Zerga tossed the flask on the table. “You have what you want, Dragon, now go.”

 “Not just yet.” She stepped out of the table and grabbed the flask. Solidity crept up her fingers, enveloped her arm, coursed through her until the last of the dim, semi-human form disappeared. She had cappuccino-colored skin, a thin, short nose, and a shaved head.

 She slipped her flask into a harness on her belt. “Who is this?”

 “He’s just an artist,” said Zerga. “He wasn’t even supposed to be in here.”

 “I don’t believe that. You wouldn’t let just anyone hear this.” She waved her hand and Harlan dropped. “No, there’s something special about him.” In a flash, she had her hand at Toby’s shoulder, pressing him into the wall of the van. “What is it?”

Taken from Zirkua Fantastic

Dragons are one of the most pervasive legends worldwide. Almost every culture has some sort of dragon, from the Aztec Quetzalcoatl and Huitzilopochtli to St. George’s conquest and, of course, the dragons of China.

In China, dragons’ kept things running right. Not, you know, toasters and such. The oceans. The sky. The rivers. Nature. Dragons’ were guardians against chaos, there to keep the global status quo in check.

So, it’s really not hard to see how I got from these great, noble lizards to Dragon, the spirit of order, present since the dawn of time to keep everything and everyone in check. The balance of King Jester. I brought in a little bit of a dragon motif, with her fangs and scaled coat and, of course, her summoning little miniature dragons. Her flask is also covered in dragons, although that’s only mentioned once or twice in the whole series.

As with King Jester, I wanted Dragon to look less human than the other immortals. They were the first after all. King Jester was more subtle, his appearance changed by the mask. Dragon was a bit more striking. Bald, tall, slender, and the fangs. She needed to look almost monstrous… but not.

How does Dragon’s story play out? Find out in The Jester Prince, Book Two of the King Jester Trilogy.

With the destruction of Zirkua Fantastic, King Jester, the spirit of discord, has been unleashed once more upon the Earth. Only Toby, a fresh, untrained immortal, and the other former members of Zirkua Fantastic dare to stand against his chaos. But their hold is tenuous, and they are only truly safe from his power within the bounds of their camp. King Jester grows more powerful and more dangerous with each passing day. But he’s made one mistake. That mistake could be his undoing. He’s stolen Toby’s soul mate, Marley. When he discovers Marley’s location, Toby knows what he has to do. He will rescue Marley, even if it means he has to face King Jester alone.

But the others don’t let him go at it alone. Marley has information about the resistance. They can’t afford to let him stay in King Jester’s control. In desperation, the immortals raise an army to storm the compound. But will it be enough to challenge the embodiment of chaos himself? All they can do is hope. Hope and put their faith in love.

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EXCERPT:

“Why do you need her? She hasn’t done anything for two weeks.”

“That’s why I need her. I want her to do something. Anything, really. She’s going to go insane at this rate. Actually insane.”

Before he could respond, Dragon slumped into view. She no longer carried herself with the air of nobility, not like the first time he had seen her. A cold pit formed in his stomach when he looked at her. He took a step closer to her and Zerga.

Glaring, Dragon sighed. “What?”

“I want you to teach Toby to fight.”

She looked him up and down, eyes dull, and shook her head. “I’ll just cause more problems for him.”

Zerga placed a hand on Dragon’s shoulder. “I certainly can’t do it. Never been worth a damn at that sort of thing.”

“Then get Feren.”

Toby took another step forward. “I’d be afraid to learn with Feren.” Looking at Dragon broke up the stones in his gut. If she’d been statuesque and stoic, the way she should have looked, the way she still looked in his nightmares, he could have hated her without difficulty. Things could be right. But he couldn’t. Her part in Marley’s kidnapping and the loss of Toby’s arm had shattered some part of her. “I’m sure it won’t take long.”

To read more from Voss, check out his blog at: http://vossfoster.blogspot.com