Dragon Warror Dragon Wars – Book One By Shéa MacLeod Dragon Warrior COPYRIGHT © 2011 by Shéa MacLeod Published 2011 by Sunwalker Press The right of Shéa MacLeod to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without prior written permission of the author. This is a work of fiction. All characters in this book are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons either living or dead is entirely coincidental. Cover Art: Amanda Kelsey Edited by: Tamra Westberry and M. Edward McNally Also by Shéa MacLeod Cupcake Goddess Be Careful What You Wish For Nothing Tastes As Good Soulfully Sweet A Stitch In Time (A Cupcake Goddess Novelette) Dragon Wars Dragon Warrior Dragon Lord Dragon Goddess Green Witch Dragon Corps Dragon Mage Dragon's Angel Dragon Wars Boxed Sets Dragon Wars - Three Complete Novels Boxed Set Dragon Wars 2: Three Complete Novels Boxed Set Intergalactic Investigations Infinite Justice A Rage of Angels Lady Rample Mysteries Lady Rample Steps Out Lady Rample Spies A Clue Lady Rample and the Silver Screen Lady Rample Sits In Lady Rample and the Ghost of Christmas Past Lady Rample and Cupid's Kiss Lady Rample and the Mysterious Mr. Singh Lady Rample and the Haunted Manor Lady Rample Box Set One Notting Hill Diaries To Kiss A Prince Kissing Frogs Kiss Me, Chloe Kiss Me, Stupid Kissing Mr. Darcy Sunwalker Saga Kissed by Blood Kissed by Moonlight Kissed by Ice Kissed by Eternity Kissed by Destiny Sunwalker Saga: Soulshifter Trilogy Haunted Soulshifter Fearless Sunwalker Saga: Witchblood Mistwalker Viola Roberts Cozy Mysteries The Corpse in the Cabana The Stiff in the Study The Poison in the Pudding The Body in the Bathtub The Venom in the Valentine The Remains in the Rectory Write Novels Fast Write Novels Fast: Writing Faster With Art Journaling Write Novels Fast: Down and Dirty Draft Standalone Ride the Dragon: A Paranormal/Science Fiction Boxed Set Angel's Fall Watch for more at Shéa MacLeod’s site. Table of Contents Title Page Copyright Page Dragon Warrior (Dragon Wars, #1) One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Note from the Author About Shéa MacLeod Other books by Shéa MacLeod They say it takes a village to raise a child. Apparently the same is true for writers. This one’s for my village. Your support and friendship mean the world to me. One “IT’S COMING AROUND for another pass!” Lieutenant Micah Caine’s voice bellowed through the bunker. Even with his dark hair covered in dust, fatigues bloodied and torn, eyes bloodshot and circled with exhaustion, his charisma was undiminished. It gave them hope, and they needed all the hope they could get. This was the fourth pass and out of sixteen people, there were only three of them left. The Lieutenant stood in front of the narrow window of the bunker, peering through his night vision binoculars. “All right, ready now.” He raised his arm for a moment then dropped it. “Give ‘em hell Harriet!” Audrey Harrison had been a civilian back when things were normal. Her only experience with guns had been target shooting with her dad’s hunting rifles. Now she sat behind an enormous rail gun that shot bullets the size of thermos bottles, her pale blonde hair scraped back in a tail, her fingernails chewed to stubs from the stress. Nothing was normal anymore. Not since the day all hell had broken loose. Audrey focused through the night scope, trying to ignore the zing of happy hormones thrumming through her system every time Micah got within five feet of her. It just wasn’t going to happen. Not unless they won this war. Maybe not even then. She was pretty sure the attraction was completely one-sided. The monster came into view. It was a big one. Its wingspan, barely visible against the night sky, must have been thirty-five feet, at least. Fire shot from its mouth, strafing the walls of the bunker. Concrete cracked under the intense heat. Audrey swiped damp palms against her jeans before wrapping her hands carefully around the grips of the rail gun and squinting through the sights. Her blood ran cold as the creature hovered into view: Dragon. It was a horror beyond belief, a living nightmare. Ever so gently she squeezed the trigger. Her shot ripped through the air, slamming into the winged creature. The thing screamed as it dipped slightly in the sky, but it was a scream of rage, not pain. The shell hadn’t done a damn thing. She swore slightly and fired again. Shell after shell tore through the night and shell after shell pulverized to dust against the monster’s impenetrable hide. The lieutenant waved at her to stop. “Foster! Grenade.” Foster scrambled toward the lieutenant, grenade launcher cradled against his chest. Audrey wasn’t sure what Foster’s first name was. Like the lieutenant, he was army. Unlike the Lieutenant, Foster had never seen action until the day the monsters got loose. He’d never even graduated from boot camp and now he was fighting for his life against creatures that shouldn’t exist outside a horror film. Audrey would have felt sorry for him, but she had no time to feel sorry for anyone, not even herself. Foster stumbled over fallen rubble, face pale under streaks of dust and soot. When he nearly dropped the launcher, Micah grabbed it out of his hands and hefted it onto his own shoulder. For just a minute he paused, silhouetted against the night. Then he fired. The world exploded. A chunk of concrete slammed into Audrey’s shoulder, knocking her out of her seat. She hit the floor so hard it knocked the breath out of her. When she could breathe again, she almost wished she couldn’t. Her entire body throbbed with pain. She touched her right temple and her hand came away covered in blood. She turned her head carefully. Foster was gone, buried under a pile of rubble, a single pale hand poking from the debris, clutching at nothing. The ceiling above where he’d stood was now a gaping hole. “Audrey?” She barely recognized the hoarse whisper. “I’m here Micah. I can’t ... I can’t move.” “Sorry, Audrey.” His voice was slurred. “I thought ... safe. Got the bastard. Got him ... dead ...” Micah’s voice trailed to a whisper. “Micah?” She could hear his breathing, a harsh rattle in the stillness. “Micah? Micah, can you hear me?” She managed to pull herself up, arm clamped tightly
