The Fire Within Read online

  A quick word

  The end has come my friends. The swords have been sharpened and the dragons fed. It has been a long journey, but it has been an amazing one. I want to thank you for allowing me to do this and being a part of this story. This is without a doubt the greatest job in the world.

  Sincerely,

  Nicholas K. R. Clausen

  Also by Nicholas K.R. Clausen

  The Dragon Riders of Arvain Saga

  Book 1: The Broken Scale

  Book 2: The Clash of Land and Sea

  Book 3: The Dream of Shadows

  Book 4: The Fire Within

  The Fire Within

  A Dragon Riders of Arvain Novel

  Book 4

  By Nicholas K. R. Clausen

  The Fire Within

  A Dragon Riders of Arvain Novel

  All characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Nicholas Clausen.

  Published by Create Space

  Printed in the U.S.A.

  Cover art by.

  The Fire Within cover art created by Bobooks.

  1st Edition

  1st Print

  ISBN-13: 978-1074730369

  The sale of this book without its cover has not been authorized by the publisher. If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that neither the author nor the publisher has received payment for this “stripped book.”

  This copy is un-edited and unabridged, just as the author has written it.

  Visit our website at www.nicholasclausen.com

  This book goes to my Grandma and Grandpa.

  Paty and Howdy, you two have not been content with standing by me over the years. You had to be in the midst of it, pushing me forward and cheering me on. You two are my biggest fans and I will never forget your constant support and love. I love you both more than you will ever know.

  Love your favorite,

  Boy.

  In Loving Memory of Patricia Clausen,

  Beloved Grandmother

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 117

  Chapter 233

  Chapter 347

  Chapter 463

  Chapter 577

  Chapter 691

  Chapter 7105

  Chapter 8121

  Chapter 9135

  Chapter 10149

  Chapter 11161

  Chapter 12175

  Chapter 13187

  Chapter 14197

  Chapter 15209

  Chapter 16219

  Chapter 17231

  Chapter 18243

  Chapter 19257

  Chapter 20269

  Chapter 21283

  Chapter 22293

  Chapter 23311

  Chapter 24321

  Chapter 25333

  Chapter 26343

  Chapter 27353

  Chapter 28361

  Chapter 29377

  Chapter 30389

  Prologue

  “Are you sure my Queen?” Brice asked as Elizabeth picked up a miniature dragon statue off the giant map table that stood underneath Celestial City. The eggs and stone dragons of all the races of Arvain looking on as the fate of their kind was decided.

  “If I weren’t, I would have told you.” She said shortly.

  “The loss…” The copper rider started, but one look from Elizabeth stopped him from saying anything more.

  “The loss is acceptable as long as most of our forces survive. This is a war that we must win, our way of life must win. I am concerned about preserving that, not every single soldier in our forces.” Elizabeth explained.

  “You need to focus on the big issue, the whole reason we are here is to win the war, not save lives.” Elizabeth looked into Brice’s eyes as she spoke. Making sure her words found their mark.

  “Yes, my Queen,” Brice said.

  “Good, then it’s settled,” Elizabeth said. She wanted to continue to talk, but the sounds of hurried footsteps echoed from above as someone was running down the twisting staircase.

  It took nearly a minute for the runner to finish getting down the stairs and Elizabeth was set on not continuing their conversation until he was out of earshot.

  The runner was not a rider but a simple soldier. He ran until he nearly fell into the table as he tried to bow before Elizabeth. That was something that she thought was also necessary, for non-riders to bow before her and show respect to their Queen.

  “What is it?” She demanded. Irritated that he had interrupted her.

  “My . . . Queen.” He started, obviously out of breath from running.

  “Yes, yes get on with it.” She said, angry that he was taking so long.

  “The elves have been spotted by one of our scouts.” He stammered.

  Elizabeth held up her hand for him to stop and she turned to face Brice and Sebastian, Estraken stood off to the side with his arms held tightly crossed in front of his chest. He was rocking back and forth but remained silent. They had been alone in the map room discussing what was to take place.

  “It has started. Dispatch the units where they will need to be. It’s time.” She looked back at the map while the runner and two riders ran off to do her orders. They left in a hurry and did not see her start to smile.

  Elizabeth looked up at Estraken The Gold. The last year had taken its toll on his mind; it was one of the drawbacks to living so long.

  “Estraken, thank you for entertaining us and allowing us to use your map,” Elizabeth said with a smile. Estraken nodded quickly but remained silent. His rocking got worse, and Elizabeth feared if she didn’t leave soon, he would fall over.

  Elizabeth smiled weakly at the rider. She had considered for some time to have the old man and his golden dragon killed, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it, yet. Even though every time she saw the old rider it made her sick to see a golden rider brought so low.

  As Elizabeth turned and began the climb up the stairs, she heard a clatter behind her as Estraken rushed the mad and began moving pieces all around.

