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“We’re in the middle of nowhere. You have no idea because you wereunconscious…”
“After you punched me,” I reminded him as I hesitantly examined mycheek.
His hand shook slightly, which made me even more uneasy. “You can’t leave. You’ll get lost. You’ll bealone.”
“I’d rather be lost and alone than here with you.” My eyes narrowed as I studied him. “Put the gun down and get out of my way,” Iurged.
Spencer shook his head, his grip on the gun becoming even more unstable. I could picture him shooting me accidentally, forget about intentionally. Desperate to stop him, I muttered, “Last chance. Move or I’ll move you.” When I saw he planned to defy me, I lifted my hands and pushed the air as if I really was about to connect with his body. I’d never done this before. I had no idea what to expect, or if anything would happen, or if I was even doing it right. There was a blue flash from my palms that shot toward him and knocked him on his ass. The gun flew from his hand and slid across the plywood floor a good six feet fromhim.
With my path now clear, I rushed from the cabin out into the woods. I had no idea where I was going. All I knew was I couldn’t stay there. My chances were better in the wilderness than anywhere near him. As I ran, I foolishly hoped he’d let me go. I forgot how much he had to lose if I were free andalive.
I heard the shot and zig-zagged in an effort to avoid him. Already, using so much power was wearing me out. I didn’t have the energy fleeing for my life required. And I couldn’t be sure I had anything left for my defense. A second shot rang out. This time, I zigged when I should’ve zagged. The bullet grazed my bicep, burning my skin and causing some bleeding. I sucked frosty air through my teeth as I tried to ignore the pain. Then I ran and kept running until I literally ran out of ground to run on. Skidding to a stop, I grabbed branches from a nearby tree to keep me from falling into the gorge. I was officially out of options. A third bullet whizzed past my head. I swallowed hard. I’d have to give the magic one more try. Spencer was closing in. Inhaling deeply, I tried channeling all my emotions as I raised my handsagain.
“Not today, Satan!” I shouted as I pushed the air with my outstretched palms oncemore.
27
Mishal
After sendingStephen off on his way, I stripped down and hid my clothes behind a tree. As quickly as possible, I shifted, stretching my leathery wings, and shaking out my scaly body. Then I took to the sky, even though I had no idea which direction to turn. My wings pounded the air at a furious pace due to how vast an area I had to cover, and how much I burned for Peri. With any luck, I’d sense her if I could merely get close enough. Of course, I’d need more than luck to get through thisfog.
I flew over miles of trees and saw nothing in the dark, despite how brazenly I flew with my abdomen being tickled by the treetops. Even that wasn’t low enough to get under the fog in many areas. Still, no matter how frustrated and desperate I grew, I pushed myself harder because no muscle pain and no fear would ever hurt more than the loss ofher.
While I soared through the air, I couldn’t help but think how different I’d become with her and we weren’t yet mated. Peri had given me my first taste of fear in hundreds of years, but also the hope that comes from being connected to someone else’s soul. From the corner of my eye, I saw a flash to the west. Without hesitation, I changed course and moved that direction. I was so focused on the ground I nearly collided with a tree in front of me. There had to be some sign of life somewhere. Why couldn’t someone just send up aflare?
Finally, I saw a thin wisp of smoke and I craned my neck out, my wings beating furiously as I flew toward it. I listened as hard as I could for any screaming, but the wind whistling by my head made hearing anything incredibly difficult. A pop echoed through the night. My blood froze. A gun had been fired. I soared so I could try to hone in on the sound, which echoed through the dark and otherwise silent night. Then another shot rang out. I could swear I saw a hint of the muzzle flash. It had to be Spencer shooting at Peri. I knew I was close, but I still couldn’t find them through the trees, fog, and darkness obstructing myview.
I circled around, fearing I’d flown past. And that’s when I saw a red light, rippling outward. At its center was Peri. Diving, I rushed toward the ground, giving little thought to how I was going to land; my only concern was saving my mate. As I neared, I saw her standing too close to a cliff, half hiding, and half clinging to a tree. She seemed angry and desperate and my heart had never been so happy to see her. I dropped to the ground, landing between her andSpencer.
The moment he saw me--my scaly chest puffed out, ready to roast him with my flaming hot breath--he stood paralyzed with fear. His eyes were wide and I could actually hear his heart slamming against his ribcage. I slowly moved toward him, making sure my feet slammed into the ground with every step. He needed to feel my wrath. He needed to anticipate his doom. Steam escaped my flaring nostrils in angry puffs. My only regret was my inability to speak in this form. I had plenty of other ways to communicate. So, I strode toward him, crushing bushes and small trees under my feet, felling larger ones with a swoosh of my tail or a bump from my hip. The cracking and snapping sound made by the wood as it broke followed by the crash of its landing had Spencer flinching again and again. I watched him closely, wondering what he might do, how he’d respond to my presence. He hadn’t counted on dealing with a dragon. It was a miscalculation forsure.
“I didn’t hurt her,” heblathered.
I released an angry puff of steam that burst in front of his face. Fully prepared to kill him, I began to open my mouth when I felt a hand on my side. There was no need to turn my head; I’d always recognize Peri’s touch. I wanted to curl around her, hold her close, but I dared not take my eyes from thismonster.
“Oh, but you did,” she murmured as she moved along my side, stopping only when she reached my shoulder. Turning, she showed the hole through her shirt, opening it enough to show how he’d even drawn blood. “Not to mention the damage you did to myface.”
In response, I growled low in my throat. Then I jerked my head forward, snapped the gun from his hands, and flung it as far as I could, which was far beyond his sight. Huffing at him once more, I moved closer. The dragon wanted me to snap him next, break his body in two, and be done with it. My human side, however, wanted to make him pay, make him suffer, make him truly experiencejustice.
I shook my head and shifted. As I morphed back into my human form, naked as the day I was born, I reached out and shoved Peri behind me, shielding her not only from his sight, but keeping her close to me, where she belonged. There was no way I was going to let this guy anywhere near mymate.
“Hey,” she grumbled at being taken out of theequation.
“Hey, yourself, cupcake. I know you had this under control, but I can’t let you have all the fun,” I joked even though my blood froze when I considered how close I’d come to losing her. “My turn.” I squeezed her hand and she returned thegesture.
“What are you going to do?” Spencer slowly backed away as he glanced back and forth between me and thecabin.
I wondered if he didn’t have another weapon in there. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. “Stop right there, Morse,” I ordered. “You have much to answer for, startingnow.”
His eyes narrowed. “I answer to no dragon.” He tried to peek around me as he grumbled, “And no witcheither.”
Behind me, I felt Peri stumble and she rested a hand on my back while she regained her footing. Her skin felt warm against my bare skin. “Hang in there, my love,” I whispered as I took another step toward her kidnapper. This time my tactics had changed and instead of advancing toward him, I was working to cut off his access to his lair. I shook my head at Spencer. “I almost feel sorry for you. You’ve spent your whole life trying to end the dragon line and reclaim the fortune your kingdom never had.” Isighed.
“Not true. We were royalty. We were rich,” he spluttered. “And now my line will be rich oncemore.”
“You have no line,” I reminded him. “You have no one to love, no one to love you in return. That’s where true wealth lies, not in the size of one’s assets. If I was penniless, because of Peri I’d still be worth more than you.” Ichuckled.
He stiffened. “I have billions and billions of dollars,” heargued.
