One tiny drop of blood from a first-generation wyvern basilisk was all it took to kill a human. The moment it touched Jess’s skin she had three minutes to live, tops.
Jess collapsed. Wrath caught her before her head hit the ground and wiped the blood away with his shirt before laying her down.
Kurt and Lily both changed back instantly. Lily’s eyes were wide and her hands went to her face. Wrath could hear Jess’s heart beating weakly.
“Have you done the binding spell?” Kurt asked, kneeling down, naked as the day he was born.
“I can’t. My dragon is… cursed or broken or whatever. You do it,” Wrath said.
“I don’t know how to do it for another person,” Kurt said.
“Speak in third person. Use our names. Your dragon will know where the magic is supposed to work. It’s easy. Do it.”
Wrath patted Jess’s face.
“Open your eyes, Jess. Listen.”
Her eyes fluttered open, and Kurt began reciting the words in Sumerian in the voice of his dragon.
NO. STOP! Make him stop!
Wrath’s dragon writhed within him. If he’d doubted that he was cursed, he didn’t anymore.
Kurt completed the spell and Wrath grew lightheaded. He collapsed beside Jess.
“What’s wrong?” Kurt asked.
His dragon was trying to break loose. Wrath felt too weak to control it.
“Call Etel and get away. Get Jess and Lily away. Run!”
Everything went black.
Chapter 21
Jess was dead. She was sure she was dead. The lights were going out and she was all but paralyzed. Then she heard strange words in a baritone voice.
Suddenly she was being scooped off the ground. Her eyes opened and she saw Kurt was holding her. Why was he carrying her? Was he still naked? Ew.
She would have voiced an objection. It had to be some kind of ethical violation, but the intense look in his eyes told her to shut up. Plus, he was running with her in his arms. Why was he running?
She heard an ear-splitting roar and assumed it had something to do with that.
“In here,” Lily said, breathlessly.
Then they were going down a set of stairs into a dimly lit corridor.
“Sound the alarm! Take cover! I need a goddamned phone!” Lily was shrieking, panicked, and running down the corridor bare assed naked.
Kurt laid Jess down on the floor, looked her over, and got to his feet. Jess sat up and leaned against the wall. She felt like she had fire in her veins and wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.
“What’s happening?” she asked.
“Ezzu’s curse, I guess. His dragon took over. I’m not sure his human side is conscious. After I call Etel, I’ll go out and keep him distracted so he won’t hurt anyone.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“No. The beast could attack you. If he accidentally kills you, he might die, literally. His life is bound to yours. If you love him, keep yourself safe.”
“Can you fight him?”
“No. Not well. But I’m faster than him. Ever seen a hawk being pestered by songbirds?”
An alarm sounded. It was like an air raid alarm from an old movie. Like a fire truck, but slower and a little deeper. She supposed it was a signal for the basilisks to take cover.
Lily came back wearing a man’s jacket zipped up to her neck and carrying two phones. She handed one to Kurt who immediately starting typing. It occurred to Jess that it was lucky he didn’t come from a generation who didn’t memorize any phone numbers.
Jess got to her feet. She was feeling better by the minute.
“Shit. He’s coming. Get as deep into the tunnel as you can. Is there another exit?” Kurt asked.
“Straight down and turn left,” Lily said.
Just then there was a sound like a giant blow torch. Kurt shoved Jess and she ran down the corridor. Lily grabbed her arm and led her to the right while Kurt took off toward the other exit. The corridor brightened and Jess could feel heat on her back. Wrath must have melted through the door.
Lily led Jess to a set of stairs and deeper into the ground. Lily closed the door at the top of the stairs and followed Jess down into what looked like a control room or command center where four basilisks sat at consoles.
There were monitors showing images from outside. Wrath was on the biggest monitor, only his dragon was white instead of black. It had to be him, though. He was hovering over the entrance to the bunker.
A man got up from one of the consoles and went to Lily.
“What happened? Was it the dragon that came here yesterday?” he asked.
“No, daddy. It was me. I cheated in a fight with Kurt and hurt my fang. Jess touched the blood. Then Poppy told Kurt to do the binding spell to save her. He said he was cursed...I guess this is the curse. It’s all my fault. What if the dragons kill Poppy?”
“They won’t,” Jess said. “Kurt sent a message to Etel. I think Etel has been working on a way to fix the curse. Kurt’s going to distract Wrath until Etel gets here. We just need to keep everyone safe until that happens.”
Movement on the screen caught her eye. A cloud of dust and ash swirled around Wrath until he disappeared. A teal and copper blur passed in front of the camera, Mr. Kurt Drake.
Iris came down the stairs. “Lily are you okay?” she asked.
Lily turned her tear-streaked face to her big sister and shook her head.
Iris put her arms around Lily and hugged her.
~
Etel was on I-95 near the Hanover County Airport when he got the text from Kurt.
Something’s wrong with Ezzu. It’s the curse or whatever. We need you at his place now. He’s white. Jess was hurt, I did the binding spell for them, and then he told me to run. Now he’s living up to his name.
Etel didn’t even know Kurt was in Virginia, but he could
