“Makes sense. That’s it, then?”
“Yeah, that’s it. Are you ready to get your ass handed to you?” He smirks, his eyes gleaming with mirth.
“I wouldn’t get cocky if I were you. Who starts?”
“Since you’re a noob, I’ll let you serve first.”
I grin. I can’t wait to decimate him. The puck drops, and I move my arm so fast, it becomes a blur even to me. Within seconds, I score.
His brows shoot up. “What? No way.”
“Take that, sucker!” I point my mallet at him.
He narrows his eyes. “Beginner’s luck.”
He serves next and proves he can move as fast as a bullet. He scores this time. We keep at this pace, scoring back and forth. I’m having the best time and quickly forget that I’m playing with the enemy in a dragon’s lair. I could never have pictured this scenario in a million years.
It turns out, both of us have a super competitive nature, and the game becomes faster and more aggressive. After I score twice in a row, Vaughn’s eyes flash crimson, and damn it if that sight doesn’t make gremlins awake in my stomach. Determinedto end the game, I whack the puck with extreme force, hoping to make it zoom across faster than he can block it. But he’s in the zone now and blocks my shot with a serve that sends the puck flying to the side and straight into Larsson’s bejeweled figurine display.
The plastic puck shatters the glass shelf, and the figurines come crashing down, breaking into pieces.
“No!” Vaughn puts both hands on his head. “Oh my God. Oh my God.”
I run to where the figurines fell. “Bloody hell!”
“Are there any survivors?” he asks as he walks over.
I search the littered floor and see nothing but colorful pieces of glass and jewels. “No, I’m afraid this was a total annihilation.”
“Larsson is going to kill me.”
I look at him. “He’s going to killus.”
Vaughn’s eyes turn as round as saucers. “We have to go.”
“Your solution is to run away?” I squeak. “He’s a dragon. He’ll find us.”
“Well, I’d rather he finds us once he’s had a chance to cool down.” He takes my hand and turns toward the door. “Come on.”
“We can’t go out that way. He’ll see us. Besides, we don’t know if the Red Guard is sniffing around out front.”
“I don’t know any other way out.”
“God, youarea newbie. Use your nose, Vaughn.”
He frowns. “I’m using my nose. What exactly do you want me to do with it?”
“What?” I shake my head. “Never mind. Follow me.”
I move toward the end of the room where, to the naked eye, there’s no obvious exit. But I pick up at least three different dragon scents—Larsson’s, the other dragon we met earlier, and an unidentified third dragon shifter—concentrated in a specific corner.
“Do you smell it now?” I ask Vaughn.
He takes a couple of deep breaths and then nods. “Yeah. It’s almost like three dragons were having a party in this corner, or they were put in time-out.”
“You say the strangest things. It’s obviously none of those options. There must be a secret passageway here.”
“Right. That must be it.” Vaughn runs his hand over the wall, trying to find the button that will open the passage, but I have a better idea. I hope the crystal in my pocket still has some juice.
