Showing results by author "Kevin McLaughlin" in All Categories

His experiment shouldn't have wrecked his lab, created a portal to another dimension, or sucked him through said portal. Despite all that, Charles Smith found himself landing atop the emissary of an evil group of mages called the Shadow Council. Literally on top of him, along with half the gear from his lab, which had the fortunate side-effect of turning the evil sorcerer into paste.

Diverse and moving, these six outstanding stories are meditations on grief and loss, love, communication and loneliness. Each one will take the reader on a brief yet unforgettable journey into private worlds and unexpected corners of the human heart.

Kylara Diamantine has never met another dragon. Raised by her mother apart from the rest of their society without any idea why, she's always been curious about the rest of their species. She wants to get out there, to meet other dragons, to explore! To stretch her wings. Literally. Be careful what you wish for, they say. They're right. After a devastating magical attack on their home leaves Ky's mother missing, she's placed at a special school for her protection.

Dragons rule the world. Their claws are into every aspect of human life, from government to industry. But Kristen Hall is about to throw a wrench into all of that. Because she's a dragon, too. She just doesn't know it...yet! A dragon raised by humans, in the human world. After graduating from the police academy, she's dropped right into the ranks of Detroit's elite SWAT team. A rookie, in SWAT? Unheard of. But what the dragons want, they get. The reasons behind their machinations become clear as her dragon powers begin to surface. Will Kristen rise to the challenges of her new life?

Kylara and her friends are back at the Lumos School, but Cassandra still holds her mother prisoner, and Ky will stop at nothing to rescue her. The school's mission is to help dragons and mages train their magic and learn new powers. But when an experimental trip to the pixie realm goes awry, a student ends up with a new magic that's as powerful as it is disturbing. And when that student loses control, everything is at risk. But Kylara is growing stronger, too. She's gaining new powers.

Kristen Hall grew up a human - but she's not. She's a dragon. And dragonkind will never be the same. She's achieved some mastery over her powers and even defeated an enemy dragon. But nothing she has done has prepared her for what's coming next. Kristen has been invited to join Dragon SWAT - a force of dragons which serves to keep order among their species

Anwyn's family has always assumed that she'd follow in the footsteps of her illustrious mother and uncle as a diplomat and eventual head of state. But Anwyn is an impulsive rule-breaker, and she's made other plans: getting off her home planet and seeing the galaxy after training as a starship pilot.

The Nords have weathered the storm and survived, but Eric knows everything they've faced so far is only the tip of the spear. This time, the threat is coming from outside the world Eric has grown to love as his own. Playing defense will only get you so far, and Eric's about done with taking hits.

Legend says that all dragons have a mother, a goddess-dragon named Tiamat. But few dragons take those old stories seriously these days. It's been too long since anyone saw Tiamat. Her tale has faded into myth. A cult of her followers still remains, though. These dragons believe that someday, a dragon will rise who is the sum of all dragons, with the powers of every dragon. When that dragon comes, Tiamat will be close behind. Kylara knows nothing of these legends, but she's about to take center stage in a story that began thousands of years ago.

The worst day of Eric's life was capped off by him being kicked through a gateway into a universe filled with magic and monsters. To make matters worse, he had to fight for his life the moment he arrived. Nothing could have prepared him for a world where everything either wants to kill him or eat him.

Kristen has come fully into her dragon power. And just in time, because enemies are gathering. A war for control of the planet is brewing - one that would devastate dragon and human alike!

The mages push Earth closer to a war that no one can win. Kristen and her team are all that stands between them and the utter annihilation of everyone she loves. But the mages may not be the worst threat she has to face! In the shadows, someone lurks, manipulating others for his own gain. The Mage assassins are no longer content to hide in the shadows. Their day has arrived, and they will rise to remake the world into a place without dragons.

Killing Lord Boneclaw once wasn't enough. The deadly elder dragon has returned through a combination of human and dragon magic, and he'll stop at nothing to be avenged on those who wronged him in the past! More than anything else, Boneclaw desires the powers Kylara Diamantine possesses. If he can steal her ability to learn new dragon powers, he'd be truly unstoppable. If Kylara is killed in the process, well, Boneclaw considers that a small price to pay....

The mage uprising has been put down, but it wasn't enough. Dragons have become aware that humans can arm themselves with weapons deadly to even dragonkind. Dragons are living in fear of humans for the first time in living memory, and they hate it. The war has arrived. Lord Boneclaw will lead the armies of dragonkind to decimate humanity. Their aim is to slaughter billions, thus bringing the threat back under control. Only one thing stands in their path.

After millennia of slumber, the goddess-dragon named Tiamat has returned to Earth. Her first move is to consolidate her power by taking down the Dragon Council. Her next? Well, complete world domination seems like it's on the menu. Kylara barely survived her first encounter with Tiamat. Only thanks to her friends and allies did she escape at all

Eric has learned much about the ways of power since arriving in this strange world. Winning a place among the mighty Nords wasn't easy, but his heroics have earned him a seat at their table. As spring comes to the land, Nord thoughts turn from staying warm to raiding. They've invited Eric to come along. But not all is right in the ripe lands the Nords raid every season. Troops are based where there should be none, and their adversaries are building a navy.

Pixies are disappearing, and not in a good way. The flighty little creatures are made of pure magic, making them both extremely powerful and vulnerable. A mage with the right knowledge can capture and drain them, becoming a wizard of near-godlike power in the process. It's happened before, and it's happening again. But no one will believe the pixies. That same flighty reputation means nobody is taking the abductions seriously - except Kylara Diamantine, the only mage who can transform into a dragon.

Nach der Niederlage gegen den Stahldrachen Kristen Hall ist Sebastian Shadowstorm, der als Mister Black Kriminalität und Gewalt in Detroits Straßen gesät hat, in der Versenkung verschwunden. Die junge Polizistin mit den unerklärlichen Drachenkräften ist weiterhin auf der Suche nach ihm, muss aber erkennen, dass sie und auch ihre Liebsten nicht unverwundbar sind. Von der Gemeinschaft der Drachen weitestgehend ausgegrenzt, entdeckt sie, dass nicht nur Shadowstorm an dem Spiel um ihre unerklärliche Abstammung und die Machtverhältnisse in Detroit beteiligt ist.

Der Aufstand der Straßengangs von Detroit konnte von Kristen und ihren Kollegen mit Verlusten aber dennoch erfolgreich niedergeschlagen werden. Allerdings fehlt noch immer jede Spur vom mysteriösen Strippenzieher Mister Black. Die Kollegen sind von Kristens neu entdeckten Fähigkeiten begeistert, sie haben aber kein Verständnis dafür, dass sie immer öfter gedankenlos vorprescht und damit das gesamte Team gefährdet.

Drachen beherrschen die Geschicke der Welt seit Jahrtausenden. Ihre Klauen stecken in jedem Aspekt des menschlichen Lebens, von der Regierung bis zur Industrie, manchmal offen, manchmal verdeckt. Aber Kristen Hall ist dabei, einen Schraubenschlüssel in das ganze System zu werfen. Denn sie ist auch ein Drache. Sie weiß es nur nicht... noch nicht! Ein Drache, der von Menschen aufgezogen wurde, in der Welt der Menschen, mit menschlichen Werten. Nach ihrem Abschluss an der Polizeiakademie wurde sie direkt in die Reihen der Spezialeinheit SWAT der Detroiter Polizei versetzt.