Dragon Wing

K. Busch Rebecca

Description

The village wanted Sigrun's life extinguished the moment she was born. She was an abomination. Unlike everyone else in her village who had beautiful feathered wings, Sigrun was born with the wings of a dragon. Saved by the love of her father, Sigrun remained in the village and grew up among them after all, but that was not the end of her struggle. One morning, Sigrun finds her father murdered and her brother missing. She sets out to find her brother and seek out her father's killer, but instead, she meets a mysterious stranger that she is drawn to, despite her better judgement. He becomes very involved with her cause and convinces her that her father's murder is only the beginning. War is coming. Soon she uncovers many secrets and learns that even those closest to her may be dangerous. Before the end, she finds that good and evil are almost never exclusive, love is almost always complicated and the truth is the most heartbreaking thing of all.

Sujets

• Fantasy (canción de Mariah Carey)
• Fantasy

Informations

• Publié par: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Date de parution: 30 mars 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781528910231
• Langue: English

Extrait

Dragon Wing
Rebecca K. Busch
Austin Macauley Publishers
2018-03-30
Dragon Wing About the Author Dedication Copyright Information © Acknowledgments Prologue 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 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Epilogue
About the Author
Rebecca K. Busch was raised in Northeastern Michigan. Later she moved to Boulder, Colorado, where she earned her degree in English Literature at the University of Colorado. She continues to be an avid reader and currently lives in Denver, Colorado.
Dedication
For my fellow dreamers
Copyright Information ©
Rebecca K. Busch (2018)
The right of Rebecca K. Busch to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781787106819 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781787106826 (Hardback)
ISBN 9781787106833 (E-Book)
www.austinmacauley.com
First Published (2018)
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd.
25 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5LQ
Acknowledgments
Thank you to my mother who saved the first version of this story, which was written when I was 13 years old. Without it, this book may have never been written.
Thank you to my dad, who was my first sounding board for the book. To Julie, the best big sister anyone could hope for – and my first reader. Thank you to my brothers for protecting me and, at the same time, helping me to be a stronger person.
Anna, thank you for all your support over the years. All of my friends and family, I’m blessed to have you in my life. To those who encouraged my higher self – thank you for helping me connect to my inner spritely being.
Thank you to the entire team at Austin Macauley for seeing potential in me and my project.
Prologue
There is no more promising sound than that of a healthy newborn cry. New life brought into the world, completely pure, untainted. That first explosive wail signals relief and joy in all those who can hear it.
It was an early, cold, winter morning that the Northwood’s heard this same pure sound. While the child stretches out its lungs for the first time, the midwife and her nurse hold each other in a shaky embrace, muffling horrified sobs. Their trembling hands still clutching dirtied rags. The harsh smell of blood and burnt flesh will stain the air for years to come.
Down the hall a small boy of the age of five curiously peeks into the room that he was strictly told to stay out of. Large yellow eyes scan the room before brazenly entering. He sees her on the table. Body torn and burned, eyes glassy and lifeless, her mouth ever so slightly turned with a twitch of satisfaction. He should be crying, but he’s not. He stands in front of his lifeless mother, perfectly still, with a stoic stare.
With his wife’s blood still on his hands, the father holds the child, oblivious to the world around him in this moment. The baby’s wing affectionately wraps around his hand. He feels the smooth hard scales on his fingers, but only feels the softest part of love in his heart. A perfect love.
“Sigrun,” he says, “child born of fire.”
Chapter 1
I hear them fighting again. I cannot understand exactly what they are saying, they are down the hall in our father’s den, but with my heavy bedroom door shut the words are muted. The tone of what I do hear sounds like this is one of their more serious battles.
An angry chill has infiltrated my home despite the warmth of the summer night air. Frigid tension has my insides wound into an icy ball, heavy and crushing. I venture out of my room to seek comfort in the kitchen and a late night cup of tea. There are a few exchanges between them as I tip-toe down the hall. Hostile words from Merik and frustrated ones from Father, but it is still not enough to understand the conflict. Quickly, I scurry down the stairs before I am discovered eavesdropping.
The kitchen is quiet. I was hoping to get a solid night sleep but this argument could go on for hours. Normally I would be annoyed, like I usually am when Merik has these fits, but honestly I probably won’t sleep much tonight anyway.
