Excerpt from Book 1:
Fire of the Covenant
Dragons are extinct! There’s no doubt about it until Fire in the veins of royal twins exposes them as the Dragon-Called.
Willoe continued to walk and turned toward the old farmer. “Allow us to help you, ancient father.” Willoe spoke in a kind voice with an intentionally friendly expression of respect.
“Your help is welcomed,” the old farmer said with his back to her. “We got a sow to deliver for a castle merchant.”
The boy was probably his grandson and from the sheepish look on his downcast face, he was the one that had driven the cart off the road.
The farmer stood. “I been flaming well at it for a bit now.” He started to turn back to her while wiping sweat off his forehead with a rag. “Forgive my foul words. My wife says I n’ver should—” He choked on the apology. The man scrambled back several steps, he put his thumb, index and middle fingers together and touched his forehead. He then brought the fingers to his mouth, kissed them, and ended with them on his heart. As he touched his heart, he whispered, “Burning Lady protect us.” He continued to step back until he was even with the boy, to whom he waved to jump down from the cart.
The boy just stared at Willoe; his eyes full of fear. “Are you gonna kill us?” His voice shook with the very same fear she could see in his eyes.
Willoe was stunned. Why would they think such a thing? Then she realized her hood was pulled back and her flaming red hair was hanging loose down around her face. Along with her vivid green eyes she must have appeared to the two as the culmination of every nightmare tale they had been told. She couldn’t help that she and her twin shared the same hair and eye color as a dreaded, half-dead Shade. “I mean you no harm.” She tried to use a soft, soothing voice.
The old farmer was not calmed and dragged the boy roughly from the cart, causing it to rock side to side. The abrupt motion caused the sow to squeal and bang up against the side of the cart.
Casandra had come up next to Willoe and reached over the rear slat. She closed her eyes for a moment and put a hand on the sow until it quieted, then pulled her arm back out.
Repeating the plea to the Goddess, the farmer dropped to one knee. “Take the sow but have mercy; leave the piglets.”
Piglets? A squalling noise came from the cart and Willoe peeked in. A half dozen piglets scurried around behind their mother, a rather small sow. They were so little and kept bumping into each other; Willoe had to laugh at their antics. She realized too late that the farmer must have mistaken her reaction, because he bowed his head and began to whimper. Willoe needed to do something quickly before the old man collapsed. The boy was still staring at her as if she had two heads.
Willoe reached in for one of the piglets, hoping that if the boy saw how gentle she was with it they would know she was only trying to help. But the little pig squirmed and slipped from her grasp, kicking out at Willoe. “No!” She shrieked as she started to fall backward, trying to avoid the piglet’s cloven hooves. She reached out and grabbed for the wooden boards to steady herself, only to pull the restraining slat totally off and tilt the back of the cart down. She fell on the ground and was nearly crushed when the sow jumped out the back, barely missing her. She wasn’t as lucky when all six of the piglets followed their mother out of the cart and two of them landed on Willoe’s right leg. Willoe grunted and could feel a bruise already starting to form.
“My pigs!” The farmer had raised his head and stood at the noise of the pigs squealing loudly as they ran randomly around the base of the cart. He started toward his pigs, but then stopped short and stepped back again when he saw Willoe lying on the ground.
“Grab them!” Aeron yelled as he chased after one of the piglets. Rowyn and Casandra each ran around the cart in pursuit of one of the frightened animals. The farmer and his grandson pressed up against the cart, their eyes wide with terror, especially after seeing Rowyn’s red hair fly past them.
Willoe chased one of the piglets and slipped on a grassy patch, falling into the loose dirt along the road’s edge. She got up and finally caught the piglet, then looked around for the others. Aeron also had one as he hunted down another, while Casandra knelt with the sow and two of the piglets in front of her, while she calmly stroked them in turn. Rowyn was closing in on the last of the escaped piglets when Willoe heard the neigh of a horse behind her.
Ashes of the Dragon
Download Ashes of the Dragon FREE from Kindle, Nook, Apple Books, Kobo, Smashwords, or your favorite digital outlet.
Revin is a reliant and tenacious woman, one of the only females who hunts wild dragons. A chance to capture a rare golden dragon sends her on a quest to a small village far to the north—deep into uninhabitable mountains—in the heart of a fierce winter. The village of Awakening’s very existence is a paradox that is only the beginning of surprises that await Revin.
Can a solitary woman unravel the secrets of an impossible village and discover the truth of a golden dragon before the world is overrun with demons?
Peter "PapaBear" Cruikshank
As an author my goal is to write tales that whisk the reader away to worlds of adventure; steep them in romance and wrap them in magic; bringing to life a believable place and time with fictional characters that the reader cares about.
Dragon-Called Series
Title: Fire of the Covenant
Summary:
Dragons are extinct! There’s no doubt about it until Fire in the veins of royal twins turns them into the Dragon-Called.
Princess Willoe and her twin brother Rowyn refuse to give up their dreams. Getting married against her wish isn’t something Willow will submit to. Neither will she allow her brother’s need for books and a life of contemplation to be ignored. At least she has an idea to put off the inevitable for a while.
