Flinthart 80AD The Yu Dragon (Bk5)

1. Auflage 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4659-9745-6
Verlag: Aiki Flinthart
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, Band 5, 280 Seiten

Reihe: 80AD

This is it. The final Level of the Game. China in 80AD is the stage for the final showdown between Phoenix and Jade and their arch-enemy, Feng Zhudai. 

Things don't start off so well. Jade is a prisoner, separated by vast distances from her companions; in the hands of Feng Zhudai himself. Phoenix and the others have to find her before they can even think of freeing her. What have they got to work with? How can they fight Feng Zhudai's incredible magical powers on his own home ground? How can they fulfill their quest to master the Yu Dragon, when they don't even know where to find it or what it looks like - or how to go about mastering a dragon? 

To top it all off, they must stop Feng Zhudai from taking control of the Han Empire and the world. If he wins this round, it's all over. 

Everything and everyone they know and love will be destroyed - in both worlds. With the fate of this world and their own in the balance, Phoenix and Jade have insurmountable odds stacked against them.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Flinthart, Aiki

Leseproben

CHAPTER ONE
  Phoenix gritted his teeth, wishing his horse came with shock absorbers. Every jarring hoof-beat lanced pain through his arm. Marcus had set the bone well enough but he really needed Jade’s healing powers. How was he supposed to swing a sword now? Pushing the thought aside, he stretched out one leg, easing a bruised butt cheek off the saddle. It didn’t help much. They had ridden non-stop since before dawn in an effort to reach Karla Caves. It was taking longer than he’d expected to make their way west. The road toward the coast seethed with refugees from the recently-ended war between the Kshatrapa Bhumaka and the true king, Guatamiputra Sakatarni. Their pathetic footslogging pace made for slow going on the narrow path through the mountains. Several times, Phoenix had to physically bite his lip to stop himself from shouting at the peasant-soldiers trudging homeward. He just didn’t have the patience to deal with this right now. They had to get to Karla Caves and the portal gate to China quickly, or any hope of rescuing Jade would be gone. For all he knew, she could have already lost her three remaining lives and be dead. A spasm of fear twisted his guts. His mind shied away from the thought but Phoenix forced himself to consider the possibility. If Jade had lost all her lives and was really dead then he was stuck here. Forever. He glanced around at the dramatic, tropical, humid landscape. A rugged mountain range rose before him, signalling an abrupt end to the enormous Deccan Plateau at his back. So different from the soft, cool greens of England. The heat of the sun; the dark greens of the forest; the heavy, cloying scents of the jungle; even the food wasn’t like Indian food at home in the twenty-first century. It seemed a long time since he’d seen his mother, his home, his own time. Memories of his old life were fading: being a thirteen year old at school, aikido training, playing computer games and even the harsh reality of his fathers’ death and his stepfather’s stupidity were all more like a dream. Reality was here in 80AD, India: wars, gods, magic, friends and foes. It wasn’t even that great a reality any more. What had been a brilliant adventure to start with now, frankly, sucked. He’d just about had enough. A wave of despair swept through him and he had to swallow hard to keep down a groan. He had come to rely on Jade in the last few weeks. She’d been gone just one day and he felt her absence keenly. Everything seemed harder without her quick wits, magical abilities and commonsense. He even missed her pointless worrying. They’d been unwillingly and unwittingly thrown together in this surreal game-world over three weeks ago. During their first few days here Phoenix had, in his carefree impatience to be adventuring, wished her away a dozen times or more. In the past day, since her kidnapping, he’d begged every god he knew, and he’d met several now, to bring her back. It hadn’t worked. After a full-scale war the day before and hardly any sleep since her abduction, Phoenix now ran on faint hope and sheer determination. He looked across at his grim-faced companions and realised they must be just as weary; just as worried. Marcus, the battle-hardened son of a Roman Governor, looked older than his sixteen years. His dark, curling hair stuck to his forehead as the sun baked them all in its tropical heat. With soldier’s train alertness, his dark eyes swept the surrounds constantly, seeking danger. Glancing to his left, Phoenix saw Vasi, son of Guatamiputra, riding easily beside Brynn, the youngest of their group. Vasi was clearly tired but Brynn looked worse. The ten year old boy-thief from ancient Britain winced with every hoofbeat. His