He obviously had never come up against a Legion Dragon. Tyrez’s scales were thick and strong. The bodyguard’s claws sparked as they slid along them without even scoring the tough surface. Tyrez twisted his long neck to snap at him, but caught an incoming, swift moving shadow out of the corner of his eye, and ducked back down.
The bodyguard shrieked as long talons plucked him straight off Tyrez’s back. Razir grabbed the smaller Dragon by the throat and let the body trail along behind as he drew even with Tyrez.
“Keeps him alive,” Tyrez instructed, his deep voice carrying over the wind. “I’m going afters the bosss.”
Razir’s vivid-purple gaze gleamed at his brother, and then he banked away, still clutching the writhing bodyguard.
The guards’ efforts had enabled their boss to put some distance between him and the pursuing Legion Dragon. He seemed to be winging at top speed for the nearby mountain range. If he reached it, there was always the chance he could find a hiding spot.
Tyrez had no intention of letting him reach the mountains. He beat the air with his powerful wings, climbing above the thin cloud layer until he only occasionally made out the fleeing form below.
For a few minutes, he flew hard, steadily gaining on the smaller figure, whose beating wings now seemed erratic as the Dragon tired. The narrow head kept tilting to look back over his shoulder. He didn’t see the bigger Dragon flying above the clouds.
Tyrez judged the distance and timing with care, folded his wings, and dove.
If he’d miscalculated, he’d overshoot, but this was a maneuver he’d practiced many times. He rarely got it wrong.
If his target had seen him coming, he might have dodged. But he didn’t. Tyrez plunged toward him out of the clouds. At the last instant, the Legion Dragon spread his wings with a crack like thunder. Instead of breaking the smaller Dragon’s back, he hit him hard enough to stun him.
His victim flapped weakly, but with Tyrez’s death grip on his neck he had no chance.
Tyrez banked and headed back. In moments, he spotted Taran, still in beast form, crouched on the rooftop.
As he landed, he looked toward his brother who sat on two small Dragons—the bodyguard Razir had grabbed, and one other.
Taran explained. “Founds thiss one trying to ssneak out. Thought wes could take him back too.” He gestured toward the roof entrance with his broad head. “Razir hass gone to retrieve the women.”
That therewerewomen inside twisted Tyrez’s gut. His jaws tightened on the throat of the Dragon in his grasp, and it gasped and squirmed. That Dragons would be involved in such a vile business—
Taran eyed him. “Carerfuls, bro. We needs him alive, remember?”
Alive. Right. Tyrez spat his prisoner out of his jaws and pinned him beneath his talons instead. The rogue Dragon took a hoarse, rasping breath.
The roof door opened, and Razir appeared in human form. Behind him trailed six women. They were of different species, but one was a Dragona shifter.
The Dragon in Tyrez’s grip gasped as the talons tightened.
“It iss fortunate for you that I wishes to ask questions,” Tyrez hissed at him. “Because sscum like you deserves to die.”
Razir eyed him. “We taking them all back?”
“Yeah. And then I’ll leaves you to get these sscum locked up, and the women looked after. I doubt these guyss will willingly tell uss much. Can you calls in our Reader? I have a ssearch to organize, I won’t be backs until morning, likely.”
Taran snorted. “You ssiccing Diress on the Mover’s trail?”
Tyrez nodded. “Yess.”
“Sshe won’t be eassy to find.”
“No,” sighed Tyrez. “I don’t think sshe will.”
6
Tyrez stood beneath moonlit trees in a small park along the river, facing seven Dires and a Sabre.
To blend in with the resident human population, they were in human form, not beast. Dires were the leanest of the shifters, although they were still larger than most humans when in that form. Sabres, on the other hand, were big as humans and impressive as beasts.
It was a warm night, but they all wore hoodies. The only concessions were pushed-up sleeves. The reason for the covering was obvious—every bit of exposed skin revealed half-healed and recent scars from the battle they’d fought only four days before.
