If the dragon stepped just a little closer, then he would be easy prey for the wolves, bears, and lions that were waiting eagerly to pounce.
“Did the chief give you those scratches on your face and ribs? That’s got to hurt. It looks like you might have a broken rib the way you are taking shallow breaths. I wonder what lion tastes like? I’ve killed a few, but I’ve never actually dined on them. I usually prefer deer and sheep,” the dragon growled, taking those extra steps.
“Now!” Nick yelled.
Before he could even process what was going on, the gray dragon was surrounded.
Teeth bared, claws at the ready, the group closed in on him. They were in the low part of the cavern, which prevented the dragon from flying.
He took in a massive amount of air, building up a fire blast. However, before he could let loose with the stream of fire, the shifters launched themselves at him. A wolf leapt up on his back, trying to get access to his throat. Two bears went after his stomach. A second wolf clawed at the dragon’s face. Nick and Leo, who was a member of Lana’s pride, went after the dragon’s feet, trying to keep him off balance.
Lana just tried to stay out of the way, because she was very weak. The truth was that she could barely stand, and it did hurt to breathe.
Although it seemed as though the battle lasted for an eternity to Lana, in reality, the group was able to take the huge dragon down in a matter of minutes. There were so many shifters attacking him, and the cave limited his movements, so it almost seemed like an unfair fight.
When he fell, Nick demanded that he shift to his human form, or he would be killed.
The gray dragon, hoping for an opportunity for revenge, did as he was told. Nick slapped a bracelet on him.
“That’s not going to stop me,” he snarled.
“Maybe not, but it’ll do for now,” Nick said.
Lana hobbled back to the large area where the cages were. She unlocked them all, freeing about twenty prisoners, including her parents. Her parents wrapped their arms around her and told her that they were proud of her.
“We are so grateful that you’re alive. We were afraid for you when we heard the fighting in the hallway,” Sara said.
“The dragon didn’t stand a chance. There were too many of us,” Lana replied. “But we have to get out of here. We don’t know how many more of the dragon shifters are coming. The one we stopped in the tunnel said that Dizag had sent out telepathic messages requesting help.”
Clarence nodded. “Are you going to be able to walk?” he asked.
“I’ll be okay. It’s just a flesh wound,” Lana said, chuckling.
The sunlight bathed the battle ground with golden light. The auras of the fallen were visible, as their souls made the transition from this life to their next.
The sudden light temporarily blinded all of the prisoners, as they had been in the dark for so long.
One of the other lion shifters, James, approached Lana and Nick. “We didn’t lose anyone else. All of the dragons were outnumbered and we took them by surprise.”
“Excellent,” Lana said. “Good work.”
The dragons left alive were questioned, but none of them would talk. Nick grilled them for about an hour trying to figure out where the other hostages were being held.
The gray dragon, trapped as a human, snarled. “They’ll starve to death. Whose fault is that? Yours,” he said, and started laughing maniacally.
Lana had the sudden urge to kick him, but resisted. Ladies just didn’t do that sort of thing. Plus, she wasn’t sure that she had the strength. She would probably fall over.
The group gathered to make a game plan when a bat shifter approached. He transformed into human form.
“Our clan had heard what was going on. We wouldn’t be any help fighting the dragons, so we went looking for the rest of your people. We found them. There are a series of caves about a mile or so down the road. We will guide you to them, if you like.”
Lana and Nick nodded to each other. The bat shifters were known to be honorable, so they trusted the messenger.
Looking around the group, they chose the strongest of the group to go on a rescue mission.
“Meet back here when you free them. We’ll be waiting in the cave for you,” Nick said.
Several of them rounded up the dragon shifters that still lived and herded them back to the cages. Locking them up there would keep them from escaping.
Each of the dragon shifters looked crestfallen at their dead leader lying on the ground.
“See, I told you he was easy. He really didn’t put up much of a fight at all,” Nick said, goading.
Lana took the opportunity to lie down on the ground and try to heal a little bit before they made the long trek back to the pride land. She felt as though she had barely closed her eyes when she was awakened by loud noises coming into their section of the cave.
Instantly awake, Lana realized that several hours had passed. The noise she heard was the rest of their warriors and the other hostages arriving—including Lucy.
17
Nick
The prisoners that had been locked in Dizag’s cages were in terrible condition. Some were in a considerably worse state than others, depending on how long they had been locked up. Dizag had only given them enough food and water to stay alive, but not enough to give them any kind of strength should they ever think of rising up against him.
Lucy had been a prisoner for quite some time. Her ribs were showing through her skin, both in human and lion form. Her face was bruised as though she had recently taken a massive beating. There were scratch marks on her arms and other parts of her body from Dizag’s talons. She received “special treatment”
