Welcome
to my stop on author Adrienne Woods’
Virtual Book Tour for Firebolt, presented by Bewitching Book Tours.
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the more stops you visit, the better your odds of winning.
FireboltAdrienne WoodsThe Dragonian Series, Book One
Genre: YA FantasyPublisher: GMTA Publishing – Mythos PressISBN: 978-1491244654ASIN: B00GS5SUM6Number of pages: 289Word Count: 95, 000Buy Link: AmazonAbout the book:For the love of blueberries, Elena Watkins was destined for greatness, even though she didn’t know it. Before entering Paegeia Elena was not special, she wasn’t even average until the night her father was killed by a creature she thought only existed in fairy tales – a dragon. With her father’s death leaving her orphaned, Elena is whisked away to her true birthplace, Paegeia.Arriving at Dragonia Academy, the premier school for young Dragonians; a school she was never meant to attend because her father was a dragon. Unbeknownst to Elena danger is lurking behind the enchanted vines concealing the once thriving capital of Paegeia – Etan.Goran, the darkest sorcerer in the realm, has lain dormant for over a century behind the crumbling city. There, in the shadowy ruins he plots his revenge to destroy the only weapon that can kill him – the King of Lion Sword.When the sword is stolen without a trace Elena doesn’t think twice about seeking it; knowing deep down that it is her destiny to save her new home.
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“Dad, dragons...” I took a deep breath. Dragons didn't
exist, but then the image of the huge thing that had flown past me a couple of
seconds ago sprang into my head. “You mean that thing was a dragon?”
He nodded, and looked over his shoulder.
A figure with huge paws and talons flew in front of the
truck. Tires screeched at the same time I shrieked. The truck spun around on
the turf a couple of times and came to a standstill on the dark stretch of
road. My heart jumped at a great speed inside my chest. My throat and lips
became dry.
Pushing my face against the cool glass of the passenger
window, I searched the horizon for any sign of life. Apart from the pickup’s
headlights, there wasn’t a single light peeking through the blanketed darkness,
and the rain crushing down made me see figures I didn’t know were real or
imagined. Dragons don’t exist.
“You okay?” my father yelled.
“I'm fine.” I tore my eyes away from the window.
“Elena, I need to get out─”
“No, no, please don't leave me here!” I could feel the
fear beginning to rise up again and my vision became blurry. Why am I
afraid? Dragons aren’t real.
He cupped my face and made me look at him, his hands
trembling. “Listen to me, Elena. Listen!”
I tried to swallow my tears, but it was no use. They
were caught in the back of my throat, silencing me as he said his goodbye.
He hugged me tight and kissed me on my forehead. I could
feel the love he had for me behind that kiss.
“You drive like hell, you hear me? Don't slow down for
anybody. There's a motel on Interstate 40. Just stay on this road, you can't
miss it. Someone named Matt will meet you there.”
“For the love of blueberries Dad, it's pouring dogs and
horses outside. I can't leave you here with whatever...” We can rationally
sort this out.
Dad cringed and looked down for a minute. When he looked at
me again, that set to his jaw was back. I knew my words hadn’t made an impact
on him whatsoever. He had already made up his mind for the both of us.
My strength returned as I slowly came to terms with what I
had to do.
A man appeared in the middle of the road. The rain made it
hard for me to see him, but the headlights of the truck outlined his figure. I
squinted to see him clearer. He was tall with long black hair; wet strands
clung to his face. He wore a pair of pants, no T-shirt, and it looked like no
shoes either. He stared at the pickup for a couple of minutes, and it made my
heart pound faster. He began to walk slowly toward us.
“Daaaaad?” I slapped his shoulder, trying to expel the fear
from my body.
“Elena.” He grabbed my wrist. “I'll be fine. You need to go.
Now. And, Bear, I'm so sorry. Whatever happens, don't stop for anything.”
“Dad?” My lower lip quivered like mad. He kissed me one more
time on my forehead and wiped away my tears gently with his thumbs.
“I'll meet you there.” He climbed out of the truck and
slammed the door in my face. My gaze switched back at the macho loon making his
way toward Dad, who stood right next to the pickup. I quickly moved into the
driver’s seat, took a deep breath, and buckled up.
With my hands trembling on the steering wheel, I took
another deep breath.
You can do this, the voice in my head rambled a couple
of times. The key sat lazily in the ignition, and I jerked it to the right. The
pickup sputtered and died. The guy disappeared into the darkness, and a new set
of fear pumped through my veins.
“No, no, no, no! Please don't die on me now,” I mumbled as I
tried to restart the engine. The man appeared again by the faint glow of the
headlights. He was getting closer.
“Start you stupid piece of crap!” I yelled over the
roar of the blood pumping in my ears.
The engine came to life and I screamed as the man's figure
leaped toward the pickup. Dad jumped from the asphalt and tackled him in
mid-air. “Go, Elena!” he shouted over the pounding rain.
I floored the gas pedal and the pickup's tires screeched as
I drove past Dad, who'd wrestled the guy onto the road. Tears blurred my sight.
I can't just leave him back there. I struggled to
come to terms with what the hell was going on.
My father and the other man quickly disappeared into the
horizon of my rearview mirror. I wiped away my tears with the back of my hand
and lowered the mirror so that I could see Dad, but they had vanished into the
night.
Don't stop for anything, Dad's voice replayed inside my
head.
My hands trembled on the shift as I found the third gear. A
strong force hit the pickup on the passenger’s side. The impact of the blow
jolted through my body as the truck rolled a couple of times, and came to a
halt on its roof, leaving me suspended in the air. My head and body throbbed
with pain, and warm blood ran down my skull. I began to slip into
darkness.
