Page 27 of Fire in Stone

The creature gazed at me with a pair of dark, obsidian eyes. A familiar expression in them made me gasp, “Elex…”

He’d changed right in front of my eyes. Still, I couldn’t believe what I saw.

The statue.

The man.

The dragon.

It was all the same person. I didn’t know how any of this could be possible. All I could do was simply accept that it was.

Panicked screams filled the area. Someone fired a shot. The bullet grazed Elex’s shoulder, bouncing off his scales with a burst of sparks.

Reaching for me, the dragon gently curled a clawed hand around my waist, then dragged me to the side and behind him.

“Stay close.” His deep voice boomed with an echo as if spoken in a cave.

Lowering his elongated head adorned with two pairs of curved horns, he opened his mouth, displaying sharp, snow-white teeth. A blast of fire rushed out of his throat. It rolled outwards, spreading toward the thugs and thebracks. A wave of heat blew back, fanning my hair and warming my face.

The fire churned in a swell of heat and devastation, cresting with an explosion of gold and red sparks. Screams of panic turned into sounds of terror and groans of pain.

I screamed, too, physically unharmed but wracked by terror.

The dragon’s fire scorched the pavement, incinerating the men. The closest vehicles burst into flames. Deafening explosions thundered with clouds of burning gas from the engines.

The putrid stench of burned flesh and rubber made my stomach roil. The smoke scraped inside my throat, settling in my chest with the ash of horror.

I closed my eyes, unable to process the devastation.

A scaly arm snaked around my middle. The flapping of massive wings blew fresh air into my face, banishing the suffocating smoke.

My feet left the ground. I flailed my arms, struggling to find new footing, to regain my balance, and to ground myself somehow.

But the world had spun off its axis.

Seven

AMBER

Ahigh-pitched scream hurt my ears. The sound cut through my mind, shattering it to pieces.

The air rushed by me. With my eyes closed, I tried to grip on to something, anything, to stop the nauseating, spinning sensation rolling through me. My fingers slipped on a smooth surface. My nails scraped uselessly against the hard, glossy scales.

Scales!

Panic jolted my system.

The dragon had me. The scales under my palms softened, gradually turning into supple skin.

“Shhh,” someone said softly in my ear. “You’re safe. I’ve got you. You can stop screaming now.”

Stop screaming?

Me?

I forced my mouth shut, and the ear-splitting scream stopped. Slowly drawing in a breath, I opened my eyes.

Elex was looking at me. A warm smile played on his lips. The echo of the fiery storm was dying in his eyes. He looked like a man once again. Only his wings kept moving rhythmically behind his back.

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