I’m sorry I had to cut the preview of Book Battles from our New Years Day newsletter.
It was getting too long. But I hope you enjoyed reading the first chapter of Curse Breaker Jousts. Papa is on a mission in that book. So today, I bring you the full first chapter of Book Battles, Tales of a Curse Breaker #2.
(This is Ran, Sarn’s son in case you forgot. Find us in the Curse Breaker series and also in this week’s preview.)
Last week, I brought you the first chapter of Catch the Scribe.
The reading order for the stories based on our newsletter adventures goes as follows:
Story Arc #1: TALES OF A CURSE BREAKER IN NY TRILOGY
- Catch the Scribe
- Book Battles ← You are here if you were wondering
- Rogue Characters
Story Arc #2: CURSE BREAKER’S COMPANION SERIES
- Dragon Spells
- Rogue Spells
- Storm Spells
- Void Spells
And now, since I have no news on the Amazon situation yet, let’s go to that preview!
Book Battles (Tales of A Curse Breaker in NY #2)
by Melinda Kucsera
Chapter 1: Schemes and Dreams
“I’ve got to get it back,” Ran whispered to his trusty stuffed bear, but the ghost that moved into his favorite toy last week didn’t reply.
Where is Ghost Bear? Why isn’t he here? What could be so important that Ghost Bear would leave without any notice?
Ran rubbed Bear’s ears as he thought about Uncle Miren’s journal and how he could get it back. Since Ghost Bear wasn’t here, he must get it back on his own. That shouldn’t be too hard. He just needed the portal to come back. He tried calling it, but he couldn’t talk too loudly, or he’d wake Papa. Right now, Papa lay flat on his back on the mattress, and he slept so quietly, Ran kept glancing over to make sure he was still sleeping.
Papa was a quiet guy when he was awake too. Uncle Miren said he was a thinker, not a talker like them, so Ran turned his head to check that Papa was still asleep because sometimes he just pretended to sleep to avoid talking about things. He liked to keep stuff close to his chest, according to Uncle Miren, and that was annoying.
Papa’s eyes were closed and his magic stayed inside him instead of coming out to play or investigate, and that meant he was really tired. Was he tired enough to ignore a little shouting?
Probably not. But I need that portal to come back before Uncle Miren gets home from school. Ran kneaded Bear’s ears as he sought another solution. What if I went into the tunnel outside our cave home and then shouted for the portal? Will it hear me? He didn’t know, but it was worth a try.
Ran hugged Bear to his chest as he got up and hurried to the door. He wasn’t supposed to leave this cave without Papa or Uncle Miren, but it should be okay if Bear came with him. Since Papa was asleep, he won’t know I went out. I’ll be really quick.
Green light raced past, and it reached the door first. Uh-oh. Papa’s magic rushed up the door and wrapped around the latch to hold it closed.
Well, there went that plan. Ran hunched his shoulders. How can I get the journal back if I can’t get the portal to come back?
“Where are you going?” Papa asked around a yawn.
Darn it. He wasn’t sleeping, after all. Sometimes Papa liked to lie down and think about stuff. But he rarely ever said what he was thinking about when he did that.
“I’m not going anywhere without you.” Ran trudged back to the mattress and flopped down on it, still hugging Bear.
“What’s wrong?” Papa had long arms so he could pull Ran close and hug him.
Ran rested his head on Papa’s chest and listened to his heart beat. “I made Uncle Miren sad, and I just want to fix it.” The whole story just came out. But that was okay since it wasn’t a secret.
Papa didn’t say anything when his story ended, so Ran poked his chest. Then he realized he could shout all he wanted since Papa was awake now, so he didn’t need to worry about waking him up. Ran squirmed, but he couldn’t escape Papa’s long, strong arms until Papa let him go.
“What are you thinking?” Ran asked when the silence went on too long.
“I don’t want you to go anywhere near the portal. I hope it never comes back.” Papa squeezed him.
“But I need to get Uncle Miren’s journal back, and to do that, I need the portal to come back.” Ran needed a new plan. But he’d have to wait until Papa went to work a lot later to put it into action because Papa probably wouldn’t let him out of his sight until then. But Uncle Miren would be home then, and he wanted to surprise his uncle with the journal.
“I know, but I don’t think it’s safe to go through that portal.” Papa didn’t ask him to promise he wouldn’t go near it, and Ran didn’t want him to do that since promises were binding, so it was time for a subject change.
“What about Melinda? I asked her to be our scribe. She can’t write about us if she doesn’t know what we’re doing.” Ran warmed up to this topic as his mind filled with hazy images of adoring fans all clamoring to meet him.
Papa wouldn’t like that, though. He wanted to blend in and not stand out, and Ran didn’t understand that. It was just one of the many differences between them.
Ran poked his chest again when Papa didn’t say anything for another long span of time. Silence didn’t bother Papa one bit, so he let it stretch until someone broke it. “Well, what do you think about her?”
“She should stay in her world, and we should stay in ours. I don’t want to talk about her or that portal anymore.” Papa yawned and squeezed him again. He didn’t say he didn’t want to think about any of that stuff, but his tone implied that, and that was okay.
