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  THE FLAMES OF DRAGONS

  Book Three of the Dragoon Saga

  Josh VanBrakle

  Copyright 2016 by Josh VanBrakle

  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This book is a work of fiction. All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to persons living or dead or to actual events is a coincidence.

  Arboreal Press

  Sidney, NY 13838

  www.arborealpress.com

  Library of Congress Preassigned Control Number: 2016905642

  ISBN-13: 978-0-9891957-5-1

  First Edition: 2016

  Cover design by Heather Hilson

  Dragon image copyright Kuma/Fotolia.com

  Flame image copyright Trifonenko Ivan/Fotolia.com

  Girl image copyright Kathy Gold/Fotolia.com

  Hand image copyright Lord_Ghost/Depositphotos.com

  Wings image copyright Lenan/Fotolia.com

  Find out more about the author and upcoming books by following Josh VanBrakle on Twitter @joshvanbrakle or by visiting www.joshvanbrakle.com.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Well, folks, this is it. When I started thinking about these characters in high school, I had no idea that twelve years later I would have a trilogy published following their adventures. There are so many people who helped me along the way, and I want to do what I can to thank them.

  First, I want to thank Emily Reinert, the Creative Writing teacher at Hershey High School. Her class led me to create Iren Saitosan, Rondel, and the continent of Raa. I also want to thank the remarkable people at Indian Echo Caverns who taught me to open up and tell stories. They even inspired one of the locations in the Dragoon Saga.

  Next on my list is someone I can’t thank enough, but I am determined to keep trying. Shannon Delany, author of the YA series 13 to Life and Weather Witch, you have my eternal gratitude. It was your writing workshops that inspired me after a decade away from writing to come back and become a professional author.

  I want to thank all those who reviewed drafts of this book: Jenny Lay, Tom Foulkrod, and my wife and copy-editor Christine. Your willingness to dig into my drafts and make them better is much appreciated.

  As with the other books in the Dragoon Saga, I offer major kudos to Heather Hilson. Once again you have shown your skills with a fantastic cover design.

  Finally, this book is dedicated to my father. He was the first and best storyteller I ever met, and it’s my greatest regret that he never had the chance to read my books while he was alive. Dad, I’m sending a copy of this series to Heaven for you. I’m sure they have an awesome library.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  1. Shogun

  2. Katsu

  3. Twilight Meeting

  4. The Female Mayor

  5. New Training

  6. Lyubo

  7. Ronin

  8. Rookie and Veteran

  9. Gentle Heart

  10. Leverage

  11. Hana!

  12. The Things Trees Know

  13. Mizuchi

  14. Battle in the Past

  15. Muryoka

  16. Land and Sea

  17. What Makes Her Happy

  18. Balear’s Strategy

  19. Discovery

  20. The Allure of Revenge

  21. Unexpected Visitors

  22. The Melwar Clan’s Genius

  23. Preparations

  24. Maantec Armada

  25. The Promised Hour

  26. Out of Options

  27. Flash of Light

  28. Western Alliance

  29. Afterlife

  30. Saito’s Last Spell

  31. War’s End

  32. Parting Words

  33. Greater Evil

  34. Deadlock

  35. At Sea

  36. Safely through the Storm

  37. Sideways

  38. The Overlook

  39. Moving Forward

  40. Reunion on the Beach

  41. Duel

  42. Lodia’s Champion

  43. Late Arrivals

  44. A Mother’s Advice

  45. On a Moonless Night

  46. A Risk Worth Taking

  47. Reminiscence

  48. Serona’s Storm

  49. Choice

  50. Shogun and Emperor

  51. Ancient Rivals

  52. The Flames of Dragons

  53. Final Shot

  54. Maantec Restoration

  CHAPTER ONE

  Shogun

  Hana Akiyama wiped her hands on her pink kimono, the one decorated with white cherry blossoms. It was her favorite. It found her body’s curves better than any of the other flowing garments. Whenever she faced a nervous situation, she preferred this kimono.

