Gabe barely noticed as he headed after Squawk.
Gunther jumped into his path. “No, you don’t, Gabe.” The chest muscles underneath his crimson fur vest flexed. “You hurt Hemi. Now I hurt you.”
Anger boiling over, Gabe rushed the man. “Yaaaaaaaah!”
Gunther smirked, waiting with wide-open, muscular arms. “Go ahead Gabe. I’ll give you the first shot.”
Gabe hit Gunther in the jaw. The jawbones cracked. Gunther’s knees buckled. Gabe unloaded a flurry of punches that drove the trainer to the ground. He hit and hit and hit again with fists that struck like hammers. He pummeled Gunther into submission.
“Gabe, stop! Gabe, stop!” Rann yelled.
Her words registered enough to slow his punching. Bathed in sweat with his chest heaving, he looked down at Gunther. The man was out cold with a busted face that was beginning to swell. Gabe got up, shaking.
“How did you do that?” Rann asked.
“I don’t know.”
“I’ve never seen your eyes so green “ She gave an approving smile. “Gabe smash. I like it.”
“Squawk!” Gabe ran to his dragon. Squawk was on his belly, pushing himself along the floor and bleeding. Gabe scooped him up. The bullet had passed through the dragon’s abdomen. Squawk licked Gabe’s face.
“Is he going to be okay?”
Gabe cradled the dragon. “I think so.”
“Gabe! Gabe!” Stewart stood outside of the tunnel that led out of the den, waving his arms like they were on fire. Clancy and Earl did the same. “Come on!”
With Rann in tow, he quickly headed in their direction. He surveyed the arena that had turned into a battlefield. So many dead, man and dragon.
“Whoa.” Clancy eyed Rann.
“Yinzers, Gabe, that was the most amazing thing I ever saw.” Stewart shook his head.
“Yeah,” Earl agreed.
Hemi blasted out another roar. The dragon was still on the move.
“Let’s go,” Stewart said. “We know a way out of here.”
“I’m not going to the cove. I need to go to Mabel.”
“That’s where we’re going, Gabe. That’s where we are going.”
CHAPTER 78
Stewart led them through the darkness beneath the city, carrying a small light in his hand. They walked at a brisk place for many long minutes. Finally, Stewart stopped below a manhole with a ladder leading up. “She’s up there.” He extended his hand. “Thanks, Gabe. Things will never be the same after today. I can’t wait to see it.”
Gabe shook all of the small gang’s hands. “See ya.”
Reluctantly, Rann gave them all hugs. As the boys departed and headed down the tubes, Clancy said, “Did you see that? She hugged me best. She likes me. I knew it.”
“No, she hugged me better,” Earl said.
“What, she didn’t even want to let go of me,” Stewart finished.
Gabe and Rann climbed up the ladder. Someone slid the manhole cover away. It was Ben, Mabel’s friend. He helped them out with big hands decorated in gold rings, as strong as a thirty-year-old’s.
“Welcome to what’s left of Pittsburgh,” Ben said. They stood beneath a huge bridge that Gabe was pretty sure he’d crossed with Trooper.
Mabel sat inside a huge black truck with gold wheels and large rubber tires with a heavy tread.
It was one of the biggest cars Gabe had ever seen. “What is this thing?”
“It’s called a Suburban.” Ben handed Gabe the keys. “Be sure to bring it back to me without a scratch on it. I won it when I battled in the old arenas. But it wasn’t dragons.”
“Thanks,” Gabe said. “But I can’t drive.”
Mabel leaned out the window. “You’ll learn on the way. Get in. It’ll be a short time before they get it all together.” She looked down at the dusty ground. “And no dragons in the car. My rules.”
“But—” Gabe started to argue, but Mabel eyed him. He was too tired to make his case. He checked Squawk. The bullet had passed through his body, but the wound had closed, and the bleeding had stopped. “Okay.” He put the dragon up on the luggage rack.
“Oh my.” Ben made a big jump away from the manhole. Three dragons climbed out of the hole: Hoss, Rex, and Rixy. Without giving the humans any notice, one by one, they climbed up the car to the luggage rack with Squawk, scratching the paint along the way. “Nooooo.” Ben put his face in his hands.
Gabe and Rann climbed in the Suburban. With a quick wave to Ben, they headed for the broken roads.
After they made it a few miles down the road, Gabe said to his grandmother, “Did you know all of this was going to happen?”
