Page 60 of Monsters of Desire and Nightmares of Passion

Draw and Khal wedge me between them as we walk through a very narrow alley and step on things I’m grateful I can’t see.

“What’s all over the ground? It feels like popcorn.”

“Hm, sure. It’s popcorn,” says Mrez with a hint of a half-smile.

“Ugh.” I shudder and hold on tightly to Khal’s hand.

“Are we there yet? I don’t want to complain, but my skin is crawling. Are those things biting me, like in the mummy movies?”

“Do you know a mummy?” Draw asks.

“Those are bugs.” My voice is just a whisper, but it carries, sounding almost like thunder. Spider webs cling to my face and hair. I feel bugs falling from the ceiling and crawling on my shoulders before falling to the ground. I start to freak out. “Can they get under my skin?”

“No, silly,” Draw answers. “They’re normal crawlers, nothing to be worried about. We’re close. Hold on to me.”

We enter the bowels of the subway.

“Mrez, scout for guardians.”

All I can feel is movement as Mrez changes into his non-physical form and disappears.

“What guardians?”

Draw shifts back to his scorpion form. “Shh, it’s better if they don’t hear you.”

Draw stops in his tracks. “Climb onto my back. Stay silent and close to me. Move as little as possible.”

I climb on the back of my scorpion man and hold on to his waist. My cheek presses against his back. Heat and fire radiate from him.

Khal winks at me in the darkness. His claws elongate.

“Is Mrez in danger?”

I barely finish my question before Mrez appears in front of us, taking solid form once again. We all stand there in the darkness. The only thing I see clearly, even after my eyes adjust to the lack of light, is their red eyes glowing. They appear more like angry red liquid that could set the world ablaze.

“Two guards. Dragons,” Mrez whispers.

The other two nod. How can they be so calm?

“Dragons? What do you mean by dragons?” My mind runs at over a hundred miles an hour as it comes up with everything pop culture has told me about dragons. They’re huge. Spit fire or acid. Eat people. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Is there a way to defeat a dragon?

Fear creeps deeper into my soul with each move and breath. I fight with myself, doing my best not to jump off Draw’s back and run toward the exit. Keep calm, Ivy. The guys need you. Keep your shit together.

“We don’t have time to explain,” Draw whispers.

My guys morph into their larger selves. I can feel Draw’s body growing under me. One of his tentacles wraps around my midsection and secures me to his back. The tentacle also strokes my thigh, slowly. I’ve never seen his stinger twitch like this. Mrez’s tentacles spring out. Khal is all fangs and claws, and even his tattoos look as if they are alive, moving and breathing on his skin, ready to attack and fight.

I wrap my arms around Draw as tightly as possible, hoping and praying to whatever entity was on our side that this will end well.

The guys move fast. I’m astonished they can run with such high speed in the dark. But then, the dark is their natural habitat.

Draw whispers, “Hold on tight and don’t let go.”

Just as I’m about to ask why, the world turns upside down. Only it’s not the world. It’s Draw who is running along the ceiling with his scorpion legs.

An eerie green light fills the tunnel. In the glow, an old, abandoned rail car sits there, waiting. The hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention. This place is wrong. Everything about it screams at me to leave, to get up from Draw’s back and run as far as possible.

Get your shit together, Ivy, I tell myself again. My guys rely on me. I’ll rise to the task. I take a calming breath and hold on to Draw tight with my legs and arms, knowing he’ll keep me safe. A sharp call that is not human fills the tunnel around us.

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