B006T5JMRC EBOK by Aya Knight Page B

Thomas, could possibly know the truth about him. “Have it your way then—I’ll force you to answer me, you gutless fool!” He swung the rod violently toward the black dragon. Kale was taken aback as his feet slid, nearly throwing him off balance, and causing him to fall. The weapon had gone completely through the dragon’s face—it was an illusion.
    “So, you are a dragon!” An incredibly gruff female voice mysteriously echoed around him.
    It sounded as though whoever it was spoke to him from all directions. The effect caused Kale to lose any chance of tracking the location.
    “I knew I could sense something...different about you.” It paused. “You did not smell like a normal human.”
    Kale realized this must be the same creature that woke him from his sleep. He began to piece the whole scenario together, coming to the conclusion it was also this creature which must have attacked the travelers in the caravan—killing them all. Kale stood, like an animal lured into a trap, helpless, isolated, and alone, surrounded by water. He slowly spun around on the small island, investigating his surroundings in an attempt to determine where the stalker camouflaged itself.
    Although his eyes had adjusted to the blackness of night, he still found it incredibly challenging to see through the cypress trees. Their trunks were rooted so closely together it created a wall of bark, nearly impossible to see through. The only noticeable clearing was the path where Kale originally approached the lake.
    The voice broke through the silence, speaking to Kale once again. “So curious you are. My ability to conjure illusions is intended to show foolish and greedy humans what they desire above all else. To most—gold, riches, and power... But you—you are quite different. For a human to desire a beast is laughable. It was then I felt confident with my earlier assumptions about you. You are not a human...but a dragon. I sense a deep, bitter hatred within you. Could it be, much like myself, you too despise humans?” The creature cackled.
    Kale realized the illusion he saw was a method the creature devised in order to lure humans—to trap them.
    The creature spoke again, its voice slurred, much like someone attempting to speak without having the ability to pucker their lips. “It’s a shame you are now one of them; because we’ve grown hungry, and your flesh smells so delicious.”
    We ? Kale thought as his heart quickened.
    Suddenly, the water began to bubble as four arms darted out toward Kale’s ankles. His animalistic reflexes allowed him to dodge the attack, leaping toward the island’s center. Being in a human body did have its advantages; he was lighter and much more agile than he had been as a large dragon. He was stranded and his soaked clothes weighed heavily upon his body; he had no idea what type of monster he was up against. The blue and purple tinted appendages were long and stretched onto the sandy shore. They moved around frantically in search of Kale’s legs. Almost as if they could sense where he stood, they lashed out in his direction, causing him to dance around in order to avoid being caught.
    The water began to ripple as two oblong hairless heads emerged; bright yellow eyes set deep in their sockets, stared directly toward Kale. With every movement the creatures made, a sickening pop could be heard. Their many joints were so disfigured that every time the monsters took a step forward the bones constantly shifted. The creatures moved in an abnormal fashion with their necks bent to the right as if permanently looking sideways.
    Kale cringed as the pointed teeth, set within a lipless mouth, parted as the two creatures snarled at him, inching their way closer to where he stood. It was fight—or be eaten alive. Kale lifted the iron rod above his head; he prepared to thrust the weapon down toward one of the approaching creatures.
    Without warning, another monster leapt down from the only cypress tree on the border of