Sacrifices: A Middang3ard Series (Dragon Approved Book 7) Read online

  Sacrifices

  Dragon Approved™ Book Seven

  Ramy Vance

  Michael Anderle

  The Sacrifices Team

  Thanks to the JIT Readers

  John Ashmore

  Kathleen Fettig

  Kelly O’Donnell

  Diane L. Smith

  Larry Omans

  Deb Mader

  If we’ve missed anyone, please let us know!

  Editor

  The Skyhunter Editing Team

  This Book is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.

  Copyright © 2020 by Ramy Vance & Michael Anderle

  Cover Art by Jake @ J Caleb Design

  http://jcalebdesign.com / [email protected]

  Cover copyright © LMBPN Publishing

  A Michael Anderle Production

  LMBPN Publishing supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  LMBPN Publishing

  PMB 196, 2540 South Maryland Pkwy

  Las Vegas, NV 89109

  First US Edition, March 2020

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-64202-823-2

  Print ISBN: 978-1-64202-824-9

  Dedication

  To the GGW Team… here’s to one hell of a year!

  —Ramy

  To Family, Friends and

  Those Who Love

  to Read.

  May We All Enjoy Grace

  to Live the Life We Are

  Called.

  — Michael

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Author Notes Ramy Vance

  Author Notes Michael Anderle

  Other Books by the Authors

  Connect with The Authors

  Chapter One

  In the green valleys of Middang3ard, the sky grew dark and oppressive. There was a storm coming, a much larger one than what played out in the sky. The flashing crimson lightning was only a foretaste of what was to come.

  All throughout the land, folks eyed the sky with growing mistrust. There hadn’t been blood clouds like this for a long time, long enough that many people had forgotten what they foretold. Yet the fear was there.

  Parents hid their children inside, tucking them in early before the true night descended. They hoped blankets and candles would ward off any danger, hoped dreams would protect the young innocents.

  Not all children were home; there were some who had left their homes. They had come to Middang3ard to fight in the war to end all wars. Those children stood in a valley underneath the large mass of black clouds in the gray sky, staring up at the blood-red streaks of lightning as their friend plummeted toward the earth.

  Alex was watching the sky, watching the horror unfolding above her. Brath had been unanchored from Furi, who was falling, madly flapping his wings, trying to fly. Whatever had hit them must have been incredibly strong. Alex couldn’t imagine anything that could hurt Furi that much.

  The world seemed to be in slow motion. Even though Alex knew Brath was falling and there was something she needed to do about it, there didn’t seem to be a rush. Brath fell so slowly.

  Gill’s scream punctured the time distortion, and Alex felt everything return to speed. Her eyes focused without her realizing it, and she could see Brath’s eyes, wide with fear, as he turned, still falling.

  Alex turned to Jollies and shouted, “Help him!”

  Jollies pulled up on Amber and flew toward Brath. Gill was already on Timber, pulling the dragon into the air. They both raced toward Brath.

  Above Brath floated a meteor. The meteor should have fallen hours ago, but it was not truly a rock. It hung in the air like a blade waiting to drop. Alex still wasn’t sure what the object was. First, a wizard had emerged from it. Now giant bees, vrosks, and bats were flying out through a hole in the side.

  These creatures headed for Brath, swarming in a mass of black wings flapping mindlessly as if they were denizens of hell released upon the world of the living.

  Gill broke away from Jollies, heading straight for the closest beasts, those who looked as if they were getting close enough to strike Brath. The drow slipped under them, his dragon Timber blasting up a concussive force from his mouth that pushed the black-winged bats back.

  Timber maneuvered under Brath so the gnome fell onto his back. Gill checked to see if the gnome was okay.

  Brath was still breathing, but his face was badly burned, and he was now unconscious. Gill turned Timber around, ignoring the creatures from the meteor as he hit his comm. “Brath is hurt,” Gill explained. “We’re coming down.”

  Jollies and Amber were flying around Furi. They were spraying a healing salve on the dragon, working as fast as they could. They hoped the salve would wake Furi before he crashed into the ground.

  That was their only option. Furi was far too large to try to support out of the sky. If the salve didn’t pop the dragon’s eyes open, nothing could save him.

  Furi continued to fall as Jollies and Amber flew around him, still deploying the bright green healing mist. Suddenly, Furi’s eyes popped open and he flapped his wings, creating a gust of wind that almost knocked Jollies off Amber.

  The pixie and her dragon flew away from Furi as he regained his balance, looking around for his rider. When Furi saw Brath lying on Timber’s back, Furi raced toward him as Timber landed next to the rest of the dragons and mech riders.

  Alex climbed onto Timber and helped Gill lower Brath off the dragon. They placed Brath gently on a mat on the ground.

