The Final installment of Half Blood. I'm currently editing this book and hope to get it published. If anyone has any suggestions or critiques (especially in regards to where I could flesh out the story), please email me at skribblegurl at gmail dot com (replace at with @ and dot with . I did this to keep from spambots grabbing the link and giving me all kinds of spam). I'll keep you updated about Half Blood's progress in the publishing world!

Archflame dropped out of the sky so fast that Varian couldn't follow him. He stared as the black dragon landed full on Darkspine's back. Darkspine collapsed with a snap. Then Archflame slashed at Darkspine's eyes.

"I didn't see you at the beginning of the battle," Danilos remarked.
Jokk glared at him, clenching his hands around his quoroni.
"Where were you? Hiding in a cave, afraid to come out and face me? You always have been a coward."
Jokk lunged at him, the blades on his quoroni whistling. Danilos lazily brought his sword up to meet it. At the first shock, Jokk felt fear spike into him again. What was he doing? Why had he come back only to face the one man he feared?
"You feel it," Danilos hissed.

The attack came swiftly, soon after Varian and Solvar had gone back up on the wall. The men had sen nothing, but a dragon had suddenly reared from sleep and shrieked, "They are coming!"
Varian grabbed the wall and leaned over it, straining his eyes into the darkness. The river rippled calmly in the moonlight and the stretch of land beteen it and the fortress looked deserted.
"I cannae see anythin'," he whispered to Solvar.
Solvar's hand tightened on the battlement. "Look at the river. I dinnae think it looks right."

"Ye say the air suddenly thickened and ye couldnae breathe?" Dulcan stared at him like he was crazy.
Varian looked away and drew a deep breath. They sat in an old tower. The windows had broken out long ago, and vines crept inside the stone room. But Dulcan insisted it was as solid as the day it had been built.
Some of the lairds weren't so sure. Benvahr and Sotar especially kept shifting their feet and looking at the floor, as if they expected it to crumble at any second.

Well, everyone, I suppose this means that I need to finish up Haflbood on here, so make sure you check back a couple of times every week. I'm going to miss this--without you guys (especially Anna) who continued to bug me about HB, I never would've finished it. Thank you!

Over the next week, people streamed into the village as quickly as they were sent out again. Old men came through, ready to finish their lives by battling for their country. Middle-aged soldiers, war-hardened, were immediately given marching orders to River Fortress. Those who couldn't fight were put to work shoring up the defenses of the fortress. Young recruits signed up by the dozens. By day, they trained hard. By night, they crowded into the village houses and overflowed into the fields for food and sleep.

"Archflame?" Varian peered into cave mouth and cupped his hands around his lips. He shouted for Archflame once more. Then he rapped sharply on the gong set into the mountain. Its deep tones belled through the cave, echoing and bouncing into silence.
"Why are you disturbing him?" Fleet muttered. "I know that we are not man-eating dragons, but Archflame does still have a temper. And remember, you are not fire-resistant like me."
Varian ignored him. "Archflame?"

The ride home was uneventful. Kearah met them at the training grounds.

"How did it go? Jokk's been pacin' and grumblin' all morning."

Solvar jerked a saddle-strap loose. "It went as well as my first day of trainin'."

Her face fell. "Oh. I'm sorry."

Goldtongue winced. "Have a care, Solvar! You are going to tear my scales off."

"Sorry."

Kearah glanced at Varian. Her eyes widened. "What happened? Do ye need treatment?"

Danilos strutted into the Council room and carefully looked around the room, making eye contact with each counselor, before throwing a rolled parchment on the table.
"What is this?" someone asked.
"Open it," Danilos growled.
A counselor gingerly reached for the parchment and unrolled it enough to see the scrawl and the blob of sealing wax at the bottom of the page. "This is it, then? Signed and sealed by the king?"
"Counselors." Danilos leaned both palms on the table. "We are going to war."
***