Eamon, Book 1 of Queen of the Flightless Dragons, Paperback

Eamon is the first book in the trilogy, Queen of the Flightless Dragons about a girl gamer in a taco truck who finds dragons and fights interdimensional demons in Austin, Texas.

Have you ever been minding your own business at work and then got stabbed, and started leaking magic?

Willow Jenkins is about to find out that was her best day that
week.

Family secrets, old grimoires,
dragons in Texas, taco trucks, portals through keyholes, a search for a lost love, and finding out you’re on the most wanted list of an evil empire.

That gets her to Thursday.

Want to see how her weekend went? Get the box wine and Pepsi and pour yourself a kalimotxo and get ready for an epic battle, gamers to the rescue, wizards and dark magic, dragons and mayhem in an effort to save the world. All Willow wants is to go back to her taco truck in East Austin with her dog and hang out at the game shop for magicals behind Pinata World. Is that even possible anymore? Find out and start reading today!

The acrid smell of melting pennies bubbled up in the small, enclosed space of the truck singeing the inside of Willow Jenkins’ nose.

"Damn, did I leave a spell burning again?" The sound of a slow, lingering sizzle wafted up from the floor. The young woman glanced up at the traffic light, lifting her feet to jam her sneakers on the dashboard. No cars were behind her in the early morning light. Small favors. 

Her fingers stayed curled around the oversized steering wheel as she quickly ran her options through her head. 

The edge of her navy blue Ked easily flipped over the floor mat
and revealed two pennies and a nickel fusing themselves to the metal frame of the truck. Part of the dark green floor mat had turned gooey. "What? When
did I try that spell?" She let out a sigh as a crooked smile came over her face.

"Oh yeah, note to self. No more kalimotxos when I feel sorry for myself." Her hazel eyes watered from the expanding odor as she racked her hungover brain. "It's a simple one, Willow, come on. A newbie witch can do it." She shook her hands and gripped the steering wheel again, a smile spreading across her face. "Exteritti, motus, vibrabit
volumine." She felt the quiver of energy pass through her, spreading out in a luxurious wave. "Oh— yeah—“ Her head rocked back for a second, eyes fluttering shut, her mouth open in a round O. It happened every time.

Willow jerked her head back and looked down. The metals had solidified.  

"Works for me." She flipped the floor mat back in place and leaned out the window to see if anyone had caught a glimpse of a magical having a moment in plain view. A sense of relief passed through her. The streets were still quiet.  

The light turned green, and she eased her foot onto the gas, swallowing hard. "Something's got to change."

The ungainly taco truck bounced into the large parking lot on Austin's East Side. Large grackles flew overhead, trailing the truck and settling on nearby power lines with a chorus of cawing that filled the air. Willow barely noticed, the birds seemed to always be everywhere. She drove across the wide lot to her space and cut the motor as it gently stopped swaying. No other trucks were there yet.

She crawled out of the cab in the front, sliding across the curling navy blue electrical tape, and walked around to the back, glancing up at the wide Texas sky streaked with red and purple.  

"Never gets old," she whispered, pulling her long, brown hair into a loose ponytail. She tapped the brightly colored mural on the side of the truck for good luck, the grit rubbing against her fingers, and unlocked the back door. She was already reaching for her phone.  

She took a few steps away, angling the name, Tony's Tacos into the picture and a slice of the early morning sky against the aqua blue and red truck.

At Chicon and 6th. Breakfast Tacos with fried avocado #besttacosinaustin #startyourdayright #tonystacos. It only took her a second to add a small taco emoji and a little sparkle. Instagram always brought them running.

"What?"

She momentarily caught sight of a blur of pale, honey-colored flesh and blue cotton as she was turning. At the same time, she registered the heavy press of something cold against her side, leaning against her favorite gray Wonder Woman t-shirt.

The voice was a whispered growl. "Don't turn. Let's do this the easy way."  

