Monsters, Book Two: Hour of the Dragon Read online

  Hour of the Dragon

  Book Two in The Kings series spinoff, Monsters

  by Heather Killough-Walden

  Copyright 2020 Heather Killough-Walden

  Cover art by Neytirix

  Edited by M.E. Moritz

  “The days are bright and filled with pain

  Enclose me in your gentle rain

  The time you ran was too insane

  We’ll meet again”

  -The Crystal Ship, 1967

  The Doors

  Note from the author…

  It’s been a long road, hasn’t it? From the beginning, we’ve traveled it together by everything from sailing ship to motorcycle, classic car, and transport spell. We were never headed anywhere in particular; our journey together has always been all about the ride. And along the way, we’ve learned a few things.

  More than a few things.

  On that note, I’m betting you have as much trouble keeping it all straight as I do. And believe me, I do. Sometimes I just plain fail. The most interesting accidents happen when I do… I’ve been lucky that they usually manage to work themselves into the story. And then I can’t help but wonder whether they were accidents to begin with. Maybe they were meant to happen?

  Maybe I was supposed to forget?

  Perhaps my storytelling is actually written by someone else…. The way I tell the story about Annaleia telling the story about the old woman during Anna’s ad pitch. (You’ll see what I’m talking about very soon.)

  Well, that’s a thought for another day. For now? I want to give my readers something they’ve been asking me to provide for years. It wasn’t easy to create this. It literally took more than a year to put together and it’s far from perfect. But it’s a start.

  My dear friends, my readers, my lifeline in heat waves, forest fires, riots, pandemics, and general crises: This is for you.

  Here is the list of the beings in the current HKW Multiverse, or as many as I can remember. (wry smile) The list will no doubt be added to as I go. I’ve created general descriptions where the creature names might not ring a bell, but left the obvious ones blank. You all know what a werewolf is.

  Enjoy, and thank you so much for reading (and reviewing!) xoxo

  HKW Multiverse Creature List

  The StoryTeller

  Nomads, aka Travelers (Lalura/Katrielle)

  Vicium Mehimii, aka Victor Maze the Chaos God

  The Oldest Woman (Lilith) – no longer a part of the multiverse since dimensional shift (DS) that took place between The Time King and Monsters.

  Archangel Guardian: (Max) – no longer a part of the multiverse since DS

  Adarians: A race of archangels. Their weakness is gold. – no longer a part of the multiverse since DS, but legends of them remain

  Gregori: The first archangels sent to Earth by the “Old Man.” Beautiful and creatively inclined, they were purported to bring humanity all forms of art and medicine. Decidedly powerful and dangerous. – It is unclear whether they remain part of the multiverse since DM

  Archangels, aka The Lost Angels: The four archangels Uriel, Gabriel, Michael, and Azrael along with Samael who is thought of as the fifth archangel. – referred to as Nephili since DM

  Wardens: Individuals who have decided to join warden clans in order to police the supernatural world and keep mortals safe from supernatural danger. This is a highly dangerous job; not many wardens live to be old men or women. For the most part humans or humanoids. Wardens are broken into clans in charge of guarding separate territories. They work directly for the rulers of the thirteen sovereign kingdoms.

  Sentinels (sometimes called guardian angels or watchers): Sentinels protect the wardens. They have two weaknesses: They can only come when called, but that includes mentally. They can only heal one person each time they appear. Their strengths are that they are immune to damage by wardens and most, if not all supernatural creatures.

  Primes: The very first of their kind, for example the first vampire, first werewolf, or first dragon.

  The Withered – Special undead who are born with a crescent moon or “scythe” birthmark somewhere on their bodies. Once these Withered die, they return to life almost immediately as “Withered.” (Note: People brought back to life through resurrection are NOT Withered. Withered naturally come back to life all on their own.) In magical respects, Withered are considered to be two souls; one from before their death and one after. Their “scythe” birthmark grows darker once they’ve made the life-death-life shift.

  The males tend to enjoy alcohol because, as they say, it “helps to preserve them.”

  So far there are very few Withered, less than a handful. Only one female Withered is known to exist.

  Witherbrood: Withered versions of whatever creature or race the being was before it experienced a Withered death and returned to life. Hence, you can potentially have countless varieties of witherbrood, such as:

  Witherwolves

  Withercats

  Witherfae

  Wither(whatever)

  Vampires (Four known Types, not including the fae Taal):

  Nephili or “The Fallen” (The former archangel Azrael is their chosen and actual king):

  These vampires believe they are descended from archangels, as their appearances and abilities tend to be different from those of the Offspring. In point of fact, they all carry the blood of their true king, Azrael. Nephili normally have to kill to exist, but strong magic can negate this, allowing a vampire to continue in existence without draining a victim to the point of death.

  Offspring: Vampires created by the breeding of an Akyri with a warlock. Roman D’Angelo is one of these and their king. These vampires must routinely drain a victim entirely of blood in order to receive the “last drop” that allows them to continue to survive. Hence, by royal decree they hunt low lifes such as rapists and slave traders to achieve this task.

