The Dragon Legion Collection(97)

The spot of unprotected skin where he had lost the scale looked terrible. The flesh looked burned, and as if it was festering. Aura feared the Slayer had done something that would kill Thad. Aura dropped to her knees beside him, feeling more helpless than she ever had. Even the glow of the firestorm was subdued, no more than a pale glimmer of light when she touched him.

Could it all be for nothing?

Could Thad’s dream of a fulfilled firestorm not come true?

* * *

Jorge held fast to his prize as he was cast through the air. He didn’t doubt that he was being flung through time and space, as well. It was imperative that he return to the future with the pilgrim’s arm.

But he had no control over the darkfire, and what it might do. His hatred of that unpredictable force redoubled as he endured the wind and the fog.

Then he was slammed down hard on what had to be asphalt.

Jorge smelled car exhaust. He could almost taste the tar of the road. There was a yellow line painted on the asphalt right beneath his chin.

He smelled the salt of the sea and felt rain pattering on his scales. He heard car brakes squeal and tires smoke as vehicles skidded to a halt all around him. People began to scream.

Jorge sat upright, wondering where he was, besides being in the middle of a road.

Hundreds of astonished people stared back at him, some from behind the windshields of cars, others from the sidewalk. The cars were either very small hybrids or very large SUVs. Jorge’s heart skipped with hope. He looked up and saw a tower that had to be the Space Needle in Seattle, and the rain and the sea confirmed his theory.

Then the people turned their cellphones on him, filming and photographing him. Others began to talk into their phones, all of which were models recent to the world he’d left not long before.

Jorge would have thrown back his head and laughed if that might not have cost him his prize. He was back in the future, or close enough to it.

Why not use his weapon now?

He chewed on the arm even as he reared up. He flapped his wings and bellowed without slackening his bite. They filmed him from all sides, some hanging back, others pressing closer. He’d be featured on every news outlet on the planet, which would give fair warning to all the Pyr of the world.

Jorge suspected that wouldn’t make any difference. He took flight, jubilant that the darkfire had finally turned in his favor. He’d survived so much and now he’d have his revenge. He shook the blood from the severed arm, letting it fall like rain over all the pitiful human spectators. Some of them screamed. Others ran. More of them kept filming his triumph.

This could be big.

This could end it all.

He could be bringing a plague to the world. Jorge wasn’t one to admit his limitations, but he knew that he needed the help of a devious mind to ensure that his plan came to full fruition.

Although he feared he might regret his choice, Jorge knew he had to go to Chen. He gave one last triumphant turn over the crowd, then spun in the air and disappeared.

He would manifest in the middle of Chen’s own lair.

* * *

Tisiphone flailed and howled as she was cast bodily through the air. She couldn’t see anything except swirling mist and couldn’t feel anything but a buffeting wind. There were occasional flashes of blue-green light in the mist near her, but she couldn’t even see the source of the light. It just illuminated the clouds, as if she was in the midst of a thunderstorm.

She was powerless to change her situation, and that infuriated her almost as much as being cheated of the chance to claim the first of the Pyr. How dare Hera interfere with her quest for justice? How dare Hera cast her away? If ever she saw Hera again, Tisiphone would ensure that goddess paid dearly for her intervention.

Tisiphone felt herself falling. She tried to stop her descent and failed completely. The sense of helplessness didn’t improve her mood. Nor did being slammed into a rocky shore, as if she’d jumped from a great height. She was dazed from her ordeal and bruised from her landing. She heard water lapping a shore close by and smelled smoke in the air. She opened her eyes to discover that it was night and she was on a rocky excuse for a beach. The mist was rising slowly.

She heard footsteps and smelled a mortal. Tisiphone shifted shape quickly, taking the guise of the woman with hair the color of flame. It would be less frightening to a mortal than her reality.

“Hey, there. Are you okay?”

Tisiphone rose to her feet and turned to see a woman dressed in black making her way closer. She had dark hair and red lips, and wore a silver bracelet shaped like a snake.

“It’s not that safe down here, especially at night,” the woman said. “Are you all right?”

Tisiphone nodded and brushed down her clothing, as if she loitered in such places all the time.

“Do you live around here?”

Tisiphone shook her head, not trusting herself yet to speak. Being divine, she could understand the languages of mortals, but this was a new one for her. She wanted to listen longer before she spoke herself, to be sure she got it right.

“You look like you’ve had a rough night,” the woman said with sympathy. “I can totally relate, but you don’t have to tell me about it if you don’t want to.”

Tisiphone looked down at her feet, as if embarrassed.

“I don’t blame you,” the other woman said cheerfully. “Men can be such bastards. Look, I’m Viv Jason. I’ve got a place near here, if you need somewhere to crash or maybe something to eat.”