Druid Island 4 , livre ebook

AuthorHouse - John D. Hartman

Découvre YouScribe en t'inscrivant gratuitement

Je m'inscris

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

220 pages

English

Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

Since arriving at Shetland’s Rock after the death of his father, David was introduced to the strange world of Druid Island, a land occupied by mythological gods and strange beasts. With the help of his mentor, Thomas, the son of the ancient magician Merlin, David defeated the evil sorceress Morgana, protected the underwater nation of Atlantis, saw to the destruction of the magical Book Of Spells, and dealt with the threat from the creatures known as the Deceivers. Even while trying to maintain a normal family life, the youngster still had to deal with the various witches who sought revenge for his actions against Morgana, as well as the vampire Valcord, who was determined to take control of Druid Island. His greatest challenged, however, still loomed before him in the form of the ancient Oracle who was visiting his dreams in order to take control of the boy who wielded the powerful trident that once belonged to the god Poseidon.
In this fourth and final book, David searches for the Oracle while he continues to protect Druid Island as the young hero of the gods.

Sujets

Fantasy (canción de Mariah Carey)

Fiction

Fantasy

Informations

Publié par	AuthorHouse
Date de parution	01 décembre 2022
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781665575416
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	2 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0200€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

DRUID ISLAND 4

The Oracle

John D. Hartman

AuthorHouse™
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.authorhouse.com
Phone: 833-262-8899

© 2022 John D. Hartman. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 11/22/2022

ISBN: 978-1-6655-7540-9 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6655-7541-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022921349