  “No, no, no,” Elizabeth heard him grumble. “This goes here, and . . . and this goes there. Oh no, how did you get over here? You know your home is over there.” Estraken rambled on.

  Elizabeth turned to watch him put all the pieces where he thought they were supposed to go in his mind. An idea came to her as she watched the old man fumble around.

  I won’t have you killed. She thought. I will send you to the front lines to show Hayden what we have done. In his rage, he will kill you. She smiled at her own cleverness and continued her climb. Leaving Estraken to pick up the pieces of Arvain.

  Chapter One

  Draek slammed into one of the buildings, destroying the roof and collapsing the walls. He roared in frustration as the smaller copper dragon had caught him unaware while his attention was on one of the other dragons. They had killed one thus far, but the other three were still in the fight.

  Hayden had broken free of the saddle as Draek’s side slammed into the building. The force of the impact had thrown Hayden into one of the rooms of the building while it began to crumble around them.

  Dust and rubble showered down upon him, and he could taste and smell the wood as it splintered beneath the dragons. Hayden stifled a cough and wiped his face.

  Hayden got to his feet, his right ankle screaming underneath him, the room shaking violently around him. He ignored his body’s protests as Draek lashed out at the copper dragon.

  Hayden doubled over as he felt the pain surge from Draek, the copper
dragon’s claws dug into his armored side, scraping and breaking the scales that protected him. Hayden screamed in pain as Draek roared in agony.

  Hayden wanted to help, but the only thing he could do was stay alive. Draek bit into the neck of the copper dragon, forcing a terrible scream. He lifted the smaller copper off the ground and slammed the dragon into what remained of the structure they had been fighting on top of. The one that Hayden was standing in.

  Hayden watched as the copper dragon was lifted away from the building and into the air. He cheered for Draek until it began to fall back towards him. He quickly looked down where the rest of the room had stood before their arrival to see if he could jump. The rubble was still crumbling nearly thirty feet beneath him.

  With no other choice, he turned and ran, limping slightly on his right leg, and ripped the door open that led further into the building. He stumbled into the hallway, knocking over a small table and sending its contents sprawling across the floor just as the copper dragon began crashing into the room he had just occupied.

  He pushed past the pain in his ankle and continued to run, looking over his shoulder in time to see the door and walls around the room give way to copper scales. Draek continued to push the smaller dragon into the building. They seemed to be eating the building as it shattered and splintered beneath them.

  Hayden found a flight of stairs and started to run down as fast as he could, jumping over the last seven steps and landing hard at the base. The landing sent shockwaves of pain echoing through his right leg, ripping a yelp of pain from his dried lips. Dust filled his lungs, but he continued his limping run.

  The stairs disappeared underneath the dragon’s combined weight behind Hayden. He was quickly running out of room to run, and the dragons were almost upon him. He saw a door leading outside to his left and dashed outside, knocking the door open with his shoulder and rolling into the street. As he fell to the road, Hayden avoided the outer wall falling, but smaller pieces rained down on him. The walls fell inward with a giant cloud of dust blinding Hayden from seeing what was taking place. The building collapsed with a clap of thunder and all that was left was the ominous sounds of random pieces of rubble falling, like single raindrops before a storm.

  Out of the top of the dust, Hayden saw Draek’s head emerge and roar in triumph, blowing fire into the ruble illuminating his scales in the darkness. His massive wings beat the dust away and revealed the stone remains of the copper dragon laid amongst the rubble. Hayden shielded his eyes from the maelstrom before looking to his friend.

  You nearly smashed that dragon on top of me. Hayden complained as Draek lowered his body to the ground so Hayden could climb back onto the saddle. Hayden quickly looked at where the copper dragon had scratched Draek but, while it was bleeding, it was not a threatening wound. You’re hurt. Hayden said, seeing his dragon bleed sent a stabbing pain through his chest. The injury seemed massive to Hayden, but on Draek it looked small. Draek moved to hide the wound from Hayden’s view but not before a few drops the size of Hayden’s hand splashed on the ground and began sucking up the dust.

  As Hayden moved closer to his dragon, five armored men ran out of the building on the other side of the street and sprinted over to Hayden, screaming their battle cries as they did so. Hayden thought he heard one of them demand that Hayden surrender.

  Hayden unsheathed the silver and copper swords, his shield hanging from his saddle, and stood his ground. His ankle was on fire and hurt to put any weight on it, but he pushed the pain to the back of his mind, and he pulled his right foot behind him, applying his full weight, getting into his fighting stance.

  The armored men slowed their attack but only briefly. Seeing the armored rider stand his ground and produce two shinning swords made them nervous but they soon remembered that there were five of them and only one rider.

  They pushed on and the first man to reach Hayden wore a chainmail shirt and an ugly metal helm. He raised his simple short sword that had a single chip in the blade and shouted as he lunged as Hayden.

  Hayden slashed with the sword in his left hand and batted the short sword out of the way with ease. Before the man realized what had happened Hayden was pulling the sword in his right hand, now bloodied, back to his side after having stabbed the man.

