The Dragons Blood Key: Legend of the Dragon's Blood Key - Book 1

By

Copyright 2015©Linda L Barton

Published by Deadly Reads at Smashwords

DeadlyReads.com

All rights reserved by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including
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system, without the written consent of the publisher, except where
permitted by law.

This book is a work of fiction. Names,
characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s
imagination or used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual
events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

This ebook is licensed for your personal
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hard work of this author.

Dedication and
Acknowledgments

I dedicate this book to my sweet
grandchildren. Brianna,
Syrea
,
Ralph, Arianna, and David, you each bring such joy into my life.
Now grandma has written a book that you can enjoy.

Editing, formatting, and cover design by

Deadly Reads Author Services

Dragon Image Inside book
by
Vectorolie

FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Title
Page
,
Copyright
,

Dedication and
Acknowledgments
,

Chapter1
,
Chapter2
,
Chapter3
,

Chapter4
,
Chapter5
,
Chapter6
,

Chapter7
,
Chapter8
,
Chapter9
,

Chapter10
,
Chapter11
,
Chapter12
,

Chapter13
,
Chapter14
,
Chapter15
,

Chapter16
,
Chapter17
,
Chapter18
,

Chapter19
,
Chapter20
,
Chapter21
,

Chapter22
,
Chapter23
,
Chapter24

Chapter25
,
Chapter26
,
Chapter27
,

Chapter28

A
Message from the Author

Tales of the day when a Champion would come
from a far off realm filled the hearts of the people in the Kingdom
of Walandra. They had long awaited the one who wore the sacred
Breast Plate and Blood Key to come and free them from the rule of
the Evil Queen Alona.

For hundreds of years, Queen Alona had
enjoyed complete rule over the Kingdom. Yet, she would soon find
her rule challenged by the appearance of the Champion Abigail.

While wearing the sacred Breast Plate and
Blood Key, which had transported Abigail to the realm of Walandra,
she challenged Queen Alona in battle and fought without fear even
as the Queen prepared to strike her down. Then at the last possible
moment in a flash of blinding light; the Blood Key transported
Abigail safely back to her realm. In her rage, Queen Alona had
forbidden the name of the Champion spoken aloud again.

In spite of the Queen’s demands, the
subjects of the kingdom would regale the tale of the young woman
who came to their world, and fought the Evil Queen. They would
speak in hushed tones, telling the story of Abigail, as they
anxiously awaited her return to complete her destiny and save the
kingdom.

“Why do we have to go? I want to stay home
and hang out with my friends,” Melissa moaned as she forced another
pair of shorts into her overly stuffed suitcase.

“Stop your complaining. You’ll have a good
time, and besides your father and I have wanted to get away alone
for a long time,” her mother chided.

Melissa rolled her eyes, not convinced that
she was going to have a good time spending a week of her summer
break in a creepy old house with her great-grandmother, her twin
sister, and younger brother.

“Once you get done packing, take your
suitcase
and set it by the front
door,” her mother chuckled, seeing the frustrated look on Melissa’s
face.

“Fine, but I’m not going to enjoy myself.”
Melissa locked the clasp
on
the
suitcase and carried it toward the door. She had just stepped out
into the hallway when her little brother ran past her holding his
basketball above his head.

“What the heck?” Melissa groaned.

“Move, I need to finish packing,” Aaron
yelled as he went into his bedroom.

“Mom, Aaron seems to think he needs to take
his basketball with him in his suitcase,” Melissa said as she
walked down the hallway to the living room.

“Oh, my goodness; Aaron, I told you to pack
your clothes, not fill your suitcase with things you won’t need,”
their mother said sternly.

“But I need to stay sharp on my moves if I
want to make the team,” Aaron groaned.

Cassy ran out of her room with a look of
utter despair on her face. “Mom, I can’t find my swimsuit.”

“It’s in the bottom drawer of your dresser,”
her mother said as she followed Aaron into his bedroom.

“No, it’s not. I looked there already,”
Cassy stood with her hands on her hips.

“Melissa, help your
sister
while I take care of Aaron.”

“Mom, why can’t she do it herself?” Melissa
protested.

“Because Mom told you to help me, that’s
why,” Cassy grinned then she laughed when she saw the look of anger
appear on her sister’s face.

