To my faithful wife and best friend, Susie I am amazed at your unfailing love. In my eyes, you personify grace and beauty. Thank you for reading this manuscript so many times without a single complaint.
To my AMG family Dan Penwell, Warren Baker, Rick Steele, Dale Anderson, Trevor Overcash, Joe Suter, and all the staff thank you for believing in these crazy stories. God is using us to change lives all over the world.
Most of all, I thank God for the inspiration, grace, and strength to conceive and create this book. Without Him, I am nothing.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Eye of the Oracle is the first book in the new series, Oracles of Fire. It is a prequel to the Dragons in our Midst (DIOM) series and chronicles the events that preceded DIOM. The next book in Oracles of Fire will be Enoch’s Ghost, a sequel to DIOM. Enoch’s Ghost will pick up the story where Eye of the Oracle and Tears of a Dragon end.
Here is how the stories line up in chronological order. The new series is boldfaced.
Readers who have not delved into Dragons in our Midst will have no trouble understanding and enjoying Eye of the Oracle. This story begins a new adventure that will lead readers into a multi-dimensional land, a fascinating journey guided by the Oracles of Fire.
CONTENTS
Dedication
Author’s Note
Acknowledgments
Merlin’s Prayer
Book 1: In the Beginning
Book 2: Transformation
Book 3: Refiner’s Fire
Epilogue
Other Books by Bryan Davis
Book 1: In the Beginning
Prologue
Chapter 1: The Seeds of Eden
Chapter 2: The Dark Side of the Rainbow
Chapter 3: The Battle for the Ark
Chapter 4: The Raven’s Plot
Chapter 5: The Spectral Promise
Chapter 6: Underborns
Chapter 7: The Abyss
Chapter 8: A Prayer for Dragons
Chapter 9: The World Above
Chapter 10: Forbidden Fruit
Chapter 11: Elohim’s Bard
Book 2: Transformation
Chapter 1: A New Beginning
Chapter 2: The Lady of the Lake
Chapter 3: The Hidden Portal
Chapter 4: Raising Dragons
Chapter 5: Baptism of Fire
Chapter 6: Councils of War and Peace
Chapter 7: The Price of Betrayal
Chapter 8: Abandoned
Chapter 9: The Transformation
Chapter 10: Dragons’ Rest
Chapter 11: The Conspiracy
Chapter 12: In Hiding
Book 3: Refiner’s Fire
Chapter 1: New Homes
Chapter 2: Reunion
Chapter 3: Gabriel’s Gift
Chapter 4: Morgan’s Victory
Chapter 5: The Guardian Angel
Chapter 6: Acacia’s Journey
Chapter 7: Searching for Shiloh
Chapter 8: Bonnie Conner
Chapter 9: Blood and Light
Chapter 10: Through the Storm
Chapter 11: Dragons in our Midst
MERLIN’S PRAYER
O King of Light, so true and wise,
Who grants in troubled times
A wealth of counsel from above
And prophecy in rhymes,
I ask Thee now to pour Thy mind
In measure after measure,
For days of darkness snuff Thy light
And rob our only treasure.
An evil power snares the land
Deceiving flesh and blood,
And even kings are fooled by her
Beguiling, blinding flood.
But hast thou granted her a time
To foster lies and hate?
Dost Thou foresee what I cannot,
A day this flood abates?
A flood of murders, vengeance, wrath,
And hatefulness within
’Tis worse than forty days of rain
That purged the earth of sin.
For in this flood we must endure
And swim amidst the mire,
While kings do battle over words
And murder what they sire.
I beg you now to bring an ark,
A savior, king, a knight,
And rescue those who wait in faith
To see his sword of light.
Prepare me, Lord, to live till I
This noble son behold,
For prophets dream, but few awake
To see your plan unfold.
BOOK 1: IN THE BEGINNING
PROLOGUE
So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. (Genesis 3:24)
I am a daughter of the earth, sown and rooted in the soil of the land of the dead. I am an underborn, a slave girl, a bondservant to a dark mistress of evil. For centuries I have toiled, flinching at the sound of whips, grimacing at their sting on my back, and mourning for my fellow slaves as they expired at the hands of our tormentors. One by one, they perished, and now I stand alone.
This is my story, and a story of sorrow often begins in darkness. I must lead you through the valley of the shadow of death, for only a journey through shadows will allow us to fully comprehend the beauty of heavenly light.
Alas! The darkest shadows are cast by God’s very own image, rebels who stand against the holy light implanted by their creator. For those who see the light and yet raise a fist at its source are the darkest souls indeed.
You must meet these foul creatures and become aware of their sinister plots. As they hunger to steal the souls of men, you will learn to despise their dark