The fire is dying down in the kitchen hearth so I throw another log in before putting the kettle on. I’m not hungry but I look through the cupboards anyway. I pick up a chunk of bread but set it down again. I don’t want to eat, I am just restless.
The kettle doesn’t even have a good steam going when I hear a loud slam from upstairs, and the shatter of glass.
Moments later Merik is at the bottom of stairs. He stops suddenly when he sees me. He wasn’t expecting me to be down here. His yellow eyes squint with contempt, but I don’t know why. I try to mask the startled and confused expression on my face, to be calm and unaffected. Goosebumps rise up on my flesh and betray me. His mouth twists into a grimace and he storms out the door without a word.
As soon as he is gone, I start breathing again. I hadn’t realized that I was holding my breath until then. Merik’s moods are difficult to keep up with, but whatever has him upset tonight must be very serious.
I take my tea upstairs, anxious to get back to the safe space of my room. I walk up to my father’s den and look through the crack of the doorway. He is standing in front of one of his book cases. His back is to me and his hands are clutching the shelves in front of him. He looks as though he is steadying himself. I cannot see his face but I feel his energy, he is defeated. I want to go inside. I want to talk to him and give him comfort, reassure him that Merik will get over this just like he does everything else. I raise my hand to push the door open, but I stop short of it and slowly bring my hand back to the warmth of my cup. I really don’t know what to say, and I’m not sure if I would be a comfort to him. Instead, I slink back to my room and quietly close the door.
Chapter 2
This is taking forever. At least, it feels that way. We have been standing here listening to the Headmaster drone on all morning. Stuck in the sunniest part of the square, no shade, no breeze, just standing shoulder to shoulder sweating, and waiting. I probably wouldn’t mind it so much if I didn’t dislike the Headmaster so much. The Headmaster and his wife are the only two in the village who are in charge of our formal education, and neither of them has ever been kind or accepting of me, or really any other child for that matter.
He is a twitchy man with a lanky build, large eyes, and a long nose. The Mistress on the other hand is a rather fat woman who waddles on the ground like a flightless bird. Ugliness has settled into the permanent frowns they both wear. He paces in front of the group, hands clasped behind his back, clucking about in his usual fashion stopping every so often to scratch at the red hives he almost always has on his neck. Likely from the raspberry tea his wife makes him drink.
I’m not sure if it is better, or worse for my attention span, knowing that this is the last time I will have to endure his lectures.
“Sig,” Jae whispers, “are you going to the bon-fire tonight?”
“Of course,” I whisper back. “Are you bringing the wine?”
“Of course!” Jae’s excitement raises his voice above a whisper, which catches a glaring look from the Headmaster. I immediately feel my cheeks flush.
“Great,” I mutter. “He already thinks I’m trouble.”
Jae chuckles quietly at my embarrassment.
I look into the crowd. I see my father’s white hair. He is standing toward the back. He gives me a smile and a nod. Reassuring me that at least I am not in trouble with him. I smile back.
I continue to look around to see if Merik is here. I do not see him anywhere, which doesn’t really surprise me. I didn’t hear him come home last night, and I don’t know where he is or when he’ll be back.
The Headmaster finally ends his speech and sets us free. With a joyous shout, we all fly straight up into the sky. It’s official, we are no longer children in the eyes of the community, but we will be enjoying one final summer of adolescent freedom before we submit to adulthood.
I perch on a tree branch, and Jae lands next to me. “Hey, you coming?” he asks.
“Yeah, I’m just going to check in with my father.” I look around for him, but he is no longer in the crowd. “Looks like he already took off. I’ll just run home, I have to grab a few things anyway. I’ll meet you there.”
Before I leave, I hear a flutter come up behind us.
“Hey, guys,” Ainia wriggles between us. “Are you coming?”
“I’ll be there in a bit,” I say, “I’m just going to run home first.”
She nods at me. “Okay, see you soon,” she says discharging me as she turns her attention to Jae.
I shake my head at her dismissal. She does not mean to be rude, but when she is in Jae’s presence her manners flutter away as easily as she does. Jae is beautiful, and if he wasn’t my best friend I would probably be intimidated by him like most of the other girls in the village.
Ainia has always been infatuated with Jae, even when we were small children. I am the only one she has confided in, but everyone in the village knows how much she likes him. The way she flounders around him is anything but subtle. Jae seems to be the only one ignorant to her feelings.
Why he has ne