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
CONTENTS
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Epilogue
PROLOGUE
The Dark Ages:
King Arthur sat slouched upon his throne, brooding. He had sent all the servants away and sadly gazed at the empty hall recalling the time when the room was filled with the sounds of cheers and good wishes. Now the only sounds he heard were the grumblings of the surly knights in the adjoining room who sat at the round table awaiting his presence. He was depressed and slightly baffled at how his world had crumbled as quickly as it did, but the truth was that the decline stretched back over the last three years, coinciding with his visit to the Oracle. Merlin had advised him not to speak with the strange woman, but Arthur had heard so many tales about her ability to divine the future that he could not contain his curiosity, and so he ordered the magician to take him to her.
“She is a fake, a fraud,” Merlin had sputtered as Arthur declared his desire to meet with her. “Use your head, Arthur. No one can foretell the future. The gods no longer hold sway and dictate the paths men will travel. Our individual actions are responsible for what will happen and are not manipulated by some unseen force. Events are random, not predetermined.”
The young king had merely laughed. “You say that with such conviction, Merlin, and yet you use your magic to gain what you want. If it had not been for your manipulations, I would not be on the throne, now would I?”
“That is quite a different matter, Arthur.”
“Really? In what way is that? There were others who were much more suited to be king, but your little trick of placing the sword in the stone prevented that.”
“Such a ruse was necessary in order that you became king, so that the ideals of Camelot could be shown to the world in the hope that other kingdoms would follow our path.”
Arthur merely shook his head. He knew there was no sense in arguing with Merlin. The sorcerer could not see beyond his own ego, and so the king cut short any further conversation. Later that week, however, Arthur had met with the Oracle and what she had to say shook his confidence and his spirit.
She had a haggard look about her. Her hair was in tangles, her face thin with the cheeks sunken. It was impossible to guess her age for her skin was smooth and her eyes were alert and at times would nearly twinkle, but she walked with a stoop as if the weight of the world were on her back. She was prone to laugh at the most awkward moment, and she often smiled slyly, as if privy to a secret that no one else knew. Her hands and forearms were strong looking, and Arthur felt that her appearance was deceiving and that she had a strength that would surprise many.
“I see tragedy ahead for you,” she uttered as she sat before him, closing her eyes and softly wailing in a most theatrical manner. “Love will fill your heart, and you and she will bask in its bliss, but only for a short time. There is one who will soon appear on the stage, one that you will look upon as a friend, but one that she will take as a lover.” It had been only the week before that Arthur had proposed to Guinevere and she had agreed to wed. He laughed, feeling that Merlin was right and that the old woman was a fraud. And yet, foolishly, he continued to listen to her words.
“And I see a dark evil form that will enter your life, but you will not recognize it as such. You will fail to see that she has power and ambition. She will sow the seeds of discord, and you will turn your back on the old one whom you have always trusted. I see a world much in disarray, a kingdom that is crumbling, and a body lifeless and growing cold on the ground.”
Arthur frowned, the words upsetting him even though he claimed he did not believe.
“And have you no good words to share, old woman? Is your vision of the future completely filled with darkness and despair?”
She had paused and her body trembled as she clutched at her breast, as if she spied something that was totally unexpected. “The future is a long time in coming, my king. After you are gone there is indeed a bright light of hope looming in the far, far distance. A young boy walks a path that is similar to your own, and with his Druid mentor at his side, but…but wait, it cannot be! No, it is not Merlin that I see. It is one like him. One perhaps not as powerful or as ambitious, but much wiser, for the gods whisper in his ear.”
1911 A.D.
Thomas, the Druid, son of Merlin the magician and the goddess Athena, and custodian of the mystical realm known as Druid Island, stood on shore and peered out at the ocean thinking of all that had occurred over the last months since the young boy David had entered his life. Thomas knew that it had been prophesized that the teen would end the life of the evil sorceress Morgana. He was not aware, however, that the pair would have to venture beyond the Fantasian Forest in order to obtain the Druid’s Egg, a gem powerful enough to destroy the witch. With the subsequent death of the sorceress, Tom expected that such an act would make the youngster the target for the followers of the evil woman. It was the Druid’s task to protect David from any evil that would come his way, but it would not always be easy to do.
Thomas was unaware that the old gods had their own plans for the boy, for they needed a new hero who would follow in the footsteps of Pericles, Hercules, Odyseus and others who faithfully served them and protected mankind. Since the death of the sorceress, the duo had successfully kept the Book of Spells from falling into evil hands, had ensured the continued existence of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, and had eliminated what could have been the greatest threat to mankind when they dealt with the four creatures known as the Deceivers.
The goddess Athena, mother of Thomas, had worried that her son could become jealous of David’s role, seeing that the youngster had become the true protector of Druid Island while Thomas’ position appeared to lessen. This was especially true after David was presented with the powerful Trident of Poseidon. But the love and respect David had for his mentor would never permit such a thing to happen. David well understood that, despite the favors that had been bestowed upon him by the gods, he was still human and not immortal, and that he was a teenager who had much to learn about life. Paramount was also the fact that David hoped that Thomas would one day marry the boy’s mother and, to that goal, he set about helping the Druid maintain peace and correct the evils that continued to exist both on the Island and on Shetland’s Rock where David lived.
Thomas looked down the beach to where David and the small boy Kalli, whom David had brought out of the Fantasian Forest to live on Shetland’s Rock, were playfully wrestling with Leopold, the lion. How the teen had adapted to a life of both reality and mythology surprised the Druid. He thought of his father, Merlin, and was curious if the old wizard ever had the same reaction while mentoring Arthur and establishing the kingdom of Camelot.
Camelot. It had been his father’s dream, but it had come tumbling down because of the deceit and the cunningness of the evil witch, Morgana. Thomas often wondered if Camelot would have survived if Merlin were present to help Arthur. But the sorceress had lured the magician away from his ward, and had imprisoned him in a cave on Druid Island where he would remain for so many years. During that time Morgana was free to create her havoc, and she did so in a most dastardly way. First by introducing Arthur and Guinevere to the noble Sir Lancelot, and then by casting her spell that would bring the queen and the knight together as lovers. It broke Arthur’s spirit, and set about the end of Camelot.
Thomas did not have the same lofty goals as his father, however. He did not want to create an idyllic world. All he wanted was to protect the youngster who gave his own life new meaning. But there were forces present that wanted the boy destroyed.
CHAPTER ONE
The primitive howls echoed eerily from one side of the narrow gorge to the other as the solitary figure rode slowly forward. The horse was skittish, but Count Valcord held tightly to the reins as he glanced up toward the rocks on his left and smiled, seeing that the men brazenly showed themselves in the form of the werewolf. The vampire was certain that they knew who he was, and that this was merely a bold gesture on their part to demonstrate that they had no fear of him. As he looked ahead, he spotted the open area where a table and several chairs had been place