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    The Dragon Tax: Dragonsbane Saga, #1
    The Dragon Tax: Dragonsbane Saga, #1
    The Dragon Tax: Dragonsbane Saga, #1
    Ebook91 pages1 hour

    The Dragon Tax: Dragonsbane Saga, #1

    By Madison Keller

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    About this ebook

    The only thing more dangerous than trying to kill a dragon is trying to make one pay taxes.

     

    One doesn't turn down a king, so Sybil accepts the job despite her misgivings. Usually she's slaying dragons, not talking to them. Instead of collecting the tax, she unknowingly delivers a curse that leaves the dragon helpless, and she can't bring herself to slay him.

     

    Trapped in a body not his own, the dragon Riastel is scared and defenseless. Sybil finds him charming, in a brutish way. Unwilling to turn him over, Sybil and Riastel are wanted, on the run, and worse? Sybil may be falling in love.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRainbow Dog Books
    Release dateJun 25, 2016
    ISBN9781386013167
    The Dragon Tax: Dragonsbane Saga, #1
    Author

    Madison Keller

    MADISON KELLER lives and writes in the Pacific Northwest. When not writing he can be found bicycling around the woods of Oregon or at the dog park with his adorable Chihuahua mix. Madison has transitioned and now goes by Ian.

    Read more from Madison Keller

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      Book preview

      The Dragon Tax - Madison Keller

      The Dragon Tax

      Ian Madison Keller

      image-placeholder

      Rainbow Dog Books

      Copyright © 2014 by Ian Madison Keller

      All rights reserved. Published by Rainbow Dog Press. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.

      Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

      Edited by Element Editing and E. Prybylski

      Illustration by Beleoci

      Cover by Ian Madison Keller

      image-placeholder

      The mission should have been simple. Sneak in and loot some of a dead dragon's treasure before the dragon slayer can haul it all away, but the dragon wasn't as dead as they'd heard. Unwillingly left behind as bait so the rest of the party can escape, this thief will need all her wits to survive.

      Get a free copy of the prequel Black Dragon here:

      https://bit.ly/3pZdBui

      Contents

      1. Taxes Indeed

      Illustration: First Meeting

      2. Contingency Plans

      3. Into the Dragon's Lair

      4. Riastel, Scourge of Nothing

      5. A Handsome Human

      6. Dragon Bait

      7. The Swaggering Cockerel

      8. A Valuable Prize

      9. Fire Kindled

      10. A Prayer of Thanks

      ALSO BY IAN MADISON KELLER

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      Chapter one

      Taxes Indeed

      Sounds of an argument erupted from the throne room, although from Sybil’s position in the waiting room she couldn’t make out more than a couple of words. Something about a dragon—no surprise in her profession—but curiosity got the best of her. After all, anything related to the dragon affected her job, since she was a dragonslayer.

      She took the seat closest to the door and settled back, closing her eyes. Blocking off her sight often helped her focus on her other senses.

      …this could be an unexpected boon, Your Majesty. A man’s voice, high and reedy, heavy on the consonants and with a rising intonation at the end of each word. A cultured Valhill accent.

      Yes, I understand that, but really? A woman? The last part was said with such derision that Sybil was tempted to stand up and walk out. It was an attitude she had too much experience with. However, she’d come a long way to get here and was counting on the gold this commission would bring. So, instead, she settled back in the seat and tried to rest. It had been a long voyage over from the mainland.

      The voices lowered, too quiet to hear now, which was probably for the best.

      A little while later a door creaked open, and Sybil opened her eyes. A thin, well-dressed man stood in the doorway, a sour expression on his hatchet face. He beckoned to her. Sybil Dragonsbane, I presume? he said. That had been the first voice in the argument; the Vahill accent gave him away.

      Sybil nodded and stood, tossing her head to throw a curly-cue of her short, black hair out of her eyes. It had grown too long during the sea voyage to the island, and she resolved to cut it before setting out from town.

      Sybil followed the hatchet-faced man into the throne room, taking satisfaction in the way the guards stared at her with bug-like eyes as she passed. Dragon hunters were rare, and most people when they found out her profession tended to express disbelief. Perhaps it was her willowy frame or her height (topping out at just over five feet), but it was probably due to the fact that she was a pretty woman in a profession dominated by scarred, grizzled men.

      I heard you have a dragon problem. Sybil stopped halfway to the throne and placed her hands on her hips. The court garb she wore was unfamiliar and distracting. She longed to be back in her familiar leather armor in a tavern somewhere.

      King Jonathan was slouched in his throne on a dais, his head resting in one hand. He was a portly man with an ample stomach, sausage fingers, and a thick, black beard. Her escort took his place at the king’s right-hand side.

      Our Royal Sage, Baldwin. Jonathan gestured to the thin man next to him who gave a slight bow. We do have a dragon problem, but not quite in the way you expect.

      I think you have a dragon that’s too alive for your tastes. Sybil shrugged at the obvious fact. If not to kill a dragon, why else would anyone hire a dragon slayer?

      Actually, we quite like having a dragon on the island. The king sat forward, his eyes shining. Multiple chins jiggled as he wagged his hand around theatrically. They bring many adventurers through the town. Adventurers who all pay for a permit to hunt the dragon and drop gold at local businesses before going off on their quest. Whether they survive is not my problem.

      Sire, if I may, dragons are dangerous and unpredictable creatures. Perhaps it has not attacked anyone on the island yet, but it will, and—

      Silence! The king sat up with such ferocity that Sybil caught herself taking half a step backward. We have already considered that which is why we need the dragon alive as a productive, tax-paying citizen of Thima.

      Alive? Sybil furrowed her brow. Tax-paying citizen? Dragons weren’t citizens, they were monsters.

      "Of course, you are correct. Sometimes the dragon does attack people on the island which is why I’ve put into place a new tax. The dragon must turn one-third of its hoard and plunder over to me."

      No offense, Your Majesty, but dragons cannot be reasoned with. Only one thing works on them. She made a cutting motion across her neck.

      Have you ever tried to negotiate with a dragon? Baldwin asked condescendingly.

      Sybil snorted. No, of course not.

      So how do you know you can’t? The king’s adviser shook his head and clucked his tongue.

      Look, it doesn’t matter either way. If I’m not here to kill then dragon, I’ll just be going, she said in a sharp tone. Their ideas were worse than ludicrous, and they were wasting her time and going to get ordinary people killed.

      We’ll pay your fee. The king said, a wide grin splitting his beard. And give you a hefty yearly salary to become Thima’s new dragon tax collector.

      Sybil hesitated. This was a badly conceived plan that stood a good likely hood of getting her killed if she wasn’t careful. But he had admitted it sometimes attacked island citizens. Once the king realized he wouldn’t be getting his tax after all, he might allow her to slaughter the beast.

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