Dragon avalanche air dra.., p.1
Dragon Avalanche (Air Dragons Book 3), page 1
Dragon Avalanche
Air Dragons Series: Book 3
Charlene Hartnady
Copyright © December 2021 by Charlene Hartnady
Cover Art by Melody Simmons
Copy Edited by Brigette Billings
Proofread by Aisha Panjwaneey & KR
Produced in South Africa
charlene.hartnady@gmail.com
Dragon Avalanche is a work of fiction and characters, events and dialogue found within are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, either living or deceased, is purely coincidental.
With the exception of quotes used in reviews no part of this book may be reproduced or shared in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including but not limited to digital copying, file sharing, audio recording, email and printing without prior consent in writing from the author.
Created with Vellum
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
About the Author
Also by Charlene Hartnady
Excerpt of Scarred Wolf
Chapter 1
They stood on a raised platform. It was made from rock. Everything in this place was made from stone or rock. Limestone, granite, sandstone…others she couldn’t identify.
“Last chance pick one us,” the closest of the men instructed. His name was Puk. Ashlyn had met him several times over the last week that she had been in this place. Since she had been abducted…taken…stolen…torn from her life.
Puk took a step towards her. “You choose from all males.” He gestured to the large gathering. There had to be hundreds of them in attendance. Big, burly shifters. She felt a shiver creep up her spine.
There was also a handful of women in attendance, all wearing little skirts and nothing on top. At least she had begun to get used to all the nudity. It had been a real shocker at first. Both men and women wore short, leather skirt-like garments, if they wore anything at all. None of them wore any shirts. Most of the guys just let their man-parts swing free. The first day she had arrived, she was certain her eyes would bleed. The male anatomy was not pretty to her at the best of times. These shifters were big everywhere. Big swinging penises with extra-large balls were not the things that fairytales were made of. Their genitals looked even bigger because they were hairless. The women too. It was strange.
Puk put his hand on his hips, thrusting his “trouser snake” – minus the trousers – in her face. The prince’s nudity didn’t impress her. The fact that his large penis swung like a pendulum every time he moved didn’t impress her at all. In fact…yawn! The asshole loved himself far too much.
Ignoring the prince, Ashlyn looked over the sea of people instead. They were all tall and well built. They all had strange markings on their chests, although the markings differed from one to the next, reminding her of a fingerprint. Even the women had the tattoo-like markings over their small breasts. Not that there were many females of the species. Maybe one to every thirty or forty men. The women were tall and toned and very beautiful.
“Klak, pumme!” Puk said. From the tightness in his jaw, she could tell that he was losing patience with her. His voice was deep. He folded his arms across his broad chest. “I prince! Pick me!” He beat his closed fist against his chest. “You give me young.” He looked at her mid-section.
Like hell!
“You’ve already told me all about your rank. I will repeat,” Ashlyn kept her eyes on his, “I’m not interested. I refuse to pick any of you. I want to go home. I will never concede to this.”
“Con-cede?” His eyes narrowed in confusion. His heavy accent was thick.
“Concede means agree. I won’t agree to this.” She shook her head hard, doing her best to convey her feelings for the hundredth time. Ash wasn’t sure why she even bothered. It wasn’t like they listened. “I don’t want to live here. I don’t want to mate any of you. I don’t want children. I want to go home.”
“This…your home now.” Puk gestured around them.
Ashlyn had to admit that the large, cavernous spaces were beautiful in a strange way. With all the rock formations and the lovely crystal-clear pools. A gorgeous incandescent coloring lit the areas. It seemed to glow from the walls, bathing the large spaces in a shimmering light. Ashlyn had been given a lady-in-waiting. That was the best way to describe Lina. The woman stayed close, helping her dress, wash. She even fixed her meals. Her main function was to make sure that Ashlyn was well taken care of. That she was as happy as could be expected given the current circumstances. Ashlyn found that she liked the other woman. Lina had explained in her broken English that the light came from a type of plant or fungus. Scientists would have a field day down here.
Then there were the beautiful buildings. Castles and elaborate houses were carved into the rock and the stone. There was an abundance of quartz in various colors. All eerily beautiful. The air was fresh. The spaces large and plentiful. The cave systems were vast. Having said all of that, they were still underground. Far underground, judging from how long they had hiked to get there. The shifter who had abducted her had eventually needed to carry her since her legs had been ready to give out.
“No.” She shook her head. “This is not my home. My family will be worried about me.” Her voice wavered for a split second. “Let me go!” she demanded, looking Puk in the eyes.
The prince of the cave dragons ignored her flat. Instead, he turned to address the crowd using their weird guttural language. He said the word ‘pumme’ often. She now knew that meant female. Oh joy, he was talking about her. After listening to them over the last couple of days, she recognized a couple of words. Right then, Puk was definitely talking about her. Seconds later, all the men threw fisted hands into the air and cheered. Puk looked pleased with himself. He had a smirk on his face. His already silvery-blue irises glinted even more in the strange light.
