Dragon Tide Omnibus 1 Read online

  Dragon Tide: Episodes 1-5

  Dragon Tide Omnibuses, Volume 1

  Sarah K. L. Wilson

  Published by Sarah K. L. Wilson, 2020.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  DRAGON TIDE: EPISODES 1-5

  First edition. March 21, 2020.

  Copyright © 2020 Sarah K. L. Wilson.

  Written by Sarah K. L. Wilson.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Other Books by Sarah K. L. Wilson

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Behind the Scenes:

  For my little adventurers, Nev & Leif.

  Other Books by Sarah K. L. Wilson

  Dragon School Series

  First Flight

  Initiate

  The Dark Prince

  The Ruby Isles

  Sworn

  Dusk Covenant

  First Message

  Warring Promises

  Prince of Dragons

  Dark Night

  Bright Hopes

  Mark of Loyalty

  Dire Quest

  Ancient Allies

  Pipe of Wings

  Dragon Piper

  Dust of Death

  Troubled War

  Starie Night

  Ascendant Light

  Dragon Chameleon Series

  Rogue’s Quest

  Paths of Deception

  City of Ice

  Mist of Power

  Silver Eyes

  World of Legends

  Chase the Moon

  Shadow Quest

  Creeping Darkness

  Golem Siege

  Memory of Mountains

  Color of Victory

  The Unweaving Chronicles Series

  Teeth of the Gods

  Lightning Strikes Twice

  Thunder Rattles High

  Bridge of Legends (ongoing)

  Summernight

  Dawnspell

  I wrote a story for my fans called WORTH A DRAGON.

  This story became so powerful and real to me, that it inspired the Dragon Tide series. You can read this series without reading the short story first, but it’s available for free to anyone who wants to read it. Find it on my website. www.sarahklwilson.com.

  Keep your tissues handy! It’s a tear-jerker!

  Episode One: Dragonlet

  Chapter One

  When your strongest memory is of a magnificent dragon, you think you see dragons everywhere.

  Or at least, I always did.

  I was standing on the ragged coast of our island looking out over a turquoise sea and dreaming that I saw dragons just under the surface of the water, their scales flickering in the light. I’d seen them there once when they saved me, rescuing me and my protector – Ramariri – when we thought we would both drown. He’d been so brave that day and so strong. I hadn’t even realized that the golden dragon was really dying even as he fought to bring me to safety.

  And every year on my birthday, I came out to the coast like I was doing right then and I looked out over the vast sea and thought of Ramariri and remembered what he did for me – how he’d given his life to keep a six-year-old orphan safe.

  Somehow, I would make his sacrifice worth it.

  The waves lapped against the shore and I walked on the rocks and patches of sand in my favorite heeled boots – completely impractical for the beach. What would Ramariri have thought of those? I still thought I heard echoes of his voice in my mind sometimes.

  Gulls screamed overhead, breaking my reverie and I sighed. I should get back to town before dinner. My adoptive parents were planning a surprise party for me.

  I hate surprises because I like to know everything. I’d guessed that they were planning one ages ago. I was even practicing my surprised face so that I would be ready when I arrived. I tried it again. Could I fool them? I tried it again a little more subdued.

  A sound almost like a song called to me and I looked wistfully out to the sea. Sometimes, when I was alone, I thought I could hear the ocean call me with a siren sound so beautiful that it was almost impossible to ignore. It was calling now.

  And so was something else.

  I tilted my head to the side, listening. What was that?

  A sound like a cat’s purr mixed with the squawk of a raven came from between the rocks up ahead. With a frown, I followed it.

  I really should be heading back. But then I’d wonder what I’d missed here on the beach. I wouldn’t want to miss out on investigating, would I?

  The rocks were jagged here, and my heeled boots really were impractical – but so pretty! – as I worked my way carefully between them, trying not to twist an ankle.

  There it was – the same sound again!

  I followed the sound, but there was nothing here but rocks. Maybe some poor bird was injured and making that strange sound. I looked behind the nearest large rock, but there was nothing
there. The sound came again.

  And now it sounded almost as if it were mixing with that faint singing that I always heard when I was near the sea.

  How strange.

  I looked behind the next large rock. There was nothing there either. I should go back.

  But maybe it would be around the next rock. One more couldn’t hurt, right? It didn’t make sense to give up without looking.

