Page 24 of Cage Me

Just like her father had been.

“Dammit, Azynsa, run. I'll be right behind you. There's no getting rid of me now that I have marked and claimed you. You're stuck with me, babe.”

Well, all right then. Azy wrapped her arms under Fallyn's shoulders and dragged her, using all of the power in her muscles to make it across the rock floor. She'd never had a problem with the maximus of her gluteus, a.k.a. her big old booty, and she was more than grateful for it right now. She wasn't as strong as a few weeks ago. But, once she was back with the Mami Wata and flipping her fins through the ocean again, she would be back to her old self. Physically anyway.

For the first time since she'd decided to get Fallyn out and the dragons had left her down here, she felt a real glimmer of hope that she might actually get back to the ocean in one piece.

She should have known better.

The entrance to the tunnel was only a few more feet away when Fallyn woke up. She slapped at Azy's hands and twisted her body trying to get away.

“Fallyn, stop, it's me.”

“No, it's not you.” She scrambled to her feet and backed away. “I don't know you.”

Shit, Azy did not have time for Fallyn’s riddles. “You do. Come on, we’ve got to get away.”

That she got. Fallyn took one look in Cage’s direction, turned and bolted toward her treasure room. Azy tried to follow, but a demon dragon who’d escaped Cage’s tornado dropped from above, landed on her, and pinned her to the ground with its claws. One pierced her shoulder and another her thigh, burning her from the inside out.

Azy gritted her teeth hard rather than cry out. She wouldn’t distract Cage in his shootout, or, uh battle with the Black Dragon.

“Get off me, you disgusting piece of shit.” She kicked with her other leg and tried to punch it but the thing held her fast.

The demon dragon sniffed her, drooling as it did, it’s spittle burned like boiling mucus. “Too late. No good to AllFather.”

That was a mouthful and a half for a demon dragon. This one was different, there was an intelligence in its eyes. Maybe she could negotiate with it.

“Let me go and the dragon warrior will spare your life.” Probably a lie, it would already be dead if Cage wasn’t defending them all against the Black Dragon.

It turned and looked up at Jett, pinned to the ceiling. “No. You help him.” It released her arm and grabbed her chin. Help all. Do it.”

Help the Black Dragon?

No.

He meant Jett.

The sliced flesh at her leg throbbed as it withdrew its claw. It licked her blood from it, then turned and leapt across the room, into the air, toward Cage and the tornado.

Azy couldn’t keep quiet this time. “Cage, look out. Behind you.”

She clasped her hands over her mouth. A chill, like hell freezing over, washed over her skin and inside. No, no. Not again.

Cage didn’t hear her over the din of the wind and battle. The demon dragon was close. Azy tried to get to her feet, but she was losing a lot of blood and her leg wouldn’t work. She clasped her hands over the wound. She was not dying in hell, God damn it.

“Cage. Cage.” The words were a silent prayer, making no sound, save that of a low keen that escaped from the deepest darkest part of her heart.

She would not lose him like she’d lost her father. She might not be able to walk, but she could army crawl, or do the 80’s worm dance across the floor if she had to. It wasn’t that much different than how she used her tail to swim.

Like she even knew how to swim any more, she hadn’t been in water or even seen her tail in so long now.

If it was the last thing she did, that demon dragon would not kill Cage. She reached out for him, knowing it was useless, but willing him to look at her. Then she grabbed the soul shard she still wore around his neck. It belonged to him, it gave them a connection.

She closed her eyes tight, squeezing them, concentrating on sending him a mental image of the demon dragon headed for his destruction. Cage didn’t react, didn’t turn, or acknowledge her, but a gust of wind brushed against her cheek.

Had she imagined that? No. The wind whipped around her, through her hair and then poof, blew the demon dragon off its course.

Instead of landing on Cage’s back, it was caught in the swirling wind.

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