{"id":189,"date":"2008-05-31T17:49:13","date_gmt":"2008-05-31T23:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/\/?p=189"},"modified":"2008-09-16T21:08:10","modified_gmt":"2008-09-17T02:08:10","slug":"dragonlight-by-donita-k-paul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/?p=189","title":{"rendered":"DragonLight by Donita K. Paul"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It is June FIRST<\/span><\/strong>, time for the FIRST Blog Tour!<\/p>\n

(Join our alliance! Click the button!)<\/p>\n

The FIRST day of every month we will feature an author and his\/her latest book’s FIRST chapter!<\/p>\n

\n

The feature author is:<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Donita K. Paul<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

and her book:<\/h2>\n

DragonLight<\/a><\/h2>\n

WaterBrook Press (June 17, 2008)<\/h4>\n
\n

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
<\/strong>\"Donita<\/a>Donita K. Paul is a retired teacher and award-winning author of seven novels, including DragonSpell, DragonQuest, DragonKnight, and DragonFire. When not writing, she is often engaged in mentoring writers of all ages. Donita lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado where she is learning to paint\u2013walls and furniture! Visit her website at www.dragonkeeper.us.<\/div>\n
\n
The Books of the DragonKeeper Series:<\/address>\n
DragonSpell <\/a><\/address>\n
DragonQuest <\/a><\/address>\n
DragonKnight <\/a><\/address>\n
DragonFire <\/a><\/address>\n
DragonLight<\/a><\/address>\n
Visit her website<\/a>.<\/address>\n

AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER: <\/strong>
\n<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

\"DragonLight\"<\/a>Castle Passages<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Kale wrinkled her nose at the dank air drifting up from the stone staircase. Below, utter darkness created a formidable barrier.<\/p>\n

Toopka stood close to her knee. Sparks skittered across the doneel child\u2019s furry hand where she clasped the flowing, soft material of Kale\u2019s wizard robe. Kale frowned down at her ward. The little doneel spent too much time attached to her skirts to be captivated by the light show. Instead, Toopka glowered into the forbidding corridor. \u201cWhat\u2019s down
\nthere?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kale sighed. \u201cI\u2019m not sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it the dungeon?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we have a dungeon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toopka furrowed her brow in confusion. \u201cDon\u2019t you know? It\u2019s your castle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA castle built by committee.\u201d Kale\u2019s face grimaced at the memory of weeks of creative chaos. She put her hand on Toopka\u2019s soft head.<\/p>\n

The doneel dragged her gaze away from the stairway, tilted her head back, and frowned at her guardian. \u201cWhat\u2019s \u2018by committee\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou remember, don\u2019t you? It was just five years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember the wizards coming and the pretty tents in the meadow.\u201d Toopka pursed her lips. \u201cAnd shouting. I remember shouting.\u201d \u201cThey were shouting because no one was listening. Twenty-one wizards came for the castle raising. Each had their own idea about what we needed. So they each constructed their fragment of the castle structure according to their whims.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toopka giggled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s funny. The chunks of castle were erected, juxtaposed with the others, but not as a whole unit. I thank Wulder that at least my parents had some sense. My mother and father connected the tads, bits, and smidgens together with steps and short halls. When nothing else would work, they formed gateways from one portion to another.\u201d<\/p>\n

The little doneel laughed out loud and hid her face in Kale\u2019s silky wizard\u2019s robe. Miniature lightning flashes enveloped Toopka\u2019s head and cascaded down her neck, over her back, and onto the floor like a waterfall of sparks.<\/p>\n

Kale cut off the flow of energy and placed a hand on the doneel\u2019s shoulder. \u201cSurely you remember this, Toopka.\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked up, her face growing serious. \u201cI was very young then.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kale narrowed her eyes and examined the child\u2019s innocent face. \u201cAs long as I have known you, you\u2019ve appeared to be the same age. Are you ever going to grow up?\u201d<\/p>\n

