Page 75 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
Skibs.
It wasn’t over. The attack wasn’t over.
Blood drained from Kase’s face. He hit the deck, grabbing Stowe on his way down. They hunkered in the too-tight foot space. If only they could disappear.
The hover responded with a soft beeping. Kase bit a curse at it from under his breath.
Another great beating of wings shook the windshield hinge and snapped the whole thing shut. It was a miracle it didn’t break.
Another roar.
THUD.
The ground quaked. Kase nearly hit his head on the acceleration pedal, but caught himself just in time. His teeth rattled from the impact, and his jaw still ached from dodging Cornhead’s bullet earlier.
The memory of facing the dragon in the Yalven hunt came back to him. He’d fought one before, but there were two differences now. Firstly, he didn’t have trained Yalven hunters with him to take down the beast when he inevitably failed. Secondly, this one had wings.
For several seconds, everything was quiet. Maybe the dragon hadn’t landed as close as he’d feared it would. If so, the beast had to be even more impressive than he’d originally thought if its landing could affect him this far away.
Or was it still out there, sizing them up? They were in a Cerl hover, which might have given it pause. Was Skibs still astride it?
So many questions. Hallie would’ve had twelve more.
Holding his breath, Kase raised his head just enough. If nothing else, maybe he could get a good glimpse of the dragon, even from afar, so he could tell Hallie about it later. She’d wanted to sketch it so badly in the forest.
A glittering golden eye gazed directly at him.
That answered one question. The dragon had definitelynotlanded far away.
Kase ducked his head once more and waited for the teeth to come. Stowe’s face was so pale, he could’ve been a ghost. Kasejust shook his head, knowing anything he said or did wouldn’t project the confidence he needed.
Think.
He needed to do something. Maybe if he could figure out a distraction, he could fly them out of here. The Cerl hover had the speed.
Clearly he had a death wish, because he braved another peek above the dash. But the dragon was no longer looking at him. Instead, it watched the horizon, smoke leaking from its nostrils. Its neck stretched and craned toward the sky, its shining scales proud in sunset light. Probably not a good sign.
A second later, its rider slid down the gigantic foreleg.
Kase stopped breathing.
Skibs looked a little different than the last time Kase had seen him. His hair was longer, his chin coated in red scruff. His blue eyes stood out against the tanned skin of his face. Wearing armor that glowed a soft blue, not unlike the hover, he looked like a hero out of some sprawling epic.
“This home is off-limits.” Skibs’ voice was just as Kase remembered, strong and commanding when he meant something, a tone that brokered no arguments. His old friend stopped a few feet from the hover. He didn’t look directly at Kase, which probably saved him; instead he looked past him, at the Shackley estate.
Kase’s fingernails bit so hard into his palms, they broke the skin. The stinging pain kept his head clear—kept him from doing something incredibly stupid.
Skibs crossed his arms. “The General will have your head if you’re out here looting. Return to your station at once, or I’ll personally dole out your punishment.”
Kase nodded, praying his old friend wouldn’t look directly at him. Skibs stood there another moment, still watching the estate, before climbing back up the wing and mounting hisdragon. Kase recoiled as the beast’s head faced him head-on, certain all over again he was about to get eaten—
And with a great leap and thrust of wings, Skibs and the dragon took to the sky.
The air slammed into the Cerl hover, and Kase banged his head on the dashboard for real that time. He cursed, rubbing his forehead and looking up as the dragon flew toward the distant forest.
Holy blasting stars.
Forget a sketch. He could give Hallie enough detail for a portrait if she wanted to try her hand at it.