Taller than me. Thin and wiry. White guy, bad breath. .45 caliber and nervous. I can take him.

Willow took a chance and glanced backward again, quickly taking in more details. Dark blue eyes, pinpoint pupils. Worse hangover than mine. Olive branch tattoo on his neck, general anger.  

The robber grimaced and shoved her hard against the corner of the truck, her chin hitting the large, round metal studs. "Oof." Her phone clattered to the ground while her fist pushed against her belly, shoving her breath out in a short rush. She sucked air in through her teeth and focused, jamming her elbow back hard into his ribs. He loosened his hold on her, just enough to let Willow spin around and kick him, flat-footed against his shin.

She knew just the spot.

He howled in pain and stepped back, his feet halfway over the
grate of a round storm drain. The spell was already forming itself in her brain even as he lifted his gun toward the middle of her face.

"Ad metallum. Pulvis sunt pariter." Energy rolled through her, calming her down. She could feel the warmth spreading through to her ears.

She had misjudged him. His eyes were cold as his finger began to squeeze the trigger. "Not your first rodeo," she whispered. "Too much adrenaline."

The spell took hold and the grating under his feet instantly
turned to sand, disappearing under his heels and shifting his weight. His arms flew up just as he fired, the bullet sailing over Willow's head. She didn't flinch, absorbed in watching him fall.

The look of surprise didn't leave his face, even as he disappeared into the sewer butt first, tucked in two like a taco. The gun had flown out of his hand, skittering across the blacktop.  

Momentum carried him the rest of the way down, his elbow landing with a crack against the cement. Willow finally flinched. "That had to hurt," she muttered.

"Irony is everywhere." Willow retrieved her phone, neatly dialing 911 with her thumb. She peered over the edge of the open drain.

"I'd like to report an attempted robbery. Parking lot by the
construction at Chicon and 6th. Look for the Tony's Taco truck. No, the guy's still here. You'd better hurry." She hung up without giving any more details, crouching. "It's better for everybody if you stay down there. Your black and white Uber will be here any minute." 

"You're a fucking witch! The devil! What was that shit you were mumbling?" He was holding his arm gingerly against his chest, sitting up in a few inches of murky water.

"Latin. I wasn't mumbling anything. You have the worst luck, dude."

Willow stood up and looked around again, smoothing the front of her t-shirt. She could hear sirens getting closer just as the first customers were jogging across 6th Street in the distance, headed in her direction. She looked down the opening at the thief, her hands on her hips. "I gotta get to work. Nothing like my breakfast tacos. It's the secret sauce." 

She took two steps away from the opening, waving to the regulars who were getting closer even as a ripple of energy passed across the back of her neck. Her usual early warning system. She heard him stirring in the water behind her and turned back, already muttering, "Relaxat." But he was on her, surprising her with his speed and ease getting out of the hole in the ground.

His face was inches from hers, his foul warm breath taking up her personal space. It was one, smooth movement that felt like he was asking her to dance. Instead, he was shoving a short, wide blade into her right side.  

"Et relaxat requiem." The words spilled out of Willow's mouth as she stumbled back. The familiar wave of energy stirred at her feet but this time, it came roaring through her body, seeking out the injury, burning up and down her spine. Her arms flailed at her sides as a stream of purple light dribbled out of the wound. Glowing purple marbles bounced down her pant leg, crumbling the ground under her foot.

She rolled slowly backward toward the ground, her eyes still focused on the thief in front of her, even as her spell took hold, knocking him senseless with his eyes wide open, still on his feet. She started to lose
consciousness and saw him hesitate, staring at the ground around her, a confused and startled look on his face.

"What? What is it?" Willow shook her head and tried to rise on one elbow, falling back hard against the blacktop. Her head lolled to one side, and she watched as the thief dropped the knife and took off running.
He was still holding his arm gingerly against his chest as he pitched himself over the chain link fence that had always been more of a suggestion than a real deterrent.