A Collection of Fantasy and Science Fiction Short Stories - Special ...

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Azro stared blankly, eyes dull with boredom as the hammer came down, sending red sparks through the air and leaving his ears ringing. “You need to start focusing more on our family’s craft,” Tiloft called out above the ringing, his low voice booming strong against the high pitched striking of the hammer against metal. “I don’t want to be a blacksmith, I want to become a hero and go on important quests.” Tiloft laughed and patted the top of his young son’s head. “Yes, I dreamed about being a hero when I was your age. Having an imagination is fine, but there will come a time when you need to face reality Azro. Now, go watch Dovo work on that armor, but don’t get in his way.” Azro brushed his childhood memories aside. He moved carefully through the thick woods and tried not to think about how it had suddenly became so quiet, so dark. The sound of whispers followed him as he squinted into the darkness. He glimpsed swirling black shadows which somehow evaded the small beams of light that barely managed to squeeze their way through the tree canopy. He paused and reached inside his pack. After some fumbling, Azro finally lit his lamp, lifted it above his head, and took a good look around. A circle of ogres had already surrounded him. He could not fathom how he had missed their approach. Had it been when he was lighting the lamp, or had they been the swirling shadows and whispers that followed his movements from his very first step into their territory? 6
Azro felt his brow become damp as he quickly grasped for the hilt of his sword to remove it from its scabbard. The ogres grinned at the human. It had been some time, probably half a century, since any mortal man or woman foolishly set foot onto their land. By the looks of the fumbling boy, he would be easy to kill. The ogres’ eyes glowed dark red, their grins turned to snarls, and they poised themselves for the attack, each wishing to land the first blow. Azro’s hand shook fiercely as he held the sword in front of him. In the treetops above, a young dragon called Helisho watched the scene, his silver eyes curious. This human boy lacked much common sense from what the dragon could gather, but there was something about him that caught and held Helisho’s interest. Helisho slipped from the trees and landed in front of the young human. Overcome with fear, Azro’s hands began to quake so much that he nearly dropped his only source of protection. His fear of the ogres was nothing compared to that of the black dragon before him. It was as big as a house, its long serpentine body was darker than the forest itself, yet its silver eyes shone brightly. Azro shrunk back from the dragon as it opened its mouth to speak. “This boy is not to be harmed or else you will deal with me,” Helisho’s voice was loud and clear as he addressed the circle of ogres. They snarled at the dragon and raised their clubs but did not dare attack. No ogre ever survived a fight with a dragon, even one as young as Helisho. Knowing this, one ogre stepped forward. 7
Page 1 and 2: A Collection of Fantasy and Science
Page 3 and 4: Azro looked up at his father and sh
Page 5: * * * His strides long and sure, Az
Page 9 and 10: Azro opened his mouth, closed it, a
Page 11 and 12: “Alright, good luck hunting.” A
Page 13 and 14: Azro shook his head as he was remin
Page 15 and 16: The silence was long and heavy as H
Page 17 and 18: Azro took out a cloak from his pack
Page 19 and 20: Azro took no offence to the tone. T
Page 21 and 22: The two friends laughed and debated
Page 23 and 24: into the night. He choked and wheez
Page 25 and 26: Jeff nodded as he shoveled eggs int
Page 27 and 28: His breakfast and coffee finished,
Page 29 and 30: Any earlier nerves that Jeff had ab
Page 31 and 32: his work area. His lab coat was han
Page 33 and 34: “How could you say no to this cut
Page 35 and 36: 7. Jeff wasn’t sure about how Bin
Page 37 and 38: cold months. Not only that, but I h
Page 39 and 40: logs onto a sheet, carefully select
Page 41 and 42: Aken shook his head and leaned his
Page 43 and 44: When we were done, we concluded bet
Page 45 and 46: you? We had some extra left so I th
Page 47 and 48: I hope my place for the summer is b
Page 49 and 50: David laughed and tugged at one arm

A Collection of Fantasy and Science Fiction Short Stories - Special ...

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