Rylee Adamson: Shadowed Threads Part 5

EVE ANNOUNCED SHE was ready to go not long after Alex had polished off the last of the food.

As we rose up into the clouds, I looked down, expecting to see the Beast below us. What I wasnat expecting was the blow from above.

The only warning we had was a rush of air, the back draft of a wingspan that dwarfed us. Glittering, scaled talons struck hard and deep; they buried themselves into Eveas body, pinning my legs to her. I expected a Harpy, thought maybe wead crossed into territory that was already taken. I looked up, shock snapping along my nerve endings.

Pamela screamed, Alex barked, and the noise only added to the confusion of what I was seeing, of what my minda"so used to the supernaturala"struggled to accept. Scales of green, silver, and blue rippled in the dim sunlight and the leathery wings that spread above us obscured my vision from anything but what I was looking at. Triangular head, four legs, big f.u.c.king wings, long tail that cut through the air like a rudder. And scales. Lots and lots of scales.

A dragon, f.u.c.k me, an ever-loving dragon had us in his talons. Teeth that looked as though they were shards of steel glistened just above us, but no fire escaped him. Or maybe it was a her, I had no way of knowing. Either way, we were royally f.u.c.ked. I didnat think for one instant this was going to be anything other than a fight to the finish.

Eve struggled and then went still below me, the calm in her voice surprised me. aRylee, I canat break free and I think my wings are broken.a Without a sound the dragon banked hard to the right, taking us south, away from OaShea. Though at that particular moment OaShea was the least of my worries.

I couldnat take my eyes from the beast above us, knowing that even if my swords bit into the dragonas skin and he dropped us, we were dead in the air without Eveas wings. aYeah, this could be a problem.a We were going to have to wait until we landed. I gave Pamela a light shake. aScreaming isnat going to help, and it could attract more attention from other supernaturals. Which would be aa She sucked in a sharp breath and let it out in a rush. aBad.a She finished for me, her eyes full of unshed tears.

She bit her lower lip and m.u.f.fled the sounds escaping her. Fear, pure and simple. Alex hung below us still, Eve clinging to him, and he was still barking like a mad man, but again, that was the least of my worries.

I whispered into Pamelaas ear. aWhen we land, you and Alex run for it. As far and as fast as you can. Got it?a aWhat about you and Eve?a aWeall be right behind you.a Lies, I was lying to her and we both knew it. This was going to get ugly and the best thing I could do was send her away. The best thing I could do was try to protect her, even if that meant Eve and I didnat make it. What the f.u.c.k had I been thinking bringing them with me? I should have gone after OaShea by myself. I was a f.u.c.king moron.

aI can help,a she said, her eyes wet with tears.

Eve answered her. aYour magic will fail on the dragon. They are Immune like Rylee. You cannot help us; do as your mentor says.a Oh, f.u.c.k, Immune? We were done, toast. Maybe in the most literal of senses.

The dragon let out a roar and suddenly we lost alt.i.tude with a speed that yanked Pamela out of my hands. She screamed and I reached up, grabbing her as her a.s.s floated above Eveas back. I yanked her back down, the leverage I had with my legs pinned to Eveas side working in my favor.

aI gotcha.a I held her tight against me, my heart in my throat. I Tracked OaShea, feeling him in the north, then Tracked Berget, feeling her closer, here in the south. She was happy, ecstatic about something. I held tight to Pamela.

This felt like goodbye to me, felt like there would be no more after this. How did you fight a dragon who was an Immune like me? You didnat. You ran or you died. Eve couldnat run, so neither would I. Which only left one option that I wasnat particularly happy about.

Dragons were rare, something you didnat hear about anymore, their numbers cut by disease and the use of their body parts for powerful spells. All I knew was that they killed intruders of their territories without mercy, and that they didnat bargain with their captives.

Ever.

The dragon sped toward the base of a mountain, and I grit my teeth against what I knew was going to be a sudden stop.

