spoke to us.
I believe you two are well matched. Otherwise, one of you would have made the killing blow.
I blinked and tightened my grip on the handle of the whip. “If I could have killed him, I would have.”
The dragon gave his head a sharp jerk up and down, agreeing with me, apparently. Same here. I’m hungry and the Tracker would make a great appetizer. If I could have killed her, I would have.
The dragons sitting around us chuckled, laughing and exchanging looks I didn’t like. The kind of condescending looks of a parent seeing something the children couldn’t. Suddenly I wanted to be off his back. I untangled the whip from around his neck and slid off, stumbling on my numbed and cramping legs.
His tail whipped around, propping me up on one side, helping me gain my balance. What the hell?
I shook my head and looked up at him. His eyes widened and he snatched his tail away from me as if it burned him. Maybe it did. All I could see was that if I wasn’t careful, I was going to add to my circus act.
“Oh, shit. I can’t take on any more juveniles!” Jack was going to kill me.
I am NOT a juvenile. His lips curled back over his teeth.
Blaz! You will not disgrace us.
The dragon, Blaz, hunched his shoulders and let out a suspicious hissing sound, not unlike a kid muttering under his breath.
Blaz turned his eyes at me and glared. I’m not going to protect you.
“Who the hell asked you too?” I snapped, limping toward the last place I’d seen Pamela. Somewhere in the fight, I’d gotten my right leg thumped hard and already the muscles of that thigh were tightening up, banding into a Charlie horse that was going to a bitch to deal with.
ENOUGH!
The word was followed by a roar that made Blaz’s bellows earlier seem small in comparison. I fell to my knees, clapped my hands over my ears, and then something hard and warm wrapped around me, sheltering me from the wrath of the older dragon.
I glanced up to see Blaz over top of me, facing the other dragons, his teeth bared and his tail curled around me.
Piss off, old man, I will deal with this. Blaz’s voice was distinct, deeper and more gravelly than the other dragon’s.
She carries the blood of the lost, she spilled your blood and you spilled hers, both mingled. The binding is complete. You are hers until the final storm comes. Do not forget this, Blaz. Do not disgrace our kind with your reluctance to be what you are. With those words, the other dragons lifted off their perches in unison, into the sky, with a swirl of sparkling colors and wings, disappearing within seconds as if they had never been there.
I put a hand on Blaz’s tail, feeling something shift between us, and he let out a long sigh, rolling onto his back away from me.
Go to your friends and do not come back here. Ever. Or I will eat you.
That was clear enough for me.
“Nice meeting you too, Blaz.” I gathered up my weapons and ran to the front entrance of the mock canyon. There, peeking through the other side was Alex, his golden eyes taking up his entire face.
“Rylee hurt?”
“No, I’m okay. Where are Eve and Pamela?” Alex led me through the strewn boulders to see that the two girls were crouched in the ‘v’ of a boulder and the side of the mountain. Eve’s eyes were pain filled, but cognizant.
“How bad is it?” I knelt down beside her and moved her feathers so I could see the puncture wounds in her sides.
“I’ll live, the wounds will heal quickly, but I don’t know about my wings. I’ve never had broken wings before so I don’t know for sure.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “The Beast can’t be that far behind with this delay; we have to find you a place to stay and either Alex or Pamela is going to have to stay with you.”
Pamela swallowed hard, her blue eyes as serious as I’d ever seen them. “Alex isn’t going to be able to help her much. And I think my arm is broken. I can stay with her.”
Already she was more grown up than
I believe you two are well matched. Otherwise, one of you would have made the killing blow.
I blinked and tightened my grip on the handle of the whip. “If I could have killed him, I would have.”
The dragon gave his head a sharp jerk up and down, agreeing with me, apparently. Same here. I’m hungry and the Tracker would make a great appetizer. If I could have killed her, I would have.
The dragons sitting around us chuckled, laughing and exchanging looks I didn’t like. The kind of condescending looks of a parent seeing something the children couldn’t. Suddenly I wanted to be off his back. I untangled the whip from around his neck and slid off, stumbling on my numbed and cramping legs.
His tail whipped around, propping me up on one side, helping me gain my balance. What the hell?
I shook my head and looked up at him. His eyes widened and he snatched his tail away from me as if it burned him. Maybe it did. All I could see was that if I wasn’t careful, I was going to add to my circus act.
“Oh, shit. I can’t take on any more juveniles!” Jack was going to kill me.
I am NOT a juvenile. His lips curled back over his teeth.
Blaz! You will not disgrace us.
The dragon, Blaz, hunched his shoulders and let out a suspicious hissing sound, not unlike a kid muttering under his breath.
Blaz turned his eyes at me and glared. I’m not going to protect you.
“Who the hell asked you too?” I snapped, limping toward the last place I’d seen Pamela. Somewhere in the fight, I’d gotten my right leg thumped hard and already the muscles of that thigh were tightening up, banding into a Charlie horse that was going to a bitch to deal with.
ENOUGH!
The word was followed by a roar that made Blaz’s bellows earlier seem small in comparison. I fell to my knees, clapped my hands over my ears, and then something hard and warm wrapped around me, sheltering me from the wrath of the older dragon.
I glanced up to see Blaz over top of me, facing the other dragons, his teeth bared and his tail curled around me.
Piss off, old man, I will deal with this. Blaz’s voice was distinct, deeper and more gravelly than the other dragon’s.
She carries the blood of the lost, she spilled your blood and you spilled hers, both mingled. The binding is complete. You are hers until the final storm comes. Do not forget this, Blaz. Do not disgrace our kind with your reluctance to be what you are. With those words, the other dragons lifted off their perches in unison, into the sky, with a swirl of sparkling colors and wings, disappearing within seconds as if they had never been there.
I put a hand on Blaz’s tail, feeling something shift between us, and he let out a long sigh, rolling onto his back away from me.
Go to your friends and do not come back here. Ever. Or I will eat you.
That was clear enough for me.
“Nice meeting you too, Blaz.” I gathered up my weapons and ran to the front entrance of the mock canyon. There, peeking through the other side was Alex, his golden eyes taking up his entire face.
“Rylee hurt?”
“No, I’m okay. Where are Eve and Pamela?” Alex led me through the strewn boulders to see that the two girls were crouched in the ‘v’ of a boulder and the side of the mountain. Eve’s eyes were pain filled, but cognizant.
“How bad is it?” I knelt down beside her and moved her feathers so I could see the puncture wounds in her sides.
“I’ll live, the wounds will heal quickly, but I don’t know about my wings. I’ve never had broken wings before so I don’t know for sure.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “The Beast can’t be that far behind with this delay; we have to find you a place to stay and either Alex or Pamela is going to have to stay with you.”
Pamela swallowed hard, her blue eyes as serious as I’d ever seen them. “Alex isn’t going to be able to help her much. And I think my arm is broken. I can stay with her.”
Already she was more grown up than
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