The Dragons of Bone and Dust (Tales from the New Earth Book 7) Read Free Page A

situation. With
any luck, we'll return to the castle one day soon and get back to our
old lives.”
    “ Really? You
actually believe that?” Tamara scoffed. “The world above
is inundated with undead monsters and dragons. How the hell are a
handful of us, even if our numbers reach five hundred, supposed to
fight back against that?”
    Sebastian's eyes widened and he nodded
at something over his sister's shoulder. She turned quickly and saw
that Shandon had approached quietly and was looking up at her with a
defiant glint in his eyes.
    “ Because you
are not alone, lady mage,” he said stoutly. “You have
allies now. The dwarves may not dwell aboveground , but we will not
hang back while that evil infestation goes unchecked. We will strike
back at it whenever and wherever we can. And we hope that our human
friends will join us in that effort.”
    “ We will,”
Malcolm growled before Tamara could answer. “Just point us at a
target and set us loose.”
    The king looked way up until he locked
eyes with the big man. He grinned broadly and then laughed out loud.
    “ Ah, my
over-sized friend. Between the king of the dwarves and a man-mountain
like yourself, the war is practically won already!”
    The entire group, including Shandon's
bodyguards, burst out laughing at his outrageous statement, and the
underground rang with the merry sounds.
    Maybe we do have some hope, Tamara said
to herself. Even if it's only a sliver.

Chapter
2

    “ Don't
forget to factor in the wind before you shoot.”
    “ Yeah, yeah,
I know that,” Simon muttered, hoping that Ethmira didn't hear
him.
    He drew back on the bow, held the
string tightly and waited for the breeze to blow across his body. The
thin leather jacket that he wore allowed him to feel the wind quite
well, considering that he was used to wearing a light robe.
    He sighted along the arrow toward the
target across the meadow, adjusted for the air flow and took a deep
breath. He counted to three in his head and released the string.
    The bow twanged and the missile shot
across the open field and thudded into the target. It was a large
white cloth tacked to a tall tree stump. In the center was a small
red dot. The arrow had impacted an inch below the dot.
    “ Well, you
are getting better. Slowly.”
    Simon turned to look at the elven
maiden, who was standing several yards behind him and to his right.
    “ You do
realize that if the target was a person, he'd be dead if he was hit
there, right?”
    “ Do you
really think so?” she replied skeptically as he unstrung his
bow. “A person struck by an arrow an inch below his heart will
very often survive. And not just survive, but counterattack. If the
target is a magic-user, the response could be a face full of fire.”
    With a long sigh, Simon rolled up his
bowstring and walked across the thick grass to join Ethmira. She saw
his expression and smiled apologetically.
    “ Forgive me,
my friend. I sometimes forget how much you miss your powers. But
don't think of them as gone; think of them as sleeping, hibernating
until the day that you return to your home world.”
    He shrugged absently and dropped his
bow and quiver of arrows.
    “ Back in a
second,” he told her and headed across the meadow to retrieve
his used arrows from the target.
    The day was gorgeous and Simon took a
moment as he walked to appreciate the beauty of the elven world. He
knew he often took the place for granted and didn't give it the
admiration that it deserved.
    The entire planet was, as far as he
knew, covered in a vast forest. There were mountains that climbed out
of the trees here and there and he was told that several oceans were
scattered around somewhere, but for the most part the world was
shrouded with trees.
    It was a remarkable thought and Simon
wondered how such a place could develop. He wondered even more about
where the elven home was. Was it even in his own universe? Or was it
on another plane of existence or a different dimension. So