Lightning struck, and the road was instantly engulfed in flames, leaving me wide-awake. Something to the left grabbed my attention as the fire slowly began to creep toward the overturned truck. The aching inside my head blurred my vision and I couldn't see the figure properly, but when it lifted up the truck, righting it on the asphalt once again, a shrill sound left my lips.
The belly of a huge blue beast on four legs the size of tree
stumps stood in front of the pickup. The sight left me breathless and my entire
body froze. Dragons don’t exist.
A part of his head popped in front of me. Huge horns on the
top of his nose lingered inches from the windshield, leaving a foggy
condensation on the glass as he breathed. One of his frilly ears lay flat
against his head, like a cat’s when sensing danger.
He climbed on top of the hood with one of his front legs,
and my body trembled as the truck started to crumble. A part of his wing came
into sight. It appeared to be shredded, with a sharp talon located at the end.
Oval-shaped blue scales fanned over its entire body glistened in the flames on
the side of the road. Maybe it only looked that way through the tears blinding
my sight. Beady eyes, sunken deeply into its skull locked with mine. The
picture in front of me just became my number-one worst nightmare. I shrieked as
the dragon’s weight shifted, forcing the pickup to crumble even more.
Another dragon sank his jaws into the one
in front of me. Two huge copper horns laid flat on top of its copper head. The
blue dragon growled, and snapped with gaping jaws at the copper one attacking
him. With powerful force the dragon was dragged off the pickup’s hood and thankfully
away from me. The truck shook slightly and groaned as if a huge weight had been
dispelled; my heart pounded as if I'd just run a hundred meters.
A bolt of fire came from the sky and lit up the entire scene
in front of me.
More dragons landed with a thud in the middle of the road.
One seemed to be green with a long neck and a fin-like mane running from the
top of its head to its tail. A cloud of dark fog emerged slightly from its
nostrils.
The other dragon was red and oddly beautiful, but something evil
derived from its aura. They attacked the copper dragon with startling savagery.
Get the hell away from here, my voice shrilled in my
head. Quickly, I tried to unbuckle my seatbelt, but the clip wouldn't release.
For the next couple of minutes the earth shook with bolts of fire, and
lightning flew through the air, while I tried to free myself.
My father wouldn’t just leave me here! As each second ticked
off my watch, I became more worried about Dad.
The dragons came close to the truck a couple of times, but
the copper dragon kept driving them back, as if he was trying to protect
me. I shook my head, trying to expel that thought. Dragons don't
exist. Wake up. The tips of my fingers felt raw as I hammered endlessly on
the buckle of the safety belt. My face was soaked with tears and blood, but I
knew that I had to get out of the truck, and quickly too. With trembling hands,
I pounded on the buckle with my fist until it unlocked. Throwing the vicious
restraint from around me, I saw the copper dragon bite fiercely into the blue
dragon’s neck. I watched as blood squirted everywhere and pooled in thick
puddles on the road. It staggered and dropped down to the ground. Electricity
still sparked off its body, but it soon died away. The green and red dragons
jumped on top of the copper dragon. It knocked the red dragon hard onto the
ground and crushed the green dragon with its huge front legs. The sound of
flesh ripping made me feel sick, and I had to lean over as tremors wracked my
stomach. The picture of the copper dragon shredding off the green dragon’s left
wing sent a stab of new fear deep into my core.
Dad, where the hell are you? I pleaded into the
darkness.
The red dragon got back up and flew away just as the copper
dragon ripped the green dragon's neck apart. Then the copper dragon turned its
gaze to me. For the love of blueberries! I forced myself to look away
from the humungous beast, and I started to kick at the windshield with my newly
freed legs. A new sense of urgency punctuated every kick.
C'mon! I kicked three, four times, but it only left
long cracks in the glass. Watching the copper dragon trudge toward the pickup
through the jagged cracks made the scene before me look even more terrifying.
The copper dragon stopped right in front of the pickup. Our eyes locked, and I
could see the vertical pupil inside a pair of dark, rich brown irises. My heart
thumped wildly inside my chest as it hooked one of its talons gently into the
shield and ripped it off.
It paused, stared at me for what seemed like an eternity, took
a few steps back, and nodded in my direction.
It wants me to get out? You’re imagining things,
Elena. Dragon’s aren’t real.
I didn't act. I couldn’t. The dragon started to shrink. Its
wings and legs dwindled into a smaller size until they disappeared. Its big
head and horns shrunk into nothing. I watched as the dragon's huge figure
melted away. The heap transform into the figure of a human crouching low to the
ground. The figure lifted up its face, and huge cuts with blood seeping from
them ran down his face. It felt as if somebody had squeezed all the air out of
my lungs. I’d finally found my father─ without a shred of clothing.
About
the Author:
I
was born and raised in South Africa, where I still live with my husband, and
two beautiful little girls. I always knew that I was going to be a writer but
it only started to happen about four years ago, now I can’t stop writing.
In
my free time, If I get any because Moms don’t really have free time, I love to
spend time with friends, if it’s a girls night out, or just a movie, I’m a very
chilled person.
My
writing career is starting with Firebolt, book one with the Dragonian Series,
there will be four books in total and two to three books that is about the
stories taking place inside The Dragonian Series.
I
do write in different Genres, I have a woman’s fiction called the Pregnancy
Diaries, but it would be published under another name. And then I have a
paranormal series, called the Watercress series. There are about ten novels in
that one.
So,
plenty of novels to come out, so little time.
I
hope you are going to embrace the Dragonian Series as much as I loved writing
them.
Twitter: @erichb3
Goodreads:
Adrienne Woods
Google+: Adrienne Woods
This is an amazing series thanks for the chance to win.
ReplyDeletesounds like something I would so enjoy!!
ReplyDeletethank you for the giveaway!!