Our eyes locked.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
FRID
High up in the sky, the air was cool and fresh. The wind caressed my skin, and the sensation was unexpectedly pleasant. My muscles were stiff, and a little sore after whole days of flying or fighting. I filled my lungs, feeling the chill throughout my body, and searched the dark area below.
Mahin said that this tribe, this settlement, was quite large. They might use something like fire, especially at night. I made a wide circle around the entrance to the compound and returned to the building where Victor and I spent our first night in the wastelands.
Suddenly, a faint, piercing sound reached my ears. The growl of a crawler dragon. Blood rushed through my veins, my heart pounded.
What was I thinking? Of course those things would be out at night, they weren’t limited to prowling the ground like regular crawlers.
I dove below, approaching one of the buildings. I swiftly landed on the roof as I transformed and took cover.
Oh fuck! Did it see me?
I crouched low and carefully monitored the sky above. My breathing sounded loudly in my ears and it felt like anyone would be able to hear it.
It’s not that bad. If it’s just one dragon, I could kill it.
Time slowed as I shifted my gaze from left to right. Then the bone chilling roar came again, but it was much closer this time.
I bit down hard, wrapping myself around the chimney’s crown. Somewhere beneath me, from inside the building, I could hear multiple crawlers that were awakened by my not so soft landing. I did not care about them, they would not be able to get on the roof anyway. The crawler dragons were much more dangerous.
My nose picked up the stench of the decay, as if death itself just brushed against my skin. A rush of air touched my neck, lifting my braid and I turned my head. My eyes widened as a massive shape passed just several feet away from my face. I did not even have time to react. The shape lowered to the clearing, but behind it was another monster, then another, and another. Carefully, I moved my head, counting six of them on the roofs and the pavement. They acted as if the whole city belonged to them, and from where I stood, they were not wrong. The sound of clay shingles breaking filled my ears. Another beast had landed no more than fifty feet away from me. It was tall and almost all intact. It was of a greyish color with dark veins that wrapped around its body. It had an elongated head that looked almost grotesque in the faint light of the moon. It shifted on its feet and one of its paws slipped. The sound of claws on clay made asharp, high-pitched noise that tore through the air, like someone dragging a dagger over bone.
Seven!
Seven monster dragons!
Seven of them, against me with just a dagger and a tiny jar of sacred water.
I froze to my spot, watching the beast as it extended its neck, sniffing the air. If his sense of smell was as good as his other senses, I would not stand a chance. A rumble came from somewhere below. The crawlers in the building were searching for ways to get to the roof. If they find a way up, I would not be able to hide any longer.
Cold, sticky sweat covered the back of my neck and the muscles on my thighs contracted. My body wanted to shapeshift, to run. But, I knew that seven crawler dragons would easily intercept me in the air, and probably tear me into chunks, like they loved to do.
My hands clenched a brick from the crumbled chimney, scraping my fingers. I had always considered myself lucky, but as it turned out, I was not so lucky after all.
I slowed my breathing, ordering my body to stay still as stone. Sweat rolled down from my forehead, despite the cold, dry air, my skin was burning.
The monster turned, exposing the back of its head. It was looking at the other crawler dragons. By the screeches that reached my ears, I could tell that they were eating the crawlers below.
Go to them!
Go to them!
Go to them!
I repeated in my head as if I could influence the beast.
A new sound reached my ears and my blood surged so fast I thought my veins might pop. Bricks fell on the rooftop beside me, and the distorted head of a crawler appeared from the chimney. Its mouth with exposed teeth and milk-white eyes fixed on my face. The undead extended its arms, trying to reach me.
Instinctively, I jumped back, only then realizing that my cover was blown. Behind me I could already hear the sound of flapping wings. I ran to the edge of the roof, not daring to look back. Flames licked my back as I jumped off the building. My body went into fight or flight mode, and I shapeshifted, ignoring the burns on the back of my neck.
As fast as I could, I lifted myself up. The dragon jumped off the roof right behind me. It was getting closer by the second and there was no way I could shake it off. The dragons on the streets were getting in the air too, no doubt excited about a hunt.
The distance between us was shortening and I was out of options. I could not go back to the compound, I would not make it, and there was no place I could hide. The dragons were too close behind me.
