Page 62 of Dance for the Dragon
He raised his head, hauling in deep breaths as the coven master released his hold and looked over his shoulder.
The dragon rose up behind him. A great beast from some other time. Spreading his wings, he stretched his head toward them and released a scream that had chills chasing each other across her skin.
“Devon, you have to run!” Hawke wrapped his arm around her and pulled her away.
“He won’t hurt me,” she said.
“That may be true, but I don’t know that he would have the same consideration for me. Let’s go.”
She let him lead her toward the tunnel, leaning her weight on him as vampires ran past them in blurs. After a few seconds, he bent down and swooped her up in his arms.
The air sucked at their backs as the dragon drew in a deep breath. Screams rent the air as the entire coven ran for their lives.
“Fucking hell, Kohl! Give me a minute!” Hawke shouted. He reached the passageway just in time and dodged around a piece of limestone that jutted out from the wall, ducking behind it just as a wave of heat pushed them to the ground, followed by a stream of fire.
Hawke slapped at the outside of Devon’s thigh, and she belatedly realized she was on fire. Pushing his hands away before he set himself ablaze, she rolled away from him, smothering the flames in the dirt. Unfortunately, by doing so, she rolled right out into the middle of the tunnel. Her hair whipped around her face as Kohl drew in another breath, sucking the air from the enclosed space. Knowing she had to do something before he burned them all alive, even those he cared about, she rose up on her knees and held up her hands. “Kohl! Stop! Please, stop!”
The cavern was large enough for the dragon to stand. Multiple small, lingering fires burned around him filling the air with the stench of burnt hair and skin. About fourteen vampires, those who had been lucky enough to be behind the dragon when he torched the others, huddled in the back of the room, afraid to move for fear of drawing the beast’s attention.
At the sound of her voice, his large head swung toward her, and a deep purr filled the room as he exhaled in plumes of smoke. Using the tips of his wings for leverage, he crawled toward her.
“Devon! What are you doing?”
She saw Hawke waving at her out of the corner of her eye, trying to get her to hide. “It’s okay. He won’t hurt me.” Using the wall as leverage, she pushed herself to her feet and stumbled forward, away from Hawke’s hiding place. Vampire or not, he had helped her, and for that, she owed him his life and would do whatever she could to distract Kohl’s attention from him. Leaving the tunnel, she made it about twenty feet before her head began to swim and she lost her balance, falling onto her hands and knees.
Kohl “harmphd” in alarm and rushed toward her. Lowering his head, he nudged her with his nose.
“I’m all right,” she said.
He didn’t seem to believe her. He ran his nose over her, growling deep when he smelled the blood.
In her fifth or thirtieth attempt to get up, Devon fell to her side, exposing her burned leg.
When he came upon the scalded flesh, the dragon’s large body shuddered from head to tail. He snuffed at her burn, inhaling deeply. Carefully, he settled down beside her.
Devon touched the side of his neck, too weak to do much else.
Suddenly, the dragon’s big body jerked and he grunted in pain.
The dragon lurched to his feet, and Devon saw the long cut in his belly dripping blood onto the ground. It looked deep. But there was no weapon anywhere, nothing that could have caused it.
Shoving her hair from her face, she searched for the source of his injury.
The coven leader stood in the center of the room with a wicked-looking knife in his hand, and he was smiling as he wiped the long blade on his leather pant leg.
Hawke appeared to her left. He, too, had his eyes on the coven leader, and apparently little regard for the danger he was putting himself in. He looked around at the burning bodies of those vampires who hadn’t gotten out of the way in time. Anger twisted his features. With fangs bared in warning, he hissed. “This is your fault, Master. You shouldn’t have brought her here! Look what you’ve done.”
“I didn’t bring her here. Jaz did. On my orders,” he added with a smirk. He glanced at one of the burning bodies. “Loyal until death, that one.”
The dragon wrapped his tail around Devon, pulling her close to him.
She looked up just in time to see his sides expand as he opened his jaws and pulled in a breath.
Focused on the coven leader, Hawke didn’t even notice. The vampires at the back of the room, now in the direct line of fire, began to scatter.
Devon shoved at Kohl’s side to get his attention, giving them time to get to safety. She didn’t know if these vampires were good or bad, but they deserved a chance to save themselves.
One eye focused on her, then on Hawke, then on the others edging toward the tunnels, and she saw a spark of comprehension. Releasing Devon from the curve of his tail, he began to flap his wings, deep gusts of air knocking Hawke and the other vampires still in the room off their feet. With a running start, he rose into the air, and Devon watched in disbelief as he captured the coven leader, catching him off guard. Holding him gripped in one talon, he flew up into the smooth ceiling above. He slammed into it with his muscular back, over and over, until he started busting through the limestone.
