Excerpt from Keepers of Legend
A Faery Miniature Rose from The Wild Rose Press
for more information, or to purchase
Chapter One
The dragon shot from the crest of the mountain, spreading its elegant wings to catch the updraft. Soaring high, it was a sight like no other. Sunlight glinting off the huge body created swirls of rich, brilliant colors that seemed to clothe the creature in a garment of jewels. Regal and proud, the ancient beast swooped and turned in the fresh, pine scented mountain air. This was the creature’s element, its place in the world.
It heard the rocket launcher fire, but had no idea what the sound meant. It was only when the round tore into its flesh that it realized an attack was underway.
The beast’s roar echoed from one mountain peak to another, shaking the trees with the haunting vibration and tearing at the heart of every creature that heard it.
There was no time for much of a defensive assault, but the dragon did manage to breathe one wave of fire onto the attackers below.
****
Jessica’s foot slipped and she grabbed a branch to steady herself. "Are we ever going to get there?"
She groaned, as she sidestepped a fallen log that was all but blocking the trail that led through a thick area of woods and snaked up a long hill. "Obviously I was suffering from temporary insanity."
Her daughter’s musical laugh washed back down the trail. "You’re out of shape. I told you to hit the gym for a couple of weeks before we headed out."
Jessica watched her beautiful fourteen year old easily tackle the trail ahead of them. Maybe I’m just getting old, she thought. Pushing the thought away as quickly as it had come, she replaced it with a stern lecture. Thirty-one was not old. If she felt old, it wasn’t because of the birthdays she’d celebrated, but the events that had shaped her life. Maybe she wasn’t slim and blonde like her daughter, but she was in reasonably good physical condition.
Her hand pushed a few rogue chocolate color curls out of her face. So there were a few tiny lines around her hazel eyes, and her shoulder length hair got pulled back into a ponytail and ignored on a regular basis. Big deal!
She was just about to slide into contemplative mode, when Keely abruptly stopped. "What the hell is that?"
Jessica opened her mouth to scold her for the obscenity, but then she caught a glimpse of what had provoked the outburst. "Oh, my God!"
"Is that what I think it is?" Keely whispered.
"It can’t be," Jessica whispered back, her mind rejecting the obvious as it searched for an alternative. A large, unusual bird, maybe one with some sort of genetic mutation. Of course something like a pterodactyl was almost as crazy an idea as...
"It’s a dragon!"