But it was the ceiling that was the biggest problem. Without the Fae mage to keep it intact, it was going to come down on us at any second. “Lex!” Max shouted at me. I was at the edge of the dragon glass pit.
Up close, I could see that the chains weren’t just metallic. Their enchantment continued to glow. A not-so-distant crack had me startling. I jumped to the left just as a boulder the size of a basketball broke the ground where I had been standing. It seemed to be the catalyst that turned the whole place into chaos. The para-humans abandoned their posts and fled. Conversely, the dragon outside resumed its charge, completely without reason. If this kept up, the dragon would bury its baby along with us. In my mind, I felt the deranged edge of its thoughts. That purple arrow must have contained poison.
The baby dragon chortled. I tugged futilely at the chains.
Somebody grabbed my shoulder. “Let’s go!” Andrei shouted in my face above the noise of the world crumbling around us. He had a broadsword in his hands. Behind him I saw the others scrambling in and out of the armoury. When they achieved their goal, they ran out of the cave following the para-humans. For goodness sake!
I tossed Andrei aside. “I’m not leaving without her.”
He wouldn’t let go. “The ceiling is about to come down!”
“Then you better stop standing there and start helping me!”
There just wasn’t much we could do. Even Andrei wasn’t strong enough to break enchanted chains.
The baby dragon reared as a boulder hit its back. Panic gripped my heart. “He’s not dead,” Kai’s cold voice said from behind me.
I whipped around to see him standing there holding the spear. Chanelle stood beside him, her eyes still glassy. A crossbow dangled uselessly from her hand.
I glanced towards the Fae mage. Something locked in my throat. I swallowed helplessly. “Bloody hell!” Andrei snarled. He marched over to the Fae mage, and in one quick, thoughtless swing, he cut the mage’s head clean off.
The chains stopped glowing. Max came out of nowhere, slid into the hole, and started yanking the chains from the dragon glass. Chanelle clutched at Kai’s arm but she wasn’t strong enough to hold him as he joined Max. Together, they managed to free the dragon.
Then we had another problem on our hands. The hole was too small for the dragon to take flight.
Andrei gave me the dirtiest look ever, shoved the broadsword into my hands and slid into the crater. Between the three of them, they managed to lift the baby dragon up high enough that she could flap her wings. With a bit of lift, she hovered and clawed her way out. They came scrambling up afterwards. Precisely a second before the ceiling came down on us.
48
The baby dragon gave a shrill whistle. I lifted my head to the sky. There was something not quite right about closing my eyes and waiting for death. The shadow that blocked out the moon had me reconsidering my stance. The adult dragon’s wing swept the tumbling boulders from the air. A clawed arm came right at me. I screamed as it grabbed me. This time I did shut my eyes.
My equilibrium was shot to hell. The world somersaulted. Hot and cold air alternately lashed around me. It was the worst fairground ride ever.
My eyes were still pressed tight when I suddenly felt solid ground beneath my feet. A groaning sound of rocks sliding against each other filled my ears. I blinked and caught the last of the mountain crumbling in on itself.
A quick glance around showed me we were in a glade separated from the mountain by a belt of trees. There were people around me, but I couldn’t quite register who they were because there was a cathedral-sized dragon looming over me.
I thought I knew fear, but the reptilian head that bent down to cast slitted, green eyes at me made everything else disappear. The dragon had a crest of skin around the back of her neck. It looked like a crown of bone and scales.
I was still dazed when somebody grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet. Andrei’s rage-filled red eyes glared at me. “What the hell was that?”
I just stared at him. I’d never seen him angry before. It was weird. The thought must have shown on my face because his eyes widened for a second before his face reshaped into its usual sly nonchalance.
A soft thud beside me stole my attention. The baby dragon ambled forward. It nudged its head against the big dragon’s side. The bigger dragon’s nostrils flared. I saw the poisoned arrow was still embedded in its wing.
I approached it gingerly, but Max blocked my way. “Are you crazy?” he said. “It’s not right in the head. It could tear you in two.”
Inside my mind, I felt the dragon’s indignation. Stupid lion, a distinctly feminine voice said.
My jaw dropped. The dragon’s brow moved, and I knew it was a challenge. Why was I so surprised? Doctor Thorne could speak. Why couldn’t a dragon?
“Help me with the arrow,” I said to Max.
“Lex!”
I stomped my foot. Even though he looked like he’d gone a couple of rounds with death, Max grated his teeth and came up beside me. “Hold still,” I told the dragon. Max and I wedged the arrow out. A splash of rotting flesh oozing green blood covered our hands.
“Just great,” Max muttered.
“Why hasn’t the trial ended?” Chanelle asked. The sound of her voice made me want to hurl the arrow at her.
Andrei almost threw a fit. “You didn’t get a weapon,” he said to me. He was still slightly affected by the dragon’s telepathic roar. There was a cut on his cheek that wasn’t healing and his shirt was torn. If ever there was a time he looked like a homicidal vampire, it was now.
I glanced around helplessly. “I guess this arrow isn’t going to cut it?” I asked the air.
