Page 85 of The Last Dragon
Fuck fuck fuck.I draw in a breath. The beast roars. I’ll have to take my chances. But before I can do anything, another voice yells out from my left.
“Look here, ugly!”
Eryca. She holds a water bomb in one hand, waving a red flag with the other. She skips to the side, yelling and waving the fabric, ready to throw the vial at any minute. She’s trying toforce an ignition. I glance at my crossbow again, making sure it’s intact and ready to shoot.
It is.
Now, Eryca is sprinting. Running all the way to the other side, making herself the bait—and the dragon takes it. But instead of ignition, it launches into the air. A deafening roar shatters the air as another pair of smaller stones collide and scatter over us. Screams spread across the battlefield.
The boulder, my only defense, is useless. Too much dust. Too much debris. I glance around, bow still clutched at my chest. I need to find a place to take cover. I need to find the dragon. I need to slay it. Kill it. Destroy it.
Two silhouettes emerge from the smoke—strong, tall men rushing across the battlefield, lifting people up. Raumen and Caspian. Moments later, two smaller figures approach, checking the injured before signaling the two Defenders to get off the field. That’s Sam, with Hayden at his side. They’re safe. At least they’re safe. But I don’t know for how long.
Sobs drift from behind a large, chipped boulder inches away, half-buried in the ground. I glance up, no sign of the dragon, and sprint toward the sound. A small figure is crouched before me, curled in on himself like a wounded creature. The cries—thin, broken, young—slice through the silence. His face is smeared with soot and ash, pale streaks cutting through where tears have traced their path.
Theo.
What the hell is he doing here, so close to the Redsnout? He’s kneeling near a man, his torso completely torn open, blood seeping in every direction.
Shit.
I run up to Theo, placing my hand on his shoulders.
“What do I do?” he says, blood matting his hair and running down his brow and cheeks. “What do I do!? He’s dying! He’sdying—what do I do!?” I glance at the soldier, gurgling noises spilling from his mouth as he fights for his life.
“You have to keep yourself calm, okay?”
His eyes are hollow as he stares into the blood-soaked sand, slowly absorbing the brutal reality before him. He swallows hard, as if choking back a gag, then finally whispers, “How do I save him?”
“You don’t,” I say. His eyes lock on mine—sorrowful, scared, glistening with tears. His lower lip trembles as the last shards of humanity break through. Emotions—something he will now need to shut off in order to survive. The child inside him is dying.
I catch sight of Sam, sprinting past with a bag of bandages, two medics in tow as they drag other wounded soldiers from the field.
“Take Theo!” I yell out before several more medics arrive. I grunt in frustration, running my hand over my damp hair, suppressing a scream. Theo doesn’t hesitate and lets the two women drag him off the battlefield.
Sam yells out from behind a large boulder, searching for shelter. He wants to know if I’m okay. I slash my hand to the side, signaling I’m fine. I don’t need help—he needs to get to the others.
We need to regroup. I scour the sky, the smoke and dust too thick to see anything. I don’t know where it is.
Another roar. Another clicking noise. Another firebreath from the beast.It’s to the right of me.
Where Nida is.
I grab my bow without looking and I sprint toward the chaos. Dust swirls around the battlefield, choking the air. Stones scatter in every direction. Frustration gnaws at me—I can’t see a damn thing. But I keep running. Running. Running. My feet pound over sand, stones, dried grass, and broken branches, until thescent of fresh soil fills my senses and gentle arms pull me down behind a jagged boulder.
“This thing’s vicious!” Nida shouts, crouching low beside me. “I can’t find Eryca! I can’t find anyone!”
My heart hammers against my ribs. Every second that ticks by steals my breath. A numbing sensation zaps through me. Briefly. But enough to startle me.
No. I think to myself.Not now. Stay calm.
I heave in air, lungs stinging. The dragon roars again—deafening, relentless. And I feel its breath behind the stone. Nida stills her breath, looks at me, and gives a slow nod.
Distract it one more time, I try to say. No words come out of my mouth, but she knows what to do. She crawls out, finding camouflage in the dust, reaching for a water bomb from her belt. Her last one.
I peek from the corner of the boulder, aiming for the dragon’s snout. But it’s too late. A searing heat grows in my hand, spreading all the way to my chest, preventing me from pulling the trigger as I collapse to the ground.
The venom.