Her plan has potential if not for two things: foreign priests of the Shin-il Way see the twins as necessary to their domination of the world, and the Burning Lady, Goddess over the Spirit World, requires that the twins fulfill a covenant a distant ancestor of theirs had made with the mythical dragons.
Now Willoe and her brother must prepare to fight, each in their own way, or face death or worse, enslavement.
If you like huge casts of fascinating characters, intricately interwoven storylines, and impressive worlds, you’ll love Peter Cruikshank’s Dragon-Called series.
Revive your love of dragons and get the first book in the series today!
Title: Betrayal of the Covenant
Summary:
The Dragon-Called twins face more peril as they search for a way to control the Fire in their veins.
Pursued by minions of the vile Shin-il Priests the Dragon-Called twins, Willoe and Rowyn, journey into the perilous northern mountains. Their lives depend upon retrieving relics, created by the mythical dragons of old; rumored to control the dragons’ blood that flows through their veins.
Sellswords, Blood Stalkers, and Shades—creatures as much dead as alive—will do anything to prevent the Willoe and Rowyn from succeeding. And should the twins survive, they’re facing the impossible task of gathering an army and leading it against impregnable Tierran’s Wall to drive the invading Shin-il Priest from their island country.
Caught in a struggle for freedom and survival, they’re facing the biggest danger yet: a betrayal that may end the covenant and with it the twins’ ability to defeat the Olcas Mogwai, the great evil that led to the creation of the covenant in the first place.
If you like strong characters, evil creatures, intricately interwoven plots, and immersive worldbuilding, you’ll love Peter Cruikshank’s Dragon-Called series.
Reconnect with your love of dragons and get the second book in the series today!
Title: Quest of the Covenant
Summary:
Raising dragons is a daunting task for the Dragon-Called, especially when they’re faced with the ever present evil of the Olcas Mogwai.
Willoe leads an army from the island’s three kingdoms to the mainland to rescue her twin, Rowyn. What starts as a quest quickly burgeons into a crusade to push the Shin-il Priests out of Western Kieran. While Willoe’s bond with her dragon grows, she is faced with dire choices and discovers a disturbing truth about the gods.
Escorted by the vilest of demons, Rowyn travels across Kieran toward the eastern empire to meet the Master of the Shin-il Priests, whose plans for world conquest still require one of the twins. Unsure of his own motives, Rowyn uses the time to become adept in the powerful dark arts of the Shadows under the demon’s tutelage. However, his goal is not without peril as the quest begins to eclipse Rowyn’s and his dragon’s Essence.
Separated from each other, Willoe and Rowyn begin to grasp what the Covenant means for them. Now they’re facing the same disturbing question: Is an encounter with the Olcas Mogwai worth risking not just their life and essence but their dragons’ as well?
If you like spunky heroines and charismatic heroes, intertwined story threads, and a world that comes to life, you’ll love Peter Cruikshank’s Dragon-Called series.
Hold your breath as the dragons mature and get the third book in the series today!
NEWS:
I’m halfway through reviewing edits on my new novel, The Dragon Whisperer, due out later this year. Not part of the Dragon-Called Series, but in the same world.
One thing most people don’t know about elves is that they are divided in Light Elves and Dark Elves. In modern Fantasy, the two groups are normally depicted at odds, waging war.
Even more interesting is that some say the elves were all Light Elves at the beginning, but an elf prince, disgruntled and desired to be king, gathered a group of followers and setup their own realm. The story follows that of Lucifer, once the prince of angels, Bearer of Light, who became Satan, Lord of the Dark.
QUESTIONS FOR PETER:
How do you come up with the names for the creatures in your stories?
PETER: The Fantasy stories are based on various Medieval lands (England, Scotland, Wales, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, and others). I research the myths of these lands for some of the names, but for others I create a name based upon a word from one of these languages that relate to the creature.
For instance, there is an old Welsh name Tesni that means “warmth”. Today it’s pronounced Tesnee. I named Willoe’s dragon in the Dragon-Called series Tesne. Another example are creatures that I call Surikats. They resemble large Meerkats, but with human capabilities. The Dutch word for Meerkat is Suricate.
Book Reviews
Beth Sanders
Best Thing I Have Read in a Very Long Time
I couldn’t wait for the 2nd book to come out and it did not disappoint!! There were some surprising twists that were outstanding. It is seldom that I am shocked by a story line as you can usually guess what is going to happen. But I have to say that this book really kept me on my toes. It was vivid and had a great plot. I can’t wait for...
Best Thing I Have Read in a Very Long Time
I couldn’t wait for the 2nd book to come out and it did not disappoint!! There were some surprising twists that were outstanding. It is seldom that I am shocked by a story line as you can usually guess what is going to happen. But I have to say that this book really kept me on my toes. It was vivid and had a great plot. I can’t wait for the third one. The author did an incredible and amazing job of really bringing you into the realm of the twins.
