Page 110 of Faerie Fate
We were alone here. There was no rising water. Only stillness even the wind didn’t dare to break.
The maze was endless and seemingly stretched out into eternity. Poppy insisted we were getting close to the middle, but after what felt like hours of worry, of wandering, it was evident to me that we were going in circles.
“We’re making progress.”
I shook my head. “We’re going to be here forever.” How would we find our way out? “Are you sure we’re?—”
Poppy pulled up short. “Hush.”
Whatever she heard, I hoped she knew what to do with the sound because I sure as hell didn’t.
Fear victimized me in a way I hated. It took the last bits of strength out of my bones and left me with nothing to show for it.
The sky never changed color. There was no sun or moon to mark the passage of time outside of the leaden feeling in my legs. It intensified with every mistake we made, every wrong turn.
Finally the passage opened up and the hedges melted away. Poppy straightened, gasped, and I finally heard it. The dull grumbling roar from ahead.
The black dragon materialized out of nothing, from invisible to solid in a matter of seconds. It curved a scaly neck toward us with glinting ruby eyes and smoke pulsing angrily out of its nostrils. Claws dug into the ground around an iron chest. Bones curved in two horns running down its neck.
“Defeat the dragon,” Poppy said in a reverent whisper, “and you’ll unlock your powers.”
I blanched, color and life leaching out of me. No one said anything about adragon.
Chapter Thirty-One
“You’ve got to be kidding,” I said out loud. “I’ve already been drawn into a damn war. Now there’s a dragon?”
I barely saw Poppy’s retreat, the slow slip of her arm unthreading through mine and her steps in the opposite direction.
“Fight the dragon, Tavi. Get to the chest. It’s the only way we’re going to make it out of this. If you defeat the dragon, you’ll have your answers, and your real power.”
Her whisper carried the weight of the world. Because if I died, Poppy did, too. Her body might not pass away for some time but her essence trapped inside of me would fade.
I eyed the dragon’s scaly head. The thing reared up, its neck arching. Its throat glowed red-orange in anticipation of roasting us both alive.
Gathering the last bits of my courage—and they were reluctant to be gathered, I confess—I stepped in front of Poppy. The dragon tracked my movements. When I moved, it moved.
Well, there was no sense in dragging this out, not when the pixies needed me at full strength. If I had to make it past this overgrown lizard, then hesitating did no good.
With a shout I ran forward, and flinched when the dragon reacted. Its tail whipped out, slashing across my cheek in a harsh blow, chastising, almost playful. My skin split and blood spurted.
I gasped and slapped my hand against the wound. The pain filtered through me but didn’t last long. If I had a sword?—
Hell no, who needed a sword when you had teeth and talons? In this vision, or wherever we were, I didn’t have to worry about Madam Muerte’s curse or any of the limitations of reality. There was no dragging exhaustion or stuttering when I drew on my powers.
So I urged my magic up from the depths of my abdomen and shifted my paws, striking at the dragon. I wasn’t close enough to make contact for the longest time.
Finally, I forced myself closer while watching out for that tail. I fought. I struck and kicked and bit empty air until my arms and legs didn’t belong to me anymore. I couldn’t feel them.
The dragon avoided my claws, avoided every blow. Its nails were sharper than mine, with curving tips honed to deadly precision.
“Tavi!”
Poppy’s screeched warning came just in time.. The dragon tried to take me out with a furious swipe of its tail. I leaped out of the way but ended up tripping over the bony length.
It happened in slow motion. I fell. The dragon stretched over me. I rolled out of the way before it crushed me. Its stomp shook the maze and I rolled with the bucking ground and absorbed the energy.
The rest of the world faded, outside of the dragon. Every move I pulled to get close to its chest failed. I thrust my clawsat its breastplate, attempting to drive them right through the beast’s ribs, but it deftly avoided me.
