Page 45 of Cash

“Tommy?” I screamed over the chaos.

Thick, black smoke billowed in through the front door and rapidly filled the space. Another explosion rocked me to my knees and sent the wrought-iron chandelier which hung from the ceiling crashing to the floor. Thank God, I was out of the way, I managed to think over the chaos.

Something silver flashed in the corner of my eye, and I looked up in time to see the dragon gliding down over the stairs and land in front of me.

Tommy was on his back, whooping and grinning from ear to ear.

My heart screamed with joy when I saw him that way, but I didn’t have time to absorb it. Instead, I placed a foot on Cash’s leg and swung my leg over his neck, grabbing Tommy around the waist.

“He’s a dragon!” he shouted, pointing.

“I know!” I patted his flank and Cash got the message, stampeding out of the entry, through the thick, choking smoke, mowing bodies down left and right.

One of them might have been the man in charge, or it might not have been. I would never know. We broke out of the chaos and into the night, my car in flames thanks to the fire I’d set in it before getting out. Everyone had been too busy greeting me and leading me to their boss to pay attention.

We took to the sky, the three of us, with Tommy’s happy shrieks filling my ears. I held him as tight as I dared, stroking his hair, kissing the top of his head as we soared.

The moon was full, shining down on us, turning Cash’s scales to pure, glowing silver.

I felt a strong sense of déjà vu before remembering my dream.