THE DRAGON TRADER by Tom Townsend

TOM TOWNSEND

award WINNING AUTHOR

Phone: 713-502-4377 3123 CR 2407 Rusk, TX 75785

THE DRAGON TRADER
By
Tom Townsend

Read the excerpt below

Mystery; As an uneasy peace settles over Fairie, a human trader has found the secret to traveling between the worlds and is smuggling priceless and dangerous objects into the world of humans and modern weapons into Fairie. When Elazandra is captured by the Dark Forces, Ryan must work quickly and gain the confidence of the Elves who view him as only a simple human and hold him responsible for the actions of the Dragon Trader.
Reading Level 7^th grade and up.

Published by Royal Fireworks Press
ISBN 0-88092-527-2
$9.99 paperback

The End And The Beginning

     Deleigha—the Elf Queen's newly appointed Royal Wizard—leaned heavily on the shaft of a broken spear. It
was the closest thing she could find to replace the staff she had just given away; and a wizard, especially a young
and frail one like herself, should never be without a staff.
     The battle was all but over, and death lay everywhere around her. For as far as her eye could see, the bodies
of Elves, and Dwarves, and Ores lay amid broken weapons and fallen banners. From the rock-strewn slopes of
Longbeard's Pass, the aftermath of war stretched away to the foothills far below. In the forests there, Elves and
Dwarves hunted down the last fleeing remnants of Grandolin's army.
     Deleigha's eyes moved to Queen Elazandra where she knelt beside a ring of gray mushrooms. Moments before,
their three humans friends had said their farewells and vanished into the ring. Now, she hoped, they would be
plunging back into that strange other dimension of their own world.
     Elazandra, Deleigha thought, did not look much like a queen. She was very young, even by Elfin standards.
She wore no crown, and her flaxen hair blew untamed in the cold wind, swirling around the graceful points of her
ears. Fatigue and sadness had drained all but a faint hint of color from her golden eyes. Dirt and blood stained
her tunic, and one hand still held her sword.
     Using the spear shaft as a crutch, Deleigha managed a couple of unsteady steps toward her queen. Deleigha
had been crippled for most of her life, and using magic always tired her quickly. Today had been the most draining
in all of her young life. "Do not be sad. My Queen," she said. "Victory is yours. Grandolin may have escaped
through that Fairie Ring, but his army is no more than an unpleasant memory. You rule all of Fairie now."
     Elazandra stared at the mushrooms. "I have never wanted to rule anyone. I swear by all the lords of forest
and field that if Ryan were still here, I would run away into the deepest valleys of Pharlandia and live the rest of
my life with him."
     Deleigha touched her queen's shoulder. "A fine dream, but you would not. With or without Ryan, you would
stay, and you would rule as you must. It is as Ryan said, his world and ours have become dependent upon each
other, and we must guard them well."
     At last, Elazandra looked up at her. "And that is more of my doing than of his." Tears had traced dirty tracks
across her cheeks. "I should never have allowed him to follow Grandolin without me. He is no match for so
powerful a wizard."
     Deleigha shrugged. "Grandolin may hide in any of a hundred worlds. But, if he has fled to the world of
humans, then I believe that humans have the best chance of dealing with him. Besides, Ryan is not alone. Michael
is with him, and Ashlyn too."
     A faint smile passed swiftly across Elazandra's face. "A fine royal wizard you are, Deleigha," she said. "You
have given Ashlyn your staff."
     "It may serve us well in the world of humans." Deleigha lay her forehead against the broken spear. "I
will create another easily enough. Perhaps from this. I feel some magic here."
     "I only hope you know Ashlyn better than I do."
     "There is a great power within her. You have seen what she can do to a Gargoyle."
     "Oh yes, I saw. And I fear what she may do with that power back in the world of humans." Pain tightened
Elazandra's lips as she stood up. "I have visions of her putting love spells on a different movie star every week."
     Deleigha glanced down the sloping fields of stone to where her brother Ringyar sat astride his pony, directing
soldiers.
     "Your heart, and perhaps mine, may have passed away through that Fairie Ring, but I think Ashlyn's remained
here."
     "Ashlyn's heart has never remained anywhere for more than a week," Elazandra answered, and at last sheathed
her sword. It suddenly occurred to Deleigha that Pairie was now to be ruled by the very young. Queen, General
and Wizard—the three most powerful Elves in Fairie— were all barely grown. Ringyar was General of the Army.
He was but a few seasons older than Elazandra, who was at least four seasons older than herself.
     Elazandra looked back at the Fairie Ring. "Most of all. I fear the legends," she said.
     Deleigha frowned. "What legends?"
     'The ancient ones about humans who somehow found their way through a Fairie Ring and into our world, then
went insane when they tried to return to their own."