With a back wash of leathery wings our downward descent stopped and again Pamela was jerked out of my arms, despite how tightly I held her.

aRylee!a I managed to snag the back of her pants. aGet ready to run, you got that? Alex, you too, you look after Pamela. Protect her, got it?a His reply was a shaky, aYuppy doody, Rylee.a There was no cave, just an indentation in the mountain, like a half-a.s.sed box canyon. At the back there were piles of bones, corpses of animals both natural and supernatural, in several stages of decomposition. At the front aentrancea of the canyon were piles of boulders, each one at least the size of my Jeep back home. They partially blocked the canyon, giving the illusion that there was nothing beyond them.

aIam sorry, Rylee,a Eve said, her voice trembling, the fear leaking out with her words.

aDonat be sorry yet, Harpy. We arenat done until the blood spills and we arenat breathing anymore,a I said, trying to figure out a way to get our a.s.ses out of this mess.

The dragon touched down and I pushed Pamela off Eveas back. She hit the ground with a grunt, rolling with the fall, cradling her left arm. Eve dropped Alex and he herded Pamela away, the two of them running as fast as they could. Pamela glanced back as they reached the edge of the indent in the mountain, a determined look on her face. Ah, s.h.i.+t, apparently she was as bad as me when it came to taking orders.

aNo!a I shouted, but I was too late. The young witch threw one hand in the air, lifting three ma.s.sive boulders from the entrance and then, with a flick of her fingers, flung them one by one at the dragonas head.

The first one caught him on the side of the head, smas.h.i.+ng him sideways. He roared, but more importantly, he let go of me and Eve.

The Harpy crashed to the ground, the puncture wounds from where the dragon had pierced her oozing blood. Her wings were crumpled, as if theyad been made of tinfoil and flexi straws instead of bone and cartilage.

aRun, Rylee,a Eve yelled, dragging herself across the ground. She wasnat going anywhere.

aIam getting mighty p.i.s.sed with all this running. Freaking Beast of Bodmin Moor and now a dragon? Nope, no more running,a I said, loosening my swords. Above us, the sky lit with a crack of lightning followed by a ridiculously close boom of thunder, the clouds bursting open as if the lightning peeled away whatever held the rain back.

aItas the dragon,a Eve said, dragging herself along the ground. aHe is controlling the weather.a Oh, that was just f.u.c.king peachy.

The dragon turned to face us, hatred burning in his eyes, which was really not an encouraging feeling. Seriously, what had we done to p.i.s.s the dragon off?

Pamela continued to hold the boulders up, her whole body shaking with concentration, her lips tight. I stood there, swords in hand as the rain cascaded down on us.

And then things went from bad to worse. As in really f.u.c.king G.o.ds-be-d.a.m.ned worse.

The air around the canyon s.h.i.+fted, the whirlwind weather stirred up by the other dragons flying in, perching on outcroppings of rock along the mountain.

The dragon thatad s.n.a.t.c.hed us out of the sky let out a long, low growl, but he didnat move toward us. I settled into a fighting stance, putting myself between Eve and the dragon, and trying not to think about the newcomers. There wasnat anything I could do about them anyway. One dragon at a time, thank you very much.

aAre we going to do this, or are you just going to stand there and think about how badly Iam going to kick your a.s.s?a I shouted, my words punctuated with several flashes of lightning.

His head snaked backward and he let out a roar, lifting his head to the sky and baring his throat. I drove my two swords into the ground at my feet and yanked my crossbow forward, slamming a bolt into the channel. The idiot continued to roar as I lifted the crossbow up, aimed and pulled the trigger. The bolt flew straight and true, burying itself deep into the flesh between his jaw and his neck. He let out a strangled gasp of air, blood spurting past his lips.

You have drawn first blood. This battle will be true to the rules laid down centuries ago. The voice in my head was not my own and I did my best not to stare up at the other dragons, where it afelta like it had come from.

aWhat?a I shouted, popping another bolt into the crossbow as the dragon in front of me clawed at his own neck. A lucky shot, a perfect shot. One I doubted I could duplicate again. Already the bolt was being pushed out as the dragonas body healed itself. d.a.m.n supernaturals and their talents with healing.

The battle must now be between the two of you. If you best him, you will be free to go. If your friends help, we will destroy you all. We have waited for this battle, sensed its imminence since the dawns arrival. This has been foretold since Blazas birth. A battle of blood was seen, as much as he might not agree, it is what we knew would come. It is why we are here, to witness this.

