Page 20 of Monsters of Air

I couldn’t fight the Fae, but I could sure as hell run away from them.

“Grab her now, you imbeciles!”

I had never run faster in my life, but I already knew it wasn't enough.

Whooshing filled the air, mixing with the screams and the roars as the ground shook. The other dragons had arrived.

They were as same and as different as Landers was, their colors specks in the sky that were an exact replica of the dreams that had filled my mind.

“By the goddess.” They were so damn beautiful.

I ran as one of the blue dragon roared and charged forward, bloodthirsty for the Fae. He was bigger than the red dragon, his body larger, his wings longer. I dove out of his way, taking in the shimmering blue scales, almost dark enough to be black. Watching him handle the Fae screamed experience, even as a new dragon.

My heart pounded in my chest, my stomach a tight knot as the blue dragon pushed the Fae back, giving me time to get further away from them. The air smelled of blood, my ears rang with screams and the sound of iron against scales. I wanted to move forward, part of me needing to fight. I took one step when a dragon with green scales landed at my side, his wings wide and protective as he turned and stared me down with eyes brighter than the sun.

“Run.” I repeated the word that filled my mind, and turned, pulling myself from the screams and roars of battle as the dragon’s formed a barricade behind me.

Screams and roars rattled the dawn, but the Fae did not give up. Two slipped through the wall of scales and teeth. In seconds, they were in front of me, trying to yank me with them.

Man, these buggers were persistent.

“Come with us! Let us save you!” Did they really think that I was just going to believe them?

“No thank you, the dragons seem to be doing that just fine!” I pulled back, shrieked, and swung my fist wide. It hit one of them square in the jaw, his purple eyes flashing blue as he staggered. “Get back!”

I put both fists up in warning as the green dragon landed right beside me. The vibrations of his landing nearly knocked me off my feet. He was huge, easily the biggest of the three. The two Fae were thrown back by one swipe of a claw, red blossoming over their fancy clothes.

Two more Fae rushed us, air whooshing around me as the dragon swung, his claws so close to hitting me that the dragon stepped back in a panic.

Bad move..

One of the Fae wrapped his arm around my waist, lifting me up. I had gotten my first taste of victory, so like hell if I was going to let that happen.

I kicked hard, pointing the toe of my leather boot right at his crotch. The Fae screamed and promptly dropped me.

“Serves you right!” I yelled, and tried to kick again.

“You don’t know what you are doing,” he gasped as he dodged my foot, hands over his junk.

A dragon roared behind me, the ground shaking. I turned around, right to the screaming green dragon as he bounded over me.

“Get her!”

Would these fuckers ever give up?

I wobbled on my feet as the dragon landed, everything shaking and sending the battle into further disarray. Fae surrounded the dragons, staves up as they stabbed at scales and air. Some didn’t even seem to be aiming at all.

They were distracting.

One Fae stood further back, his hands slipping through air a wave of what looked like water followed behind them. The wind whirled, sharpened, prickled against my skin.

Magic.

“Watch–!” My warning was swallowed by a loud boom that nearly burst my eardrums.

The blue dragon let out a screech, reeling back, and falling onto its side. The green dragon at my side surged forward and slammed into the Fae, fighting furiously. The red dragon joined, the two of them snapping and slicing at Fae with teeth and claws.

I held my breath, feeling a chasm open in me when I stared at the blue dragon. He didn’t move for a long moment, and for one painful stab, I thought I was looking at Da again. Then he turned, got to his feet, and ran into the battle, just as vicious, if not more so than the others.