Herald Of Heresy (Dragonkind Book 2)

Book summary

In the wake of a devastating tragedy, Kail and the Platinum Rebellion find refuge on the outskirts of Acklentawn, a city plagued by corruption and turmoil. As Kail hones his dragon-given powers, he faces the weight of past guilt and the mounting threat of a tyrannical king. The rebellion’s survival hinges on his ability to rise as both a savior and a force of change.

Excerpt from Herald Of Heresy (Dragonkind Book 2)

A dragon in his human form fell faster before him. Kail rushed to him as quickly as he could flap his wings, reaching out to grab him. Below, nothing but blackness covered the ground, consuming all.

Kail wrapped his wings around his body and dove, trying to catch the person. No matter how quickly he moved the dragon fell faster and the ground screamed closer, waiting to devour them.

I can make it.

He sped quickly toward the dragon knowing he could reach him if he pushed himself faster and harder than his body was used to. He could make it, but only just. His claw opened and his arm stretched toward the dragon’s leg. That’s all he needed to save him.

Kail’s claw closed around the lower leg, his wings spread, and his body pulled back. Kail had the dragon and that was all he cared about. A smile spread across his dragon maw, teeth baring.

The black canvas that covered the ground lifted toward him. Long tendrils grabbed the young dragon by his hind leg and pulled. The smile quickly fell as blackness swallowed his white-purple body and the dragon he saved turned to dust. The slithering black cloak ate away at the dragon’s body, slowly consuming him.

***

He woke in a cold sweat. This happened every night since the Ellende. The dragon he failed to save haunted every thought and dream since the lake swallowed his body. Kail rested his head in his hands, praying for sleep to return with ease. He usually lay in bed for hours trying to sleep after one of these episodes.

Slowly, he opened his eyes and nothing around him made sense. He seemed to be in utter darkness. His mind raced with thoughts that he was still dreaming, as he now resided within the dark mass that swallowed him.

Kail turned his head checking each side, searching for signs of life, or at least something to explain where he was. His legs moved as though he were leaving his bed and he found that he was lying flat on the ground. Unlike the bunk of his small room, the ground was cushioned. There was no pain from the stiff bed he normally slept in.

He rolled over and pushed himself up. As he stood, the ground changed composition and firmed to the point that he felt he was walking on solid ground. He was still in his own head, he thought. However, he was completely aware of it, unlike any other time he dreamt of the dragon who fell.

In the distance, he could see a sliver of light. It was bright white from this distance. It brought up memories of something he could not quite grasp. Walking closer, he realized the white light had a darker, yet faint, purple hue to it. It was barely noticeable.

Hope filled the dragon. This was something he had definitely seen before. It was not new. The last time he was here he was filled with stress that was replaced with remorse and depression.

They lost so much in Ellende. Claskan, while upset, had poured himself into building and maintaining the rebellion. Bora and Padyn built their relationship, though Bora often found a spot alone to mourn losses they all suffered. Galdaro and the rest of the surviving members of the rebellion toiled to build a safe place for them less than a day’s hike from the city of Acklentawn.

Kail watched all of this from the privacy of his own hidden anger and depression. Watching as they all moved forward, never fully dealing with their own emotional distress. He alone could not find a way to move forward without the memory of his failures overwhelming him. Most days he wore a smile that hid all of this from everyone.

In the blackness, edging toward the light, the pressure to be perfect began to fade. Every step seemed to shed some of the burden of being the prophetical son. He could be his own person without becoming the destroyer of his people. These thoughts flowed through him as he moved closer to the forming light. Kail realized when he had last seen it. It was just before their assault on, and the subsequent tragedy of, Ellende.

***

Kail once again stared at the dragon. No matter how often over the past winter he meditated, Kail could not reach the inner dragon soul as he did before. Now he stared at the dragon, eyes locked, irritated that it took this long to reach him. Kail was not sure if he was angry with the dragon or himself. The dragon said nothing.

There were so many questions for the soul that resided within him. He opened his mouth to speak, but quickly shut it. Since he told Claskan about how he unlocked the power to reach out to other minds, Claskan trained him in the art of understanding what he wanted to say before actually saying it. It was a rudimentary practice in communication that Claskan felt was necessary.

Kail had no idea how long he would have with the beast before him. He was tired of calling his soul ‘dragon’. Claskan told him that none had ever managed to look this deeply within themselves but that all dragons believed it was possible. Kail managed to reach a level that none had before, in known history. Too much of this experience was unknown and the past was a mystery. How common this occurrence was could not be said for sure.

When he finally spoke, his words softly left his mouth. “Had I had the power I could have saved Carina.” His eyes fell to the dragon’s legs. Shame coursing through him as tears disappeared into the blackness below.