Well s.h.i.+t, I didnat like the sound of any of that.

aPamela, lift Eve up and you three get the h.e.l.l out of here. If you help me, the other dragons will be s.h.i.+tting witch, werewolf, Tracker and Harpy tomorrow.a I didnat have the luxury of making sure she did as I asked, I had to trust her. Only one other time had I faced such a big reptile, and that hadnat gone so well for me. Giselle had saved my life, and if she hadnat been there, I had no doubt I would have been swallowed whole and slowly digested while I still breathed.

But that was then, this was now. I had no other choice but to fight to win. To kill him or at the least make him beg for mercy.

Right.

I lifted the crossbow and aimed at the dragonas head, aimed for the glittering eye. I hit the trigger, watched the bolt bounce off the side of its head. Unfortunately for me, it not only didnat do any damage, it reminded the big f.u.c.ker I was still there.

Oops.

His breath came in raspy belts, blood trickling out his mouth and over his steel-colored teeth as he advanced on me, ignoring my three wards. Guess he got the same memo I did. One on one or not at all.

I dropped the crossbow to the ground and grabbed the handles of my swords, pulling them free of the dirt. Fear bounced along my spine and down my arms, but I pushed it back. There could be no panic, or Iad lose whatever edge I had. a.s.suming I had an edge against him.

His body was easily twenty feet long with at least another ten feet of tail and though he was big, and injured, he moved fast.

He swiped his front claws at me, one after another, reminiscent of a bear swiping the dirt in order to scare an intruder, to show how tough it was.

I backed up, let him advance, and as he began to raise his right claw for another pa.s.s, I raced toward him. Bolting between his front feet, I slashed his underbelly with my sword, felt it stick hard in between the scales. I let it go rather than fighting with it. The dragon squealed like a stuck pig, the squeal turning into a bellow of rage that was echoed back to us by the other dragons.

I ducked out from under him and, without another thought, used his back haunches to climb onto his back. Each protrusion along his spin made for a perfect handhold. If I could just get to his neck, I could drive my sworda"

He bucked hard, sent me flying through the air to slam into the ground a second time. I rolled with the momentum and scrambled to my feet. But not before the dragon was back on me, his head swinging toward me like a club. I took the blow, tried to roll with it again, but f.u.c.k, he had a hard head.

For the third time I hit the dirt, blood coating the inside of my mouth, mingling with the dirt and sweat, and I was getting seriously p.i.s.sed off. Could I take a dragon on my own? Probably not, but I was angry enough not to care anymore. When he swung his head at me a second time, I was ready for him. Holding my sword handle at my ear, I braced for the impact, driving the tip of my blade into the soft tissue of his jaw. He jerked away from me and the blade cut even deeper as it slid free. Blood splashed all over my hands, the warmth of it a morbid relief in this chilled weather.

Blood ran from a gash over my eye, partially blinding me, but I barely noticed it. Tomorrow Iad be sore, bruised and battered. I just had to get to tomorrow. No problem, right?

Lightning cracked over our heads once more, darted between us, and struck the ground at my feet. I threw my arms up and stumbled backward, blinded by the flash of light.

aIf he gets to use magic, so do I!a Let it be done, the rules of the blood battle are all in fairness given.

Perfect. aPamela, keep him off me till I give you the okay.a I kept moving away from the sound of the dragon getting pummeled by boulders. A thud of flesh meeting stone, a grunt, and then a yelp from him. I blinked furiously, tried to clear my vision. A peal of thunder rippled through the mock canyon, my teeth rattling with the vibration of it. Far too slowly for my liking (though it was less than thirty seconds) my vision came back to me.

The dragon had his back to me and again, I ran for him, jumping over his las.h.i.+ng tail and scrambling up onto his back. Uncoiling my whip, I snapped it loose. aHold off, Pam!a The shower of boulders on his head eased as I fought my way up to the juncture of his shoulders and wings. He turned his head, a shocked look rippling over his face, and then his eyes narrowed. I cracked the whip forward, the length of it wrapping around his neck, the handle giving me something to hang onto.

