The Georgia Alchemist (Dragons of the Confederacy Book 2) by Dan Willis & Tracy Hickman

Author:Dan Willis & Tracy Hickman [Willis, Dan & Hickman, Tracy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-04-23T16:00:00+00:00

STONE MOUNTAIN RIDER

Marcus Burnside cursed his luck. The livery stable owner on the outskirts of Atlanta had been less than helpful. When Genevieve dropped into his pasture, all he could seem to think about was rounding up his terrified horses.

According to the man, Stone Mountain was just what it sounded like, a pile of gray rock somewhere south of the city.

"You can’t miss it," the man had said once his horses had been secured in the stables.

That had been over an hour ago, and Marcus and Genevieve were still circling over the south end of the city with no sign of a great slab of rock in sight.

"Let’s try to the east," he said at last, after their fifth pass over the same farmer’s peach orchard.

Genevieve huffed and turned in response to Marcus’ pressure on the control collar. She banked easily and swept east, away from the sun. Marcus’ stomach growled. He hadn’t had anything to eat but some jerked venison he kept in his saddlebags for long trips. He’d missed breakfast on account of Emeline Hull, a pleasure he would gladly endure again, and had been sent off before he could get any lunch.

Now the hunger and the frustration were starting to get to him.

"Damnation!" he swore as a vast carpet of trees passed by beneath him, broken only occasionally by a pasture or farmer’s field.

"Let’s get a better look," he said.

He pulled back on the collar, urging the dragon higher. She grunted in complaint but beat her wings until they’d risen up at least a mile. Already shadows were beginning to gather in the wooded places as the sun slipped westward. If he didn’t find his destination soon, he’d have to let Genevieve rest and try to find someone to give him a ride.

An enormous patch of shadow loomed up off to the north and east. It wasn’t until Marcus had looked at it for a full minute or more that he realized it wasn’t shadow at all. Black as night, it rose up out of the trees, a vast chunk of jagged rock.

As he eased Genevieve in that direction he could see the mountain and what looked like a quarry at its base.

Too much smoke for a quarry.

There were many buildings, some finished, others looking like hastily constructed barns, no more than roofs with one or two walls designed to provide the most basic of shelter. The largest building Marcus had ever seen dominated the entire right side of the compound. It looked like a warehouse, but bigger. There were train tracks running inside and through the building.

By contrast, the east side was an enormous supply field, dotted with stacks of timber and piles of coal alongside orderly rows of barrels and crates. Marcus eased Genevieve’s collar forward and descended toward the field, dropping her down in one of the wide rows used by supply wagons.

The sight of the dragon coming down sent men working in the yard scurrying for cover. Genevieve landed heavily and clawed the ground.

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