Dragon Rule Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  BOOK ONE - Faiths

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  BOOK TWO - Hopes

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  BOOK THREE - Charity

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Drakine Glossary

  Draconic Personae

  About the Author

  Teaser chapter

  Praise for the Novels

  of Compton Crook Award-Winning Author

  E. E. KNIGHT

  The Age of Fire Novels

  Dragon Outcast

  BOOK THREE OF THE AGE OF FIRE

  “Presents [dragons] in a way that makes them seem almost human . . . interesting.”

  —Fresh Fiction

  “Spans decades of time, miles of territory, and a host of philosophical precepts. . . . I must say that I’m really looking forward to the fourth book in the series.”

  —SFRevu

  Dragon Avenger

  BOOK TWO OF THE AGE OF FIRE

  “Knight breathes new life into old conventions. His characters are complex and compellingly drawn, and scene after scene is haunting and memorable. Knight always evokes a strong sense of place and location, not as mere backdrop, but as a grand stage upon which spellbinding events are played out. Here is no warmed-over Tolkien playground, but a new world breathed to life and populated with fascinating characters we long to hear more from. Nothing is as simple as it first seems, even vengeance, and Knight, a master plotter and world builder, alternately surprises and delights, keeping us on the edge of our seats. Had I a working crystal ball, I’d guess that Knight has written a classic here, a kind of Watership Down with dragons—a book that will be cherished for generations to come. It is, simply, a grand tale, full of the mystery and wonder fantasy readers long to discover and too often find absent in modern fiction.”

  —Black Gate

  “[A] the gritty coming-of-age story. . . . Knight makes the story complex enough to entertain readers of all ages.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Knight offers a thoroughly crafted fantasy world. . . . For a lushly unique fantasy read, look into Dragon Avenger, as well as its predecessor, Dragon Champion. You’ll never look at dragons the same way again.”

  —Wantz Upon a Time Book Reviews

  Dragon Champion

  BOOK ONE OF THE AGE OF FIRE

  “Knight, best known for his Vampire Earth mass market series, makes an auspicious trade paper debut with this smoothly written fantasy told from the point of view of its dragon hero . . . a bloody, unsentimental fairy tale.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “An enchanting story of a young dragon’s search for answers to help him understand what it is to be a dragon. This is a heartwarming story full of adventure where good deeds and friendship always succeed. The characters are wonderfully endearing and the adventures that Auron experiences as he grows into an adult dragon are exciting and entertaining. A superb introduction to what I hope will be a wonderful series.”

  —The Eternal Night

  “A refreshingly new protagonist who views the world from a draconic, rather than a human, perspective. A fine addition to most fantasy collections.”

  —Library Journal (starred review)

  “Knight did a great job of hooking me into the story. . . . This concern and attention to the details illustrates how strong the overall feel of the book is—Knight clearly is building something more in this world and the amount of backstory to the characters and creatures is very impressive. . . . Very entertaining, the characters were genuine and the world full of depth. With the ending Knight gave us, I am very interested to see where he takes these characters next.”

  —SFF World

  “E. E. Knight makes the transition from the science fiction of his Vampire Earth series to a fantasy saga with an ease that is amazing but not surprising with someone with his enormous amount of writing talent.”

  —Paranormal Romance Reviews

  The Vampire Earth Novels

  Valentine’s Resolve

  “Knight flavors action with humor in [Valentine’s Resolve]. . . . Classic apocalyptic SF on a grand scale is always scary, but Knight makes it terrifically entertaining as well.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Knight has managed to write a book six that keeps fans thirsting for more in the series. . . . [He] maintains a tight point of view, controls scene transitions beautifully, and never wavers in tone. His main character, David Valentine, keeps readers coming back for more.”

  —Science Fiction Weekly

  “E. E. Knight brings excitement and interest to his Vampire Earth series. . . . [David] is an extraordinary character who turns the Vampire Earth war into a compelling tale.”

  —Alternative Worlds

  “Knight mixes bits of military SF, survivalist fiction, the alien-invasion story, and other elements including more than a mild dose of horror. . . . I’m entertained following [Valentine’s] adventures, and it’s nice to have some evil vampires, even if they do come from another planet.”

