The Shadow King by Matthew R. Davis (little red riding hood ebook free TXT) 📕

you complain Pen? I think Apophis’s scales are beautiful. What creatures other than dragons are as magnificent and stunning?” Elva said
Pen could only think of one person in the world whose beauty outweighed a dragon's. Though he said nothing. He knew that she had a hint of his feelings toward her. His cheeks turned red as the thought passed through his mind.
“We should stop to find food. The dragons are hungry and I would like to get some training with you in before night fall.” She said after a few minutes.
Pen relayed the message to the rest of the group and they set up camp. Pen hadn’t realized that they had walked for several hours. The mountains in front of him where much larger than he remembered. Clouds had covered the tops of them and the orange glow of a sunset spilled over the landscape.
“Good luck finding food. I can’t sense anything other than us in this valley.” Apophis stated.
Pen dropped his pack to the ground and unhooked Lethian’s holster from his belt and laid it across the pack. Elva did the same with her belongings and her Falchion.
“I thought that the Falchion sword was made for peasants and was a very weak blade.” Rien commented upon viewing Elva’s sword.
“My Falchion was made by the best blacksmith in Patheris. He used many special techniques to strengthen the metal. Although it is not near as magnificent as Lethian or your sword, rider, it is just as strong and even twice as sharp.” She responded
The thin blade’s sharp edge shined bright in the sun light from the horizon.
Next Elva used the same spell she had many times to form two equal sized sticks. One for her and one for Pen. She tossed the stick to Pen and said “Ready yourself.”
He did as instructed and readied his stance. He gripped the smooth wood in his right hand and stood with his feet shoulder width apart. Neither of them moved an inch. Pen’s heart raced in his chest. He thoroughly enjoyed his practice with Elva. It was somewhat of a goal of his to outdo her. Though he failed each time, he always looked forward to each of their practice sessions. A smirk curved her lips as she inched forward and in one swift motion, landed her stick on Pen’s left arm.
A fierce burning sensation exploded within his arm, as the stick left his skin red and swollen.
It had begun.

******

Chapter Two:
Hel-grinder

Rien mounted Urie and prepared for flight. He strapped his legs securely in the saddle and grasped the custom made handle in front of him. Unlike most dragons, Urie had no spines on her back for her rider to hold onto. Her spikes were retractable and were far sharper than any other dragon. Rien nodded to Pacco and Apophis as Urie lunged into the empty space above them. The sun was already beginning to sink below the horizon, so they had little time to hunt.
“I wish we would have left earlier than this.” Rien said to his partner. She growled in agreement. She opened her mind and searched for animals on the ground below them, and for several minutes was unable to find even an insect. “Apophis was right. This valley is barren. Aside from the grass and small shrubbery, there is no life.”
“Then should we return to the camp?” he asked.
“No, i am picking up on a large conscious. Even larger than my own...” Rien extended his mind and reached outward from his body, but was unable to find what she was talking about.
“Urie, I sense nothing more than you and I.”
“It’s close. Very close. And it is very large.”
Rien scanned the sky around them. Unsuccessful, he decided that there was no threat and they headed back towards the camp.
“What do you think you were sensing?”
“I do not know. But whatever it may have been, it’s gone now.”
Pen and Elva were finishing up their training when the two of them entered the camp.
“You were, unsuccessful i presume?” Pacco asked once they had landed in the circle.
Rien nodded “There is no life in this valley. As far as i can tell, that is.” Pen stumbled over to his pack and sat down. Large red marks adorned his torso, obvious evidence that he had lost their battle dearly. Elva had not a mark. She smiled as if returning triumphant from a great battle between good and evil. She brushed her hair from her face and sat down next to Pen, who was busy healing his wounds.
“How is it that you managed to dodge all of my attacks? It’s as if you weren’t even trying!” He exclaimed as she put her arms around him.
“I’ve told you many times before dearest, I have had years of combat training both on and off the battle field. You should not expect to best me only after a month.” she whispered softly into his ear.
“I hate when you do that...” he said softly. “Making me feel guilty for something as simple as being sour at you, after you thrash me every night with that blasted stick.”
She chuckled and released him. It was now fully dark out and the group decided sleep was needed if the dragons were to carry them all from the valley in the morning. Flying over the mountains with two people on each dragon would be no easy task. Pen rested against his pack and looked at the stars above. The glimmered like diamonds thousands of feet from the surface where he lied. He found himself wondering what glories might they hold if one could reach them.
Lost in his thoughts, he hardly realized that Elva had fallen asleep in his arms. He knew it wouldn’t be a smart idea to become attached to her. Even with this knowledge, he couldn’t help but love her. She was warm against him, and he to, was beginning to slip into blissful unconsciousness of sleep. The stars above blurred as his eyes gently slid shut. And all was well with him for the moment.

