Page 59 of The Mating Quest
Ethan shook his head. “You’re a dragon. You alwayssmoke.”
Everyone turned to look atEthan.
Lucas snorted. “What are you, a hundred? Smoke means battle, dude. Get with thetimes.”
“I’m 120 years old and I know what smoke means, pup. What are you, twelve?” Ethan shook hishead.
“Turned seventy last week. You should have seen all the candles on my cake and all the dragons helping to ignite them.” Lucas winked at Chloe, who turnedserious.
“Let’s do this.” Chloe flexed herfists
They advanced until Ilana motioned to halt. Something was moving on thefloor…
“Holy hemlock,” Dakota breathed. “What the freaking hellfire isthat?”
Ilana could not move, or speak. Onlystare.
“It is Indiana Jones all over again,” Chloe said, her face tightening. “Good thing I know how to deal withthis.”
Dozens of snakes hissed and writhed, pouring out of crevices in the rock walls. The floor moved with snakes, some small and skinny, some fat. The cave seemed filled with movement in the pitch dark, illuminated only by theirtorches.
Ilana twirled her sword, ready to chop andsplice.
Chloe shifted into a snake and hissed. . “Snakes? I’ll go first,Ilana.”
Ethan’s sister shifted into a python bigger than ahorse.
“Whoa,” Lucas cried out, his tone admiring. “Damn, you’re aChangeling.”
Ilana gestured for her shift back. “No, Chloe. Let me handle this. Wait until I call you or you’ll end up on the cutting board bymistake.”
“All snakes look alike in the dark,” Lucas said, chuckling, as Chloe shifted back toSkin.
Ethan glared at him. “Ilana what do you want us to do?” heasked.
“I need as much light aspossible.”
Their torches weren’t bright and they were fueled by magick, not fire. He wondered if they dimmed because of the evil in the cave. They stuck their torches into the wall sconces. They barely cut through thedarkness.
Ethan shrugged out of his jacket and shirt began ripping up both. Her eyes widened as he ripped up his warm jacket as easily as tearing paper. She never realized how strong hewas.
“Everyone go back to that pile of bones and grab as many femurs or long bones you can.Quickly.”
When they did, he wrapped the cloth around the bone’s end and then withdrew a tin flask from his jeanspocket.
“Are you drinking?” Ilana peered at the smallcan.
“Brandy for emergency warmth.” He grinned at Ilana and her heart melted alittle.
Much as she didn’t want to like this wolf, she was falling for hischarm.
When everyone held up one of the homemade torches, Ethan gestured to Lucas. “Care to help, dragon? Light ‘erup.”
Lucas obliged. Now the cave was filled with light from the homemade torches. Ilana advanced and Starsong went to work on thesnakes.
Minutes later, she realized it waspointless.
Chopping, slashing and cutting, she still couldn’t make a dent. Ilana worked tirelessly, stomping on the snakes, ignoring the fangs trying to sink past her leather pants andboots.
