Page 44 of Catastrophe

Like something out of a nightmare, heat, ash, and smoke smacked me as the trunk hit the ground, and the flames flickered so close to my face that, for a moment, I felt lost in all their hypnotic colors. Then Fafnir roared as Daithi used an illusion of another dragon to distract him. An oldie but a goodie.

“Charlie,” Laurence panted. “What are we going to do?”

The fear in his eyes was enough to make me pause. He didn’t see a way out here. Baelen jumped over the tree like he was a stuntman in a film, emerging from the flames and charging toward me. “Charlie, move.”

He grabbed Laurence and me and dragged us out of the way as another huge gust of flames enveloped where we’d been standing. Fafnir must have gotten bored playing with his fake new friend.

Daithi shouted, “Let’s go!”

Baelen dragged us to our feet, and we started running again, but Fafnir was scrambling behind us and catching up quickly.

“This way!” Daithi called, and relief made my legs wobbly. We must be close. Please let us be close.

Ahead, there was a little dip in the ground, and Daithi and Savida headed straight toward it and disappeared. I couldn’t see what happened next, but Laurence screamed, and when I glanced over my shoulder, Fafnir had a claw in his leg and was dragging him back.

Shit. Fuck. Oh God.

“Laurence,” I called, and his eyes were streaming as they met mine. He screamed, and the sound would haunt my nightmares.

I froze, helpless. Any spells I’d learned evaporated from my mind, and Dralie wasn’t responding. I was just a human watching a man die from an evil dragon attack.

Sigurd threw something at Fafnir, a spell that glowed light blue, and charged toward him like an anime football, but it did nothing. Fafnir took off, holding Laurence in his claws and surging into the sky, away.

“No, no. Fuck. We need to do something.”

Dralie, pull your shit together. We need to dragon up right now. We need to go. Laurence … He was taken.

Baelen grabbed me and pulled. I struggled in his grip, refusing to hide and unable to believe we couldn’t save him. Laurence’s screams grew more distant as the dragon dragged him into the sunrise. I shook as I watched with my jaw clenched and sickness bubbling in my gut.

“What the fuck?” I whispered.

I couldn’t comprehend it. A faei, a daemon, an akari-titan godling, a witch, a dragon, and the fucking protector couldn’t do anything to stop a surprise attack that actually almost killed us. We should have been able to escape and defeat him. We had all the power of the realms combined, yet we lost someone.

I shook my head, unable to look at Baelen or Sigurd as I headed into the tunnel. I didn’t say a word as I walked the length back to the island. I don’t think I heard a word either. The journey was a blur. But my mind swirled with questions.

How did Fafnir find us? Where was Dralie, and why wasn’t he answering me? And why did Fafnir take Laurence rather than kill or drain him right there and then? Where is he taking him? Why couldn’t any of us do anything to stop him? Had we underestimated the threat? Overestimated ourselves?

I walked straight toward the nearest cabin breaching the hole in the island, and as soon as I saw a bed, I collapsed straight onto it.

I didn’t check where the others were.

I woke up to the sound of the door slamming open and groaned but roused myself to fight the next battle. When I saw who disturbed me, I asked, “Elizabeth?”

I didn’t have time to question how she got here, because the horror on her face made my stomach flip.

“She’s gone,” Elizabeth announced. “Clawdia’s gone.”

CHAPTER 11

CLAWDIA

Nisha smiled at me from the cozy little sofa in her living room.

After tossing and turning for hours while listening to the sound of Elizabeth’s soft snores from across the room, I eventually fell asleep, and when I arrived in a dreamscape, I was startled to see Baelen’s mother instead of my soul mate.

“You’ve learned much since we last met,” she said in greeting. “I’m sure you have lots of questions.”

“You …” I tried to arrange my thoughts and questions by priority as I sat down opposite. “You’re Baelen’s mother.”

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