  —Don D’Ammassa

  “Knight manages something that is not always a given in an extended series: He’s kept it fresh and engaging, not only by providing a new story line for each episode, but by changing locales and supporting cast. . . . Knight maintains a high level of interest. He’s a good, strong writer with a definite gift for building character and milieu without beating you over the head with it, and he never lets it get in the way of the story. Yes, this one is certainly worth the time—and it looks like all the preceding books are, as well.”

  —The Green Man Review

  Valentine’s Exile

  “Compelling pulp adventure. . . . The sympathetic hero, fast-paced action, and an intricately detailed milieu set in various well-imagined regions of twenty-first-century North America make for an entertaining read.”

  —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

  “Valentine’s Exile isn’t an average vampire novel. . . . The vampires and their soul-sucking Lovecraftian masters are like Dr. Moreau on steroids. This is nicely drawn horror: not gross, not psychologically terrifying, but very creepy. . . . E. E. Knight is a master of his craft. His prose is controlled but interesting, and his characters are fully formed and come to life. The point of view is tight and rigidly maintained, and the transitions are beautifully handled from scene to scene. The novel maintains a sense of place, with touches of sound and taste keeping each setting vivid and acute. Consistent tone and voice and excellent pacing keep the reader glued to the action and adventure. Even the futuristic touches are drawn with just the right tweaks of reality: never overdone, no R2-D2 types, no Trek guys. E. E. Knight’s work is creative and the voice is his own.”

  —Science Fiction Weekly

  “Knight gives us a thrill ride through a world ruled by the vampiric Kurians and filled with engaging characters and grand schemes, and promises more to come.”

  —Booklist

  “The Valentine series is still going strong. Each book reveals new secrets concerning the world which expose new levels of complexity. . . . I’m looking forward to more.”

  —SFRevu

  “The latest addition to Knight’s popular alternate earth series maintains the high quality of its predec
essors, combining fast-paced action/adventure with the ever-popular vampiric threat.”

  —Library Journal

  BOOKS BY E. E. KNIGHT

  The Age of Fire Series

  Dragon Champion

  Dragon Avenger

  Dragon Outcast

  Dragon Strike

  The Vampire Earth Series

  Way of the Wolf

  Choice of the Cat

  Tale of the Thunderbolt

  Valentine’s Rising

  Valentine’s Exile

  Valentine’s Resolve

  Fall with Honor

  Winter Duty

  ROC

  Published by New American Library, a division of

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,

  New York, New York 10014, USA

  Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto,

  Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

  Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2,

  Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.)

  Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124,

  Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.)

  Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park,

  New Delhi - 110 017, India

  Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632,

  New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)

  Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue,

  Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

  Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices:

  80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  First published by Roc, an imprint of New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  First Printing, December

  Copyright © Eric Frisch, 2009

  All rights reserved

  Map by Thomas Manning and Eric Frisch

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

  Knight, E. E.

  Dragon rule/E. E. Knight. p. cm.—(The age of fire ; bk. 5)

  eISBN : 978-1-101-15568-4

  1. Dragons—Fiction. I. Title.

  PS3611.N564D’.6—dc22 2009025261

  Set in Granjon

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  http://us.penguingroup.com

  TO THE MEMORY OF SAM,

  MY FAITHFUL ALLY IN GOOD TIMES AND IN BAD

  BOOK ONE

  Faiths

  “INTENT AND RESULT ARE TWO ALLIES WHO RARELY MEET.”

  —Aphorism engraved on the south wall of the

  Hypatian Directory

  Chapter 1

  The Copper dragon, Tyr of Worlds Upper and Lower, Exalted Protector of the Grand Alliance, tried not to show the pain.

  The velvet darkness of the warm air over the Inland Ocean might have been that of summer instead of late autumn. The oceanic currents near the nighted shore swirled with the balm of the shallower waters of the delta country to the south. Heat rising from the phosphorescent waters, alive with tiny glowing creatures riding the warmth, caressed his wings and underbelly as he flew.

  He couldn’t remember the last time he enjoyed such a perfect night for flying.

  Not that there was time to enjoy an idyll. The moon had vanished below the horizon; it was time for hard flying to Swayport, rocky fastness of the Pirate Lords on the Western Shores of the Inland Ocean. The soft air, seemingly made to beckon young dragons into the sky to chase and turn and embrace at last as mates, was cut instead by wings bound for war.

