by Richard Amos
Should we strike now, while her ego was being stroked?
The dragon growled.
We had to get away from the winged beast. Any moment now, it’d swallow us, or burn us to a crisp—or both. But then I had my shield. Was that why Lilisian was hesitating? Was this a stalemate we couldn’t break?
“Eat this!” Bliss boomed. The rocket launcher fired.
Purple screamed as Daisy, the beast dragon, was struck by a rocket. It ripped apart a piece of her huge left side, spraying scales and blood. She roared and beat her wings, rearing as a startled horse.
“Shit!” I yelped and fired up my shield as her tail swept out.
Brother Bennett and the white eye guy were repelled by my power, flung away from me. The dragon’s tail bounced off my shield, making Daisy spin across the floor into the battle. She roared and spewed fire at me, dousing the bubble in flames.
“Jake Winter!” Lilisian raged at me. “Now your city burns!
The dragon, enraged, lowered its head for the Supreme beast. Lilisian climbed up its neck, making her way up to sit in the spines along its back.
Oh, shit.
I dropped the shield, immediately bringing it up again as a ball of fire came at me.
The dragon made its way back to where it’d come from.
Oh, bloody hell!
Reckless. Lilisian was reckless and full of rage, acting on a fury-fueled impulse.
And so was I.
I acted with the click of a finger, charging for the dragon. I couldn’t let her burn the city down. Rain or not, it wouldn’t be enough to withstand this onslaught from dragon and master.
“Jake!” Was that Dean? Was that all of them? I couldn’t tell.
Piggies and hyenas were rushing my friends, coming at me. I pushed my legs to tear up the floor, making a beeline for the tail.
I jumped as a hyena leapt for me, the fucker missing me by inches. With a heavy thud, I grabbed the tail as the dragon took flight.
Chapter Twenty-Four
I gripped the dragon’s scales as hard as I could, my sparks going wild on the skin, unable to break through the tough armor. The beast flicked its tail, trying desperately to throw me off. I held on for dear life.
We were going up a dark chimney-like structure, wide enough for a dragon to maneuver in.
Shitshitshitshit …
Needaline …
No, you fucking don’t!
The chimney was gone, giving way to sunlight, a beautiful morning in the beast realm. That expanse of green, those mountains, all if it looked so amazing in the sunlight just like it had in the moonlight.
Man, was I high up!
Lilisian was laughing. I looked up from my spot on the tail, her silver eyes twin flames in her head. They were seriously blazing away, her malicious grin upping the crazy look. She’d snapped, I could tell. That had been my face on cocaine, hitting the clubs like a wild animal and getting completely fucked up. Only difference was she was about to unleash all hell on Coldharbour.
“So glad you can join us, Jake! Just wait and see what we’re about to do!”
“I’ll stop you!”
I loosened the grip of my stronger right hand in an attempt to move farther up. I slipped a little, grabbing hold again. Shit!
“Pathetic!” Lilisian shrieked.
We passed through the shimmering gates, my grip tighter as the cloying energy smothered my body. It passed so quickly, the dragon bursting out the other side to meet a cold and wet morning, the rain Nay and the white eye guy had made still falling.
“This won’t stop you, darling!” That one was directed at Daisy.
Coldharbour was smoking below, but I could see the weaving magic of the goblins had been working on the burned structures already.
I tried to climb the beast again with my left hand this time, using my right one as a hook—it worked better grip-wise. With a grunt and a burst of strength, I managed to grab another scale about two up from the previous one.
I drew a deep breath, cheek pressed to the warm skin. Rain trickled down that glowing armor.
Too slow, this was too slow. I had to move faster than this.
I tried again and again as Daisy flew over the city. She wasn’t expelling flame. Instead, she was heading straight for the south—to the seafront. At least she wasn’t trying to flick me off anymore, now that Lilisian wanted me to enjoy the show. So, where were the flames?
