Dragons In Our Midst

"Dragons in our Midst" is a Christian fantasy series written by Bryan Davis about two teenagers who are anthrozils, or humans with dragon blood. The books in the series include "Raising Dragons", "The Candlestone", "Circles of Seven", and "Tears of a Dragon". There are also four books are in the sister series, "Oracles of Fire".

"Raising Dragons"

In the book a boy learns of his dragon past, a girl has known hers for years. They combine their faith, courage, and love to overcome evil, a slayer who seeks to bring an end to dragon heritage, forever.

This story centers around two children: Billy Bannister and Bonnie Silver. One day, Billy wakes up and discovers that his breath has gotten bad enough to burn his own hands. He goes to school, and during the first class he goes to the bathroom. The school bully, Adam Lark, is in the bathroom on a step ladder holding a lighter to the fire sprinkler. Billy attempts to blow out the lighter. To Billy’s surprise, his breath sets off the alarm! Billy’s teacher enters the washroom and sees Billy and Adam, who slipped the lighter into Billy’s hand. Billy looks like the guilty culprit. The boys are sent to the principal’s office, where they are suspended. Billy gets a ride home with his professor, an English Oxford graduate. Billy sneaks inside his house so his mother will not notice him.

Later Billy overhears his mother having a conversation with his father and the two of them discuss when they should tell Billy about his father's past. He is called to the living room. His father explains that he was once a dragon, but was turned into a human by Merlin. He tells Billy that his breath will develop into fire-breathing.

At school, Dr. Whittier, the principal, discovers that Bonnie Silver was once Bonnie Connor. He is revealed to be a dragon slayer named Devin who killed Irene Connor, a former dragon. Bonnie and Billy escape him when Bonnie, who has dragon wings, flies away carrying Billy. Devin burns down Billy's house while Bonnie, Billy, and his family escape to the airport and fly away in Billy's father's plane. It is revealed that Devin stowed away on the plane. He shoots Billy's father and kidnaps Bonnie, parachuting out of the plane. Billy and his mother take a parachute; they are forced to leave his father to go down with the plane.

Eventually, Billy rescues Bonnie. Bonnie uses Devin's sword, presimably Excalibur, to desintigrate him. They find out that Billy's father did not die; he returned to his dragon form due to the fulfillment of one of Merlin's prophecies. The books ends with Billy in the hospital recovering from his injuries.

"The Candlestone"

In the second book of the series, Billy and Bonnie wonder about a number of unsolved mysteries. What was the strange book that the dragon slayers used to summon a dragon? Where is the magnificent sword that seemed to disintegrate the evil Devin? And what happened to The Candlestone, that strange gem, always absorbing light and with it the powers of dragons or dragon children within its sphere of influence?

The Candlestone not only absorbs light, it captures and holds encoded light, including transluminated humans, people who have been transformed into light energy by Excalibur, King Arthur’s great sword. When Bonnie enters the stone herself, she learns that many disembodied souls have fallen prey to the gems powers, but no one has ever escaped.

The two teens face their greatest fears, and they learn to use their strengths, both innate and newly found, as they battle powerful enemies, ancient fiends from times long past, and the horrors of the blackest of prisons, captivity with the walls of unearthly darkness, the crystalline tomb of The Candlestone.

"Circles of Seven"

The first book, "Raising Dragons", plunged two teenagers, Billy Bannister and Bonnie Silver, into mind-boggling mysteries, life or death pursuits, and deadly sword-to-sword battles. In the second book, "The Candlestone", Billy is led into mortal combat with a powerful dragon slayer. Separated from his friends and finding his dragon traits useless against this enemy, he has to rely on new weapons, a sword and shield he cannot even see.

In "Circles of Seven", using their dragon traits and the wisdom they gained through their earlier adventures, Billy and Bonnie explore a multi-dimensional domain of evil. In this realm, they navigate seven perilous worlds, each one manifested in a circular plane of existence that leads them deeper into the domain of a powerful enemy.

The seventh circle holds a group of prisoners, captives of the evil mistress of the circles, and Billy has to find a way to set them free and give them new life. When tragedy strikes along the way, Billy has to face the most difficult decision of his life, whether to forsake Bonnie to rescue the prisoners or to find a way to save her, his best friend in the world.

"Tears of a Dragon"

"Tears of a Dragon" is the fourth installment in the "Dragons in our Midst" series. This contemporary fantasy gives young readers all the adventure and excitement they love while opening their eyes to great themes such as faith, courage, wisdom, and redemption.

Victory in the Circles of Seven came at a great cost to Billy Bannister and Bonnie Silver. A vicious evil was unleashed on the earth that only the dragons can defeat. With Billy’s father, the great Clefspeare, missing, Billy and Bonnie must lead the dragons into war against the Watchers—demonic beings as old as the earth itself. Masters at the art of deception, the Watchers gather most of humanity to their side. A remnant of wise humans, the friends of the dragons, unite in the struggle against the Watchers. With heart-stopping action, the final battle between dragons and their enemies comes to a climax. But in order to win the war, at least one of the dragons must die.

As the story ends, Billy and Bonnie are faced with the greatest decision of their lives. Will they keep the dragon traits that have cost them so much danger and heartache, or will they turn to normal human life and end the slayers’ lust for their blood forever?

"Oracles of Fire"

The "Oracles of Fire" are another series by Bryan Davis (author of "Dragons in Our Midst") that goes along with the "Dragons in Our Midst" books. The series includes "Eye of the Oracle", "Enoch's Ghost", "Last of the Nephilim", and "The Bones Of Makaidos".