usually-cheerful, thin was face screwed into a bizarre cross between determination and pain. The pony tossed its head and Brynn’s eyes widened in alarm. He wasn’t a very good rider. Prince Vasi, a native of the area, looked the most comfortable in the afternoon heat. His brown skin barely glowed with sweat and he still moved effortlessly in the saddle. It was due to his father’s generosity and gratitude that they were on the road so quickly this morning. Vasi knew the way to Karla Caves and his father provided fresh horses and supplies. Even if they kept going at this slow pace, they should be at the caves before dark. That hope was dashed the very next moment. Vasi threw up a hand and pulled his mount to a halt. Behind, a servant, leading six spare horses, followed suit. Phoenix frowned and dragged back on the reins. Vasi swung down from his horse, leading it off the track, into the shade of an enormous fig tree. His servant followed. “What are you doing?” Phoenix demanded. “We don’t have time for this. We’re already a night and most of a day behind Jade. If we don’t reach the Caves soon, we may as well have climbed over the Himalayas into China to get to her.” He flung his good hand at the distant, purple mountains to the northeast. Vasi calmly sank into a cross-legged position on the ground and nodded to his man. “We need to eat and the horses need to rest. There’s a stream over there. We’ll water them and move on when we are all recovered.” Phoenix slipped awkwardly off his horse, holding his broken right arm out so it wouldn’t be knocked. His foot caught in the stirrup and he had to hop a few times before it came loose. Brynn snickered, hiding his mouth with his hand. Phoenix glared at him. “You think this is funny?” He heard the angry edge to his own voice and snapped his jaw shut. Brynn sobered, staring back at him with solemn, dark eyes. “Sorry,” Phoenix muttered, turning away. Out of habit, his left hand rested on the hilt of his sword, Blódbál. Its berserker song of glory and death swelled in his head, trying to take over his thoughts and emotions; trying to turn him into the ultimate, amoral warrior. He snatched his hand away, shaken by the power of the song. His emotions were all over the place and the enchanted sword was trying to seize the opportunity to use him as a weapon against his enemies. He had to be careful. If he let it take over he would turn berserker – no longer able to tell enemies from friends. Right at the moment, though, he would welcome a few enemies to go berserk on. Inaction was driving him nuts. Sitting down with a thump, Phoenix dropped his head into his good hand and scrubbed fingers through sweaty hair. His right arm throbbed, the fingers fat and stiff. Sharp shafts of pain shot up into his shoulder, dragging at his resolve and strength. Sighing, he closed his eyes. Despair tightened like a band around his chest again. He pressed his lips together. This couldn’t be happening. It just couldn’t. Jade couldn’t have lost all her lives and have left him here alone. Surely, when he opened his eyes, she would be sitting right across from him, looking anxious, ready to fix his arm and tell him exactly what he’d done wrong so he could argue with her. Half-hopeful, Phoenix opened his eyes. There, sitting across from him looking faintly concerned, was not her fair, green-eyed, Elven face but Marcus’ handsome, square-jawed one. “Gaaah!” Anger burst free and flooded his belly with fire. Phoenix sprang up. Marcus stood as well, laying a hand on his own sword, his expression watchful. His friend’s caution inflamed Phoenix’s mood further. He glared at the Roman, grabbed awkwardly at Blódbál and wrestled the magic sword from its sheath with his left hand. “Get out of my way, Marcus,” he warned. Sitting around was pointless. If Jade was stupid enough to get herself captured and Vasi wasn’t going to help then he would have to go find her, himself. Marcus eyed him, circling to stay between him and the horses. “What are you going to do?” “Go get that stupid girl on my own, since you lot are too pathetic to do it with me,” Phoenix growled. Blódbál’s music rose and fell in his head; a symphony eagerly urging him on, feeding his anger at Jade and turning it toward Marcus as the nearer target. “You can’t save her on your own,” Marcus reasoned. “You’re injured and exhausted. You wouldn’t be able to fight anyone at the moment and you know it.” His logic annoyed Phoenix further. Marcus was always calm. Faced with death and danger, he barely even blinked an eye. It was irritating. In fact, he decided, it was about time someone taught the arrogant Roman a thing or two. “Y’think, do you?” he sneered. “I can beat you any day.” Marcus slid his sword free, his eyes following Phoenix’s slightest movement. “Maybe, right-handed but left-handed? I doubt it.” His derisive chuckle inflamed Phoenix’s rage until it consumed his thoughts. “Marcus?” Brynn’s question was loaded with doubt. “Shut up,” the Roman gestured the boy back, “I know what I’m...