Ashlyn frowned. She didn’t like this. Not one bit! “What did you just say to them?” she asked Puk. “Whatever it was, it had better not include anything to do with me.” She smoothed her dress with one hand, trying to stay calm. The garment looked disgusting. It was ripped, dirty, and wouldn’t last too much longer. It was all she had, and she was wearing it, dammit. Ashlyn refused to put on the tiny leather skirt they had given her that they kept insisting she wear. They could all go to hell. She was very much a human, which meant that she liked clothing. That she liked all her girly bits to be very well covered. “What?” she added when he didn’t say anything. “Tell me!” She narrowed her eyes on his.
“We fight,” Puk said.
“Oh!” Maybe it had nothing to do with her after all. “Fight, as in…?”
“Male on male. Bout after bout. The winner fight me.” He hit his fist against his chest with a hard thud that would bruise a regular person. She’d noticed that they liked to do it a lot. Especially Puk. He beat his chest several times a day like a real caveman. No wonder she was so attracted to him. Not!
“Okay.” She shrugged. Whatever floated their boats. Maybe they would kill each other. Quite frankly, she didn’t give a shit, as long as the focus wasn’t on her. Then maybe, just maybe, they would let her go after all.
“Sarke, pumme.” One of the women took her arm and smiled at her.
It was Lina. She had dark hair and big silvery-blue eyes. “My name is Ash,” she told the woman for the hundredth time.
“Ash.” Lina smiled.
“Yes, Ash. Don’t call me pumme or khimle. I don’t like it.” They insisted on referring to her as female or human, not by her name. It was irritating. At least they hadn’t hurt her in any way. Not yet, anyway.
“Sarke, Ash.” Lina giggled. Ashlyn had determined that Sarke meant ‘come’ in their strange language.
“That’s better.” She found herself smiling back at the beautiful woman. “Where are you taking me?”
“Get ready,” Puk said.
“Ready for what?” Ashlyn felt her eyes widen. “To go home? Am I going back now? That had better be it.”
Puk barked out a laugh that ended just as abruptly as it started. “Nik!” No! “You stay. Lina will…” He looked like he was thinking on the word.
“Dress,” Lina said, her smile still bright.
“Lina dress you. Make ready.”
The woman laughed and nodded.
“Ready for what exactly?” Ashlyn injected skepticism into her voice.
“Comme fight.” Puk gestured to the crowd that was still assembled below. Comme meant men. The men were going to fight. She alr
Ashlyn cocked her head and narrowed her eyes. She definitely did not like where this was going. “Prize? What prize?” Crap!
“You prize, pumme. I win,” he growled, his eyes roaming her body with a hunger that had her stomach dropping like a lead balloon. That had her pulse thrumming and adrenaline coursing through her veins.
“No!” she growled right back. “I refuse to be a prize in some game.”
“Sik!” Yes! “You prize, pumme. You mine!” His weird eyes locked back with hers, and Ashlyn could see that he meant every word.
Shit!
How did she convey to this asshole that it was never going to happen? All she could hope was that she continued to have a choice. So far, they hadn’t tried to force her into anything. Was that about to change? Her mouth suddenly felt dry. When she looked down, her hands were clasped tightly in her lap.
Chapter 2
Avalanche took a small sip of water. He rolled his shoulders. Slowly and carefully. The flesh pulled tightly. The pain was minimal. If anything, the newly knitting flesh felt itchy. It all meant that his wounds were healing. It had been hours since Fog had slashed Avalanche’s wings from his back.
The way he saw it, he had two potential problems. Firstly, he was a sitting duck in this narrow passageway. If those cave dwellers came down this way, they’d find him immediately. There was nowhere to run or to hide. Problem two, if he waited down here for too much longer, his wings would heal sufficiently and start growing back. That would be a problem if he accidentally shifted. Hence removing them in the first damned place.
There was one thing that he and Fog hadn’t thought about until he was down there. The harsh, coppery scent of blood. There was no way he could enter the area where these cave fuckers lived if he was raw and bleeding. They’d sniff him out from a mile away. It was imperative that he time this correctly. Healed enough that he didn’t scent of blood, but not so much that he’d grow wings if he shifted. If his wings unfurled, they’d trap him down there in the narrow tunnels. He’d die a slow, painful death.
Avalanche rolled his shoulders a second time. It was time to move. Time to find the human. He used the last of the water in the canister he’d taken from Fog, washing the crusted blood from his back and hands.
Then he headed down the long, seemingly endless tunnel, careful to avoid loose shale and rocks. Avalanche was bigger than most of his peers, which meant that he had to bend over the middle to fit down the tight space. He kept his breathing even and tried not to think about where he was. His scales rubbed, and sweat dripped from his brow. His heart pounded, the sound loud in his ears.
