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    Dragon Blood Chronicles 1: Oath
    Dragon Blood Chronicles 1: Oath
    Dragon Blood Chronicles 1: Oath
    Ebook225 pages3 hours

    Dragon Blood Chronicles 1: Oath

    By Avril Sabine

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Genre: Young Adult Urban Fantasy.
    Word Count: 51471
    ***Companion series to Dragon Blood. Although this book is self-contained, it is best read after the Dragon Blood series in order to avoid spoilers.***
    Sometimes you fight hardest against what you need most.
    When Claire and her father move to a new house, she refuses to believe the rumours about Roy, the boy next door. It doesn't take her long to realise she should have listened. She's thrown into a world where only the strong survive, discovering a secret Roy has spent his life fighting against. She's determined to not only survive, but find her place in the dangerous world of dragons, Mages and Knights.
    ***This book is set after Dragon Blood 5: Mage. It tells the story of one of the secondary characters from the Dragon Blood series.***

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCracked Acorn Productions
    Release dateMar 14, 2021
    ISBN9781925941227
    Dragon Blood Chronicles 1: Oath
    Author

    Avril Sabine

    Avril Sabine is an Australian author who lives on acreage in South East Queensland. She writes mostly young adult and children’s speculative fiction, but has been known to dabble in other genres. She has been writing since she was a young child and wanted to be an author the moment she realised someone wrote the books she loved to read.Visit Avril's website to learn more about her and her many books. www.avrilsabine.com

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      Book preview

      Dragon Blood Chronicles 1 - Avril Sabine

      Chapter One

      Claire glared at the small, white dog that looked more like the head of a mop than an actual living creature. Give me a minute and quit making so much noise. She fumbled with the lock, wishing she could have had that last fifteen minutes of sleep.

      The door finally swung open and the dog ran into the backyard, his high pitched yips continuing. Claire slipped her feet into the sneakers beside the door and stumbled after the dog, muttering under her breath as she drew her jacket closer around her pyjamas. So unfair. Mum gets a honeymoon in Europe and what do I get? Being stuck with you for a month. She shivered in the cool morning air, hardly able to believe it’d be spring in ten days. It didn’t seem possible it was almost September. Bub! What are you doing? She tried to keep her voice low. There were sure to be people asleep at this hour. Who wanted to get up before six on a Saturday morning? Certainly not her. The sun hadn’t risen yet. She glanced skywards. Although it couldn’t be far off with how much the sky had lightened.

      Claire lunged for the dog. Got you. She swore when the dog escaped, heading straight for the broken palings leading to the house next door. Bub! When the dog continued to ignore her, she finally gave in. Bubbles. She glared when he turned towards her, tail wagging and mouth hanging open. Stupid name. She scooped up the dog. Why can’t you answer to something more dignified? Mum should be banned from naming anyone or anything. Look at the name she’d given her.

      Movement caught her attention and she peered through the broken palings that were half hidden by overgrown shrubs. Her gaze was drawn to the young man pacing in the neighbouring backyard. She hadn’t met him, only caught a few glimpses of him during the week they’d been here. She guessed he was around her age of seventeen, possibly a little older. He was dark skinned with broad shoulders and a shaved head.

      Why was he pacing in his backyard? Several times he looked towards the sky, barely pausing in his pacing. A smile slowly formed. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad living here, even with the extra twenty minutes it’d take to reach school each day. She automatically reached up to try and neaten her sleep mussed, sun streaked, long brown hair, nearly dropping the dog. Bubbles wriggled and Claire tightened her grip, turning away after one more glance at her neighbour.

      Reaching the back door, she struggled to get it open while trying not to let Bubbles escape. She didn’t set the dog down until they were in the laundry and the external door was closed. Leaving her jacket on, she slipped off her sneakers and wandered into the kitchen, knowing she’d have to face the cold again shortly when she saw her dad off to work.

      Darrell placed his breakfast dishes in the sink, turning to her with a worried look in his dark eyes, already wearing his hi-vis work shirt. He tried to run a hand through his black hair that was too short, these days, for him to be able to do that. Are you sure you’ll be all right?

      She almost tripped over Bubbles. Giving the dog a glare, she crossed the room and hugged her dad. Quit worrying. I’ll be fine. You didn’t go on this bad the first time I stayed home alone. Back when she’d got sick of Bentley’s lectures and Jacqueline trying to turn her into someone she wasn’t. Other than looks, except her eyes that were the same dark brown as her dad’s, she wasn’t in the least like her mum and not interested in being like her. Nor did she think being told ‘you’re such a tomboy’ was an insult. Even with the exasperated tone her mum used. I’ve been doing this for more than a year, Dad.