  There was no reason to be nervous. Hana repeated that to herself. She had succeeded this time. Her hand drifted to her right hip where the ten-foot katana sat. Despite its length, the blade’s curvature and the way it hung in her kimono’s sash kept it from scraping the floor.

  It still looked ridiculous though. The weapon clearly hadn’t been designed for her—or anyone else of normal stature. Lord Melwar had forged this weapon for a twelve-foot-tall Oni.

  An Oni who was dead.

  Hana glanced up and down the corridor. No servants were in the hallway with her. Lord Melwar had ordered them away from this part of the castle. If any of them so much as brushed against the sword by accident, the whole building could go up in flames.

  Hana couldn’t turn around with the giant weapon, so she couldn’t pace. It wouldn’t have helped anyway. Even the masterwork paintings of animals on the walls, so lifelike they might leap out at any moment, could do nothing to lift her mood.

  After fifteen minutes a single word issued from the other side of the sliding rice paper door in front of her: “Enter.”

  Hana shivered at the calm, even voice. It relieved and terrified her at the same time. She opened the door and walked inside.

  Two steps into the room, Hana dropped to the straw mats covering the floor. She prostrated herself. The posture was awkward enough on its own, but it was nearly impossible with the Karyozaki on her hip.

  She made it work. Tonight was her best chance to regain Lord Melwar’s good graces after the debacle with Iren Saitosan. She wouldn’t risk that chance over something as minor as bowing courtesy.

  As the minutes passed, though, Hana found her brow knitting against her will. Lord Melwar had sent her on this mission. He wanted the Karyozaki, the Fire Dragon Sword, so badly. Why was he dallying?

  It was to prove he was in charge. There could be no other reason. He would show her that even with her Stone Dragon Knight abilities, she was nothing to him. Nothing at all.

  Just as Hana’s back started to cramp from her splayed position, Lord Melwar said, “Rise.”

  Hana climbed to her feet. She stepped forward and placed the Karyozaki on the mats between her and Lord Melwar. She then retreated, standing as close to the door as she could without seeming rude.

  Lord Melwar watched her with those brown eyes that missed nothing. He sat on a wooden throne adorned with carvings of serpentine dragons. There was no other furniture. Candles on sconces gave the space an ethereal glow. The shadows they cast over Lord Melwar’s face seemed deeper than those in other parts of the room.

  “It took you three days longer than expected,” Lord Melwar said.

  Hana gulped. She had hoped to hear the Maantec lord prais
e her success. Instead, the coldness of his tone cut through her.

  “I apologize, Lord Melwar,” she said, her voice barely controlled. “The Yokai aren’t reliable guides. But once they got me to the Kodamas’ village, I had an easy time of it. Most of the scum knew the Forest Dragon Knight had hidden the Karyozaki, but they didn’t know where. Fortunately, their blacksmith helped her. Unfortunately, he was reluctant to tell me where they put it.”

  She paused and forced herself to smile. It was what Lord Melwar would want to see. “I persuaded him.”

  Lord Melwar mirrored her expression. “How many tried to stop you from taking it?”

  That one smile from Lord Melwar was all Hana needed to relax. She shrugged. “I lost count after thirty-seven.”

  The Maantec lord stepped off his throne and walked to the massive katana. “Both the Karyozaki and Toryokiri are back where they belong,” he said, “with the Maantecs. Soon the rest will join them.”

  Hana ticked off the list of Ryokaiten—the eight Dragon Weapons—in her head. Iren Saitosan had the Holy Dragon Sword, Rondel Thara the Storm Dragon Dagger, and that Kodaman bitch the Forest Dragon Bow. Hana herself had the Stone Dragon Hammer, and she had already recovered the Fire and Ice Dragons’ weapons for Lord Melwar. That left just two unaccounted for: those belonging to Ariok, the Sky Dragon, and Mizuchi, the Water Dragon.

  Though if she were honest, there was really only one. Hana knew who had the Auryozaki, the Sky Dragon Sword, but she hadn’t been able to tell Lord Melwar.