“Fine, I’ll help her, but once we get to
great-grandmother’s house she’s on her own.” Melissa stomped her
foot then followed her sister into her bedroom. While she loved her
twin sister, she could not understand why she was so strange. She
had no love of fashion or looking good. All Cassy cared about was
playing soccer, and hanging out with her circle of
strange
friends. Melissa never understood what
Cassy saw in sports and hanging with people who did not care what
clothes they wore.

“I hope you’re packing something other than
tee shirts and worn out jeans,” Melissa groaned as she walked into
Cassy’s room.

It took nearly half
an hour,
but all three suitcases finally sat by the front
door, packed and ready to go.

“Okay, let’s eat our dinner then I want you
kids all to take your baths and get ready for bed. Your father will
be home in a bit, and I’m sure he’ll want to relax some before
tomorrow.”

“Why aren’t you and Dad taking us to
great-grandmother’s house?” Cassy asked as she reached for a slice
of pizza.

“I’ve already told you. We have to be at the
port to board the ship for our cruise. Your great-grandmother is
sending Mr. Saunders to get you. He is a very nice
man,
and you will have a good time. She’s
a wonderful
and loving woman. I’m
sure you’ll come to love her as well.”

“Mom, I don’t understand how we’re going to
get to great-grandmother’s house. Maine is a long way from here,
and you haven’t mentioned how we’ll get there,” Melissa
asked
then took a bite of pizza.

Their mother knew this next bit of news
would please them, “That’s where the adventure comes in. You will
get to go o
n
your
great-grandmother’s private jet.”

“What? You mean she has her own airplane?”
Aaron said excitedly. “Wow, that’s cool.”

Cassy
reached for
another slice of
pizza before speaking, “Dang, I knew she
was rich, but you never said she was that rich.”

“It’s because it’s not polite to speak in
such a manner. Your great-grandmother has lived
a good
life, and she wanted you all to come
spend some time with her before
…
”
she could not bring herself to finish the statement.

“She’s getting old. That’s what you mean,”
Melissa said flatly.

Their mother looked at all three children
and
only
nodded.

Cassy looked at her
mother
and saw the sadness on her face. “We’ll have a
good time visiting great-grandmother, and we promise to be good
too.”

“Thank you, Cassy. I’m sure you all will.”
She was thankful they would have this opportunity to get to know
their great-grandmother.

“Hello, I’m home. Where is everyone?” a
voice called out from the living room.

“We’re in the kitchen eating some pizza,
Steve. If you hurry, you might get some.”

“Good evening, family,” Steve said as he
walked into the kitchen and took his place at the table.

“Dad, mom just told us that we get to go on
Great-Grandmother’s private airplane. Isn’t that cool?” Aaron said
with
a broad
smile on his
face.

“It sure is, and I know you will all have
fun
visiting her,” Steve said as
he reached for a slice of pizza.

“Donna, I didn’t think I’d ever get things
straightened out at work today. You’d think I was going to be gone
for a year, not a week,” he laughed then took a bite of pizza.

“I’m just glad that they won’t be able to
call you all the time while we’re on the cruise,” Donna
grinned.

“No kidding. As a matter of fact, I think
I’ll leave my cell phone in the glove box of the car,” he
winked.

“That’s an excellent idea.” Donna knew his
boss would call endlessly if he
were
able to reach him.

Steve looked around the table into the faces
of his beloved children. While he was excited to spend some time
alone with Donna, he knew he would miss them and the drama they
brought to
every day
. Having two
sixteen-year-old daughters and a thirteen-year-old son could make
for an exciting life.

“So, is everyone packed and ready for
tomorrow?” Steve saw the mixture of emotions on their faces and
wondered how this visit would go for all of them.

“Yes, and I made sure not to bring any
clothes that match Cassy’s too,” Melissa said as she glared at
Cassy.

“Good; just because we’re twins doesn’t mean
that I want to dress like you,” Cassy smirked.

“Why would I want to be anything like you?”
Melissa said sarcastically.

Cassy was about to
respond
again
when their
mother interrupted them. “Girls, stop it right now. I don’t
understand why you feel the need to argue all the time. You both
used to be so close when you were younger.”

Each girl glared across the table, neither
willing to surrender the challenge.

Melissa and Cassy had come into the world on
a cold and stormy night. Donna had felt strange the entire day, but
with the due date still two weeks away, she figured that she was
just experiencing normal feelings of a
first-time
pregnancy. Steve was working late at the
office, and Donna was relaxing in bed reading a book when her water
broke. Her first impulse was to call Steve, but once the first
contraction hit her, she decided it was best to call her neighbor
and have her drive her to the hospital.