Blood ran down the tail with the rainwater, splitting its flow off to the side mere inches away from me. The wound Bliss had made was still oozing crimson.
Blood …
But my killing touch had to be administered by touching the head. Or had I levelled up now after the blood cleansing thing?
“Let’s start with the mansion! I’ll break those wards!” My God, she really was running on crazy rage. And there it was, the plan in her Supreme beast brain. Could she … break the wards?
No …
No what?
Touch to the head …
The wards?
Can hurt … Weakness …
Can I still hurt it by touching its blood, though?
Yes …
That was all I needed to know.
The dragon had arrived above the ruined Rainbow Mile. The beach was covered in gray ash, the sea reflecting the same miserable shade. Daisy was heading straight for the cliff with my home on top of it.
I put my right hand into the path of the red river, and my sparks whizzed up it. I lifted my head a little higher, delighting in the way my army of white fizzers consumed that nasty rocket launcher wound.
The dragon roared, but thrashed violently. It took everything to hold on.
“Daisy!” Lilisian screamed.
The dragon convulsed and thrashed and went crazy, roaring with pain. I was flung off, hurtling through the air toward the sea.
“Jake Winter!”
And so was Lilisian, joining me in the wicked descent.
Chapter Twenty-Five
It was all about the timing. Despite the falling, I managed to bring up the shield all by myself before I hit surface of the sea and did the most deadliest of belly flops.
Holy crap!
I bobbed in the waves, locked in my shell, glad that the sea wasn’t in a pissed off mood today. The dragon roared and hit the water some feet away, thrashing in the angry waves.
I could swim. I was no mermaid (did those exist?) but capable in water. My training had strengthened my body, so I had this. I had this …
Here came another act of recklessness from me …
I dropped the shield and got salty seawater in my face. I gasped at the shock of cold, yet got my legs and arms pumping, cutting through the waves as fast as I could.
Where the hell was Lilisian?
The dragon was still thrashing, still roaring. It was in distress, caught in the swell, stuck on her back and trying to keep her head above the water. With every use of my front crawl, I got closer. The water seemed to be on my side, pushing the winged beast to my living, sparking hands.
Come on, Daisy. Come to Jakey …
With all that struggling, I had to be careful not to get snagged in its talons or caught in its jaws.
I swam on, inching closer and closer to Daisy. What sort of name was that for a big, scary fire-breather?
The best way to play this was dive and go under for the attack. Daisy’s position on her back could be to my advantage.
Now all I needed was a smooth swim underwater, with no sudden rip currents to pull me away and mess it all up. I was so not in the mood for being yanked anywhere. I’d had my fill of that shit.
With a deep breath, I went under.
I couldn’t see much. After swimming my estimate of the distance, I popped my head up to see, to drink in some air and get splashed in the face again.
I was close, so close that her struggle churned the water around me.
Time to die …
I went under again, swimming in an arc below the dragon. I
looked up, treading water. I was right under her. This was it. I was taking down this damned creature glowing in the sea, fighting to be free.
My sparks flashed, and I went up, kicking with all my might. Breaking the surface, the dragon’s roars were deafening. She’d seen me come up—I caught her green eyes on me. Her fear was a cacophony of amber ribbons, and the snapping of her jaws was too late. I grabbed the back of her huge head, and it was done.
I strode through the mist to the golden essence, shivering somewhat now I was out of the water. Yeah, I’d need to get the hell out of the sea before hypothermia kicked in.
With my killing touch, I destroyed Daisy’s essence and returned to the sea on my own wave of pleasure.
Blimey! This was the best afterglow yet, the most erection-inducing, the most beautiful radiance. It was pure fire, pure sex, pure everything. And it compelled me forward, letting me swim back to shore while it caressed my body like a hundred lovers, every inch of me enjoying the touch.
The pleasure faded as I waded out of the waves, falling onto the sand. Cold, wet grains kissed my cheek, me panting back at them. I was full of strength, of so much power. I’d killed the dragon!