  It was critical information. If he knew she was keeping it from him, he would punish her.

  But she couldn’t tell him. She knew what his order would be. He would send her to kill the Sky Dragon Knight.

  He would send her to kill Balear.

  Hana had to keep that from happening. “Lord Melwar,” she ventured, “if you’re deciding how best I may serve you, please let me hunt down the Forest Dragon Knight and retrieve her bow. I won’t lose to her again.”

  Lord Melwar stroked his chin a moment, as though considering. But his lack of immediate response made it clear what his answer would be.

  “No,” he said. “That one will have to wait, as will Rondel’s and Iren’s weapons. Right now those three are busy with each other. I do not want that to change. Were they to unite against me, my plan could still unravel.”

  So that was it. Hana knew her part in Lord Melwar’s latest plan: hunt down the Ryokaiten and return them to her master. If Lord Melwar had elected to ignore Iren, Rondel, and Minawë, that meant only Balear and the Water Dragon Knight remained. What would she do if she had to go after Balear?

  She would kill him. There was no other choice. If she didn’t, she would die.

  Lord Melwar thought another moment. “The next Ryokaiten you must find belongs to the Water Dragon, Mizuchi.”

  Hana couldn’t help it. She loosed a sigh of relief.

  The right side of Lord Melwar’s mouth crinkled upward. “My order pleases you?” he asked. His tone mocked her.

  Hana panicked. If she said the wrong thing, he could easily catch on. Her head spun, but she forced herself to maintain an air of composure. She tossed back her long black hair. “I could slay the Forest Dragon Knight easily. By sending me after the Water Dragon Knight, you’ve given me a real challenge. I appreciate the opportunity.”

  The Maantec lord shrugged. “Well, I am glad it worked out.”

  Hana didn’t believe him. Lord Melwar couldn’t care less about her feelings.

  “Based on my information,” Lord Melwar continued, “the Water Dragon Knight lives in the Tacumsah Archipelago, so you will not be able to travel underground to reach him. You will have to take a ship, but a vessel from here bears too much risk of a storm at sea. Go underground north to Kataile in Lodia and depart from there.”

  “The Tacumsah Archipelago has hundreds of islands,” Hana pointed out. “How will I find the Water Dragon’s Ryokaiten? What does it look like?”

  Lord Melwar laughed. The sound made Hana shudder. “What does it look like?” he repeated. “The Zuryokaiten can look like anything. It could also be anywhere; I was not able to get any more precise information than that it was in the archipelago. That is why it is the next one I am sending you after. We have some time now, so it is the perfect opportunity for a search. Besides, I need it for the next stage of my plan.”

  Hana furrowed her brow. “And what stage is that?”

  The Maantec lord knelt and picked up the Karyozaki. Hana tensed. Lord Melwar wasn’t a Dragon Knight. Feng would test him now. Lord Melwar would either become the Fire Dragon Knight or die.

  Hana knew which outcome she wanted.

  But the sword didn’t test him. He just stood there holding it. It was impossible.

  The shadows in the room seemed to deepen. “The next stage,” Lord Melwar said, “is the same as it would have been had Iren Saitosan become the emperor. We restore the Maantecs.”

  Hana was already off balance from the Karyozaki not testing Lord Melwar. Now she was utterly thrown. “How?” she asked. “Can we really do that without an emperor?”

  It was a rude question. It implied that she doubted Lord Melwar’s abilities. Hana winced, preparing for the rebuke.

  None came. Lord Melwar was in a good mood after all. “Until recently I believed we could not,” he admitted. “Now my mind has changed. You see, there is no longer a rightful emperor. Iren Saito is dead, and his son has rejected the throne. The line of emperors has ended. As such, the highest noble of our people must rise and lead them. We will not have an emperor. We will have a shogun.”

  The man half-smiled. “We will have me.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Katsu

  Goro poked his head out the door of his two-room farmhouse. He scanned the garden and terraced rice paddies. “Katsu!” he called. “Hey, Katsu!”