I smiled at him. aCome on now, letas see what youave got, you big mother f.u.c.ker.a He snarled, a hiss of blood and spit splattering me. I didnat even wipe it off, not caring anymore what happened as long as the others were safe. His blood was hot and stung the cuts in my face, making me grit my teeth against the sharp pain.

With a powerful launch he shot himself into the air. I gripped the handle of my whip as the dragon rolled in the air and found myself hanging from his back, the ground hundreds of feet below us already. Eve was fast, agile and talented in the air, could have tossed me a hundred times with ease.

She had nothing on this big boy.

He flipped back around, slamming my body into his back. As much as I wanted to ram my sword through his spine and end this, part of me held back. One, we were so far up, the fall would kill me. Two, I just couldnat explain it, maybe it was some ridiculous Tracker trait or maybe it was just me, but I just couldnat do it. Not yet.

CHAPTER 11.

FIGHTING THE DRAGON really wasnat as scary as my brain was telling me it should be. And believe me, my brain was screaming at me that this thing below me was a big f.u.c.king monster and I should end it as fast as possible.

But, if I was being honest with myself, as he spun and bucked in the air, scales sparkling when random beams of sunlight hit him, I was kinda having fun.

Fun. Fighting with a dragon shouldnat be fun. What the f.u.c.k was wrong with me?

On a brief respite between rolls, I slid my sword back into my sheath. aThis isnat going to end well for either of us. I donat suppose you want to call a truce?a f.u.c.k off, Tracker.

I leaned my head back and laughed into the wind. While the other dragon had been polite, reserved and exactly as I would have thought a dragon would sound and feel inside my head, this one sounded a bit morea"G.o.ds help usa"like me.

He rolled again and I did everything I could to hang on, keeping my legs tucked in between his shoulder blades and wings. Power, there was so much power in him, and I could do nothing but hang on for the ride a .

Hours, maybe minutes, pa.s.seda"I donat know. We flew through winds and lightning and thunder, clouds, and even hail. He took me so high black dots danced in my vision and my breath came in gasps, then he dropped to the earth skimming the edges of a lake at the last instant, rolling so that I was plunged into the water. But I hung on, my fingers wrapped around the handle of my whip. I refused to let him win this. But how the f.u.c.k I managed to stay on, I couldnat tell you.

Finally, after what felt like days, he flew back to the mock canyon, landing in a stumbling heap. I was still on his back and I wasnat sure I wanted to get off. At least from my perch I was relatively safe.

aYou ready to call a truce?a I fought to keep my voice steady, to keep my body from shaking with exhaustion. Every muscle I had was starting to cramp from clinging to him.

Get off my back.

aDo you mean that literally or more in a figurative way?a His head spun around so he could stare at me, mouth dropping open, and I thought this was it, he was going to roast me.

Instead he laughed, a deep boom of a laugh that rolled out of him in a wave of sound.

Get off my back, you crazy a.s.s Tracker. Now.

aYou donat seem to get it, Iam pretty comfy up here. I kinda like it.a I smiled at him, gave him a wink. Shouldnat I be stabbing his eyes out with my sword? h.e.l.l, he was close enough that I could do it.

With a groan, he sunk to the ground.

The other dragon, the one with the commanding, grown up voice, 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. aIf I could have killed him, I would have.a The dragon gave his head a sharp jerk up and down, agreeing with me, apparently. Same here. Iam 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 didnat like. The kind of condescending looks of a parent seeing something the children couldnat. 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 h.e.l.l?

I shook my head and looked up at him. His eyes widened and he s.n.a.t.c.hed his tail away from me as if it burned him. Maybe it did. All I could see was that if I wasnat careful, I was going to add to my circus act.

aOh, s.h.i.+t. I canat take on any more juveniles!a 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. Iam not going to protect you.

aWho the h.e.l.l asked you too?a I snapped, limping toward the last place Iad seen Pamela. Somewhere in the fight, Iad 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 b.i.t.c.h to deal with.

ENOUGH!.

The word was followed by a roar that made Blazas 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.

p.i.s.s off, old man, I will deal with this. Blazas voice was distinct, deeper and more gravelly than the other dragonas.

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 Blazas tail, feeling something s.h.i.+ft 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.