Toopka shrugged, then the typical smile of a doneel spread across her face. Her thin black lips stretched, almost reaching from ear to ear. \u201cI\u2019m growing up as fast as I can, but I don\u2019t think I\u2019m the one in charge. If I were in charge, I would be big enough to have my own dragon, instead of searching for yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement pulled Kale back to her original purpose. No doubt she had been manipulated yet again by the tiny doneel, but dropping the subject of Toopka\u2019s age for the time being seemed prudent.<\/p>\n

Kale rubbed the top of Toopka\u2019s head. The shorter fur between her ears felt softer than the hair on the child\u2019s arms. Kale always found it soothing to stroke Toopka\u2019s head, and the doneel liked it as well.<\/p>\n

Kale let her hand fall to her side and pursued their mission. \u201cGally and Mince have been missing for a day and a half. We must find them. Taylaminkadot said she heard an odd noise when she came down to the storeroom.\u201d Kale squared her shoulders and took a step down into the dark, dank stairwell. \u201cGally and Mince may be down here, and they may be in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can you know who\u2019s missing?\u201d Toopka tugged on Kale\u2019s robe, letting loose a spray of sparkles. \u201cYou have hundreds of minor dragons in the castle and more big dragons in the fields.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u201d Kale put her hand in front of her, and a globe of light appeared, resting on her palm. \u201cI\u2019m a Dragon Keeper. I know when any of my dragons have missed a meal or two.\u201d She stepped through the doorway.<\/p>\n

Toopka tugged on Kale\u2019s gown. \u201cMay I have a light too?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course.\u201d She handed the globe to the doneel. The light flickered. Kale tapped it, and the glow steadied. She produced another light to sit in her own hand and proceeded down the steps.<\/p>\n

Toopka followed, clutching the sparkling cloth of Kale\u2019s robe in one hand and the light in the other. \u201cI think we should take a dozen guards with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s anything scary down here, Toopka. After all, as you reminded me, this is our castle, and we certainly haven\u2019t invited anything nasty to live with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the things that come uninvited that worry me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right. Just a moment.\u201d Kale turned to face the archway at the top of the stairs, a few steps up from where they stood.<\/p>\n

She reached with her mind to the nearest band of minor dragons. Soon chittering dragon voices, a rainbow vision of soft, flapping, leathery wings, and a ripple of excitement swept through her senses. She heard Artross, the leader of this watch, call for his band to mind their manners, listen to orders, and calm themselves.<\/p>\n

Kale smiled her greeting as they entered the stairway and circled above her. She turned to Toopka, pleased with her solution, but Toopka scowled. Obviously, the doneel was not impressed with the arrival of a courageous escort.<\/p>\n

Kale opened her mouth to inform Toopka that a watch of dragons provides sentries, scouts, and fighters. And Bardon had seen to their training. But the doneel child knew this.<\/p>\n

Each watch formed without a Dragon Keeper\u2019s instigation. Usually eleven to fifteen minor dragons developed camaraderie, and a leader emerged. A social structure developed within each watch. Kale marveled at the process. Even though she didn\u2019t always understand the choices, she did nothing to alter the natural way of establishing the hierarchy and respectfully worked with what was in place.<\/p>\n

Artross, a milky white dragon who glowed in the dark, had caught Kale\u2019s affections. She sent a warm greeting to the serious-minded leader and received a curt acknowledgment. The straight-laced young dragon with his tiny, mottled white body tickled her. Although they didn\u2019t look alike in the least, Artross\u2019s behavior reminded Kale of her husband\u2019s personality.<\/p>\n

Kale nodded at Toopka and winked. \u201cNow we have defenders.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think,\u201d said the doneel, letting go of Kale\u2019s robe and stepping down a stair, \u201cit would be better if they were bigger and carried swords.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kale smiled as one of the younger dragons landed on her shoulder. He pushed his violet head against her chin, rubbing with soft scales circling between small bumps that looked like stunted horns. Toopka skipped ahead with the other minor dragons flying just above her head.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello, Crain,\u201d said Kale, using a fingertip to stroke his pink belly. She\u2019d been at his hatching a week before. The little dragon chirred his contentment. \u201cWith your love of learning, I\u2019m surprised you\u2019re not in the library with Librettowit.\u201d<\/p>\n