      It’s different this time. He held her at arm’s length, his hands on her shoulders. You’re not as grown up as you think. What if something goes wrong? Your mother won’t be here if you need help.

      She grinned. It’s probably that I’m more grown up than you wish.

      You’re not about to start on that dating thing again, are you? That boy is too old for you. He’s in uni.

      Dad. She drew the word out. It wasn’t that she’d really wanted to date the guy. It had been more about being told she couldn’t, even before she’d considered it. Are you really going to give me a lecture before you head off for two weeks?

      Darrell sighed, drawing her close for another hug. Letting go, he stepped back, a half smile forming. All right. But you make sure you ring and leave a message for me at the mine office if anything happens. Anything at all.

      She rolled her eyes. Yes, Dad. The words were spoken with exaggerated patience. As if she could forget with the amount of times he’d told her. Anyone would think this was the first time I’d stayed at home on my own.`

      It’s not like it’s a small country town where everyone knows everyone else. Brisbane is a city. He grabbed his medium sized cloth suitcase, the seams frayed from years of use.

      She walked beside her dad as they headed for the front door. Really? I would have sworn it was a small country town after listening to Harold from over the road. That old man must have nothing better to do than spy on the neighbours and make up stories about them. Stepping outside, she drew her jacket close, the sun now rising. Her feet instantly chilled when she stepped onto the concrete path. She should have put her sneakers on again, but they’d been at the back door.

      He told me yesterday that the neighbours on that side, he pointed to the right, are in a gang.

      She snorted. Yeah right. Like the old lady at the end of the street is a drug dealer?

      Darrell chuckled. Just because he was wrong about Jean doesn’t mean he’s wrong about this lot. He nodded towards the neighbour’s place. He said there was a shoot out there at the start of the year.

      She thought of the dark skinned boy she’d seen in the backyard. I bet he only says that because of their skin colour. Like he probably said Jean is a drug dealer because she’s Asian. Harold’s got more prejudices than anyone else in the world.

      I wouldn’t go that far. But how about you wait until I’m home before we meet the rest of the neighbours. His gaze was drawn to the four-wheel-drive that pulled up. You take care and behave. He wrapped one arm around her, the other hand holding his bag. And no more fighting at school.

      She drew away from him. Have you heard any complaints?

      He tugged on the sleeve of her jacket to reveal part of a bruise on the side of her forearm. Are you going to tell me that you’ve become accident prone?

      That’s a defensive mark. Not an attack one. She tugged her sleeve back into place.

      Who threw the first punch?

      You’re holding Rick and Tina up. She waved to her dad’s mate and his wife, who was driving the vehicle. She smiled when they waved back, glad she didn’t have to make the drive out to the airport to drop her dad off.

      Darrell sighed. Stay out of trouble.

      She grinned at him. When do I get into trouble?

      He glanced over his shoulder to the vehicle. We don’t have time for the full list. He took a couple of steps towards the road. Ring me if you need me.

      I’ll be fine. Go. She watched him head towards the vehicle, smiling when he paused to stare at her before he got in the back seat. She could almost hear him telling her to behave. She waved in answer and waited until the vehicle was out of sight before she returned inside, her feet feeling like blocks of ice.

      Silence filled the place and she started to head towards her bedroom, determined to get those fifteen minutes of sleep she’d missed out on. Hearing Bubbles’ high pitched barking, she felt like growling. Would that dog ever shut up? So much for getting a bit more sleep. She strode towards the back door, glaring at the dog as soon as she stepped into the laundry.

      What’s your problem now?

      Bubbles continued to jump and scratch at the door, barking and whining.

      You’ve not long been out there. When the dog continued, she sighed heavily. Fine. But next time Mum thinks she can ditch you with me I’ll be telling her no. You can stay at the kennels. Her threat was empty. Hopefully Bubbles didn’t realise. Slipping her feet into her sneakers again, she opened the door and watched as Bubbles dashed outside, still barking. Closing the door behind her she wandered outside to keep an eye on the dog.

      When Bubbles dashed for the broken palings, Claire ran after him. She managed to grab hold of his wriggling body before he could escape into the neighbour’s yard. Her dad better fix the fence when he returned for his week off. She peered into the yard and saw the young man was still there, no longer pacing. Why was he standing around? It had to have been half an hour since she was last out here. Why would someone stand in their backyard doing nothing? It wasn’t like he could be waiting for a bus.

