Novels by Emmanuel Ayomide

The roar of the crowd was deafening.Thousands of voices screamed in excitement. Thousands of hands clapped and waved. The arena was packed to the brim with nobles, commoners, officials, and Beast Tamers from every corner of the land. Banners fluttered in the wind. Music blared from the horns. The tournament of the century had finally begun.And Kael was standing in the center of it all.He wore a mask. A simple black mask that covered his face from his nose to his forehead. His hair was hidden under a dark hood. His clothes were plain and unremarkable. He looked like nobody. He looked like nothing. That was exactly what he wanted.He had entered under a false name. The Ghost Tamer. It was fitting. He was a ghost. A nobody. Someone who did not exist. Someone who could disappear into the shadows at any moment.But today, he was not going to disappear. Today, he was going to fight.Mira was in the stands. She had found a seat near the back. She was watching him with anxious eyes. She ha

The village was small, but the news was big.Kael and Mira had been walking for three days. They had crossed mountains. They had hidden in caves. They had slept under the stars. Their bodies were tired. Their feet were sore. But they had finally reached civilization. A tiny village at the foot of the mountains. A place where no one knew them. A place where they could rest.They blended in with the crowd. Kael kept his hood up. Mira kept her head down. Zephyr was hidden under a cloak. The creature was still too weak to fly, but it was getting stronger. Its wings were fully mended. Its scales were bright. It was almost ready.They bought supplies at the market. Bread. Water. A few herbs for healing. They kept their heads down. They did not speak to anyone. They did not draw attention.But they listened. They listened to everything."Did you see the light?" a merchant asked his customer. "They say it came from the mountains. They say it was a sign.""A sign of what?" the customer asked.

The hunters were closing in.Kael could hear them behind him. The thundering of hooves against rock. The shouting of men giving orders. The barking of tracking hounds. They were getting closer. Every moment they were getting closer.He pushed forward. His legs burned. His lungs screamed. Zephyr was draped across his back, heavier than it had any right to be. The creature was still weak from its awakening. Its wings were mended but not strong enough for flight. Its legs could barely hold its own weight. Kael had to carry it. He had no choice."Keep going," Mira shouted from behind him. "Do not stop. Do not look back."Kael did not look back. He kept his eyes forward. He scanned the terrain for any advantage. Any hiding spot. Any escape route. The mountains were unforgiving. Steep cliffs. Loose rocks. Narrow paths that dropped into nothing. One wrong step and they would fall to their deaths.But falling would be better than being caught. Falling would be better than letting the hunters

Commander Darian had been waiting for this moment for thirty years.He sat in his office, surrounded by the spoils of his conquests. The heads of powerful beasts lined the walls. The skulls of rivals hung from hooks. Maps of the continent covered every surface. He had spent his life studying the ancient texts. He had spent his fortune funding expeditions. He had spent his soul chasing a dream that everyone else had called impossible.But now the dream was real.The golden light had been seen in the mountains. His spies had confirmed it. A pillar of light that reached the heavens. A roar that echoed across the peaks. The awakening of something ancient. Something powerful. Something he had been hunting for longer than most people had been alive.His second in command entered the room. Captain Vex was a tall man with a scar across his face. He had been with Darian for fifteen years. He had never failed a mission. He was loyal. He was ruthless. He was exactly what Darian needed."Commande

Zephyr would not stop moving.The creature paced around the shelter. Back and forth. Back and forth. Its claws scraped against the cracked floor. Its wings twitched. Its tail lashed from side to side. It made sounds Kael had never heard before. Deep growls. High pitched whines. Strange noises that did not seem to come from any living thing.Kael watched with growing alarm. "What is happening to it? It has never done this before. It could barely move a few days ago. Now it will not stay still."Mira stood beside him. Her face was pale. Her hands were shaking. "I do not know. But something is changing. Something big. Look at its eyes. They are glowing."Kael looked. Mira was right. Zephyr's golden eyes were brighter than ever. They pulsed with light. They seemed to see things that were not there. Things from another world."We have to take it somewhere safe," Mira said. "Somewhere no one can see. If it transforms here, everyone will know. The hunters will find us."Kael thought about th

The symbols on Zephyr's scales were not random.Kael had always known that. Deep down, he had felt it. But he had been too tired. Too scared. Too busy trying to keep the creature alive to think about what the markings meant. Now Mira had said the words out loud. And he could not unsee them."They look like writing," Mira said. She was kneeling beside Zephyr. Her finger traced the patterns on its scales. "Look at this line. It curves like a letter. And this one. It loops. These are not natural markings. Someone put them there. Or something."Kael knelt beside her. He looked closer. She was right. The markings were organized. They formed patterns. They repeated in certain places. They were deliberate. They meant something."I never noticed that before," he said. "I mean, I saw them. But I did not think about what they could be. I was too worried about keeping Zephyr alive."Mira looked at him. "You have been through a lot. It is okay to miss things. But now you have to pay attention. Th