Page 36 of The Heart of the Dragon

I squeezed my eyes shut and braced myself. As much as I wanted to crawl under this bed and hide until whatever this was passed, I had a responsibility to the man I'd brought here against his will. He could be injured, and I had to do what I could.

When the latest roar ended, the walls stopped shaking and everything quieted. I had no idea how long this peace would last, but this was my chance. I darted for the door and ran as fast as I could towards the kitchen.

Mid way there a new pounding started at my front door. This had to be some sort of joke. A glance at the window showed barely a sliver of light off into the distance. The sun hadn't even made it above the horizon yet. I changed direction and headed towards the front, but before I could get there another loud sound that suspiciously seemed like an animal roar erupted from every direction, sending my nerves into overdrive. Mypulse pounded harder, blood rumbled in my ears, and the banging at the door grew ferocious.

"Magnus! What the fuck is going on?" A male voice boomed from the other side of the wooden door, and before I could think better of it, I yanked it open. A man and a woman I didn't recognize stood on the other side, their mouths immediately dropping open when they caught sight of me.

"What in the world is happening?" My yelled question probably came out crazy considering I had no idea who these two people were or what they wanted. What time was it anyways? I'd left my phone—somewhere and had no idea.

"It's five in the morning," the woman said as the couple pushed through the doorway.

"How did you—" Unless I was going crazy, I had not voiced my question about the time out loud.

"I have a sense about things." She shrugged. "Plus, you looked down at your hand for your phone, and then looked around. The logical question besides who we are was what time is it."

"Okay, I'll bite. Who are you, and what are you doing at my home at this hour? And why does it sound like the world is coming crashing down around us?"

Before she could answer, another commotion erupted, as loud as the others, but this time accompanied by breaking glass.

"Where is Magnus?" the man asked, shaking his head. "Never mind. I can find him." He disappeared into the back of my house before I could respond, leaving the woman standing next to me.

"Uhm. I better go help, or you might not have a home much longer. Maybe I could answer your questions after I get a couple of dragons under control?”

I nodded and she swept past me, disappearing in the direction her partner had.

Wait.

"What did you?—"

Had she said… My eyes widened.

A couple of dragons?

Panic seized my chest as I tried to decide what to do next. The door was still open. I could grab John's keys and make a run for it. Whatever this was, it wasn't worth my life. I took two steps towards the door and realized two things. One, I was barely dressed. I had nothing but a ratty t-shirt and panties on. Although, considering what had transpired earlier, I guess I was lucky to have that much.

Two, I had curiosity worse than a cat. Hell, ten cats. I couldn't leave without knowing what was going on in my own freaking house. If there was a problem, I had to face it head on. I did not RUN from my problems.

A snicker slipped from my mouth. "Okay pot, kettle here calling your bluff," I mumbled to myself as I grabbed the throw blanket from my reading chair and wrapped it around my body. I'd already made a fool of myself answering the door like this, but that didn't mean I intended to make it worse.

Before I made it ten feet, the entire cottage shook again, bits of plaster breaking free and raining debris and dust all around me that I had to sidestep to evade. This time anger surged atthe destruction happening in my home. Enough was e-freaking-nough. Dragon, no dragon, fantasy, crazy. I DID NOT care. This was my home, and I refused to let them destroy it.

I marched down the hall towards my greenhouse and came to a halt. My hand flew to my mouth as I gasped. An immediate burning sensation prickled at the back of my eyes, and my stomach lurched into my throat.

The back half of my greenhouse was gone.

The windows weren't broken. Nor were the walls cracked. They were simplygone. Pulverized. All my work. I glanced around. My plants—ruined.

It took several seconds, maybe more, but I finally found my voice as a wave of anger rolled through me. "What in the hell is going on here?" I was so upset about the state of my greenhouse, I'd failed to notice anything else. Until I took several steps forward and bumped into a...

My gaze traveled skyward as multiple hues of green and black filled my vision.

Uhh...were those actual—scales?

"Stay back," the male stranger warned as my gaze continued up. I vaguely heard his words, despite their volume, as patterns and swirls of colors and texture filled my vision. I'd known there was some truth to what he’d told me after what I'd seen behind him at the shelter.

But WHAT. THE. ACTUAL. HELL.

This wasn't some caricature standing in my house or some kind of frigging pet he kept by his side. Or even an aperture. This wasa fully-grown, full-size dragon busting its way through my tiny house.

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