      A man appeared in front of him. He was tall, dark skinned, his dark brown hair was closely cropped, he wore leather clothes and had a sword at his side. Her jaw dropped and she nearly let Bubbles escape. Her grip tightened on the dog when he tried to wriggle away. Where had the man come from? He’d magically appeared and she wasn’t some little kid who believed in magic. There had to be some trick involved. She strained to hear their conversation.

      The man clapped the boy on the shoulder. Think about it, Roy. We could do with people we can trust. There’s been a lot of things happening.

      What sort of things?

      The man shook his head. Nothing major, just little things. But there’s been too many of them. Isaac thinks it’s Knights trying to make up their minds after all the changes earlier this year. I reckon it’s more than that. Someone wants his position. I think Silas wants to be the New South Wales High Protector.

      What does Lydia think?

      That it’s Claudia. Well, she said it’d more likely be Claudia than Silas.

      Did she actually agree with you about someone trying to take over?

      The man shrugged.

      Roy chuckled. Did she accuse you of being rash, Uncle Amos?

      Never you mind, Amos muttered. He glanced towards the house. Don’t tell your mother I was here. Eliza would kill me if she knew I was asking you to come to Sydney.

      Does that mean I can tell Dad?

      Claire couldn’t resist smiling at the humour she heard in Roy’s voice. It faded as she once more tried to figure out what was going on.

      Amos shook his head. No, but your father doesn’t scare me anywhere near as much as my sister. He reached out and clapped a hand on Roy’s shoulder. He eyed him up and down. Are you sick?

      Recovering from dragon bone. You know what it’s like. I can’t avoid it all the time without making people ask questions.

      Amos gave a single nod. Take care. Let me know what you decide. He took a step away and vanished.

      This time Claire did let Bubbles go, her mouth opening as she stared at the point where Amos had been. It wasn’t possible. People didn’t vanish. At least not like that. Her gaze was drawn to Roy who’d returned to his pacing, stopping as Bubbles raced towards him. He crouched beside the dog, scratching his stomach when he rolled over onto his back. Claire stared at Bubbles. She had to go over there and bring him home. Her mum would be pretty upset if she let anything happen to her dog.

      It took her several minutes before she could bring herself to squeeze past the shrubs and broken palings and into the neighbouring yard. She froze when Roy looked in her direction. She met his dark brown eyes, a similar shade to her own, wishing she wore something other than her pyjamas and a jacket.

      He rose to his feet, smiling. I guess this one is yours. He gestured towards the dog that continued to lie on his back, wriggling in anticipation.

      She nodded, remaining by the fence, trying to figure out how to ask him what trick his uncle had used to disappear. Every question she came up with sounded insane in her mind and would probably only sound worse spoken aloud.

      Roy scooped up Bubbles. I suppose you’re one of the new neighbours. He strode towards her. I’m Roy. He held out the dog.

      She grabbed hold of Bubbles, clutching him tightly. Claire. She had no idea what to do. Should she run? Slowly back away? Ask him what was going on? Roy seemed a lot larger close up. He had to be at least six foot. For the first time since she’d been staying home alone she wished her dad didn’t work away for so long at a time. Either that or she was better at returning his missed calls and answering his emails.

      Do you need a hand fixing the fence? He nodded towards the broken palings.

      Shaking her head, she took a step backwards. No one would miss her. Not for days. Why hadn’t she got in the habit of ringing her dad every day? Or several times a day.

      You don’t say much, do you? Roy’s smile faded.

      Normally she was more outspoken, but there was something about seeing a man disappear that was unsettling. She opened her mouth to speak. Three men appeared around them. Two had small timber cages, about seven centimetres square, hanging on chains with glowing orbs inside them. One of them had his hanging from his belt, the other man had hung a cage around his neck. They all went for Roy, who reached for his hip as if he expected a sword to be hanging there.

      She stumbled back, prevented from going further by the paling fence. Bubbles escaped her grip and tried to attack the men. His high pitched barking rang out in the otherwise quiet morning and for once she wasn’t tempted to tell the dog to shut up. If they were lucky, one of the neighbours might hear. The men tried to grab Roy, who fought with moves she’d only ever seen in movies. Nor had she seen them in her self-defence classes she’d taken on and off for a few years. She stood pressed against the fence, not knowing what to do. Maybe Harold was right and Roy’s family were in a gang. Why else would he know how to fight like that?

      One of the men turned away from Roy to look in her direction and she finally figured out what she should be doing. She ran. She didn’t get far before a body crashed into her and she sprawled across the ground, cutting her hand on a rock edged garden bed. The sting was nothing compared to how bruised the rest of her body felt. She struggled to escape the man holding her down, Bubbles now attacking him. It was impossible

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