Page 16 of Dragon in Denial
They both held steady, hovering like they were treading water, facing the other four dragons, taunting them. It was working—the four drew closer and closer. One opened his mouth, presumably to let out a belch of fire, and Ketu’s voice in Antoinette’s head yelled,Now!
They dropped in unison, both lifting their heads and shooting fire upward. One dragon took the brunt of the hit and dropped like a stone. The reverberating crash a few seconds later indicated he hadn’t been able to gain his wings before hitting the ground.
One down, Antoinette thought.
Celebrate later, Ketu responded.There are still three to go.
She nodded at the one they’d hit with their first round of fireballs.On the count of three, charge him, together. She didn’t give Ketu a chance to argue.
One, two, three!
Apparently, he knew when to follow directions because they flew toward the injured dragon, who was too slow to get away from them. At the last second, they both turned their backs and slammed into the beast, sending him rolling through the sky much like Ketu had earlier. Except this guy didn’t recover in time. He ended up smashing into a tree and got caught in the sprawling branches. He thrashed around like a fly in a spider’s web, no doubt exhausting himself. The only way out was for him to shift into human form and climb to the ground, where he dropped onto his ass and stayed there.
Unfortunately, the two remaining adversaries went on the offensive, working together, and all Ketu and Antoinette could do was dodge incoming fireballs and attacks. Antoinette didn’t want to admit it, but she was growing tired. They needed to end this before she couldn’t hang anymore.
We need to retreat,Ketu said in her head. You’re too tired to keep this up.
I can handle it.
No, you can’t. Let’s go.
He swerved left, and she reluctantly followed as he headed away from the lights of the city, where their dragon forms would melt into the darkness of the sky, making it easier to escape.
After an exhaustive flight that lasted probably less than an hour but felt more like fifteen, Ketu dropped low to the ground and Antoinette did the same, their presence stirring up birds and swamp creatures alike until he nodded at a rickety dock jutting into swampy water and surrounded by cypress trees, their fat trunks protruding from the murky depths. The dock was attached to an old, wooden shack, and there was a stone gargoyle standing sentry on the end of the weathered planks.
This is a witch’s home, Antoinette pointed out to Ketu.
It’s all right, he responded.I have a friend who is a gargoyle.
Wait, he had a friend who was a gargoyle? When had that happened? Dragons and gargoyles weren’t pals. They didn’t hang out. They basically steered clear of each other.
If Ketu heard any of those thoughts, he did not respond, instead flying toward the dock and shifting into human form at the last moment, landing with a quietthudthat sent water rippling from the structure. Antoinette tried to land next to him, but she miscalculated and would have tumbled into the murky water had he not grabbed her and pulled her into his arms.
Which were, wow, really, really strong. And his chest was warm. And solid. She wanted to tug up his T-shirt to see what the muscles underneath looked like.
Oh shit, she forgot to magick hers back onto her body!
She quickly did so, ducking her head in case Ketu was able to see her flaming face despite the darkness all around them. “Um, you can put me down now.”
“Are you sure? I was rather enjoying—”
“Yes!”
He put her on her feet, dropping his hands to her waist presumably to help her keep her balance. She pushed him away because, damn it, her entire body had suddenly become an erogenous zone and even though her limbs were so exhausted she wasn’t sure she had the strength to walk toward the shack at the other end of the dock, her dragon wanted to crawl back into Ketu’s arms and convince him to play all sorts of wicked dragon games.
That is definitely not happening!
Someone cleared their throat. Not Antoinette or Ketu. She turned around to see another man standing on the dock with them. He was shorter than both of them but just as bulky as Ketu, and his facial features looked as if they were carved from stone.
The gargoyle had come to life.
“May I help you?” he asked, sounding almost pleasant, although Antoinette knew that his presence here meant he was protecting something. If he felt they were a threat, he would act accordingly.
“We were being chased,” Ketu explained. “We needed a place to hide.”
“You bring your dragon wars to my mistress’s doorstep?”
So that’s what he was protecting. A mistress. Likely a witch who lived in this shack.