  Healthy wings with intact joints, that is. The Copper dragon’s pinioned right wing was held together by cable and gear, and tonight the contraption that allowed him to fly chafed and pinched. Terrible time to come up wingfelled, with a battle to be fought.

  He’d been trying for the last hour not to think about the rising pain in his wing, but a raw nerve under torn flesh would not be ignored. The pain was like an arrow tearing through his joint at each reverse of the wing. The topstroke and bottom both brought stabbing agony, alike as twins.

  Having given up not thinking about the pain, he fell back to his second line of defense, as one of his captains might have put it. He tried not showing it, to keep his appearance to the other dragons in the flight line that of a Tyr eager for battle in the coming red dawn.

  If the second line fell, he would just have to grimace, squint, fall back on his final cave-redoubt: showing the pain but keeping his place at the point of the long arc of battle-arrayed dragons, forty-one veterans aloft. They rode laden with fur-tufted soldiers with scrimshawed whalebone lensholders protecting their eyes against the wind and woolen scarves warming the breath entering their windburned noses. A proud Tyr at the head of his warriors, he’d rather have his wing give out and spin to his death into the sea than take one of the easier positions behind.

  The throbbing came from his bad midwing joint, of course. Severed by a vicious human called the Dragonblade when he was but a hatchling, he could only fly with the aid of an artificial joint his clever, dwarf-trained thrall Rayg had created. Hearing of the long journey he proposed to undertake, Rayg had crafted him a new one. So superior—thanks to the work of the best dwarfs money could rent—was his new design in execution that after a short test flight the Copper pronounced it a brilliant improvement on the older model and ordered a feast in Rayg’s name. His wing had a much more natural motion now. He could fly farther with less effort.

  Except his leathery wing skin had not yet toughened to the task of the new brace.

  The Copper blamed himself for not taking the time for conditioning flights. Both he and Rayg had been distracted by other matters: the Copper with his plans for war against the pirates, Rayg with his numerous projects. Rayg had been behaving lately like a man with his brain aflame with genius to the point the Copper imagined smoke coming from his ears. Plans for improvements to the Lavadome and everything from dragon-saddles to food storage silos covered Rayg’s laboratory walls like intricately layered paper of a wasp nest.

  The Copper, bound to his roving battlecourt watching training runs for the suppression of the Pirate Lords, had only taken to the air for brief periods of exercise before his daily consultations and messaging.

  Now he was paying for it in blood, pain, and torn flesh. What’s a little skin off my wing? If only Nilrasha, my Queen, could see how gracefully I fly. Faster, without the constant lurching course corrections . . .

  He promised himself a long, restful visit to his mate’s eyrie if the war against the Pirate Lords proved victorious.

  Of course, if things went ill with the Pirate Lords, he might still join Nilrasha as an exile rather than as a conquering Tyr. Feeling ran hot in the Lavadome against this war, which would benefit none but their allied human provinces i
n the Upper World.

  Dragons bleed for Hypatia’s need!

  Some young, freshly fledged dragons had sung outside his private air gallery, before being chased away by his guard. He hadn’t objected to the opinioneering so much as being awakened after a long night’s work.

  Of course, he’d tried diplomacy. The Hypatians sent emissaries with demands that their former colonies of Swayport cease molesting their shipping and interfering with the fishing fleets. They’d returned with a tale of laughter and ridicule.

  The Pirate Lords claimed not to fear dragons, presenting trophies of a victory against the Wizard’s Dragonriders twoscore years back, when dragons who had assaulted their fortress fell before its gates.

  He wondered if the pirates had considered that dragons flighting under rein and rider fought very differently from dragons directed by their own commanders and Tyr. They showed no sign of it in their brag and bluster.

  Thinking didn’t help with the pain. So much flying. He regretted not accompanying the surfwater forces, but a Tyr’s place when going to war was at the head of his Aerial Host. Even at the cost of some pain. But the hurt did bring one benefit. It put him in a foul mood. Nothing like pain and the smell of blood to fill the fire-bladder and set it quivering. He was ready for battle.