A scene emerged in Kale\u2019s mind from the small dragon\u2019s thoughts. She hid a smile. \u201cI\u2019m sorry you got thrown out, but you must not bring your snacks into Librettowit\u2019s reading rooms. A tumanhofer usually likes a morsel of food to tide him over, but not when the treat threatens to smudge the pages of his precious books.\u201d She felt the small beast shudder at the memory of the librarian\u2019s angry voice. \u201cIt\u2019s all right, Crain. He\u2019ll forgive you and let you come back into his bookish sanctum. And he\u2019ll delight in helping you find all sorts of wonderful facts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toopka came scurrying back. She\u2019d deserted her lead position in the company of intrepid dragons. The tiny doneel dodged behind Kale and once more clutched the sparkling robe. Kale shifted her attention to a commotion ahead and sought out the thoughts of the leader Artross. \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d asked Kale, but her answer came as she tuned in to the leader of the dragon watch.<\/p>\n

Artross trilled orders to his subordinates. Kale saw the enemy through the eyes of this friend.<\/p>\n

An anvilhead snake slid over the stone floor of a room stacked high with large kegs. His long black body stretched out from a nook between two barrels. With the tail of the serpent hidden, she had no way of knowing its size. These reptiles\u2019 heads outweighed their bodies. The muscled section behind the base of the jaws could be as much as six inches wide. But the length of the snake could be from three feet to thirty.<\/p>\n

Kale shuddered but took another step down the passage.<\/p>\n

Artross looked around the room and spotted another section of ropelike body against the opposite wall. Kegs hid most of the snake.<\/p>\n

Kale grimaced. Another snake? Or the end of the one threatening my dragons?<\/p>\n

The viper\u2019s heavy head advanced, and the distant portion moved with the same speed.<\/p>\n

One snake.<\/p>\n

\u201cToopka, stay here,\u201d she ordered and ran down the remaining steps. She tossed the globe from her right hand to her left and pulled her sword from its hiding place beneath her robe. Nothing appeared to be in her hand, but Kale felt the leather-bound hilt secure in her grip. The old sword had been given to her by her mother, and Kale knew
\nhow to use the invisible blade with deadly precision.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t let him get away,\u201d she called as she increased her speed through the narrow corridor.<\/p>\n

The wizard robe dissolved as she rushed to join her guard. Her long dress of azure and plum reformed itself into leggings and a tunic. The color drained away and returned as a pink that would rival a stunning sunset. When she reached the cold, dark room, she cast her globe into the air. Floating in the middle of the room, it tripled in size and gave off a brighter light.<\/p>\n

The dragons circled above the snake, spitting their caustic saliva with great accuracy. Kale\u2019s skin crawled at the sight of the coiling reptile. More and more of the serpentine body emerged from the shadowy protection of the stacked kegs. Obviously, the snake did not fear these intruders.<\/p>\n

Even covered with splotches of brightly colored spit, the creature looked like the loathsome killer it was. Kale\u2019s two missing dragons could have been dinner for the serpent. She searched the room with the talent Wulder had bestowed upon her and concluded the little ones still lived.<\/p>\n

The reptile hissed at her, raised its massive head, and swayed in a threatening posture. The creature slithered toward her, propelled by the elongated body still on the floor. Just out of reach of Kale\u2019s sword, the beast stopped, pulled its head back for the strike, and let out a slow, menacing hiss. The snake lunged, and Kale swung her invisible weapon. The severed head sailed across the room and slammed against the stone wall.<\/p>\n

Kale eyed the writhing body for a moment. \u201cYou won\u2019t be eating any more small animals.\u201d She turned her attention to the missing dragons and pointed her sword hand at a barrel at the top of one stack. \u201cThere. Gally and Mince are in that keg.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several dragons landed on the wooden staves, and a brown dragon examined the cask to determine how best to open it. Toopka ran into the room and over to the barrel. \u201cI\u2019ll help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kale tilted her head. \u201cThere is also a nest of snake eggs.\u201d She consulted the dragon most likely to know facts about anvilhead vipers. Crain landed on her shoulder and poured out all he knew in a combination of chittering and thoughts.<\/p>\n

