“Ah. I see,” Vyrathion sighs. “Just like everything else in this jungle.”
The raptor launches itself forward. I scream and crouch down.
One moment it is standing there and the next it is a blur of claws, teeth and blue scales tearing through the jungle.
Vyrathion moves almost lazily. His arm snaps out and a crack echoes through the trees.
The raptor is suddenly moving in an entirely different direction. It crashes through a stand of ferns and slams into a tree trunk hard enough to shake leaves from the branches overhead. For a heartbeat everything is still.
Then the predator scrambles back to its feet and stands there, swaying from side to side. Vyrathion simply hit it.
The creature lets out a furious shriek and begins circling instead of charging. Watery blood drips from one side of its jaw.
Vyrathion watches it with visible disappointment. “It just won’t take a hint."
The raptor lunges again.
This time Vyrathion steps aside and catches it by the neck. The entire animal leaves the ground.
The dinosaur kicks and thrashes wildly, claws tearing through empty air. It has to weigh several hundred pounds, yet Vyrathion holds it one-handed as though it weighs nothing at all.
"You see," he tells it conversationally, "this is why predators should assess risk more carefully."
The raptor snaps at his face.
Vyrathion tightens his grip.
The dinosaur lets out a strangled screech.
Then he throws it. The animal sails through the jungle and vanishes into the undergrowth with a tremendous crash.
Silence settles over the forest. Leaves drift slowly back toward the ground. Somewhere far away, something howls in alarm.
After a few moments, Vyrathion brushes a speck of dirt from one forearm. "You are to keep these encounters to a minimum."
I am still staring at the place where the dinosaur disappeared. "Is it dead?"
“I doubt it. It was nowhere near as ludicrously fragile as you.” Before I can think of a response, he starts walking.
I hurry after him. My legs feel weak, partly from fear and partly from relief. Mostly, though, I cannot stop replaying what I just saw. The raptor was enormous and strong. It could have torn me apart in seconds, or bitten my head off.
Vyrathion handled it with absurd ease. The realization should make me feel safer. Instead it sends a chill through me. Because if he can do that to a dinosaur, what exactly could he do tome?
As though sensing my thoughts, he glances back over one shoulder. “Keep up now, female.”
And I do, because the closer I am to him, the safer I am against the wildlife here. “Thanks for doing that. My name is Morgan, by the way. You’re Vyrathion, I think.”
He turns to send me a silver glance. “You think? Or you know?”
I scramble over a root. “I’m pretty sure.”
He walks on until we reach a dense wall of greenery, an immense thornbush the size of a strip mall. I catch up with him. “It’ll be hard to get through that- oh!”
There’s movement inside the bush, and a giant red butterfly flutters towards us through the branches.
Right as it’s about to fly past me, Vyrathion grabs my wrist and pulls me close. His hand shoots out to grab the butterfly by its waspy waist. It beats its wings in frustration, and I spot the long, translucent stinger that protrudes from its lower body. A clear drop hangs at the tip.
“I suspect this would also kill you,” the dragon says. “It was certainly aiming for you.” He tosses the butterfly away.
