That gets the dragon’s attention. It nudges past me, the enormous head shoving me aside as it studies the chain, sniffing it. I retreat as far as I can, until the chain is taut and the cuff is tight against my bloodied skin.
The enormous, fanged maw opens. I smother a cry as it takes the chain into its mouth, teeth brushing against my leg and dangerously close to breaking the skin.
Metal crunches. The chain goes slack.
The dragon sits back on its haunches, spitting out the length of chain.
I stumble backward, falling onto my ass in my haste to get away. I don’t get up, though. I just stay down and stare. Why did he free me?
The dragon leans in and whuffs my hair, as if testing my scent. I force myself to remain still for the inspection, even though the head is so big he could swallow me in a bite. I could lose a fist in one of the enormous nostrils that sniff me.
Then the dragon’s tongue snakes out, and he licks me from belly to collarbone.
Well, that’s friendly…I think.
His pupils go black.
Uh oh. Maybe not so friendly. He licks me again, this time a little slower and more deliberate.
I don’t dare move. Inwardly, I shudder at the sensation…and the wetness. The tongue felt raspy, like a cat’s, and I’m reminded of the enormous, mushroom-headed erection he was sporting earlier. Suddenly the lick he just gave me is less innocent, as is the sniffing nose that ruffles my hair even now.
Tame the dragon, they said. Do it for Fort Dallas. Tame the dragon—this thing the size of a small plane, this thing with fangs and claws that breathes fire and kills people by the hundreds.
Clearly they’re insane.
I stifle a whimper when he licks my shoulder again, and then the enormous snout moves lower. He tries to push it between my sprawled legs to scent my sex, and I can’t help it. I’m terrified, but I’m not going to have that. I push at the nose with my hand, shaking my head. “N-no,” I tell him, and add a mental, please don’t eat me.
The big head lifts sharply, as if recalling something, and as I watch, the eyes flick from the black pupils back to gold. With another guttural whuff of his breath, the dragon turns his head and glances back at the goat. He looks to me, and then turns, heading toward the goat. I just know he’s going to try and offer it to me again.
But his back is to me.
And I’m free now.
I glance at the nearest stairwell, the one I came up with the soldiers. It’s about fifty feet away, just a quick sprint.
I’ve only got one chance. I look over at the dragon, and he’s gently picking up the dead goat in his teeth again.
Time to take that chance. I scramble to my feet and race for the stairs.
I fling the battered door open and launch myself down the stairs in a rush. Panting, frantic, I ignore the fact that I’m naked and shoeless—all that matters is getting away from the dragon. Now that I’m free, I can escape. I thud down the stairs at high speed, relieved that he’s so large. His enormous bulk is way too big to fit in the narrow stairwell, and if he keeps to the top of the building looking for me, I can hide in the rubble on the street until it’s safe to—
An ear-splitting roar of rage interrupts my wild thoughts. My steps falter, and I stumble down the next few stairs, thudding a couple of feet to a debris-strewn landing. The stairs turn and twist down another story, and I pick myself up and keep going. I didn’t count how many floors there were on the way up, and now I wish I had. It doesn’t matter, though. He can’t get to me. I know I can get away. Back to Amy, I tell myself. Back to Fort Dallas. Back to safety.
The building shakes, and the dragon gives another enraged roar. Plaster rains down on my head, and a chunk of ceiling drops onto the stairs next to me. I bite back a yelp and keep going. Each step takes me farther away from the dragon and one step closer to my sister.
As I turn to go down the next floor, everything is silent. I pause to catch my breath, the only sound the rasping coming from my throat. I glance up at the ceiling, but no more plaster is raining down. The dragon’s silent. Did he fly away? Give up on—
Something slams into the side of the building.
The entire thing shakes, and I nearly lose my balance, careening into the wall. My scream dies in my throat. I can’t make a sound. I can’t. I know if I do, he’ll find me. I cling to the railing and begin to descend again. Another crash into the wall, and bricks crumble inward. The wall sags, and the stairs give an ugly, frightening shudder under my feet. I whimper as the world rocks to one side.
Part of the wall falls away, and I gape at the expanse of open sky that’s suddenly revealed, not five feet from where I’m standing. Far, far below, I can see the broken, overgrown streets of Old Dallas and the other decimated buildings nearby, sticking up like jagged thorns.
Gold flashes past. I hear the beating of wings. I lean forward, trying to get a glimpse of where the dragon is. My heart’s pounding so wildly in my breast that I’m sure he can hear it.
A shadow falls over the hole, and in the next moment, an enormous black-on-gold eye scans the stairwell.
I stumble backward, gasping. As I do, the eye focuses on me, and another ear-splitting roar shakes the building. My footing slips on the garbage-strewn stairs, and I half-slide, half-tumble to the next flight, bouncing down to the landing in a rain of drywall and brick fragments. Pain slams through my body, and I struggle to get back to my feet. My ankle hurts like a beast, my ribs will have new bruises by morning, and I’m covered in dust and dried leaves, but I’m away from the dragon. For now. I need to find a safe spot to hide. Somewhere. Anywhere.
I limp down the next flight of stairs, and there’s a door there. My hands are shaking as I tug on the handle, but it won’t budge. Somewhere nearby, the dragon trumpets another furious roar, and the building shakes again. I abandon the door and continue down. I thought the stairs were safe before because the dragon was too big, but now I feel like a mouse trapped in a maze. I’m trembling with fear as I continue downward. No choice but to keep going.
I turn the corner on the next flight of stairs, hoping for another door. My heart sinks at the sight before me.
The fragile stairwell has crumbled away, leaving nothing but a gaping hole for at least two flights of stairs. There’s nothing but empty air and another glimpse of concrete stairs far, far below. Wind rips through the gaping hole, ripping at my hair and pulling away whatever breath I have left.
I can’t keep going. I’m trapped. I glance back up the way I came. I’ll have to go back, take a chance on the door—
The dragon strikes the building again.
Beneath my feet, the floor groans and shifts. The stairs crumble, and then there’s nothing to stand on any longer.
“No!” My scream echoes loudly in the stairwell.