The fully-formed panther stalks toward me. His teeth are bared. I hold his jacket in my left fist, and in my right hand, I create a sword out of ice like the one I’d killed Draconian with.
Wake up! Mavros’ command slams through my skull.
“I tried that.” I flick my wrist, flinging his coat out, hoping to make him back away, but he doesn’t even blink.
He prowls closer, and I walk down the bench, wanting to keep the high ground. I slash the blade down, striking his shoulder. His roar is filled with pain. Black blood runs down his leg and sizzles when it hits the cement.
He swipes his paw at me.
I lower the blade to block his attack, but I’m too late. Three deep lacerations in my thigh gush blood. I press my arm against my leg, nearly dropping my sword. He lifts his paw and licks the gore off of it. His eyes widen, and the flames in them leap.
He limps toward me.
“Wake up.” Malcolm clamped his hand down on my shoulder hard enough to pull me out of the nightmare.
I sat in Cookie Monster. Water dripped off of my ice sword onto my leg, mixing with the blood. Mavros’ coat was clutched in my other hand. I looked at Malcolm with wide eyes. “What the hell?” I threw Mavros’ jacket and the sword on the floor. My blood splattered Malcolm.
He stared at me. His pupils transformed into thin slashes, and scales dotted his face. His nose and chin stretched into a snout. Fangs jutted out of his mouth.
I wasn’t sure if Cody was awake or not, but I didn’t dare take my eyes off Malcolm. “Cody, I need a towel now.” I lowered my eyes just a little, hoping not to provoke the dragon in front of me. “Malcolm, your vow is sacred. Remember?”
His head jerked back like I’d slapped him, and his features slowly became more human.
Cody walked over with the towel. Malcolm’s head snapped toward him. A low growl permeated the room.
I shoved Cody away. Then I wrapped the towel around my leg, hoping to cover the scent as much as possible. Arianna, Russ, help me. “Malcolm, you promised to protect me.”
Arianna and Russ appeared between the couch and the door. They both lifted their heads and sniffed the air. Russ looked at me, then at Malcolm. He jumped over the couch and slammed his shoulder into Malcolm, knocking him down. They landed on top of Big Bird, smashing the chair into a thousand pieces.
While Russ pinned Malcolm to the floor, Arianna came to my side. She grabbed my hand, and healing energy flowed into me. I closed my eyes, thought about life, and added to her powers. The pain lessened, and I opened my eyes in time to see the last of the gashes disappear.
“The three of you need to leave while I clean up.” I wiped at my leg with the towel. “Please, go now.”
Russ and Malcolm disappeared first, followed quickly by Arianna.
Cody slumped onto the couch, holding his head in his hands. “You okay?” His voice was shaky.
“Sure, I guess.” I stood up, trying to keep the weight off my leg until I knew it would hold. “I don’t know how long they’ll stay away. I need to get all the blood cleaned up and burned before they come back.”
I grabbed new clothes and went to the sink. Stripping down to my underwear, I washed the blood off my body. As soon as I pulled the shirt over my head, I realized it was one of Cody’s. It hung to mid-thigh on me.
I piled the clothes and towels in the sink and went to help Cody clean up the blood. His gaze roved over me. “I’ll change. I don’t want to ruin it.”
“No.” His voice was husky, and his eyes were bright. “Like seeing you wear my shirt.” He grazed his fingers along my cheek, then knelt down and scrubbed the floor. “Think that’s all.”
He pointed at the melting sword and Mavros’ coat. “What’s with that?”
I grabbed the rag from Cody and took it to the sink. “I was using them to fight off the panther. Then somehow I brought them back with me.” I lit my bloody shirt on fire and watched the cerulean flames devour the fabric. I took deep breaths, trying to calm the panic rising inside of me. “I don’t get it.”
“Me either.” He stood next to me, waiting for the fire to die down so he could wash his hands. “Mavros’ blood on the blade?”
I looked at the black sludge that stained the carpet. “Yeah.”
“Wonder how that’ll work.”
My thoughts seemed to freeze, and I blinked at him several times, trying to figure out what he meant.
He dried his hands off and pointed at the blood. “Seems like he’s been invited in.”
“Shit.”
L
When the dragons came back, Malcolm stood against the wall by the door, about as far from me as he could. He watched the floor without blinking.
I strolled over to him and put my hand on his arm. “Malcolm, I get it. It was a lot of blood. It splashed onto your face and took you by surprise.”
“I’m supposed to be stronger.” He refused to meet my gaze.
I strained to hear his low voice, then shook my head. “You didn’t hurt me. You could have.”
“I wanted to drain every drop of blood from your body.” He looked at me, and his eyes were animalistic. “The scent lingers in here, tempting us all.”
Cody walked over to the window and threw it open. Chilly mountain air rushed into the room.
I grabbed a blanket and snuggled with Cody in Cookie Monster. “Sit down.” I pointed at the couch.
All three of them looked incredibly uncomfortable, but I needed to talk to them tonight before anything worsened.
“That mean he can enter now?” Cody pointed at Mavros’ blood.
Arianna’s eyes narrowed, and she hissed. “How did it get in here?”
“It was on the sword I brought back