I needed a moment for the high to fully pass. Then I was going straight back for my friends.
Moment over, I got to my feet and started to run back up the beach to Rainbow Mile.
My sparks were still on.
She caught my eye, standing there in the sand watching me. Lilisian was drenched, a complete wet mess. And clearly incredibly pissed off I’d just killed her pet.
Good!
The Supreme beast didn’t say a word. She used her magic, the sand swallowing me up to my waist in the blink of an eye. My hands were down there, glued to my sides under the pressure around me.
“Seriously?”
She strode toward me and kicked me in the face. Some more teeth were knocked out along with the ones Purple had broken. Crap!
I spat blood at her. “Those gnashers better grow back!”
She clawed the air, and my coat tore open, along with my jumper. Pain flared there, I looked down to see deep claw marks oozing with blood. She did it again, deepening the slashes.
She was panting, wavering a little. Weak … not quite there …
I struggled against the sand to no avail. The healing magic came up to help with the cuts and pain in my mouth.
“I could snap your neck,” she said, almost a whisper. “But that little shield trick of yours will only get in the way.”
“Bring it. Hit me with your worst—”
She slashed me across the face with magic, slicing my forehead, across my nose and cheeks, my chin, and my throat.
Her eyes flicked to my throat, and she slashed me there before I could bring my shield up.
Oh. My. God. The pain … the gurgling … the shock … the gushing of blood …
“There,” she said. “I told you—”
A flash of red and she spun across the sand.
My healing magic rose up as I saw a figure coming down the beach. No, two figures. Who was that?
The green light soothed the pain in my throat, stopped the bleeding. Not fully, but enough to keep me alive. Killing beasts had helped me grow stronger, and so had strengthened my abilities too. Damage healed better than it had when I’d started out in this gig, but the magic still needed time to work. I couldn’t take another cut to the throat. Lilisian could have taken my damned head off.
But she was weak.
So was I … trapped in the friggin’ sand, my blood spilling over it.
“Mr. Winter.”
What the bloody hell? “Mr. Douglas?” My voice was a sound dragged through gravel. I turned my head to see him hurry over.
“Goodness me,” he said and pulled a potion from his pocket. It was one of those vials filled with white stuff—healing stuff. He popped the lid and poured it all over my neck wound, leaving the other gashes on my chest and face as they’d obviously been fixed up more by my built-in doctor.
“What you doing here?”
“Karla is one of your guardians, is she not, sir?”
“Karla?”
There she was, gray hair trailing behind her in the cold wind, in a long white coat, shades wrapped around eyes that didn’t work. But she faced the Supreme beast as if she were giving her the mother of all death stares.
Lilisian was on her feet again. “She shows her face at last.”
“You are done here,” Karla said as cool as ice.
“Am I now?”
Mr. Douglas tried to get a grip from under my shoulders. “You are firmly stuck in there, Mr. Winter.”
“Got a spade?”
“I will fetch one as soon as this situation is dealt with.”
“This is nothing,” Lilisian said.
The conversation between Supreme beast and witch had carried on.
“Listen to me.” Karla’s tone had sharpened. “There is no hope for you now.”
Lilisian slashed at the air, Karla waving it off. That magic didn’t leave a mark on her at all.
“Weak,” Karla said.
“Your precious weapon is weak! Look at him! He would’ve been dead by now if you hadn’t shown up.”
Karla was as still as stone. “Tell me, why is it that he is alive? If you are as powerful and terrifying as they say you are, why isn’t the weapon dead? Can you answer that?”
“Because you are in my way, witch.”
“I was not a hindrance moments ago, before I arrived on the sand.”
Lilisian’s eyes narrowed. “The witch who cannot see has eyes all around her.” Mr. Douglas pulled a gun from his inner coat pocket and fired. My ears rang at the crack of the weapon.
Bloody hell!