  He waited a minute, but no one came. Goro rolled his eyes. Typical.

  “Where is that man?” Goro grumbled. He slipped on a pair of sandals and stepped outside. “Katsu! Dinner!”

  Maybe the stranger had packed up and left. It wouldn’t surprise Goro. Katsu had shown up three weeks ago out of nowhere with ragged clothes and a thin body. Despite Goro’s misgivings, Chiyo had taken pity on the man and offered him a meal and even one of Goro’s old homespun kimonos. Since then Katsu had become an unofficial farmhand, doing chores in exchange for food.

  Goro wandered the farm calling Katsu’s name. The place wasn’t that big; Katsu should have no trouble picking up Goro’s rolling bass.

  The farmer was about to give up when he heard a low chunk. It came from the other side of the tool shed. Goro walked the hundred feet to the building, and there he found Katsu.

  The mysterious new helper was standing in front of a chopping block with a two-foot log on top of it. He raised a short-hafted axe in his left hand, and then with a smooth motion, he brought the tool down on the log.

  Chunk. The wood split down the middle and fell to either side of the block. Without pause, Katsu picked up another log and repeated the motion.

  Chunk.

  Goro had to admit he was impressed. He’d tasked Katsu with splitting firewood just this morning, and already the piles on either side of the farmhand towered taller than Goro was. It usually took Goro weeks to split this much.

  “Katsu,” Goro said between cuts, “that’s enough for today. Let’s have some dinner.”

  Katsu appeared not to hear him. The man’s eyes were distant. He didn’t even seem to notice the logs he grabbed.

  That concerned Goro. All the productivity on Raa would be meaningless if the man overswung and cut off his leg by not paying attention.

  Chunk.

  Goro had to put a stop to this. He grabbed Katsu by the shoulder. “Hey, Katsu!”

  It was like he’d snapped the man out of a deep sleep. Katsu shivered, and he blinked several times. He set down his axe and looked up at Goro. For a moment he didn’t seem to recognize the farmer. Then he shook
his head. “Oh, Goro, sorry about that,” he said. “I got in a rhythm and lost track of time.”

  Katsu’s voice was soft. Goro liked that. A good person was quiet and humble, not like the prudes down in Hiabi so stuck up in their class system. “Come on,” Goro said. “Chiyo’s made dinner. We’ll both hear about it if it gets cold.”

  Katsu wiped off his kimono. “All right, just let me take the axe back to the shed.”

  They returned the tool together and then headed to the house. When they entered, Chiyo smiled at both of them. Like any Maantec she still looked young, but she had the plump hips, sturdy build, and gentle expression of a wizened farm woman.

  She would make a good mother, Goro knew, if only they could afford to have kids. Scrabbling in Shikari’s rocks wasn’t a great way to make a living.

  Goro and Katsu sat on the floor beside each other. Chiyo brought each of them a six-inch-high wooden tray with a pair of chopsticks, a cup of sake, and a wooden bowl filled with rice, edamame, and daikon radishes tossed with soy sauce. She then retrieved her own tray and joined them.

  While the trio ate, Goro said, “I’m amazed you cut all that wood in one day, Katsu. Did you just forget about lunch and breaks or what?”

  The farmhand shrugged. “I didn’t have anything better to do. Besides, I want to help out.”

  Goro shook his head and whistled. “Even at the end of the day you were splitting those logs one-handed on the first cut. I could never do that. Aren’t you tired?”

  “Not really. I guess I’m used to it.” Katsu popped a slice of radish into his mouth.

  “With that much wood, we’ll have no trouble keeping the house warm all winter,” Goro said.

  “It won’t season like that though,” Katsu replied. “Tomorrow I’ll stack and cover it so it dries well.”

  “You don’t need to push yourself so hard, dear,” Chiyo said. “We’re very happy with you.”

  Katsu swallowed a large bite of rice. “No, I prefer it this way. You helped me when I had nowhere to go. It’s the only honorable thing to do.”