Chapter 37

Chapter Thirty-Seven

The hand that held me became covered in pale yellow scales and his clothes dropped to the ground in a heap. I twisted my head around and watched him stretch high into the air on a thin, scale-covered body. He towered several feet over my head thanks to his now serpentine body as his feet oozed together to create a tail that trailed behind him. His severed arm rejuvenated.

The snake threw me behind him and whipped his tail out in front of him, sweeping the bones against the walls where they shattered. I stumbled back and spun around to flee, but an earth-shaking change happened. Literally.

The ground beneath us rattled and the ceiling rained dirt and pebbles down on our heads. A sizeable rock collapsed onto Baddock’s tail and he let loose a hiss of pain. I scooted around him and in the direction of the entrance. Baddock flung aside the stone and scurried after me.

We had reached the halfway point when the ground shook again and more stones rained down on us. I held my arms above my head and cried out. The shaking immediately ceased.

Unfortunately, in my confusion, I didn’t watch my back. Baddock’s tail wrapped around my waist and lifted me off the ground. He twisted me around so we faced each other and he opened his mouth to show off a pair of foot-long fangs. His face twisted with a toothy smile. “I will enjoy this very-”

The ground shook again more violent than before and a huge crash came from behind us. Baddock gaped at the carnage and I twisted my head around to see what so shocked him.

The ceiling had caved in and Will’s dragon head now hovered in the gap. His fiery green eyes were zeroed in on my captor. I felt Baddock’s tail quiver around me.

Will opened his mouth and revealed the fiery pits of hell that swirled around inside his gullet. Baddock flung me at him before he turned and scuttled into the depths of the Grimton. Will pushed his way through the opening causing more of the ceiling to collapse. I flung my arms up over me but his scaled neck soon protected me.

Are you alright? he asked me.

I dumbly nodded. Will whipped his head around and glared at where Baddock had escaped. I felt an extreme heat emanate from his throat as he took in a deep breath and opened his mouth. He cracked his head forward and let loose a torrent of fire. The flames were blasted into the interior and scorched everything, even reaching into the niches. All the bodies were instantly cremated and the cobwebs were set ablaze before they completely disintegrated.

I heard a bone-chilling scream come from somewhere in those halls. Baddock would no longer bother us.

Will’s flame slowed to nothing and his body shrank. It was as his pink flesh sprouted that I realized he was going to come out of his dragon form completely naked. I blushed and turned my face away.

“My Lord!” a voice shouted above us.

I was glad for the distraction and saw that Raines stood over us. A cloak was draped over one arm which he tossed down to us. Will caught it and wrapped himself in the cloth just in time as the last of his scales and wings vanished.

He adjusted the cloak for a moment before smiling up at his servant. “Impeccable timing as always, Raines.”

An unwelcome face appeared beside our friend. It was the hobo but some of his mask had slipped and his clothes were a mess as though he’d been in a scuffle. “You have much to answer for, Thorn.”

“Have you caught any of the scoundrels alive this time?” Will inquired.

Folcred’s eye twitched but he kept his cool. “One has been apprehended.”

“And a good catch, too,” Torch spoke up as Helen and he popped their heads over the edges of the ruined road.

The other dragon lord dragged the man who had captured me into the picture. The man was unconscious and a picture of a prisoner. His mouth was taped shut and his wrists and ankles were tied together. Another layer of bindings was added around his arms and legs, pinning them to one another so he resembled the mummies in the Grimton.

“How are you, Rose?” Helen shouted down at me.

I smiled and nodded. “Much better.”

“I wish the same could be said of the street,” Folcred snapped as he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Will. “You have caused half a street to collapse.”

“And I will gladly pay for and plan the repairs myself,” Will offered as he smiled down at me. “For my part, I will say that the damage was worth the effort.”

Raines stretched out his hand. “May we help you out of there, My Lord?”

Our friends helped us out of the hole dug by Will and I breathed in the fresh night air. The crowds had not yet returned to see what the trouble was about so we had the street to ourselves.

“The city and I would be grateful if you would leave at once,” Folcred warned us.

Will bowed his head to the officer. “We will do so.”

Helen’s face fell and she grasped my hands. “I had hoped you would stay longer, especially now that Alex will allow me anywhere I please.”

“Within reason,” Alex spoke up.

Helen leaned against him and stared up at her dragon husband with her big blue eyes. “Perhaps if I had someone to watch over me?”

He grinned. “Always.”

“How are the horses, Raines?” Will spoke up as he looked to his servant. “And the carriage?”

“The horses are fine, My Lord, though the carriage will need some repairs,” Raines reported.

The mention of the horses brought a question to mind. “What was it you shouted to the horses when we were attacked?”

“The word ‘fly’ in the Elven tongue,” Raines told me.

My eyes widened. “There are elves in this world?”

“Quite a few,” Will confirmed.

“Then why haven’t I seen any? Or do they look like humans like you do?” I wondered.

“They are fairer in appearance than humans but as a matter of habit they tend to keep to themselves in the woods south of here,” he explained. A crooked smile slipped onto his lips. “Would you like to see them?”

My face brightened as my heart leapt. “Can we?”

He looped an arm around my waist and drew me close against his side. “We have all the time in the world.”

Little did we know that some of that time would be made up running for our lives in the land of the elves where ancient magic and mayhem would collide.