Ran would keep thinking about it for him because it was too important to ignore just because it raised hard questions. But maybe he’d do that after he took a nap. After all, Melinda wasn’t going anywhere. Papa had gotten more muscular from whatever the Rangers ordered him to do all night, and Uncle Miren reminded him to eat more, so he made a comfy pillow. Ran let his eyes close as he squeezed Bear and Papa squeezed him.
Maybe he’d come up with a new plan when he woke up. If not, he’d be rested enough to stay up all night if he had to. I’ll get that portal back and the journal too. Just you watch me. That was the last thought he had until the door opened hours later and Uncle Miren strode in.
“You’re back!” Ran let go of Bear as he slid out of Papa’s grasp, and then he padded over to grab one side of Uncle Miren’s rucksack. “Why’s it so heavy?”
“Because it’s got a few books inside it.” Uncle Miren seemed less sad, but his gaze went to the spot on the table where his journal usually sat and that sadness dropped over him like a shroud.
I’ve got to get that book back. Ran let go of the rucksack and wrapped his arms around his uncle’s leg. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have given your journal to Melinda.” Ran hung his head.
“I know. I’ll get over it.” Uncle Miren rested a hand on his head, but that didn’t make Ran feel any better.
“How was school?” Papa sat up and stretched.
“It was fine. What did you two do while I was gone?”
“We took a nap.” Ran didn’t mention all the scheming he did because he didn’t want his uncle to know he was plotting something.
Uncle Miren would watch him closely tonight if he knew that and Ran’s plans hinged on his uncle not trying to sleep with one eye open to make sure he stayed put. So he sought some way to distract his uncle, and his gaze landed on Uncle Miren’s unusually heavy rucksack.
“What books did you bring? Will you read them to me?” Ran padded over to Uncle Miren’s rucksack, but he didn’t open it.
“The books are for a paper I need to write, but I’ll read you something else.” Uncle Miren pushed the rucksack closer to the table with his foot.
Well, there went that plan. Thankfully, his tummy rumbled, giving him the perfect excuse to change subjects. “I’m hungry. What’s for dinner?”
“Are leftovers okay? There’s still some bread, cheese, and fruit from lunch.” Papa waved in the table’s direction.
Ran nodded. Any food was good food, in his opinion. He wasn’t picky. “Sure. Can I have some now?” Ran headed for the table but Papa had longer legs, so he beat him to it, and Ran crashed into his legs. But that was okay, because Papa would dish up the food in a moment.
“Yeah. Let me portion it out so we all get enough to eat. Go wash your hands.” Papa didn’t need to reach behind him to give Ran a gentle shove toward the pail the stalactite dripped into. His magic could do that, and it was just as effective.
“Okay. Come on, Uncle Miren, you should wash your hands too.” Ran reached for his uncle’s hand.
“What about you? Shouldn’t you wash your hands before you touch the food?” Uncle Miren patted Papa’s back to make sure he realized he was talking to him. Papa sometimes got caught up in his thoughts and didn’t notice.
“Yeah, let’s all wash up,” Papa said.
Ran stopped because a purple glow appeared under the door. But now would be a bad time for the portal to come back. He made shooing motions with his hands. Go back to the Queen Tree until I call you, Ran thought at the purple glow creeping under the door.
“Is something wrong?” Uncle Miren asked.
“No, I was just hurrying you both up so I could eat something.” Ran plastered on a grin and bounded over to the pail. It was too close to the door for comfort.
Papa and Uncle Miren would see the purple glow under the door if they looked past the pail. Ran rounded the pail, so he stood between the door and the pail and hoped his little body blocked all the purple light as he plunged his hands into the pail. He couldn’t check to see if the portal left, or he’d draw attention to it, so he washed his hands slowly when Uncle Miren handed him a bar of soap.
Papa washed up fast and headed back to the table as his big hands dripped onto the floor. They had towels but Ran didn’t see them. They were probably in the pile of laundry waiting for Papa to have time to wash them. Papa kept his back to the door as he dished up the food. He must not have seen the purple glow, and his magic must not have told him the portal came back. Why didn’t it tell him?
Ran shook his hands to get rid of the water on them as he thought about that. Papa’s green magic liked rocks, and the portal definitely wasn’t made of rocks, so that explained why it wasn’t interested in it. Papa didn’t know what the white magic that just showed up last week could do, but it obviously wasn’t interested in portals because it didn’t point out the portal to Papa.
“Here. This one’s for you.” Papa handed Ran a bowl with bread, cheese, and an all-fruit that Papa broke into bite-size pieces for him.
All-fruits tasted like apples with cinnamon and honey, and Ran munched on it happily when the purple glow disappeared from under the door. He flopped onto the mattress that served as their bed as he ate. Papa and Uncle Miren stayed at the table, talking quietly, mostly about school. Papa wanted to know what Uncle Miren learned there. He just had to wait.
Hopefully, the portal would come back later when Uncle Miren was asleep, and Papa was at work. Then I’ll get Uncle Miren’s journal back. Ran tried to keep the determination that fired him up from showing on his face, but he was an open book, so it probably did show. Ran shoved more all-fruit pieces into his mouth to cover that up. I’ll get that book back tonight.
***
My plan obviously spawns a wild world-spanning adventure because the book I need to obtain is in NY!
Next week, I’ll bring you the first chapter of the sequel, Rogue Characters! It features a shady character who makes questionable decisions because we lose our scribe again and have to find her. We should probably keep track of her better.
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