I knew from the battle in the tunnels that this sword wouldn’t penetrate those scales, but it wasn’t my primary weapon. It was just the means to get me into position.
Meanwhile, my auxiliary backup crew slithered and skittered out from between the bricks. Nothing of any true size, but Xumi twitched as they started dropping onto her, crawling over her scales.
“What is this?” Xumi slapped at something that did, indeed, seem worthy of Australia. “Is this your pet, you little bitch?” It crawled into her hair, and she hissed, “I will roast you for this.” She yanked it free and advanced on me.
“Get away from her!” Talakai’s voice was so deep, and with so much snarl running through it, I could barely understand him. He was fighting the remaining chain with everything he had.
But I had no time for him. Not now. I lunged at Xumi, my sword darting forward to strike sparks off her scales.
She didn’t even flinch, but her smile widened, showing off impressive teeth. “Nice sword. It looks familiar—is that my Dragon’s little toy? Did he give it to you? How sweet.” She flexed her talons.
I danced around her, darting in to stab, and then back out again. At first, she kept me in front of her, but as it became clear that my strikes couldn’t penetrate her scales, she began to toy with me.
My little critter friends were distracting her, keeping her slapping and scratching. She swiped at them as she held her wings, with their vulnerable membranes, well out of reach of my sword.
The Dragona flung something the size of my hand off her arm, and she laughed at me as I danced sideways away from her. “Mighty warrior woman, you are not,” she goaded.
I finally achieved what I was striving for, and managed to get behind her for just a second... I dropped the sword as I leaped, landing right between her wings to bury my hands in her hair.
My fingers sought, and found, her scalp. I unleashed my beast.
Right away, I knew I had a problem. I’d broken the other Dragon down through seduction, but this one was so not in the mood. Her walls were formidable, and I lacked the tools to crumble them.
“Get off me, bitch,” she demanded, her voice deepening. “No one rides me.”
She spun around as her talons reached for my hands, but her wings got in the way. I clung with everything I had, shifting my grip to avoid her. In her efforts to reach me, she ended up tearing out hunks of her own hair.
But she’d connect, eventually, if I didn’t do something. I’d used the alpha power to pull the tendrils back. This time, I pumped it into my beast, adding power to send themin.
I visualized them burrowing through the walls. The first one touched Xumi’s life energy and latched on. Others followed. I shuddered as they sucked on it like a leech, her energy flooding through me.
Xumi roared, her wings thrashing the air as she embraced her Dragon. Her body expanded beneath me, and I had to scramble to avoid her talons.
The energy was coming fast now... but I rode so high on it that it distracted me. Two talons hooked into my arm—
Pain lanced through me as they sank in. She yanked hard, plucking me from her back and straight over her head. She spun as she tossed me, the momentum sending me flying into a metal torture device.
My head hit hard, and the room tilted as I fought to stay conscious.
Now mostly beast, she stalked toward me. In desperation, I pushed at the creepy crawlies, and they swarmed her. But her scales were now all but impenetrable.
Talakai surged against the remaining chain, his face writhing with his efforts to stop his own transformation, the one free hand slashing the air with vicious talons. But we were out of his reach.
I drew the long knife from the sheath along my ribs, but if the sword hadn’t penetrated those scales—my only option was a stab to the eye.
With a scream, something lean and dark leaped at her. Talons slashed, leaving bleeding welts across Xumi’s upper arm.
Lucas was transforming, with jet-black scales erupting over his entire body and wings the color of ink spreading above him. His talons flashed in the lights, but his approach, although determined, lacked the finesse of a fighter.
Xumi hissed and slammed her tail into him. He collided with the wall and slumped to the cold stone, clearly dazed.
She swung back to me. I staggered to my feet, and everything dipped and swayed as I fought to stay conscious. My fingers tightened on the knife—
And with a shriek of tortured metal, Talakai’s chain finally gave way.
It parted in mid-lunge, and it would have sent most into a nosedive, but he used the momentum to roll expertly through it onto his feet. And somehow, in his hand, was his sword.
I only caught a snapshot—him standing with the sword, his eyes flaring, wild with rage, his one arm trailing four feet of chain—and then he was in motion. A blur, spinning and diving and ducking around Xumi, the blade whipping out to strike vulnerable targets, the chain slashing in counterpoint to it.