  Roy walked up silently behind the remainder of Team Boundless, as did Toppinir, the elf’s and the human’s eyes locked on what was going on above them all. The sky grew darker still as the wings of the creatures unleashed from the meteor blocked out the light of the sun.

  Roy shook his head and said, “The dark clouds would have been appreciated more than this. I see that not listening to orders runs through your entire team.”

  Alex stared daggers at Roy as she got to her feet and got in his face. “Do you have anything else you want to add?” she said, barely able to keep from punching him in the face.

  Toppinir put himself between them. “Hey, this isn’t the time,” he said. “They have a man down, Roy. Lock it down.”

  Roy bowed, his face sincerely contrite, and said, “I am sorry.”

  Alex didn’t want to let it go, but the sky was full of monsters, and Brath was hurt very badly. “Is there anything we can do for him?” Alex asked as she knelt next to Brath.

  Roy paced, scratching the stubble on his face. “Our medic died in the first wave.”

  “Don’t you have wizards or someone with healing magic or something?”

  “Not in the mech or dragonriders. We’re strictly an artillery squad. Most of the mech riders are human, and the dragonriders aren’t wizards. We riders ain’t known for our magic.”

  Toppinir was staring at the sky, his eyes nearly as dark as the clouds. “I can help him,” he said softly. “My ties to magic are stronger than most here. Healing a few burns shouldn’t be a problem.”

  With grace and solemnity, Toppinir knelt beside Brath and ran his palm over the gnome’s face while murmuring softly under his breath. The air around Brath changed—grew cold and then warm. The burns on Brath’s body faded like carvings on stone, weathered by wind over the years.

  Brath sat up, his eyes opening sleepily as he scratched his face where the burns had been. “What the hell happened?” he asked.

  Alex punched Brath in the shoulder. “You flew off like an idiot without thinking of what could happen!” she shouted, pointing at the horde of monsters in the sky. “You could have gotten yourself killed.”

  Brath laughed bitterly as he got to his feet. “Isn’t this a suicide mission?” he asked. “Since when are we worrying if we’re going to die?”

  Alex didn’t have an answer for Brath’s snide comment. He did have a point. Arguing over who died on a suicide mission was like arguing over who was going to get the first bowl of hot soup; it didn’t matter what order you were in, there was enough to go around, and it was going to get cold soon enough.

  Roy and Toppinir were both transfixed by what was going on above. In a morbid way, it was beautiful. Alex had hardly seen the sky in her brief life, but she could never have imagined one looking like this.

  The sky reminded her of death. She had never visualized what death looked like, but now she knew it was like this sky. Not the good kind of death, falling asleep in old age and never waking up. This death would be violent and heart-wrenching.

  The rest of Alex’s team came over and watched the sky with Alex, Roy, and Toppinir while the dragons gathered in the bac
kground, examining Furi’s superficial wounds. All of the mech riders and dragonriders were fascinated with what was going on above. They knew it would have to be dealt with.

  A creeping dread started in the back of Alex’s mind, and the hairs on her neck bristled. How are we going to kill all of them? she wondered. It finally dawned on her that there had been no way to save Toppinir and Roy. The two hadn’t been in any immediate danger, they were just up against unbeatable odds.

  Roy let out a heavy sigh as he walked over to his mech and climbed in. “Okay, boys and girls, who’s ready for round two?” he asked.

  Alex couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The man didn’t sound like he had a problem with the odds they were facing. “Wait, are you serious?” she exclaimed. “Are you really thinking about going up there? Didn’t you see what just happened to Brath?”

  Roy lit a cigar. “No offense, but me and my squad aren’t nearly as green as you and your friends,” he wheezed. “We’re not going to go down in a couple of minutes. Maybe a couple of hours, a dozen if we get lucky. We’ll put a dent in them no matter what.”

  There was a determined flavor to Roy’s words. Alex had never heard anything like it. Even though she had said earlier she was ready to die, listening to Roy showed her she had been mistaken.

  Alex would have fought tooth and nail to stay alive. She would have schemed and plotted and struggled to the bitter end to hold on to her life. Roy didn’t have to say he was willing to give his life for the cause. It was evident in his voice, in his face. The man was all in.

  Toppinir would be the voice of reason. He had to be. That must be why he and Roy always teamed up. Roy was the crazy son-of-a-gun, and Toppinir was the cool, calm, collected strategist. The elf must have a plan up his sleeve.

  Much to Alex’s dismay, Toppinir went to his dragon and leaped aboard, taking his seat on a saddle–the oldest tech Alex had seen since she’d gotten to Middang3ard. “More than a few hours,” Toppinir said. “I’d say at least twelve unless there are more of those creatures inside of the meteor.”

  Alex rushed to Roy and Toppinir, waving her hands like they were capable of grounding the mech and the dragon. “Wait, aren’t you even a little curious to know what that thing is?” she shouted. “It’s obviously not a meteor. Meteors aren’t full of monsters.”

