Page 16 of Centaur Bolt

I let the leash slip on the Deranger, and it seized control in an instant. Ravenous with the desire to kill, it folded my wings and dove.

At the last possible instant, they sensed me coming. One wing shot forward to bank, but it was far too late. I slammed into them like a boulder in freefall, and the pinion’s spine gave way with a sharp crack.

The Bellati rider was knocked loose, but my talons slashed out—ensuring that nothing but bits would be drifting to the ground.

Their death throes sent powerful jolts of energy right through me—and I drank it in, my beast expanding.

A blast of bloodpower shot from below—only the lightning-fast reflexes of the Deranger enabled me to dodge it. We vanished back into the clouds, wings beating hard for height.

I fought to keep my human in control—it wasn’t an easy battle, and it cost me energy to achieve it.

Somewhere in all this was the Centaur, or whatever he was, now. So I remained aware as the Deranger claimed two more victims, and fed. When it searched for the next target, however, I hovered in the clouds, reaching with my senses to locate those chasing us…

Too many. Just too many. Even my Deranger couldn’t kill ‘em all, not with the risk of being darted or hit by the Isobitch’s bloodpower.

Of course, my monster didn’t agree. My human struggled for control. If we couldn’t fight or bolt, only one option was left.

Hide.

But first, I had to catch Marcus.

His distinctive, turbulent energy was at the very limits of what I could detect. No longer enraged—I now sensed only the desperation of an animal being pursued. And there were at least ten Dragon pinions on his tail, each one carrying a rider.

My ability to heal had fringe benefits—I could push my body past normal limits. My wings became a blur as I locked on to the target, and let the leash I had on the Deranger slip another notch.

That was a risk because all it wanted to do was kill. It didn’t understand the concept of—well, whatever the sharding hell Marcus was. If I lost control…

It would kill Marcus rather than save him.

But I had no choice. I needed the power of the Deranger to fly like this, to push muscle and tendon past the point of failure, and then to heal them, over and over again. Because without it, I would not only be unable to heal fast enough, but I would also feel the pain.

And my strategy was working. We were gaining.

I stayed above the clouds, outdistancing those locked onto my collar and passing the ones tracking Marcus. And while my Dragon pierced the clouds like a projectile, my human came up with a plan.

It all hinged on crystal. The mountains that loomed to my left were rich with crystal deposits—the reason I knew this realm so well was that Xumi had mines here. Ace and I had visited this region with her other pinions many times. When permitted rare downtime, we’d explored the beaches and mountains.

They were Brock’s mines, now. He ruled them just as viciously as Xumi had. I’d not returned here since his mother had killed my brother. But when I’d grabbed hold of a realm to target the gate, this is where I ended up.

The crystals gave us an opportunity. One of which I was sure Brock and the Isobitch were aware of. The group pursuing Marcus had split in two—trying to angle him away from the mountains.

And Marcus’s mongrel beast was faltering. Brock’s pinions were catching him.

I pushed harder. Tendons stretched, snapped, and were reformed. Muscles tore, and were healed. Then I spotted a group of Dragons below me, flying hard. They’d already drawn almost level with Marcus, between him and the mountains.

I saw one of the Bellati riders lift their dart gun and fire. Couldn’t see if they hit their target, but at that range, they weren’t likely to miss.

The Deranger surged within me, and I let it go.

We plummeted straight into the center of the group, a slashing, snarling, snapping monster that sent pieces of Bellatis and Dragons flying in all directions.

I let the Deranger blast through them, and then made another grab for control.

With my teeth and talons stained red and the Dragons fighting back, my monster battled me as much as them. But the second group now closed in on Marcus, eager to stop him as he swung toward the mountains.

So instead of stopping the Deranger, I refocused him. Teeth bared, he surged onward.

Riders pointed their dart guns—not at Marcus, but at me. As the sharding things zinged all around me, I rose into the clouds and pushed my body hard to overtake Marcus.

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