Page 40 of Surge of Fire

“I’m not going to go anywhere with a strange man.”

I try to keep my voice soft, almost reassuring. “Think about it, Sam. How do I know all of this? I’m not just some random man. I’m here to help you. Are you really going to refuse that help when that’s exactly what you so desperately need?”

She begins to chew on her bottom lip, and I hate that my cock jumps in awareness of her. If we were at a bar, somewhere late at night with a drink in front of me, I’d call her lips cock-sucking lips.

“Alright,” she says.

I hide my happiness.I’ve snagged an actual dragon. The scientists will be pleased.

And after that… I try not to think about what will happen to her.

“We’re pretty close to town,” she says, relief in her voice.

Then I’ll call the scientists and her life will change forever.

FIFTEEN

Aydan

I touchthe back of my head and find wetness. Bringing my hand in front of my face, I see it drenched in blood. I blink into the sunlight streaming through the branches of the tree I’m lodged against. Everything spins for a moment, and I turn and vomit as my stomach twists and turns.

When the dizzy spell passes, I drag in deep breaths.Sam. Granger. I have to get back to them.They were in the shaft. Anything could have happened to them.

It takes work to untangle myself from the tree and stand on the sloping mountain. I glance up ahead of me and wonder how the hell I’m going to climb back up in my current state, but even as the thought comes to my head, I push it away. I have to reach Sam and Granger. No matter what it costs me, I need to get back to them.

Besides, I’d climbed mountains all my life. Though not dizzy. Not bleeding. Not feeling like my body had been pummeled in the fight of my life. But I can do this.

Adjusting my bag on my back, I take a deep breath and start up, careful of all the loose rocks and debris that may come tumbling down on me at any point. Blood continues to leak from the wound on the back of my head, soaking my collar and splattering my shirt. I feel it, like the tickle of a mosquito, and have to grit my teeth to keep myself focused on the climb.

Time passes. I have no idea how much. I’m hurting. Tears sting the corners of my eyes, but I have to keep going. If I rest, I won’t stand back up. If I slow, eventually it’ll lead to stopping.

The sun moves in the sky. I can sense it. The animals around me are quiet. Even the birds and insects are strangely absent, like that earthquake frightened all of nature.

A shadow passes overhead. I frown and glance up at it, shielding my eyes from the sun. There’s a flash of green scales, wide wings, and my stomach drops. It’s a dragon. I’m seeing a fucking dragon.

I look away from it and push myself further. I must have a concussion. Maybe none of this is real. Maybe it is. Maybe every second that passes might lead to me winding up alone in the woods at night, my mind slipping away like my chances of seeing my best friends.

The shadow crosses me again, but this time I don’t look up. The dragon isn’t real. I need to believe in the earth beneath my feet and hands. I need to keep climbing, no matter what I see or experience.

I almost don’t believe it when I hoist myself up onto a smooth surface and find the path we’d walked and the shaft in front of me. My throat feels thick, but I try to clear it and say, “Granger! Sam!”

No one returns my call.

“Granger! Sam!” I shout again.

Nothing.

I rise to my feet and move to the open cavern, and look down to see complete and utter chaos. Rocks everywhere. The ground torn up. The crystals nearly all destroyed.Could people survive that?I don’t know.

Pressing my knuckles to my eyes, I feel on the edge of crying or vomiting, I don’t know which. Their survival seems unlikely, but I’m not giving up. I’m going to climb down there, somehow, and I’m going to search no matter how long it takes me.

“Aydan?”

My hands drop, and I stare in shock. Granger steps off the path that leads into the cavern and onto the path I’m on. He must have been pressed against the cave wall, which is why I hadn’t seen him.

I stagger forward and yank him into a hug.

He cries out in pain, and I pull back, worry clenching my heart. His face is pinched in pain. His skin almost yellow. My pulse hammers in my chest.What happened to him? Is he okay? If he’s not, I’ll never forgive myself.But all I see are bruises, scratches, and dirt.

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