  Roy ashed his cigar and leaned over the side of his mech. “Don’t matter, since you kindly pointed out what it’s doing,” he said calmly. “It’s dumping hundreds of vicious creatures into Middang3ard to destroy everything this realm knows. Can’t see how figuring what it is will stop it from doing that.”

  Alex turned to Toppinir, hoping to get something other than insanity from the elf. “Are you serious? You don’t even know what that thing is,” she argued. “What if we destroyed it? You saw how all those bats dropped once we killed Holmorth.”

  Toppinir ran his fingers through his wispy goatee. “True,” he admitted. “Even then, it took an extreme amount of artillery to shave off a little piece of the meteor in question. It’s unlikely we will be able to destroy it.”

  Roy groaned loudly. “Don’t matter. There’s an army of the Dark One’s vermin up there, and as far as I can tell, it makes a pretty effective wall between us and whatever plan you’re trying to cook up.”

  This was where Alex was going to put her foot down. She had more than a half-baked plan. “Okay,” she said. “What’s the difference between our dragons and mechs and everything up there?”

  Roy chewed on his cigar as he leaned out of his mech. “All right, I’ll bite,” he grumbled. “What’s the difference?”

  Alex flashed her mischievous grin. “What’s up there doesn’t have four legs,” she started. “Which means they expect the fight to be in the air. And only in the air.”

  A sparkle danced behind Roy’s eyes as he caught onto what Alex was saying. “Hm. I guess there’s more to you than crazy ideas. You got crazy ideas offering a little bit of hope. All right. If we’re all gonna die anyway, what’s the harm in trying something new?”

  Chapter Two

  Roy, Toppinir, and Alex discussed the plan. Somehow, they were going to funnel the flying creatures to the ground. At first, it seemed like a straightforward idea. A problem eventually arose, though.

  As the three were planning, Jollies casually pointed to the sky. “There’s more of them than before.”

  When Alex looked up, she was shocked to see that Jollies was understating the case. The number of monsters had nearly doubled in the ten minutes Alex had been speaking to the two veterans. If this kept up, there would be too many of the Dark One’s forces to fight in any way.

  Brath sauntered over to the discussion, his face smugger than usual. “You guys are spending way too much time talking this through,” he snapped. “We need to get in there and do some damage.”

  Toppinir chuckled under his breath before saying, “We all saw how that worked out for you. I think it would be best if we don’t make the same mistake as you did.”

  Roy tried to hide his snickers but was unable to. Brath blushed, but he didn’t back down from his point. He threw himself into the argument, defending his opinion with vigor.

  At this point, Alex knew talking sensibly wasn’t going to happen. The moment Brath joined a strategy session, it devolved to irritated sighing and the occasional brief but intense shouting match.

  Alex went for a walk, staring at the sky. She made her way to Chine, who was sitting away from the other dragons, blasting his claws with thin streams of fire. ‘Sup, Chine?

  Chine lost interest in grooming himself and peered at Alex with his large, unfathomable eyes. Something on your mind, Dustling? You seem perturbed.

  Alex gestured upward as she sat down across from Chine. You ever see anything like this before?

  Chine nodded as he followed Alex’s gaze. I have seen these creatures before, but I have never seen them like this. From my understanding, shooting stars rarely hold monsters. When they do, those monsters are ancient, eldritch. Not such base creatures as vrosks.

  What do you mean about shooting stars holding eldritch monsters?

  Chine blew out a flame that briefly illuminated Alex’s face. Her eyes were dilated, almost reptilian, nearly the same as her dragon’s. Many of the eldritch Old Ones were conceived in a place between realms.

  They were not born of flesh and blood, as many of us are. It is difficult to understand how they were conceived, but many of them were incubated in meteors and asteroids. When those rocks hit the realms, the Old Ones were born.

  The meteor above was still stationary. The green aura around it spiked and withdrew as if it were a living thing. Do you think there might be something like that in there? Alex wondered.

  Chine had grown bored looking at the sky and returned to grooming himself. Perhaps. But whatever is incubating inside is not an Old One. It is something new. Perhaps something worse.

  Good talk, Chine. You always know just what to say to encourage me.

  How is that encouraging, Dustling?

  Sarcasm, my dude. Sarcasm.

  Alex sat there for some time, thinking about what the dragon had said as she watched the sky. Holmorth had been in the meteor, but he had only been on the outer crust. It was almost as if he were a guard, protecting something more important within the meteor. What do you think we should do? Alex asked.

  Chine’s scales ruffled as he stood and shook his wings. Roy and Toppinir are not like you and the rest of Boundless. They are soldiers, and they have been soldiers for some time. They have orders and they follow them. You, on the other hand…”