Thank you so much for supporting Sue during her spotlight week. Enjoy this excerpt from "Dragon Flame." Leave a comment on today's post today, tomorrow and Sunday and on Monday I'll pick a winner randomly to receive a PDF copy of Sue's "Dragon Flame.
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Moderator Steph
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Blurb
Fire breathing dragons destroy Talei's home but when she links telepathically with a dragon, he explains goblins are holding their females hostage. Talei and her friend Adri lead a group of teenagers to free the beasts. Failure means both dragons and humans will be destroyed.
Excerpt
The bedraggled group trudged beside the flowing water until the ground became rocky, rising steeply on either side of the river. The pure force of the water cut deep into the ground forming cliffs rising high above them. Below them the river tumbled and frothed, throwing up a misty spray which hung over everything.
"We can't stop here," Simone stated emphatically. "We'll never survive the cold and damp."
"The caves are higher up." Zack led the way to a narrow path. "Above the spray. They're quite dry. We go this way."
Gradually the path rose above the constant dampness thrown up by the river, and they arrived at a rocky plateau with several large caves opening into the cliff. The younger children were tired out by the day's events so the teenagers made them comfortable in the nearest cave where they immediately fell asleep. Talei protested they should first check the caves were safe, but Zack's hand on her arm stopped her.
"They'll be fine," he assured her. "I've played up here for years, and nothing's ever hurt me."
Talei sat down with her back against the cliff enjoying the late afternoon sunshine and the temporary relief from caring for the children.
"How long do you think it will take Cam and Liam to get to Frame?"
"It takes three days by cart and a day on horseback." Zack wrote numbers with a stick in the dusty floor to work out the best time the boys could make. "I'd say they'll get there some time the day after tomorrow. They won't have to wait for heavy carts, but they won't have the speed of a horse."
"So we can hope for some response in four or five days?" Talei asked. "In that case we'd better make these caves habitable. First we need to gather food and firewood." Zack shivered at the mention of fire. "I know it will bring back memories, but bad dreams have to be better than freezing to death. It can get cold at night, even in spring."
Zack called some of the older children and explained what he wanted them to do. He led them on a foraging expedition while Talei examined the caves, leaving the one with the sleeping children until last. In total she counted seven caves, each of them clean and dry. Stacks of ferns and grasses stored at the back of each space would make good bedding. She assumed Zack and his friends had left the dried stuff there when they used the caves for camping. She entered the last cave, hoping she wouldn't be inundated with questions. Silence greeted her. All the younger children slept soundly.
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MuseItUp Publishing (M/G)- Spirit Stealer; Reva's Quest
Desert Breeze Publishing - Blitz; Dragon Flame
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