  Cain’s Children or the “Children of Cain”: The ancient legend of Cain and Abel tells that Abel insisted he and his brother exist on the blood of death alone. In other words, he insisted that they drink from animals that were already dying, and never humans. The legend continues, explaining that existing in this manner displeased Cain. Cain therefore destroyed Abel, murdering him so that he could drink of healthy and human blood. His first victim was apparently Abel himself, and hence Cain carries Abel’s blood in his veins in more ways than one. Cain’s wickedness was so great, the legend tells that his wickedness spread throughout the world, infecting the souls of his “chosen,” who then became his children. Cain’s Children are notoriously wild, reckless, and carefree. They are also known to be very possessive of what they consider theirs.

  Aurum, (also known as “goldblood vampires”): Vampires who can only survive by periodically drinking the blood of a “Golddust,” a human or fae whose blood possesses gold rather than. Aurums are very rare, though not nearly as rare as the golddusts. Aurums are not considered a part of any of the first three vampire lines.

  Golddusts (humans or fae with goldblood are known as “Golddusts”): People carrying the only kind of blood that Aurum vampires can drink, which is blood containing gold rather than iron. These people are exceedingly rare, highly desirable, and priceless in magical communities. It is also magic that prevents Golddusts from weighing four times as much as an iron-blooded individual.

  Apex: A vampire werewolf hybrid formed either when a vampire becomes a werewolf or a werewolf becomes a vampire. These do not have to kill to survive, even if they are half Nephilim, but are incredibly powerful and tend to be very violent.

  Leprechauns: Seelie fae who grant wishes. However, these are not the short little men in
green who hide pots of gold at the ends of rainbows. Somehow over time, humans managed to foul up that legend right along with most of the stories they told and retold. Leprechauns are actually quite tall, just like their Lurican counterparts. Leprechauns do have reddish hair, normally blonde with very slight red highlights, and their eyes are always green. The color green must always be displayed in some part of their clothing, so they can usually be found with green hoodies or high-tops or cufflinks. If they forget to don green, a random aspect of their outfit will automatically shift to this color.

  Clurican/Lurican: Unseelie fae who are the counterpart to leprechauns. These beautiful humanoids do grant wishes – for a price – but look nothing like the traditional “little man in green” icon of St. Patrick’s Day and rainbow gold. Luricans always possess dark hair and dark eyes. They can become invisible at will and can sink into people’s minds past wards in order to tell what they wish for. To Luricans, “leprechaun” is a derogatory term. They generally go by the name Lurican since in their ancient language, the “C” more closely associates them with leprechauns. Luricans must always dress in black. Any clothing of other colors placed upon their bodies in fact turns to black immediately after being adorned. Legends believe that this is where the ancient warning against allowing a “dark stranger” to cross your threshold on New Year’s Day comes from. It’s a warning against the Lurican.

  Valkyrie: The shield maidens in charge of the souls of fallen warriors. “Frienemies” to the Winter King, Kristopher Scaul.

  Phantoms: Solitary creatures who rarely work together. Seven feet tall, with skin that looks like it’s covered in fog, blue-white hair, inky-black eyes, and runes drawn around their abdomens in glowing ink. Considered the bane of the supernatural community, they can disappear at will, transport through a space of any size, and sap a victim’s strength and chill them from the inside out, resulting in a painful frozen death.

  Wraiths: Black cloaked figures with faces like wax, red bleeding slits for mouths, eyes of stone, and skeletal hands. One touch of their hands reopens every wound an individual has suffered in their life time.

  Icarans: Black-skinned creatures that feed on magic, often to the point of overconsuming it and exploding.

  Anime: Ghosts of the Phantom Realm, the spirits of the wrongfully dead.

  Warlocks: Black magic or dark magic practictioners, not necessarily evil though the nature of dark magic results in many warlocks possessing tainted attributes.

  Witches: mages or magic users, sometimes the term female mages use

  Mages: Magic users, and the name many choose, especially male practitioners as they hate the term “wizard.”

  Akyri: a magical race that subsists solely on the magic of a warlock and in turn serves that warlock in a symbiotic relationship. If an Akyri and a warlock mate, an Offspring vampire child will result.

  Demons: Akyri who have lived underground so long, they have developed their own traits, both physical and societal. They look very much like the traditional Christian demon in their true forms.

  Werewolves: Men and women who can become wolves at will. They do not have to kill to exist, but enjoy hunting. Transformation into wolf form happens with no more than a bright flash of light.

  Shifters: A human or fae who can shift into the form of an animal at will. (These come with personal guardians if they are rare enough.)