“Where are you hiding boy....”
The voice he heard he knew only too well. It reverberated off the walls of his mind. “Show yourself to me...” It said, piercing its way deep into his consciousness. It ravaged his mind searching for something, a clue, maybe as to where he was. But Pen had practiced many times before on concealing his p0thoughts from unwelcome intruders.
“You cannot hide forever. I will find you.”

A soft rumble woke Pen from his sleep. His eyes bolted open and he gasped, as if expecting an attack from the dark lord himself. He jumped to his feet and surveyed their surroundings. There was nothing to be found. “Where is that sound coming from.” he said under his breath. He placed his hand on Lethian and readied himself.
Just as he did, the silence of the camp was shattered by the wail of some unholy beast from beneath him. The screech was intense enough that Pen had to cup his hands over his ears. He shut his eyes tightly and yelled out in pain as the sound continued on.
Then without out warning, it ceased. Pen dropped to his knees and uncovered his ears. He could still hear the wails, even though they had stopped. He looked up to see Elva roll onto her side, suffering the same horrid sensation as himself. She spoke, but he was unable to hear what she said.
Again she yelled to him, this time she slowly began to fade in. But still, he couldn’t make it out.
“PEN! BEHIND YOU!!!”
Pen whirled around in time to see a towering tentacle rushing towards him. Without out thinking he dove out of its path. The tentacle landed with a solid thud. The tentacle belonged to a creature, unlike anything Pen had seen before. It was as big as a mountain, and was adorned with sharp spines. Each of its thousands of tentacles had hooked barbs. It was a repulsive sight.
“Hieran Faiys!!” Rien yelled from behind Pen. “We have to get out of here!” He exclaimed.
Again the creature screamed. But this time Pen could only feel the vibrations of the sound as it reverberated through the air around him. He guessed that this was the spell Rien had cast. He was protecting them from the monsters vicious roar.
Pen mounted Apophis, followed by Elva. She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and held herself against him. Rein did the same with Urie and Pacco, though Pen imagined that the experience was not nearly as enjoyable for Rien as it was for Pen.
The dragons simultaneously jumped into the air, avoiding the beast’s tentacles as they did. The swift motions back and forth to do so, threatened to throw Pen from the saddle.
Before long they were free of the creatures reach and safe hundreds of feet above the ground.
“What in bloody hell was that thing?!” Pacco asked as they soared through the air.
“That was the Hel-grinder. A creature straight from Satan himself. It’s the unholy sum of misery and torture.” Rien explained.
“I’ve heard of it. Many brave and foolish warriors have died trying to kill it. Obviously, no one man stands a chance. The sheer size of the creature is too much for anyone to comprehend. I could only imagine their surprise when their eyes first befell it.” Elva said.
“We will have to cross the mountains before we can land. That valley bellow traps the monster.
Which is lucky for us. If it could get free, it would surely destroy the world.” Rien stated grimly.
“Lucky for you, you mean right rider? We have to carry your sorry hides the whole way.” Apophis joked.
The rest of the trip was silent. Pen knew it was from the lack of sleep. Everyone was too tired to carry on a conversation, or to shaken up. All the while Pen couldn’t help but think about the voice that visited him in his sleep. He knew it was Methias’s, but how was the king able to find him from Fienster? The only solution he could come up with was that the king had left his castle, and was searching for him. And if the Methias was able to find him that easily, it’s possible that he was in the valley with them. It made sense, since there is no life in the valley, it would be extremely easy to find a human conscious. The more he thought about it, the more the idea troubled him. Methias’s dragon was much larger than Apophis and Urie and Methias was an expert spell caster as well as swordsman. He was a very dangerous man to confront
Pen knew he was not ready, no one was. They did have an edge on him, however. The moon’s limitless source of power could be all they needed to defeat him. Elva was the only person Pen knew to ever see the power first hand, while healing Apophis. The un-bridal joy that was offered to her was more than her words could explain. Even now, the energy flowed within her. She would unknowingly tap into it, sometimes on simple spells. Though helpful, this could be dangerous and could ultimately result in her demise. So she refrained from using her own body to supply spells.
“What are you thinking Pen?” Elva said softly from behind him. And for a while Pen didn’t respond. How could he? He had no words to explain what he was thinking.
“What if Methias is following us?” He said finally.
“Then we