“Oh no,” I whispered.
The dragon burst from the hole in the floor of the dome in a crumbling, forgotten castle. It was thinner than I thought it’d be, but far longer. Its underbelly was white, the scales on its back and sides a fiery red that glittered in the beams of the sun, causing fractals of light to shoot off around the dome. It had no legs, and its wings were paper-thin, flapping almost like an insect’s, quick and light. Its head was hooded like a snake’s, with sharp white spikes jutting out down the sides toward its neck. The same spikes ran up its head toward its blunt snout. It was completely out of the hole when its head jerked toward us, black eyes blinking. Its mouth opened as it hissed, forked tongue flicking out between rows of teeth that ended with two gigantic fangs that unfurled from the top.
In other words, it was a fucking nightmare, and I wanted to be anywhere but where I was.
“Sweet molasses,” I managed to say.
“And furthermore, you weigh like eight times more than I do. I couldn’t even carry you if I—holy gods that is a giant snake!”
If we lived through this, I was going to give Ryan so much shit for the way he’d shrieked that.
Jekhipe curled in the air, bringing up its body underneath it, wings flapping furiously. The hood on its head flared out, the spikes rattling against each other as it shook. It opened its mouth again and roared, a sound that felt like it was vibrating into my bones.
“We’re so fucking screwed,” I whispered.
Jekhipe jerked forward, lightning quick, body hurtling toward us.
“We’re so fucking screwed!” I screamed.
“Talk to it!” Ryan shouted at me.
“You talk to it!”
“I’m not a godsdamned wizard!”
“Maybe you should be!”
“It’s your destiny, Sam!”
“You shut up about my destiny!”
Tiggy leapt over a fallen tree, skidding in the dirt and sand when he landed, turning to the right as he ducked under a thick low-hanging branch. The birds were screeching overhead, and Jekhipe was moving toward us, exactly like a godsdamned snake would, body curling and twisting behind it.
“There,” Tiggy grunted. “There.”
I turned to look ahead of us and could see the entrance to the dome. Gary and Kevin were waiting for us, eyes wide, Gary stomping his feet as he yelled, “What the hell is going on!”
“Giant snake dragon monster thing!” I shouted back.
“Giant snake what to what?”
“Running would be good!”
Kevin didn’t even hesitate. He grabbed Gary around his middle and hoisted him up even as Gary shrieked at him to put him down, what did Kevin think he was doing, did he think Gary could just be manhandled in such a way? Kevin ignored him and took a lumbering step back, trying to clear out of the entrance of the dome to give us room. I glanced back over Tiggy’s shoulder, and Jekhipe was getting closer, tail twitching, tongue flicking out, tasting the air.
Wizard, wizard, wizard.
“Fuck you!” I bellowed back at it.
“Maybe it’s not a good idea to anger the dragon with big teeth!” Ryan said, clutching his sword.
“You’ve got a better idea?”
“How was that even an idea? It’s—”
“Hold on!” Tiggy yelled, and I felt him begin to crouch, the muscles in his legs coiling. I circled my arms around his neck, hanging on for dear life as Ryan did the same. One of Ryan’s hands gripped my arm tightly and Jekhipe was right there.
Tiggy leapt toward the entrance of the dome.
One moment we were in a cool, dank forest.
The next, we burst into bright, harsh sunlight, the desert air burning around us.
It went from green to burnt gold in the space of a heartbeat, like we’d torn through one world and into another.
The momentum carried us past Kevin and Gary, who stood off to the side.
Jekhipe followed us into the sun. I didn’t know why I’d thought it wouldn’t be able to.
It was.
Its mouth opened wide, like its lower jaw was unhinged. The top fangs lowered again. The bony spikes along its hood rattled, and it was right there— Kevin slammed a foot down as it went by him, driving its tail into the ground. Just as Jekhipe was about to snap its teeth around us, its eyes bulged and it said, “Urk,” as it jerked back, slamming down in a cloud of dust and sand.
We landed hard on the ground, Tiggy squeezing us close as we rolled, trying to protect us from the impact as much as he could. I had sand in my nose and mouth and eyes, and the world was spinning around me, flashings of sky then ground then sky again. We came to a stop when Tiggy’s back collided with a battlement that still stood. It swayed above us, and for a moment, I thought it was going to come falling down on top of us, but it held, only chunks of loose stone falling from the top and landing around us, kicking up a dirty plume into the air.
“That,” I wheezed, “sucked balls.”
“Understatement,” Ryan groaned. “Remind me why we’re doing this again.”
“Fate of the known world.”
“Oh. Right. Still don’t know if it’s worth it.”
“Tiggy, all right?”
“Sand in my trousers,” Tiggy said, sounding grumpy as he sat up, pulling us up with him. “Sand, Sam. In my trousers.”
“Yeah, dude,” I said, patting his arm. “That’s terrible. Believe me, I know. I have sand everywhere too.”
“Stupid snake dragon monster thing,” Tiggy said.
Speaking of.
The dust was clearing by the time I stood. I shook myself out, trying to get as much sand off me as I could. I took a step forward as I brushed off my arms and— A shadow fell over me.
Because apparently the day couldn’t get any worse, Jekhipe rose above me. Its body was still mostly on the ground, muscular and agile, red scales bright in the sun. The lower third of its body was wrapped around Kevin, holding his arms against his chest, Gary tucked under his neck, trapped in its grip. Kevin was trying to snap down at it, but he couldn’t reach. I thought for a moment he’d breathe fire at it, but it would run the risk of burning Gary, and I knew he wouldn’t take that chance.
But Jekhipe wasn’t focused on them.
It only had eyes for me.
And I was furious.
“That’s it, then?” I growled up at it. “That’s all you got. Come on, you bastard.”
For a moment, I thought I saw its eyes widen slightly.
“Um, maybe not anger it, huh?” Ryan said. “That’s probably not—”
It jerked its head toward the sound of his voice, hissing at him, tongue out and tasting Ryan’s scent.
Which, no.
It squeezed Kevin and Gary tighter, causing Gary to cry out in pain.
Which.
No.
“Hey!” I shouted at it, taking a step back. “You look at me when I’m talking to you!”
It reared its head back as it turned to me.
“That’s right,” I said, taking another step back. “Thaaat’s right. It’s me you want. And I’m right here.”
“Sam? What are you—”