  Magishifter

  Doppelshifter

  Werecats (too dwindling to have a kingdom of their own in the old universe, but in this new universe they are a force to be reckoned with)

  All other animal shifters

  Dragons: Dragons. Ah, the dragon. All dragons have three hearts. One pumps knowledge, one pumps magic, and the final heart pumps draconic essence. Dragons enjoy the company of humans, which is why originally they were far too visible by humanity and consequently hunted. (Because of course humans must hunt everything that is not human, and only because it’s illegal to hunt humans too.) Dragons always possess a few basic traits. In general, they love treasure. They can become possessive of things they love. And they are often apathetic. The less kind dragons are cruel and pitiless. Some are sexist, despite female dragons being as strong as male dragons. However, this trait is a holdover from the Dragon Realm’s previous ruler, and is slowly being erased from dragon behavior. When in humanoid form, each type of dragon must wear upon their person some article of clothing that reflects the color of their scales when in dragon form. So far there are nine known types of dragons:

  Legendaries: The dragon primes, or first dragons - The Great Gray, The Great Black, The Great White

  The children of the Greats (Only one is known to exist at present, and that is the Dragon Queen Evangeline, who is also the daughter of Lalura/Katrielle the Nomad.)

  Storm Dragon: Only known of through passed-down stories, the Storm Dragon is composed of volatile rain, lightning, and thunder. To date, this dragon was only ever witnessed when the Shifter Queen, a magishifter, became a Storm Dragon to escape her pursuers.

  Black dragons: these dragons do not put up with anything they don’t like, so it’s fortunate they like humans more than other dragons. They are the strongest of the colored dragons.

  White dragons: rarest of the colored dragons, for they were too visible to humans and were over-hunted nearly to extinction.

  Red dragons: fiery, obviously, the classical dragon

  Green dragons: the most covetous where money is concerned, but also the most genteel

  Blue dragons: as unpredictable, wild, and carefree as the sea

  Gemini dragons: Sibling dragons purported to be “twisted” in nature, and undeniably promiscuous. This is generally true, however in point of fact Gemini are in essence two dragons, and their story is far more complicated than this.

  Gemini are dragons born under a certain set of astrological circumstances, where the souls of the twin dragons have joined magically within their dragon mother’s womb (Think of the Withered double soul; this is similar). As a result, Gemini are two dragons/people joined as one. In most realms, they appear as two separate creatures, what some call “dual form”. They can only appear in “single form” in the dragon realm, and only in dragon form.

  They have contrasting personalities when in dual form, but these personalities always complement each other. Yin and yang. They are referred to as “twins” by those who know what they are, despite the fact that they look dissimilar. A Gemini dragon is stronger than most dragons when in single form. Separated into dual forms, they are less powerful than other dragons.

  Because Gemini in dual form ultimately care for one another as twins would, and can communicate with one another telepathically as well as feel what the other is feeling or sensing, they make a uniquely qualified and effective ops team and tremendously talented soldiers.

  Nightmares: Incubi. Sex “demons” who gain vitality from sexual contact or sleeping with other humanoids. Naturally it is a survival trait that they’re all quite beautiful. However, though they are physically attractive, the physical beauty of others is unimportant to them for they are only capable of seeing both layers to a person, the skin deep appearance and the true nature of the person inside.

  Preceptors: Sentinel-like guardians of the Nightmare King. There are only two, Fortescue and Ash. They are immortal and trained in every type of battle.

  The Challenger: Challenger to the Nightmare King’s throne. No longer a separate entity but now a part of the Nightmare King.

  Fae: Humanoids and non-humanoids living in one of the three fae realms, the Seelie Realm, the Unseelie Realm, and the Twixt. All fae possess some form of power, which they sometimes traditionally refer to as their glamour. There are many types of fae:

  Tuathan: Can be both seelie and unseelie. The most powerful fae, normally well bred and highly educated, raised in the upper echelons of fae society. All ruling fae are Tuathan.

  The Prophet: Unclear whether she is seelie or unseelie. A woman bathed in darkness and time so much so
that her form wavers between states of being, and her words echo with eerie delay. She takes the form of a twelve year-old child.

  Seelie:

  Legendary Great White Stag

  Fairies

  Sprites, brownies, etc.

  Elementals

  Unseelie:

  Taal(Named for their leader, Malek Taal): Beautiful, graceful and smart all-male unseelie fae vampires of an obsessive/possessive ilk. They do not need blood for survival, but enjoy it more than any food or drink due to the highly erotic drug-like high they receive when taking it. Malek Taal is their leader, for whom the race was named. The Taal race is powerful and rather notorious, known to abduct humans to use them as slaves.

  Currently the Taal are experiencing a crisis (brought on by Victor Maze’s magic) that forces them to relentlessly hunt for their chosen mates until those mates are found. When the Taal hunt, their growing need is felt by the other Taal to the point of detriment. In this respect, the leader Malek’s need is causing issues amongst his men that have the Taal in delicate and volatile dealings with the Unseelie King, Caliban.

  Fuatharkan: Part cat and part bunny with rainbow fur and small wings.

  Unicorns: Originally very evil due to a curse, their horns were only grown when they had killed enough victims. However, their curse was broken by the queen, and now they are technically Seelie fae, though they choose to remain in the realm ruled by the woman who saved them.

  Dark faeries: Fairies including sprites and brownies, but wicked and untrustworthy.

  Goblins (many races of goblins, such as the Xenobes)