We are delighted to share an excerpt from Rosemary Drisdelle’s recently released YA fantasy Follow the Shadows, so read on to discover the synopsis and excerpt!
When Marise Leeson gets her hands on a crystal ball, she believes her knowledge of Wicca is about to expand. The magic, however, goes horribly wrong. In short order, she’s thrown into an alternate world, attacked by a dragon, and rescued by Javeer, a young male dragon in search of a friend.
Marise is desperate to get home alive. Instead of dabbling in scrying and spells, she must now use her Wicca skills to survive in Moerden―navigating rival dragon factions, riding Javeer without falling, and dodging unknown perils of an alien landscape. Through a series of adventures and mishaps, she learns that the dragons face slow extinction from a mysterious disease. Some see Marise as part of the cause. Some hope she’s a key to a cure.
Marise grows up fast as her focus switches from escape from Moerden to saving the dragons. She draws upon her powers, intuition, and some help from home as she and Javeer begin a quest to solve the puzzle of the stagger. If they survive, and if their trust and courage are strong, they may succeed. If they do not, the dragons of Moerden will cease to exist.
She braced for the attack. Everything blurred to blood and teeth and swarming red fur. Her heart raced; breath quickened. She stifled a shriek, flew up from his father’s corpse, and felt the jarring impact of his sphere smashing the skull of a jeong. She fled to safety high in the trees, and time stopped.
Marise fought to separate herself from the memory, eyes focusing slowly on the cave again. She raised her head to look at Javeer, beads of sweat on her face. Javeer was silent.
Kuvrema’s somber voice filled the void. ‘Javeer’s father had the stagger—a sickness that kills every dragon who gets it. Every one. It is horrible. Dragons lose their minds, become confused, and stop looking after themselves. They wander away and get lost in the forests, in the desert. Some die that way. Others stop eating and waste away, stumbling about, turning in circles. Their legs are useless. They drag themselves with their wings.’ Her tone changed, and her next words were laced with horror. ‘They lose control of their spheres!’
A chill swept over Marise. Her eyes darted around the cave, to the other dragons lurking in secluded shadow. “The dragon in the cave?” she asked, though she knew the answer.
‘Half the dragons at Wyvern Wood have died. Desert dragons are luckier. We don’t get it here—only if we go to the coast. But he was from there. He wandered out of the forest and was floundering in the bitterbush, half starved. Didn’t know his own name.’ Kuvrema bowed her head. ‘My son Jigmae found him. We got him into that cave, and at first, he had moments—flashes of clarity—but they came further and further apart. We brought him food and water, but he blundered around in there until one day he lay down and died. Everyone was terrified he had brought the stagger to the desert.’
“So, you left him there.” Marise shook her head. They should have put him out of his misery and flamed the whole cave. “Now I’ve been in there, breathed the dust, touched stuff.” Looking at her palms as though the infection might be visible, she wondered how long she had before she’d be mindlessly dragging herself around, perhaps in the same dark cave.
‘Once he was in the cave, no one would go near him, and they still don’t. No one ever goes there. Ever. Now Korpec and other males spend their time patrolling toward the coast, making sure no others get close.’
“And that’s really why Korpec hates Javeer. Because he came from the coast, and he might have it too?”
And because, well, mostly because of the stagger. But Javeer doesn’t have it.
“And why does Korpec hate me? He thinks I have it?”
‘Some believe humans brought the stagger to Moerden. Korpec fears you have brought it to the desert, yes. And the fact Javeer has befriended you makes him more suspicious. It makes no sense, of course.’
So, I’m not the first human to visit Moerden. She wanted to know more about that but decided not to ask just yet. “What do you believe, Kuvrema?”
‘I don’t think humans or dragons spread the stagger. Javeer was with his father for a long time while the disease took hold. His mother was already dead, and Javeer doesn’t have it. No one got it here after the sick dragon arrived. It only seems to spread at the coast, and only half the coastal dragons have died. But it does spread, and it spreads even when humans aren’t around. I don’t think it’s easy to catch. I don’t believe you bring the stagger. But I wonder if you might be able to help. Maybe you came to us for a reason.’
“What? I can’t help! I don’t know anything about this. I’m just a kid. Like Javeer. I don’t know anything. This is just a big accident.” She folded her arms, pressing his sphere against her ribs.
So maybe I don’t have it. Maybe you can’t get it in the cave.
“No way am I getting mixed up in this,” she said. “I’m not having anything to do with dying dragons.”
Kuvrema nodded. ‘Possibly. But you’ve been in the cave with the mummy, and now I think Korpec will pursue you until you are gone, or dead. We have to get you out of here. Both of you. Soon.’
