Page 9 of The Dragon Sacrifice

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Seela scrambled away, bumping into the rocky wall before stopping. “Whoever you are, stay away from me.”

She held shaking hands out in a ridiculous effort to defend herself. Whatever or whoever it was, he seemed to be able to see much better than she could in the dark. She saw nothing, but she could hear the crunch of gravel as it moved toward her again in a frantic, scrabbling sort of way that made Seela picture something with many legs.

The fear choked her. She could barely draw breath. Hands clawed through open air.

Then something scraped against her arm.

Screaming, she batted at it. It let go, leaving her spinning and crying out. It had felt prickly, like the bristly back of a pig. What was it… and was it toying with her?

“Leave me alone!”

“That is enough!” another voice boomed.

Fire exploded forth, filling the cavern with heat and light. Her eyes darted up to the source and gasped.

A dragon—but they were all supposed to be dead!—took up her entire field of vision. It was the size of a house… nay, bigger, with a tail that extended as long as its body. She couldn’t tell its color, only that it blended in with the rock surroundings. The fire spewing from its mouth threw out heat so intense she shrank from it. The fire caught on a bundle of straw, setting it to aflame. A small, charred body lay beside it, many legs twitching. The smell of burnt hair and flesh stung her nose. Was that the thing that had attacked her? The dragon must have killed it.

The dragon stopped issuing fire in long blasts, examining her with wide reptilian eyes. They glowed green like the bishop’s staff. Vertical pupils sat behind half-closed lids, but the expression on his jowls seemed strangely human. It took a massive step forward, shaking the cavern.

Seela screamed.

Instead of eating her, the dragon pulled its head back, seeming to wince at the sound. It shook its massive skull, eyes glowing as it blinked at her.

She stopped screaming, still panting and holding onto the rock.

“That is very loud,” the dragon said, shaking its massive head again as if to remove the sound.

It was talking?

“Leave me alone,” Seela said, clutching her head. Had she hit it and knocked herself unconscious? Was she asleep, dreaming all this from her bed?

The air shimmered around her. While she stared in fascination, the dragon shifted, morphing before her very eyes. His giant shape twisted and shrank until there was no dragon, only a man standing before her. A naked man.

Seela blushed, averting her eyes.

When she dared peek again, he held out his hand, a very earnest and concerned expression on his face. “We have to get out of here before the horde comes back. That was only one of them, but more will come. Please.”

Lords, he was handsome. Stunningly so. Even in the dim light by the dying fire, she could see his features were legendary. His strong chin and jaw were cleanly shaven. His cheekbones were high, giving him a regal look, but his expression wasn’t haughty like that of castle royalty. Yet, it was his eyes that drew her in, a startling lime green that seemed to glow just as the dragon’s had. She stared at them as he took another step forward.

“Please, we need to hurry. If they come when I’m in this form, it will not be good.”

“Can’t you just… ch-change back into a dragon?” she asked, not really sure she had any idea what she was talking about.

He shook his head, brown hair falling on either side of his face. “I used that trick all up, unfortunately.”

Her eyes darted toward the dark crevices where the thing that had grabbed her. She definitely did not want to meet his friends in the dark, but how could she trust this… man? She knew nothing about him other than he was some sort of mythological creature she hadn’t known existed until now and that he was… er… naked.

“Please,” he begged again.

“What’s your name?” Seela asked.

“Jerrard. What’s yours?”

“Seela of the Deep Forest.”

“Seela.” He said her name almost like a form of worship. His eyes were endearing. Her mother had always taught her to seek out generous and caring people.

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