“Beast,” he said. “In the water.”
I looked to the sea. Toadies were coming, messed up humanoid toads with killer tongues, as well as a beast I hadn’t seen before. It had human legs covered in seaweed, but the upper half was squid. The tentacles were covered in spines.
Great.
Lilisian charged at Karla, wild fury still potent. A spiral of red magic struck her in the face, flipped her body and threw her across the sand. The beast screamed and sent her own power at Karla. This time, Karla staggered backward under the force of the invisible strike. She retaliated with more red energy that Lilisian rolled to avoid, sand exploding where the magic struck.
Though Karla was blind, it didn’t stop her from doing what she needed to do. I was always in awe of her skill—more so now seeing her in battle. She was always more of a watcher in the mansion, never coming out into the field. This was something else.
Mr. Douglas fired off more shots as the beasts came out of the sea. Bullet after bullet hit them in the head, the legs, the guts. “Apologies for the noise, Mr. Winter.” He changed the clip within seconds, a complete bad-arse.
Any injuries to those beasts were worth the pounding in my head—it’d be put right in thirty seconds anyway by my self-healing—handier than ibuprofen for headaches.
A mighty flash of red, more gunshots, a boom of violence. I didn’t know where to look, what to do, all helpless in the sand. Lilisian was right. I would’ve been dead now if Karla and Mr. Douglas hadn’t turned up. Sure, I’d killed Daisy, but I hadn’t taken in to account the after. I’d been so focused on getting the job done, then riding the pleasure train that followed, I’d left myself open to the dragon’s master.
I could be dead right now, my head off my shoulders.
When the noise died down, Lilisian was on her knees, head lowered. Oh, my God! One of her arms was off, blood spurting from the wound. The limb was twitching some feet away from her.
“You are beaten,” Karla said. Her white coat was dirty with ash-tainted sand, torn in places. “Your time is over.”
She’d done it—Karla had beat her down good and proper. The witch had some mad skills at her fingertips.
A surge of beasts rushed out of the waves. But they didn’t attack. Ins
tead, they swarmed Lilisian, protecting her as my guardians do with me. There were—what—at least ten of them surrounding her?
Mr. Douglas fired a shot, taking one down. Within seconds, another toadie came out of the waves to replace it.
Oh, bollocks!
The huddle of beasts moved across the sand. Karla used her magic to remove three from the shield. More came from the sea to fill the vacant positions.
“Karla! She’s getting away.”
“I will not—”
A toadie came at her, tongue snagging her around the neck. It dragged her forward, choking her.
“Karla!”
Screw this sand! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
Mr. Douglas took down the toadie, and Karla let rip with her magic, breaking the beast shield.
Lilisian was exposed once again, but I also saw Karla waver. Shit! Was she on the road to being spent now too?
Six toadies leapt out of the sea and caught the Supreme beast in their tongues. They flipped her up into the air, her body hurtling toward the sea.
Karla’s magic missed, failing to do anything in time. Lilisian hit the water, vanishing.
“No!” Karla cried. “Where is she?”
Oh, no. “She’s gone, Karla.”
“No!”
Lilisian was gone.
A squid beast ran at me and got a bullet in the face for its trouble. I’d kill it as soon as I was free.
Man, did I hurt all over. My mouth, my throat. All of me. I’d lost teeth. I was miles away from my friends, lucky to be alive. And now Lilisian was still alive, free to escape and be restored to her full capacity.
I’d failed.
Karla came over, collapsing to her knees before me. She muttered something and the sand loosened. Mr. Douglas helped me get out.
“Are you okay?” I asked her as I lay on my back, head turned to face her. One of her lenses was cracked.
“She fled.”
Mr. Douglas made a fuss of her. “You must rest now, my lady. You have used too much magic.”
“You saved me,” I added.
“We moved quickly, sir,” Mr. Douglas said.
Karla sighed. “I felt your distress moving across the city.”