Avalanche needed to think about something other than where he was right then. Instead, he tried to picture other things. Things that interested him. Food. His stomach grumbled loudly. Okay, maybe thinking about food was a bad idea. The sound his stomach had just made would carry. It was loud, echoing down the cave. Terrible idea!
Avalanche thought about the view from his chamber instead. The vast open spaces. The ocean. The mountains. Then he thought about hunting. He loved hunting. Loved his job. From the air under his wings to the taste of blood as he ripped out the throat of his prey.
Avalanche picked up his pace, even though his shoulders brushed against the sides every so often. Instead of panicking, he pictured his grandmother. Her kind eyes and gentle smile. Gammy had raised him after his parents died in the uprising twenty-five years ago. Avalanche hated that he couldn’t picture his mother’s face anymore. He could remember her laughter and how it felt to be in her arms. Enveloped in warmth. There was very little he could still remember about his father. Then again, he had only been four when they had been killed. One thing was for sure, he needed to make it out of this place alive. His grandmother had seen far too much hardship and death. She’d lost so much already. It would kill her to lose him, too. That wasn’t going to happen. Not a chance!
Fog’s plan had been to waltz right on in and to ask for the human female. The male had wanted to have a discussion with the cave dwellers. He’d planned on educating them, kept insisting that they were the same species as them. The same! Not hardly. Fog was wrong. He was a good male. One of the best. The male looked for the best in everyone. He had a positive attitude and assumed that others were the same. These cave dwellers might have been dragons once. Avalanche wasn’t sure what they were now. Dragons didn’t live underground. They just didn’t. Avalanche was expecting the worst. His plan was to get in and out without anyone ever being the wiser. He came prepared to kill if need be. If that’s what it took, he’d do it in a millisecond. Fuck talking to these things. He’d talk with his claws and fists.
Avalanche suddenly realized that he wasn’t as hunched over. The cave passageway was widening up. Come to think of it, he could breathe easier. The scent of the cave dwellers was growing stronger. The tunnel ahead was hinting at gray rather than pitch black.
His headlamp was on the dimmest setting. Avalanche switched it off, noting that he could see sufficiently to keep moving. He picked up a few handfuls of dirt and rubbed them all over himself, including onto his hiking pack and pants. If he could scent those fuckers, it was a given that they would be able to scent him. This would make it that little bit more difficult.
Then he kept moving, noting that his vision improved every couple of minutes. He could just make out sounds of civilization. Of people moving, talking, laughing. The tunnel was wide, with boulders and rocks on either side of a well-worn path. He could breathe easier since there were plenty of places to hide. Avalanche was no fool; he was greatly outnumbered. It would be better for him to hide and bide his time than to go in half-cocked. The latter option would earn him a swift death rather than the human female.
His biggest hope was that he wouldn’t look too different from the cave dwellers. Perhaps they even looked the same. By all accounts, the fuckers didn’t speak English, but that was fine by him. He’d keep his head down and his mouth firmly shut.
Footfalls alerted him to the approaching group. It sounded like four males. Avalanche ducked behind a boulder. It was the moment of truth. Would they sniff him out? Would they hear him, even though he was relatively silent? He breathed lower, softer, slowing his heart-rate.
The footfalls grew louder. They spoke in an excited manner, their voices were deep, the tone harsh. He couldn’t understand a single word of what was being said. One of the males said something, and they all laughed. They were right beside him. Noisy fuckers, which was good for him.
Avalanche risked a glance. They were large. Just as big and built as any dragon shifter male in their prime. Three of the males were naked. The fourth wore a black leather hide around his middle. Two of the males had swords strapped to their backs. The other two had knives in sheaths at their ankles.
Avalanche sucked in a breath, ducking back down behind the boulder. It was just as Fog had mentioned during their preparations yesterday – their chest markings were different. Silver and gold. Their eyes were big. Far bigger than his. The irises were mostly silver. Just plain silver or silver with hints of color like one would expect an eye to be. Bottom line, there was no way he was passing as one of them easily.
Once the males had moved on, he put down his pack and removed his pants. Then he took the gold marker out of his bag and set to work overlaying his blue markings. He’d do his level best not to get caught. As a fallback, he’d find a way to blend in. Once all his belongings were stowed and his chest marking altered, he made his way down the long tunnel. The noises of general day-to-day life grew louder. No one else came down the tunnel. He crept along, staying close to the wall. The tunnel gave way to a large, cavernous area. It was vast, reminding him of a closed-in valley between two enormous mountains. Only instead of sky, there was a rocky ceiling. His mouth fell open in awe. The roof was covered in what looked like a type of moss or algae. The plant emitted a light. He’d read books about different places in the world. The light reminded him of the northern lights at the North Pole. Different colors of glowing light, mainly in shades of green but also purples and pinks.