Mabel chewed a piece of gum. “Yes. If you’d come when I requested, you’d have known too. You have a hard head like your father’s, Gabe. You see, we got word about Clovis and his plot against the Count. It was a perfect setup.”
“I could have died. Some clarity might have helped.”
Mabel said, “Well, there was only one way it was going to end—either with you alive or you dead.”
“We should be more patient next time.”
“Gabe, trust me when I say the longer you wait, the more likely they’ll suck you in. The devil’s always more patient than we are.”
“Why’s the air so cold?” Rann shivered like a leaf.
Mabel turned toward Rann in the backseat with a disapproving look. “Well, little woman, either you need to cover up in something thicker, or it’s the air conditioning.”
“Oh.”
“So,” Gabe asked, “where are we going?”
“I know where your mother is. The Dominion has her in one of their prisons.”
Gabe looked right at her. “Is it far?”
She pushed his head away. “Keep your eyes on the road.” Gabe did. “That’s better. Yes, it’s far away in a place that is nothing like this. It used to be called Vegas.”
Up on the roof rack, if dragons could smile, they smiled with their faces full of wind.
***
Trooper reported back to everyone a few hours later after they got back to the Burg.
All eyes were on him when Shane asked, “What happened?”
“Load up with full gear. Cookie made sure we have weeks’ worth of gas and supplies. We have another hunt to go on.” Trooper scratched at his beard. “A long one. They’ve got several days’ head start.”
“Who does?” Shane’s brow furrowed.
Trooper took out his cigar and lighter. He bit off the end of the cigar, lit, and toked up the flame. “Have you ever heard of Groundhog Day?”
“No,” Shane said.
“I have,” Cookie said with cheer. “Some pagans believe they live in the same day, over and over again.”
“That’s kinda true,” Jack said.
“Yeah, well, this groundhog is Gabe—and his dragon. Just like they did in Newton, they turned the Burg upside down.” He spat. “I knew I should have stayed. The good guys get away when I’m not around.”
“So Gabe and Squawk escaped.” Jack put his hand on his pistol.
“Yeah, just like the last time. You ready to nail ’em this time, Jack?” Trooper asked.
“Whatever it takes to be a Deathrider.”
NEXT BOOK IN THE SERIES
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OTHER BOOKS AND AUTHOR INFO
Craig Halloran resides with his family outside his hometown of Charleston, West Virginia. When he isn’t entertaining mankind, he is seeking adventure, working out, or watching sports. To learn more about him, go to: www.craighalloran.com.
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CLASH OF HEROES: Nath Dragon meets The Darkslayer
The Chronicles of Dragon Series
The Hero, the Sword and the Dragons (Book 1)
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Terror at the Temple (Book 3)
Clutch of the Cleric (Book 4)
Hunt for the Hero (Book 5)
Siege at the Settlements (Book 6)
Strife in the Sky (Book 7)
Fight and the Fury (Book 8)
War in the Winds (Book 9)
Finale (Book 10)
The Chronicles of Dragon: Series 2, Tail of the Dragon
Tail of the Dragon
Claws of the Dragon
Battle of the Dragon
Eye of the Dragon
Flight of the Dragon
Trial of the Dragon
Judgment of the Dragon
Wrath of the Dragon
Power of the Dragon
Hour of the Dragon
The Darkslayer Series 1
Wrath of the Royals (Book 1)
Blades in the Night (Book 2)
Underling Revenge (Book 3)
Danger and the Druid (Book 4)
Outrage in the Outlands (Book 5)
Chaos at the Castle (Book 6)
The Darkslayer: Bish and Bone, Series 2
Bish and Bone (Book 1)
Black Blood (Book 2)
Red Death (Book 3)
Lethal Liaisons (Book 4)
Torment and Terror (Book 5)
Brigands and Badlands (Book 6)
War in the Wasteland (Book 7)
Slaughter in the Streets (Book 8)
Hunt of the Beast (Book 9)
The Battle for Bone (Book 10)
The Supernatural Bounty Hunter Files
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I Smell Smoke (2015)
Where There’s Smoke (2015)
Smoke on the Water (2015)
Smoke and Mirrors (2015)
Up in Smoke
Smoke Signals
Holy Smoke
Smoke Happens
Smoke Out
The Gamma Earth Cycle
Escape from the Dominion
Flight from the Dominion
Prison of the Dominion
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Flight from the Dominion (The Gamma Earth Cycle Book 2) Page 24