Page 69 of Fire Dragon
Chapter Eight
When Liam came back to consciousness, he lay on his side and had a hard time remembering what happened. He ached all over, his head felt like it was ready to break apart and he couldn’t figure out what he was looking at.
It took him a moment to realize his vision was blurred, probably from the abrupt shift back to human. He remembered grabbing Emma as she fell from the sky unconscious then levitated them both to a stretch of grass near a stand of reeds.
After that, he must have passed out.
But where was he?
He craned his neck to look straight up. He could see that there was blue sky overhead, which meant the wind had passed. A shadow flew by. But why were there wide metal bands going both ways and marring his view?
He blinked then blinked again.
Another shadow. Right. There were dragons, fully shifted, flying around above him. He watched several of them belch fire. He heard other dragons slamming into dragons, crunching ribs. Screams followed.
Then pop-pop. Pop-pop-pop.
Right. Gunfire. So, it was a full-out battle.
He’d been in a battle.
There had been wind. A stinging Konbrack. But it had passed.
He tried to stretch out his legs but couldn’t. The quarters were tight. Was this some kind of prank Logan had cooked up?
Something warm and soft pressed against his back.
There was a ringing in his ears. Though his mind was muddled, he felt a sudden urgency to get moving.
It dawned on him that the warmth behind him was another person.
Adrenaline flooded his body and cleared his brain.
Emma.
He remembered now. A powerful wave of energy had forced him to shift back to human. When he’d settled her on the ground, he’d received a stunning blow that had knocked him flat. Hands had grabbed him. He and Emma had been captured.
They were in a cage. He could feel her breathing. One in. One out. She was alive.
Thank the dragon gods.
He put a hand on the basket weave of the metal. Given that the Magi had put him in a cage along with Emma, he knew they were both lucky to still be alive.
He let go of a deep sigh.
He looked up again. His fellow dragons were battling the more powerful Magi and getting tossed around. A lot.
Using telepathy, he contacted Santos and let him know their situation.
Thank God you’re alive. Is Emma okay?
Yes. But still unconscious.
Santos gave him a quick update. Emma’s rocket had struck and killed the dragon carrying the weapon, but the rider had levitated before the explosion and had managed to keep it safe. Another Magi moved in to support them both. Also, they weren’t just battling fire but power surges as well.
Liam felt the vibration of another surge as the device wound up. It seemed to be directly overhead.
Liam, can you and Emma get out of there? Logan’s rider reported that you’d been captured. We’re doing all we can, but the amplification, especially of fire, keeps pushing our troops back. They’re gaining ground.
