He’d been there, tried everything he could think of...all to no avail.
With a curse, Venom extended his wings, slowing his free fall toward cracked concrete and twisted steel. Air caught in the webbing, and his muscles squawked, stretching under the strain. Good thing he was armored up and buttoned down. His dragon scales were doing their job, making him fire-retardant. Convenient really, ’cause, yup...the flames were gathering speed, heading toward the shoulder of the road.
Oh so not advisable.
A forest fire would bring the humans running. They’d call in air support along with cops, forest rangers, and firefighters. And a crowd wasn’t something Venom wanted, never mind could afford. Not with the rogues in full retreat, desperate to find a way out, one Venom refused to hand them by sending up a giant smoke signal to human authorities.
One eye on the sky, the other on the inferno, Venom banked hard, his wing tip inches from the ground, and breathed out. A luminous green wave shot from between his fangs, frothing over broken asphalt, stealing the air to douse the flames. Smoke billowed, throwing the smell of burned rubber and sweet grass up to meet moonlight.
Mission accomplished. No firefighters required.
Now for the Razorback jack-offs dogging his tail. Or rather, on his radar. His sonar pinged, picking up movement over the forest. Ah hell. Not again. The buggers were playing hide-and-seek, hopscotching across rough terrain, hightailing it back to the city in the hopes of losing the Nightfury warriors somewhere along the way.
Losing the enemies’ signal in the smoke, Venom fired up mind-speak. “Wick.”
A yellow Razorback streaked over the ripped-to-shreds asphalt.
Right on the rogue’s tail, Wick’s black amber-tipped scales flashed in the gloom. “What?”
“Holster the fireworks, will ya? I’m in the target zone.”
“Well, get the fuck out of there,” Wick said, his tone all “Elementary, my dear Watson.” “I’ll smoke the rest out.”
“Give me a minute.”
“You got thirty seconds before I unleash.”
Terrific. His buddy was a flipping peach. “Remind me to kick your ass when we get home.”
“Right,” Wick said, eagerness in his tone.
Flipping into a somersault, Venom flew over a downed crane to scan the gully on the opposite side of the highway. Piled up like broken Tonka toys, the steel carcasses, tires still alight and smoking, littered the bottom of the ravine. Hmm...good cover down there. A nice place to hide if a rogue felt so inclined.
Venom rounded the end of a downed dump truck and...bingo. He spotted the Razorback within seconds. Bright blue scales smeared with motor oil, eyes trained on the sky, the male crouched like a cat, no doubt waiting to blow him to kingdom come when he flew over. Venom snorted, a load of “you gotta be kidding me” making the rounds inside his head.
He sighed and, angling his wings, changed course. Slithering in on a slow glide, he snarled at the male, startling the idiot. The enemy dragon jumped like a jackrabbit, then dodged to avoid his razor-sharp claws. Too late. Venom struck, grabbing the bastard by the tail. Sharp spikes sliced the palm of his talon. He ignored the pain and yanked. A quick flip. A sickening twist and...crack! He snapped the rogue’s neck, leaving his ashes to float above blackened field grass.
Using the roof of a backhoe as a launchpad, Venom leaped skyward. He had five seconds before Wick exhaled and—
A flash exploded through the darkness.
“Jesus H. Christ,” Sloan growled, catching Venom’s updraft as he cleared the tops of the ancient redwoods hugging the stretch of blacktop.
Venom growled as round two rolled in. Blue-orange flame streaked over the treetops, a horrific missile-like sound whistling in its wake. Heat went cataclysmic, sucking the oxygen from Venom’s lungs. Choking on the smell of sulfur, he tucked his wings and rocketed into a tight spiral. The fireball roared past, singeing his scales, missing him by inches. He counted off the seconds, eager to see what Wick’s arsenal unearthed. Three. Two. One...
The ravenous ball of poisonous gas struck.
Sound boomed, warping perception as shock waves expanded into a brutal surge. Newly poured concrete buckled then heaved, erupting skyward as enemy dragons screamed, abandoning their hidey-holes behind hapless graders and industrial-size bulldozers.
Venom almost snarled in satisfaction, then thought better of it. No need to get cocky. He wasn’t out of the woods yet. Especially with Wick unleashed and on the loose.
Acknowledgments
A tremendous thank-you to the readers of the Dragonfury novels for falling in love with the dragon warriors and sharing your enthusiasm with me. I so enjoy hearing from you and fielding all your questions, even when I can’t answer them for fear of giving too much away!
A thousand thanks, many times over, to Christine Witthohn, Eleni Caminis, Melody Guy, Nancy Berland, and Kim Miller for all your hard work, incredible insight, and support. Working with each of you is a joy.
And also to the entire Amazon Publishing team, whose talents, energy, and dedication know no bounds.
With love to my family (those related and the ones I’ve adopted) and all my writer friends.
As always, hugs and kisses to my husband. None of this would be possible without you.
Last but not least, to Kallie Lane—thank you for showing me the way.
I raise a glass to all of you!
About the Author
Image © Julie Daniluk
As the only girl on all-guys hockey teams from age six through her college years, Coreene Callahan knows a thing or two about tough guys and loves to write about them. Call it kismet. Call it payback after years of locker-room talk and ice-rink antics. But whatever you call it, the action better be heart stopping, the magic electric, and the story wicked good fun.
After graduating with honors in psychology and working as an interior designer, Callahan finally succumbed to her overactive imagination and returned to her first love: writing. And when she’s not writing, she is dreaming of magical worlds full of dragon-shifters, elite assassins, and romance that’s too hot to handle. Callahan currently lives in Canada with her family and her writing buddy, a fun-loving golden retriever.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication Page
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Sneak Peek: Fury of Desire
Chapter One
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Fury of Seduction Page 37