it is always a joy. You can always find a way to make me smile, and for someone with depression, that is invaluable!

And as always, to the boys. You are truly the engine of my life.

Other Works by Robert Blanchard

The Roar of a Dragon

Published by Rowanvale Books

The Roar of a Dragon audiobook

Narrated by Peter Grant

PROLOGUE

Destiny is a very strange thing, isnt it?

After the victory my companions and I achieved over Sirak and the Dynosi in Delmar, one would think that I would long to be accepted back into my home country, into the good graces of the people I worked so hard to serve.

One would be wrong.

To the surprise of even my friends, I had absolutely no desire to stay in that place any longer than I had to. I left the city in short order, along with nearly all of my companionsonly Derrick, my wise-cracking friend, stayed behind, serving once again for the White Army, the army I had once served for several years. He was offered the position of General, the same position as my mentor, Sir Garridan, by King Baladir, but he declinedhe had never wanted that kind of responsibility.

Once we all left the city, most of us went our separate ways. Timor, the time-traveling apprentice wizard distraught over losing the Rod of Therl back to Sirak, disappeared shortly after our victory in Delmar. Although he and I had never really seen eye-to-eye, I was concerned for himhe was stuck in this time since the time traveling jewel broke, and since he wouldnt actually be born for several more decades, he really didnt have anyone here except us. But he left without a word, and therefore it was out of my control.

Kirra, the Queen of the Thieves (as she is called), returned to the criminal city of Knol, to do whatever it is she does down there. Despite the fact that we had a natural dislike of each othersince she was a thief and I was a soldierI couldnt deny her skills. She was exceptional in combat, and her infiltration skills had proven very useful in Delmar.

That being said, Kirra not being around was good for my stress level.

All that was left were those who really had nowhere to gomyself, Iskandor the dragon, and of course, Lady Mirabelle.

Mirabelle was a soldier without a home, just like myself. But in dealing with her pain and loss, during the same time that I was dealing with my pain and loss, we found what we both needed to pull us through that difficult time: each other.

The legend surrounding Lady Mirabelle was that any man who met her fell in love with her at first sight. It was rumored to be magic or an enchantment of some kind, and after the battle in Delmar, that was proven to be the caseit was revealed that a ring she always wore, given to her by a resident of Longchester that she didnt know, was enchanted. But knowing that I was confused over my feelings for her (not knowing if they were real or part of the enchantment), Mirabelle threw the ring into Lake Apera, and if anything, my love for her only got stronger. We helped each other a great deal in getting through those first couple of months.

Now we, along with Iskandor, were inseparable, and in keeping with my vision after the events in Delmar, we formed the Knights of Iskandor, a mercenary group gathered together to deal with dangerous situations, situations of evil. We took only jobs of virtue, dealing justice to evil and bringing hope and peace to the good.

Kirra joined us periodically, but not that oftennot only was fighting evil not her thing, but there was still a great deal of tension between her and Mirabelle, So the two co-existed, because both were very close to me, but it was a very tenuous relationship, at best.

As for Iskandor, the dragon who had inadvertently caused my exile from Delmar, who had since become the greatest friend I ever had, he seemed to be doing very well. He enjoyed his role in our Knighthood immensely, and was never too far away, a silent, but comforting presence. But whenever we looked at each other, I could see behind his eyessomething was haunting him. When I saw his looks of trepidation and fear, I knew exactly what he was thinking.

The time is near. We must find out what you have become.

I knew it as well as he did, but I constantly put it off. After my exile from Delmar, about a year later, I was killed by brigands who, I suspect, were attempting to collect on a bounty put out by Sir Norvin, my greatest (and I use that term very loosely) rival in the White Army. Iskandor, a young dragon at the time, was there, but was too young to help me. He had the guise of a little boy as I was dying, but it took too long for him to shape shift back into a dragon. He carried that grief with him for three thousand years. In the meantime, he attempted to save my life by bringing me to an elder dragon, who powers could resurrect me. Unfortunately, it appeared that the dragon had gone mad, and instead of simply restoring me back to life, he put me in a deep sleep and performed foul magic on me. As a result, I woke up three thousand years in the future with long, black hair, white eyes (which only served to terrify most people), and magical powers that not only did I not want, but I could not control at times. Timor helped me a great deal, after my reluctance to even try, to harness my powers, and now I was very skilled at them, although I was still learning to use them. But I still despised my powers, and I vowed never to use them unless it was absolutely necessary. (I cheated at times, howeverI found telekinesis to be very useful not to mention fun.)

The Knights began to earn a good reputation in a short period of time. We traveled around the world, doing jobs in faraway placesand that is how we heard the first rumblings of trouble. First and foremost, Sirak, who had escaped Delmar virtually unscathed (and regained the valuable Rod of Therl, used in the Sol-haleth ritual that was performed to change the citizens of Delmar into the dreaded Ther-lor), had created a new kingdom, taking over the city of Min Lenoras, in the far west. There were reports from scattered, nearby settlements that talked of strange happenings in the area, that the city was strangely silent, and that the gates of the enormous, mountain-top city had been barred shut.

We also began to hear of trouble with the Mages Counsel. After the truth about Sirak and the Ther-lor spread across the land like wildfire, the peoplenobles, peasants, and kings alikebegan to call for control, and sometimes eradication, of mages as a whole. They claimed that the mages should have had better control and more knowledge of what Sirak was doing. The truth, however, is a great deal more complicatedmany of the spells that Sirak used in the Sol-haleth ritual was already forbidden by the Initiatve, and Sirak was already a part of the Dynosi, one of the most secret of secret cults. So it follows that if they are doing their jobs properly, no one could have ever known what they were doing until they did it and even then, you still might not know it. Honestly, there was little the Initiative could have done about it. Timor once told me that the mages employ their own forces in dealing with renegade mages, or magic out of control. These forces were often taken from the ranks of graduating wizards, (though a few mages out of every graduating class often volunteered), and were used strictly to deal with problems within their craft. One would think that, even if it were only for damage control, that they would be called in to deal with the Dynosi situation shortly, if they hadnt been already.