Fire in His Blood(28)

 

"Yeah, but no corpse down on the streets. That's a good sign."

 

"Unless he ate her whole."

 

Well, gee. They almost sound disappointed that I'm not roadkill. Like it's inconvenient for them that I might still be alive and they have to check on me. I'm starting to side with the damn dragon.

 

"Check if he's there. Look for signs of the dragon or the girl," one of the soldiers says.

 

"Won't be any signs of her left," the other comments. "She ain't more than two bites."

 

Kael blows another puff of smoke from his nostrils, his growling increasing. His tail lashes back and forth wildly, the dust and leaves stirring so loud it sounds like a windstorm. He's agitated as hell, and as he nuzzles my hair with another steamy breath, I realize he's trying to comfort me. He's trying to tell me he's not mad at me.

 

But those other guys?

 

He's going to straight up roast them.

 

My skin prickles. I know this as much as I know the nose on my face. He's going to defend me from them. I'm his toy now, and if they try to take me back, he's going to make them regret it. He's going to kill them, and their deaths will be on my head. I don't know what to do.

 

I eye the dragon, and then the stairwell across the room. The moment they come through that door, they're dead meat. I have to stop them before they come up. And Kael won't hurt me. I hope. So I take a risk and cup a hand to my mouth. "Don't come up here," I call out. "The dragon's still here and he's angry!"

 

Kael sucks in a breath, the intake so sharp my hair rustles. He lowers his head until his eye is even with my face, and it's whirling deep, deep black. Oh shit. "Sorry," I whisper, and give him a trembling pat on the nose. "Please don't be mad."

 

My warning seems to have the opposite desired effect, though. "Hello?" one of the men calls out. "Claudia Jones? Is that you?"

 

I open my mouth to call out again, but Kael's eye is still staring me down, and the low growl is rumbling in his chest so loud I can feel it shaking my body. The words die in my throat.

 

"We're coming for you," another militia soldier calls out. "The mayor's changed his mind."

 

He has? I'm not exiled? I hold my breath, shocked and pleased. Then I see a shadow move in the stairwell. Oh no. "Don't come up!"

 

Kael lifts his head, pointing it at the sky, and trumpets a call. It's loud, blaring, and utterly furious. It's a warning. Even I know that.

 

 

 

        

          

        

         

 

"Shit!" one of the men yells. I hear the sound of scrambling coming from the stairwell.

 

The dragon hefts to his feet, roaring again. I'm clutched fast in his talons, and they dig into my skin as he extends his wings. I bite back a yelp as we lift into the air, just as the men run onto the ruined floor that's been my home for the last day. We go higher and higher into the air, Kael roaring fury. I cling to him, terrified he'll drop me far below. We're up so high, and I've got nothing to hold on to except for a slippery dragon. All I can hope is that he won't drop me in one of his less lucid moments.

 

As we rise, the building below us gets smaller, and I see the men stop and raise their guns. What the hell are they doing? Guns are useless against dragon-scale. That was one reason why humanity hadn't stood a chance against the draconic invasion.

 

Shots ring out, the quick rat-tat-tat-tat of automatic rifles.

 

I scream, ducking my head and trying to protect it with my hands. Something hot scorches a path on my arm - I've been hit.

 

Are they firing at me and not the dragon?

 

A terrible roar sounds through the air, so loud that I feel as if my ears might explode from the thunder of it. It rips out of Kael's throat, so forceful that I can feel it in his claws, and then we're turning suddenly in midair, diving back toward the men with guns.

 

Oh no. No no no no.

 

I squeeze my eyes closed as we dive, helpless. I can feel the wind shift as Kael swoops low. More bullets ring out.

 

There's an awful scream and the crunch of bones, and then the air changes again. We're rising. More gunfire whizzes past. I squeeze an eye open just in time to see Kael spit out half of one of the soldiers, the body tumbling through the air. He begins to whirl around again, ready to dive on the remaining soldiers.

 

My stomach clenches in horror. "Oh no," I moan. "Please, no."

 

The dragon abruptly changes directions.

 

One moment, we're diving at the remaining soldiers. The next, Kael's wings are beating hard and we're soaring back up into the air. He gives another trumpeting warning and blasts fire at the building. Not enough to hit anyone, just a show of his wrath. I watch the building get smaller and smaller as we go up, and the soldiers turn into ants. The lone red banner flaps in the breeze, and I feel odd leaving it behind.