  I picked my way to the next human-sized rock, looking behind it.

  Shards of glass lay among the rocks. But they weren’t the bottle-green I was used to. They were large, curved shards of smoky blue glass.

  What could that be from? Glass was rare enough on the Havenwind Islands that no one would break it and then just leave it in the sand. I leaned down, picking up a shard of glass and holding it up to the light.

  Transparent rainbows ran along the curve of the glass in an opalescent dance. The soft-blue glass made everything I saw through it look peaceful, as if I was swimming beneath the waves of the sea.

  The sound came again.

  That was close! Was it on the other side of the rock now? The side I’d just been on?

  Quickly, I hurried around the rock, but now the sound was on the side with the glass again. I frowned, changing directions quickly and speeding around the rock again.

  There!

  A tiny creature, no bigger than a kitten, was sitting in the shards of glass looking up at me with huge pearly eyes. His tiny wings were tucked in close and small frills on his cheeks made him look surprised as he stared at me. He was blue as the sea and his tail tucked around his feet protectively.

  He was a dragon.

  A tiny, baby dragon.

  I gasped with delight, dropping into a crouch.

  “Well hello, little guy!” I said, reaching for him slowly, like I was going to pet a stray dog.

  He flamed at my fingers and I flinched, but the flame wasn’t hot enough to burn them. With a chuckle, I reached forward again, meaning to stroke his head but he leapt forward, landing on my arm and scrambling up to my shoulder.

  I laughed, delight and surprise filling me in equal measure.

  “Now, you’re a surprise!” I said, running a finger over his small head. “Where are your parents? Are there more Blue Dragons here?”

  But it would be hard to hide a full-grown dragon in these rocks.

  I stood on tiptoes, looking at the ocean and the rocky shore and the treeline, but there were no snuffling snouts or folded wings. No jets of flame or hisses of steam. No mental voices speaking to me.

  “Dragons?” I called. “Are there any dragons here?”

  There was nothing but silence. Just me and a helpless little dragon who was chewing on my ear.

  In the distance, I saw the big flag unfurl on the high flagpole at the center of the village.

  My party. If I didn’t go to it, everyone would be worried. I’d better hurry. And I’d better think of something to do with the baby dragon.

  “Go on, then,” I urged. “Back to your momma.”

  I set him down on the sand, but he darted right back up to my shoulder, hiding under my hair.

  “It’s better if you’re with your own kind,” I said. “Safer.”

  I tried again to disentangle him from my shoulder, but he held on firmly, tiny claws biting into my shoulder and tail curled around my neck.

  There were no parents nearby. No one to take care of him except for me, and he seemed determined to stay with me. With a sigh, I made a decision. No baby dragons would be abandoned on my watch!

  “What should I call you?” I asked, flipping my long blonde hair over my shoulder and away from his chewing little teeth. His tail tangled around my neck and he hunkered down on my shoulder with a whine. “And where in the world, am I going to hide you?”

  Because I definitely couldn’t bring him to the village.

  Not a Blue Dragon.

  Not if I wanted him to live.

  Chapter Two

  There was already laughter and song when I reached the edge of our village. My father’s fishing buoys hung in a line where he’d repaired them earlier today, their glass bulbs flashing in the afternoon light. He wouldn’t lose as many days fishing as he feared.

  Nets were strung between the trees where I’d spent my morning repairing holes and sorting out tangles. The smell of baking fish and vegetables filled the air, making my mouth water and making the baby dragon’s belly rumble against my shoulder. Lanterns had been strung up in preparation for the party and a fire lit, and as I peered around the edge of our cottage, I could see that most of the village was already assembled even though it wasn’t dark yet.

  Now, where to hide the little dragon? He’d fallen asleep on my shoulder, his little sighs and snorts – while adorable – were definitely going to be noticed even if I covered him with my hair. And his rumbling purrs were putting me to sleep.

  “Seleska!”

  I jumped at the whispered voice.

  Who –?

  I whirled to look behind me, but it was only Heron, the blacksmith’s apprentice. He was grinning, his white teeth gleaming in the afternoon light looking so pale next to his dark skin and warm brown eyes.

  “Peeking at your own party?” he asked, teasingly. He stepped forward, always careful with his movements. His arms and back had thickened with muscle in the past few years of his apprenticeship and I’d watched him bend steel bars with his bare hands. But he was always gentle near me like he was afraid to break me.

