Page 61 of Dragon Heir

Vargas glared at her. “Have you ever tried to fly through the canopy of a forest?”

“We must separate!” Ware shouted as he incinerated another large group. “That will stretch their resources!”

“And ours!” Enna pointed out.

“Do you have a better idea?” he countered.

Enna slashed at a bunch of worms, decapitating them, before she used her sword to point in the direction we had come. “We get back to the house-hey!”

Allard had lifted her and swung her over his shoulder. “Let us separate and return to the house!”

“But what about the girl?” I reminded them as I stuck close to Will. “What if they go after her, too?”

“She will have to fend for herself with her fiery balls!” Ware insisted.

I yelped and stumbled back away from a worm that crawled out of the dirt beneath me. Its disgusting body brushed against my ankle and I felt the hot air of its putrid breath. Will was on top of it in an instant taking care to burn it into oblivion. Another dozen worms took its place and I could see the effort of being a flamethrower was taking its toll on the dragons.

“Everyone get back to the house!” I insisted as I grabbed hold of Will’s arm. “We’ll keep going!”

Vargas shook her head. “We will not allow you to do this job on your-”

“Behind you!” Ware shouted as he pushed her out of the way.

One of the worms snapped its jaws around his leg instead of the one belonging to Vargas. Ware let out a small cry and dropped to one knee.

“Leo!” Vargas shouted as she vaporized the creature and dropped to her knees beside him.

Ware’s face was a picture of agony but he managed a small smile for her. “You. . .you must run before. . .before I am turned.”

She shook her head. “No! I will never leave you!”

“We have to get out of here!” Allard insisted.

Enna slammed the hilt of her weapon against his back. “Just start running! Any place is better than here!”

I rushed over and clapped my hands over the bite wound. The flesh had already begun to putrify. My beautiful cleansing light emanated from my palms and I felt a damp cold evaporate beneath my fingers. I drew my hands back and revealed a mere bite.

Vargas and I helped Ware to his feet. “Now we run!” I shouted to everyone.

Will grabbed my hand and we all took off in the same direction but the worms had other ideas. They popped up in our path and forced our small group to disperse in all directions. The last I saw of many of my friends they were racing into the darkness with dozens of shadows slithering at their heels.

Will and I were left alone with our own slimy problems. The worms chased and snapped at us. My traitorous feet dripped over the uneven ground and I ended up falling to my knees. Will kept his hand around mine and immediately spun around where he bounded between the worms and me. He spread his arms apart and a huge inferno erupted between his outstretched hands. The fire was so warm that the hairs on my arms singed at the ends.

Will let out a great cry before he pushed his body against the flames. The fire shot forward in a rolling column of destruction. Nothing was spared, not even the brush as the fire rampaged through the woods. The worms were completely obliterated and the fire died to a smoldering mess of burnt twigs and ash.

Will’s body trembled before he crumpled to his knees.

“Will!” I shouted as I scrambled over to his side. I grasped his arms and looked him over. His face was hideously pale and he held his hands out in front of him. The palms were blackened. Tears sprang into my eyes as I shook my head. “You shouldn’t have done that!”

He gave me a wry smile. “They left me with little choice.”

“Can you stand?” I asked him.

Will tried and winced. “Not without help.”

I draped his arm across my shoulders and helped him to his feet. We turned in the direction of the house and kept our eyes on the ground.

That’s when a soft sniffle caught my attention.

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