The odd reptiles preferred eating young farm animals, grain, and feed. They did nothing to combat the population of rats, insects, and vermin. No farmer allowed the snakes on his property if he could help it. \u201cFind the nest,\u201d Kale ordered. \u201cDestroy them all.\u201d<\/p>\n

The watch of dragons took flight again, zooming into lightrockilluminated passages leading off from this central room. Kale waited until a small group raised an alarm. Four minor dragons had found the nest.<\/p>\n

She plunged down a dim passage, sending a plume of light ahead and calling for the dispersed dragons to join her. Eleven came from the other corridors, and nine flew in a V formation in front of her. Gally and Mince landed on her shoulders.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re all right. I\u2019m so glad.\u201d<\/p>\n

They scooted next to her neck, shivering. From their minds she deciphered the details of their ordeal. A game of hide-and-seek had led them into the depths of the castle. When the snake surprised them, they\u2019d flown under the off-center lid of the barrel. As Mince dove into the narrow opening, he knocked the top just enough for it to rattle down into place. This successfully kept the serpent out, but also trapped them within.<\/p>\n

Kale offered sympathy, and they cuddled against her, rubbing their heads on her chin as she whisked through the underground tunnel in pursuit of the other dragons.<\/p>\n

Numerous rooms jutted off the main hallway, each stacked with boxes, crates, barrels, and huge burlap bags. Kale had no idea this vast amount of storage lay beneath the castle. Taylaminkadot, their efficient housekeeper and wife to Librettowit, probably had a tally sheet listing each item. Kale and the dragons passed rooms that contained fewer and fewer supplies until the stores dwindled to nothing.<\/p>\n

How long does this hallway continue on? She slowed to creep along and tiptoed over the stone floor, noticing the rougher texture under her feet. Approaching a corner, she detected the four minor dragons destroying the snake\u2019s nest in the next room. Her escort of flying dragons veered off into the room, and she followed. The small dragons swooped over the nest, grabbed an egg, then flew to the beamed roof of the storage room. They hurled the eggs to the floor, and most broke open on contact. Some had more rubbery shells, a sign that they would soon hatch. The minor dragons attacked these eggs with tooth and claw. Once each shell gave way, the content was pulled out and examined. No
\nhatchling snake survived.<\/p>\n

The smell alone halted Kale in her tracks and sent her back a pace. She screwed up her face, but no amount of pinching her nose muscles cut off the odor of raw eggs and the bodies of unborn snakes. She produced a square of moonbeam material from her pocket and covered the lower half of her face. The properties of the handkerchief filtered the unpleasant aroma.<\/p>\n

Her gaze fell on the scene of annihilation. Usually, Kale found infant animals to be endearing, attractive in a gangly way. But the small snake bodies looked more like huge blackened worms than babies.<\/p>\n

Toopka raced up behind her and came to a skidding stop when she reached the doorway. \u201cEw!\u201d She buried her face in the hem of Kale\u2019s tunic, then peeked out with her nose still covered.<\/p>\n

The minor dragons continued to destroy the huge nest. Kale estimated over a hundred snake eggs must have been deposited in the old shallow basket. The woven edges sagged where the weight of the female snake had broken the reeds. Kale shuddered at the thought of all those snakes hatching and occupying the lowest level of the castle, her home. The urge to be above ground, in the light, and with her loved ones compelled her out of the room.<\/p>\n

Good work, she commended the dragons as she backed into the passage. Artross, be sure that no egg is left unshattered.<\/p>\n

She received his assurance, thanked him, then turned about and ran. She must find Bardon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWait for me!\u201d Toopka called. Her tiny, booted feet pounded the stone floor in a frantic effort to catch up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is June FIRST, time for the FIRST Blog Tour! (Join our alliance! Click the button!) The FIRST day of every month we will feature an author and his\/her latest book’s FIRST chapter! The feature author is: Donita K. Paul and her book: DragonLight WaterBrook Press (June 17, 2008) ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Donita K. Paul […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=189"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":435,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189\/revisions\/435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}