Major Characters

Races

"Dragons in Our Midst" has several different species of beings featured in the series:

*Angels - They act as God's messengers and soldiers. The only major angels introduced are St. Michael and the Cherub that guarded the Tree of Life. Most of the angels featured in the series are the Fallen Angels.
*Anthrozils - Anthrozils are hybrids of humans and dragons. They are the result when a human and dragon procreate.
*Dragons - Dragons were specifically created to be protectors and servants of humans. Like the angels, the dragons act as messengers and soldiers of God, however, also like angels, some can be corrupted into doing evil.
*Fallen angels - These are angels that became corrupted and aligned themselves with Satan. The Watchers fall into this category.
*Humans - The creatures created in God's image and descended from Adam and Eve. Their D.N.A. is very similar to that of dragons and therefore are able to procreate with them.
*Nephilim - The abominable offspring of the fallen angels, the Watchers, and human women, Nephilim are a race of giants and demons.
*Underborns - Human-like race, grown in a similar way as Morgan's Nephilim.

Anthrozils and Dragons

* Billy Bannister - One of the two central characters. Billy is an anthrozil, able to breathe fire and sense danger.
* Bonnie Silver - The daughter of a princess Irene (Hartanna) and Dr. Conner. One of the two central characters, Bonnie is an anthrozil with wings who has known of her dragon side for years.
* Ashley Stalworth - A high school girl who has remarkable intelligence, which her grandfather explains to her in the end of The Candlestone comes from her dragon heritige. A laboratory assistant to Doctor Connor (Bonnie's father) and an expert in physics and light frequencies. She also has the ablity to heal, which is why she is not affected by the candlestone.
* Gabriel Drake - Ashley's older brother, and the first child of Hannah (Thigocia) and Timothy (Makaidos) after they became human. He, like Bonnie, has dragon wings.
* Jared Bannister/Clefspeare - Billy's father. Jared is a dragon named Clefspeare in human form.
* Irene Silver(Connor)/Hartanna - Bonnie Silver's mother, a dragon in human form.
* Hannah Drake/Thigocia - One of the dragons Billy brought back to life in "Circles of Seven", Thigocia is the mother of Ashley Stalworth and Gabriel Drake.
* Sir Patrick/Valcor - Once the dragon Valcor (Hartanna's brother), Sir Patrick (as he is now known) is Shiloh's father.
* Timothy Drake/Makaidos - King of Dragons and fathered two anthrozils with Hannah, Gabriel Drake and Ashley Stalworth.
* Rebekah/Legossi - One of the dragons brought to life in the Circles. Mother of an unborn child and daughter of Maven.
* Tamara/Sorentine - Daughter of Makaidos and Thigocia as dragons. Mate of Gartrand and possibly mother of an anthrozil.
* Dallas/Firedda - Daughter of Makaidos and Thigocia as dragons. Aunto of Legossi and mother of an anthrozil named Mariel.
* Dorian/Yellinia - A dragon in human form.
* Jordan/Martinesse - A dragon in human form.
*Alithia/Kaylee - Sister of Sorentine and Firedda and mother of an anthrozil named Thomas.
*Carboni/Elise - Sister of Legossi and Gartrand.

Underborns

* Sapphira Adi - Originally named Mara
* Acacia - Acacia is Sapphira's twin sister.
* Paili - Best friends with Sapphira. Marries Patrick and together they had Shiloh.

Human Characters

* Walter - Billy's best pal, and descendant of King Arthur, which is proved in Tears of a Dragon when he is able to use Excalibur's powers.
* Professor Charles Hamilton - Billy, Walter, and Bonnie's history teacher, and a former Oxford professor who recently moved in from England.
* Marilyn Bannister - Billy Bannister's mother.
* Sir Albert Devin/Dr. Edward Whittier - A dragon slayer with a long list of aliases.
* Palin - Sir Devin's squire.
* Shiloh - A girl whom Bonnie found trapped in the Sixth Circle.

Other Characters

* Gandalf - Billy's cat.
* Hambone - An old bloodhound belonging to an equally elderly "hillbilly" named Arlo Hatfield.
* Larry - Ashley Stalworth's supercomputer, Larry shows up in Circles of Seven.

Biblical and historical figures

* King Arthur - Arthur is the King of England.
*Elam - One of the sons of Shem, one of Noah's son.
* Father Enoch - A wise and just man, born long before Noah's Flood. Acts as a teacher to many different protagonists, including Acacia and Elam.
* Joseph of Arimathea - Billy and Bonnie spiritual guide.
* Lucifer - Also known as Satan, is, in truth, the source of all evil in the series.
* Merlin - Merlin was King Arthur's advisor and spiritual guide to Billy and Bonnie in their journey in Dragon's Rest.
* Morgan Le Fay - A "former" human who hopes to trick Billy into letting her have Bonnie. Her true name is Lilith and also claims to be the Lady of the Lake that gave Arthur Excalibur.
* King Nimrod - A Biblical king born some time after Noah's Flood.
* Noah - A righteous man, ordered by God to build an ark to protect his family as well as two of every animal species.
* Samyaza - Morgan's husband and the leader of the fallen angels and demons, the Watchers.

External links

* [http://www.dragonsinourmidst.com/forums/ Official "Dragons in our Midst" Fan Fourm]
* [http://www.dragonsinourmidst.com/ The Official "Dragons in our Midst" Website]
* [http://www.writetoinspire.com/article1314.html Fantasy and the Heart of a Child by Bryan Davis]