The dragon said nothing, only continued to stare. The dragon was silent and stoic.

“Why won’t you speak to me?” Kail growled.

“I’m not speaking because you’re choosing to blame me for that woman’s death,” the dragon said.

Kail looked up, his shoulder length hair falling back as his head tilted. His eyes once again met the dragon’s. “I do blame you. The one power you unlocked for me couldn’t save her.”

“You were able to do so much because of that one power, yet that wasn’t enough for you? She was bound for death. You must realize that by now.” The dragon returned the boy’s defiant stare.

“Claskan hasn’t lost his mind like my father did, that’s a positive. He still lost the most out of all of us,” Kail replied.

“You now have people who care about you. Rejoice in that.” The purple of the dragon’s scales was shown as he stood from his sitting position. Kail watched as the dragon walked closer to him, laying his massive head in front of the boy. “There, now we’re resting at the same level.”

Kail reached for the dragon’s face, wanting to know how it would feel to a human. The dragon accepted his touch. The soft skin of his hand ran over the dragon’s rough scales. The horn that protruded, however, was smooth and glossy. Kail stared at the boy staring back on the surface of the horn and grimaced.

“What questions do you have, boy?” the dragon asked.

“What do I call you?” he asked without thinking. “That is, what do I call you if we ever get to meet again?”

The dragon watched as the mesmerized boy removed his hand from the dragon’s horn. “You may call me Platrefecor.”

Kail mouthed the words through his thin, cracked lips. “Are you the same dragon soul that every platinum dragon has had?”

“I have existed since the dawn of dragons on Stelladahn. I’ve seen every dragon that existed born, and I’ve seen every dragon that’s passed die.” Platrefecor paused for a moment, considering how to explain what he was exactly. “I have been a part of every platinum dragon, just as they have been a part of me.”

“So, you’ve spoken to my predecessors as well?” he asked.

“Your predecessors never needed guidance as you have.” The dragon stood up and prepared to fly. “Climb on my back Kail.”

The boy stood, his arms and body thin, and walked to the dragon’s forearm. Platrefecor knelt as the boy climbed. Taking his place at the dragon’s neck, nothing protruded for him to grab.

Kail latched on to the dragon’s neck as he flew toward the surrounding blackness. They appeared to be flying higher, but all around them was consumed by darkness. Then a blue light bled through above, a crack in the blackness that surrounded them.

They flew closer to the blue light, it seemed to expand exponentially. Kail looked at the black surrounding the orb in front of them. It was massive, a thousand times bigger than the largest brown dragon could ever be.

“What is this?” Kail asked in awe.

“This, Kail, is the way I see the world when I have no host,” Platrefecor replied.

Kail looked over the orb below. It was beautiful. Filled with greens and blues that, even though he had seen the colors before, seemed new. He watched as the planet turned, the sun falling over one horizon and rising on another.

Something red streaked through the space between them and the planet. Kail realized he was seeing the soul of a red dragon. “Do all dragon souls have the ability to speak to their host?” he asked. Watching as it suddenly sped toward the planet, seemingly ripped from its path by an unseen force.

“I’ve been alone for most of my existence. At one time there were a few souls that could communicate with me. None have spoken a word in many seasons. They only screech as they hover and fly around, waiting to be matched with a newly born dragon.” Platrefecor stumbled over his words slightly as he finished. If Kail could have seen the dragon’s eyes, he would have realized Platrefecor cried large heavy tears of sorrow. “I’ve been so lonely,” he said as he watched other dragon souls fly and hover around.

“I’m sorry you’ve had no one to speak to,” Kail said, pangs of the life he lived before the rebellion echoing through him.

“It’s not your fault,” the dragon comforted. “You know the ritual of burning the body of a fallen dragon, correct?”

“Sure,” Kail replied. “It’s what we do to ensure that a dragon soul is freed from their host after death.”

“Correct. It’s to ensure we don’t lose our minds.” Platrefecor gestured toward a group of green misty orbs that streaked nearby in a group. “They’ve not lost their minds, but they’re far from intelligent.” The dragon flew toward one of the planet’s poles.

Kail watched as the world before him changed from green landscape to white and grey mountains. On the horizon, a singular dragon soul could be seen darting back and forth erratically. Its color faded and every so often it would pulse as though music were fed through it.

Platrefecor stopped. The misty blue being in the foreground fixed its gaze on them. For a moment, Kail thought it was going to charge. Instead, it let out an awful scream from somewhere deep within. Though sound seemed to escape everything else surrounding them, this creature appeared to be able to break the surrounding silent barrier.