  “Maybe,” I said, pulling my hair further forward to hide the dragon. He needed a name. I couldn’t just keep thinking of him as ‘dragon.’

  “You know it’s supposed to be a surprise,” he teased. “But no one can surprise Seleska because she always finds out first.”

  “The boots were a surprise,” I said. I’d probably mentioned a thousand times that I would like boots with a tall heel like the ones I’d seen a lady wearing in Abergande, but no one ever listened – until this morning when I found a pair of boots with iron-spiked heels on my doorstep. I knew exactly who had given them to me. There was only one person in the village who would indulge me that far. I gave him my most innocent look. “Do you think dragons brought them?”

  “I think you have friends you don’t even realize that you have,” he teased, but then his face fell a little.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, stepping forward and reaching out to touch his arm comfortingly. “Heron?”

  He froze, his face filled with sudden fear. “Seleska!”

  “What? Are you okay?”

  “Seleska,” he repeated, his voice hoarse. “What is that on your shoulder?”

  I felt my cheeks heating. I bit my lip before replying.

  “Wait! Don’t get upset, Heron.”

  “Seleska,” he looked around us before coming in so close that his forehead almost touched mine. Shock and worry filled his features, but he was still gentle as he whispered, “is that a dragon on your shoulder?”

  “It might be,” I said, admitting nothing despite the small snores coming from under my thick blonde hair.

  “A Blue Dragon? The kind that pulls fishing boats under and kills sailors? The reason that we receive so few visitors from beyond? The reason that we do not sail the sea? That kind of dragon?”

  “A dragon saved me,” I protested in a small voice.

  “A gold dragon, Seleska, and that is different! We’ve all heard that tale. He was kind and generous and he saved a little girl – you – and brought her to Renny and Halana who were broken-hearted over the loss of their little girl Adrina. But that’s not Blue Dragons, Seleska! Blue Dragons sing sailors to their deaths, singing a song so sweet that they plunge into the water to hear more. You know that they are after your soul when you begin to hear their song. Have you been hearing dragon songs, Seleska?”

  His manly face was knotted up in worry. It was utterly adorable to see all his hard edges softened with concern for me.

  But he didn’t need to be wor
ried. This was only a baby dragon. What harm could he cause? Besides, I didn’t want to answer the question about the dragons singing to me. I didn’t want to admit that they had always sung to me.

  “Blue Dragons helped keep Ramariri in the air when he was saving me. They pushed his belly up so he didn’t fall into the water when he was running out of strength. I saw them, Heron!”

  “I don’t know what you saw, Seleska, but you have to report this little dragon.”

  “If I report him to the village elders, they will take him to Abergande,” I said. I didn’t want that. I was the one who found him. And he clearly liked me. I needed to help him just like Ramariri helped me. I owed this little Blue Dragon help. Because when I needed help, and when Ramariri knew it would cost his life to help me, he hadn’t turned away. Besides, this little guy was a baby and alone. He needed me.

  “And would that be so bad?” Heron asked, pulling away from me, his eyes locked on the little Blue Dragon.

  “Just help me hide him for tonight, Heron. Please?” I begged.

  “And then what?” he asked, warily.

  “And then we’ll talk about what to do,” I promised. And I would find a way to convince him that we needed to help this baby, not hurt him.

  He sighed. “It would be better if we just reported him.”

  I tried a small pout. “It’s my birthday. Please?”

  He sighed, rolling his eyes at my pouting. “Just for tonight. Come on.”

  My smile was probably brighter than the bonfire they were stoking in the village square. I felt like I could walk on top of the ocean I was feeling so light. By tomorrow, I’d have the perfect argument for Heron to make sure that the dragon could stay.

  And I had the perfect name for him.

  I’d call him Fireball.

  Nasataa. A small voice whispered in my mind. Was that a masculine voice? It sounded like it. My eyes went wide when I realized it was this little purring ball of dragon. And he already had a name.

  Nasataa.

  Chapter Three

  “Sixteen! So hard to believe that you’ve been with us for ten years!” my adoptive mother said as she kissed my forehead, her sun-darkened face spreading into a smile. She’d never been anything but loving and kind to me since the day they found me on the beach.