The Dragon Nimbus Novels: Volume I: Volume I

Battle. Blood. Heat. Lust.
    “Kill magic. Kill all magicians.”
    Determination rose and rose again as the chant became a shout and then a roar.
    Horror ran before the swelling noise, growing like a living thing. Fear filled the tower chamber and laid a heavy pall of doom on the once-quiet monastery.
    No spell could combat the power of unity and relentless drive generated by the chant. Anyone caught between the men and their objective would be torn limb from limb.
    Small points of deadly fire bloomed on the tips of arrows. Bright blossoms of green flame became a hailstorm of destruction.

Chapter 10
     
    Y aakke sat beside the creekbed, replete and rested for the first time since he’d left Coronnan City. He folded his legs under him, palms resting on his knees, open and receptive. He stilled the twitching muscles of his back and thighs. His mind opened reluctantly.
    Three times he had dropped pebbles into the quiet pool at the edge of the creek. As the dropping rock created ripples in the surface of the water, raindrops had interfered with the pattern of ripples. He’d caught glimpses of scenes from his past. Yaakke and Baamin clearing debris from the cache of forbidden books in the tunnels. Yaakke in Brevelan’s clearing with Jaylor, teaching him the secret of transporting live humans without danger . . .
    But no glimpses of the future. The old Rover woman had sworn to Yaakke that the pebble always told what was to come within the next few hours.
    Maybe if Yaakke could properly center his magic, he’d work the Rover spell correctly.
    Fire. Smoke. His vision back at the dragon lair had been so real . . .
    Corby perched on a rock in front of him, head cocked curiously at his strange inactivity. Yaakke resisted the urge to shoo him away. He didn’t need an audience, but he had to remain still or lose his concentration.
    Stargods! He hated meditation. He couldn’t think of any other way to align himself to the Kardia. Knowledge of where he was and what direction he was headed in would follow. He hadn’t seen the sun rise or set beyond the ominous cloud cover for days. His youthful confidence melted with each new onslaught of rain, until he was totally lost and disoriented.
    Once he managed to center his magic, maybe he could sense Shayla’s power. Shayla needs me , he reminded himself.
    The urge to let his muscles move plagued his attempts at stillness. He resisted, forcing his mind to accept the wind and rain as an extension of himself. He heard only the creek rushing over stones. Then his heartbeat filled his ears just as loudly. He breathed deeply, listening.
    Slowly his pulse and the rhythm of his breathing tuned to the rhythm of the land around him. He heard birds on their perches fluffing their feathers against the cold. He felt the sap drift sluggishly within the tree that sheltered him. When his body cried out for him to move, he concentrated on the worms opening new paths through the soil, seeking tiny rootlets.
    Gradually a pull of energy tugged at his back. With eyes closed and a minimal shift of position, he turned to face the tug. This must be south, the nearest planetary pole. The world adjusted its orbit to include him. He merged with the four elements and the cardinal directions, one more piece of the whole.
    Behind his eyelids, his vision centered. Mountains to the south and west. Rolling plains to the north. The Great Bay to the east. The creek flowed north and east. Therefore he must be in the foothills of the south.
    A year ago, Jaylor had taken refuge in a monastery in this general vicinity, one day’s hard walk from Castle Krej. Yaakke had helped Jaylor hide there while they protected an injured Brevelan and Darville, who pranced at his heels, ensorcelled into the body of a golden wolf.
    This morning Yaakke had passed a boulder with a tall everblue growing out of a crack that nearly split the rock in two. He’d marked it, deep inside his memory, as a pointer during that adventure last spring. Now, as his consciousness floated free of his body, he remembered the landmark. How far away was the monastery? The last time Yaakke had come this way, he’d been on steedback, compelling the animal to move faster than normal. Distances were badly distorted in his memory.
    Yaakke took a deep breath and roused himself from the silence. The rain had ceased and Corby was gone. His campfire smoldered within a ring of rocks three paces away. He fed it a few dry sticks. Flame glowed on the ends, then