Fire in His Blood(19)

 

Tame the dragon, they said. Do it for Fort Dallas. Tame the dragon-this thing the size of a small plane, this thing with fangs and claws that breathes fire and kills people by the hundreds.

 

Clearly they're insane.

 

I stifle a whimper when he licks my shoulder again, and then the enormous snout moves lower. He tries to push it between my sprawled legs to scent my sex, and I can't help it. I'm terrified, but I'm not going to have that. I push at the nose with my hand, shaking my head. "N-no," I tell him, and add a mental, please don't eat me.

 

The big head lifts sharply, as if recalling something, and as I watch, the eyes flick from the black pupils back to gold. With another guttural whuff of his breath, the dragon turns his head and glances back at the goat. He looks to me, and then turns, heading toward the goat. I just know he's going to try and offer it to me again.

 

But his back is to me.

 

And I'm free now.

 

I glance at the nearest stairwell, the one I came up with the soldiers. It's about fifty feet away, just a quick sprint.

 

I've only got one chance. I look over at the dragon, and he's gently picking up the dead goat in his teeth again.

 

Time to take that chance. I scramble to my feet and race for the stairs.

 

I fling the battered door open and launch myself down the stairs in a rush. Panting, frantic, I ignore the fact that I'm naked and shoeless-all that matters is getting away from the dragon. Now that I'm free, I can escape. I thud down the stairs at high speed, relieved that he's so large. His enormous bulk is way too big to fit in the narrow stairwell, and if he keeps to the top of the building looking for me, I can hide in the rubble on the street until it's safe to-

 

An ear-splitting roar of rage interrupts my wild thoughts. My steps falter, and I stumble down the next few stairs, thudding a couple of feet to a debris-strewn landing. The stairs turn and twist down another story, and I pick myself up and keep going. I didn't count how many floors there were on the way up, and now I wish I had. It doesn't matter, though. He can't get to me. I know I can get away. Back to Amy, I tell myself. Back to Fort Dallas. Back to safety.  

 

The building shakes, and the dragon gives another enraged roar. Plaster rains down on my head, and a chunk of ceiling drops onto the stairs next to me. I bite back a yelp and keep going. Each step takes me farther away from the dragon and one step closer to my sister.

 

As I turn to go down the next floor, everything is silent. I pause to catch my breath, the only sound the rasping coming from my throat. I glance up at the ceiling, but no more plaster is raining down. The dragon's silent. Did he fly away? Give up on-

 

Something slams into the side of the building.

 

The entire thing shakes, and I nearly lose my balance, careening into the wall. My scream dies in my throat. I can't make a sound. I can't. I know if I do, he'll find me. I cling to the railing and begin to descend again. Another crash into the wall, and bricks crumble inward. The wall sags, and the stairs give an ugly, frightening shudder under my feet. I whimper as the world rocks to one side.

 

Part of the wall falls away, and I gape at the expanse of open sky that's suddenly revealed, not five feet from where I'm standing. Far, far below, I can see the broken, overgrown streets of Old Dallas and the other decimated buildings nearby, sticking up like jagged thorns.

 

Gold flashes past. I hear the beating of wings. I lean forward, trying to get a glimpse of where the dragon is. My heart's pounding so wildly in my breast that I'm sure he can hear it.

 

A shadow falls over the hole, and in the next moment, an enormous black-on-gold eye scans the stairwell.

 

I stumble backward, gasping. As I do, the eye focuses on me, and another ear-splitting roar shakes the building. My footing slips on the garbage-strewn stairs, and I half-slide, half-tumble to the next flight, bouncing down to the landing in a rain of drywall and brick fragments. Pain slams through my body, and I struggle to get back to my feet. My ankle hurts like a beast, my ribs will have new bruises by morning, and I'm covered in dust and dried leaves, but I'm away from the dragon. For now. I need to find a safe spot to hide. Somewhere. Anywhere.

 

I limp down the next flight of stairs, and there's a door there. My hands are shaking as I tug on the handle, but it won't budge. Somewhere nearby, the dragon trumpets another furious roar, and the building shakes again. I abandon the door and continue down. I thought the stairs were safe before because the dragon was too big, but now I feel like a mouse trapped in a maze. I'm trembling with fear as I continue downward. No choice but to keep going.

 

I turn the corner on the next flight of stairs, hoping for another door. My heart sinks at the sight before me.