  The dying man looked stunned at his stomach that was now smeared with blood. The remaining men slowed at seeing Hayden’s speed and accuracy. They hesitated as the dust continued to settle, they realized that the shape behind him was his dragon.

  Hayden knew that if he asked them, they would have surrendered, or at least he thought they might have. He knew that he could have used Draek to scare them away if they had not surrendered.

  Those thoughts ran through his mind as he lunged forward, slashing and stabbing with the two blades. He did not yell or shout. He made no noise at all as his blades sparked off the armored men’s swords and armor, eagerly hunting for flesh and blood.

  Within the span of a few heartbeats, he had dispatched three of the four men left, the last putting up a fight that showed he had some skill with the blade. The man carried a shield and was able to defend against Hayden’s barrage of attacks, for the time being.

  Hayden didn’t slow down; he fought harder and faster until the man was holding up his shield with both hands and Hayden was chopping into as if he was cutting wood. The sound of the shield being struck was that of a war drum, chanting its tune in rhythmic solace.

  The shield could not hold against the two swords and shattered, the blades cutting through and finding their marks. Hayden quickly turned and put the swords back in their sheaths and made his way to Draek. His ankle was throbbing now, but he ignored the pain as best he could, only limping slightly.

  We need to get into the air. Draek said as he snaked his head around to watch the skies. There were still two more dragons left, and that was a big problem for a grounded dragon.

  Hayden didn’t argue and did his best to get back into the saddle as quickly as possible. Draek allowed him to tighten his straps before taking to the air with a roar.

  How goes the fight? Hayden asked, his adrenalin having not subsided yet. He tried to calm himself and close his eyes, but his heart continued to beat rapidly within his chest.

  These black dragons and Bone Thieves fight like monsters. Draek replied a matter-of-factly.

  Hayden opened his eyes as Draek continued to fly higher over the now awoken stronghold. The main breach in the wall surrounding the fortress and been overrun with the shadow cats and their riders.

  The few men that had made it to the rubble that had been their wall fell and died just as quickly as the Bone Thieves could make it through. Hayden watched as the black dragons circled over the buildings like birds over a dead animal.

  As the dragons landed atop the buildings, several Bone Thieves jumped off the dragons and quickly made their way inside. If anyone confronted them, the black dragons would open their jaws as if to breath fire, but no flame came out.

  Hayden could see the heat waves coming out of the dragon’s mouths and engulfing the men, and they screamed for only a second before falling to the ground. The dragons were as silent as their riders, bringing death as swift as darkness sets once the sun goes down.

  The stronghold is falling. Hayden thought. He had hoped to take it without a fight, but that had changed as fast as the arrows had flown at him. He looked around and watched as the buildings around him did not burn, screams did not fill the air. It seemed wrong, and unworldly to have a fight go as such. People fighting for their lives in complete silence.

  He saw a flicker of color as a copper dragon dove out of the sky trying to outrun its pursuers. As it came out of its dive; however, it seemed to disappear in darkness as black dragons swarmed it.

  The Bone Thieves and their dragons were death incarnate, and they fell upon the stronghold without mercy. Had Hayden not witnessed the battle and came across Aldreth after, he might have thought the people had killed themselves.

  Hayden had
learned that the races of Arvain were not the monsters that he had been told about in his childhood. He had discovered that the elves and dwarves did not want to steal children in the night and Frost Fangs did not devour those unlucky enough to cross their paths.

  Bone Thieves were every nightmare that Hayden had been told. They were the monsters in the darkness and Hayden knew that they were real. He watched as one Bone Thief pulled the ribs from the armor it wore and used them as blades, cutting at the unprotected eye slots of a soldier's helmet.

  Hayden knew the fear the soldiers felt. He saw it in their eyes and heard it in their short screams. Fighting another soldier was one thing but fighting a nightmare was something different.

  Not yet. Draek said. He jumped into the air and flew to the other side of the stronghold. The gate was left open, and the soldiers were grouped together with civilians, and they were trying to flee. They were obviously hoping to use darkness to hide their escape, but nothing hid from a dragon.

  Draek flew overhead and landed in front of them, cutting off their escape. Hayden and Draek were alone, but they were not afraid. Hayden stayed on Draek’s back and waited for Draek to near those attempting to escape.

  “People of Aldreth Stronghold. Your home has fallen, but you don’t need to fight or run. We do not wish to occupy the stronghold. If you surrender, we will continue on our way to Celestial City where we will liberate Arvain from the tyrannical rule of the Metallic Nation.” Hayden shouted out. Draek was helping him with the words, so he didn’t sound like a common sell sword.

  “You say you are here to liberate us, but you attack and kill our people?” A voice rang out in the night.

  A dragon approaches. Draek rumbled as a copper dragon appeared in the darkness towards Aldreth Stronghold and made its way to the other side of the people trying to escape.

  “You speak of freedom with a sword to our throats.” The rider continued.