With Isobel closing in, it was so tempting to ask for such a rescue. Riley was out of commission, and our only other chance to flee Isobel’s minions was to head for the nearest gate. Which was many miles from where I’d spent my last months with my parents.
“Can he just build the gate, and let us use it?” I called into the wind.
Lucas shook his head so vigorously it traveled through his entire body. “Destroying is ins his blood. He is a creator only bys effort, nots will. Ands he is very angry.”
Hellfire. No help from the Perditor, then. We were headed for the closest city. It didn’t have a gate, but Lucas thought we could hide among the population until we came up with a better plan.
But we weren’t going to make it. The energy signatures behind me were closing on us. As a dragon, Lucas could likely sense them too.
He turned his head to regard me with one green-rimmed eye. “They’re goings tos catch us.” The wind whipped at his words, but I understood him. “Is she stills out?”
The undercurrents spoke to me—Riley was our only way out of this mess, if we stayed together.
I gritted my teeth and held her a little tighter. I had a precious few moments left with her. “Take us down.”
His eyes narrowed.
I called on the power within me, and said it again. “Down, Lucas. Now.”
He dropped a hundred feet before he leveled off again. “Dammit,” he exclaimed. “Don’t dos thats again.”
“Then land.”
His lips peeled back from his long sharp teeth, but then his head turned away, gazing down into the forest. It would hide him and her—for a few crucial minutes, anyway. Long enough for me to put some distance between us. I could draw Isobel away, and Lucas could wait until Riley recovered enough to take them home.
I glanced back over my shoulder, in time to see three Dragons drop below the clouds. They were mere dots in the distance, but if I could see them, they could see us.
Lucas folded his wings, and took us into the trees.
Even for a small Dragon, it was a bit of a squeeze. Branches snapped, and I had to shield Riley until he thumped down amid the trunks.
I extricated myself from between the Dragon’s spikes and slid to the ground, cradling my burden. I bent to set her down at the base of a trunk—my fingers lingered over her face, and my heart twisted.
I turned around, and flinched. Lucas’s Dragon face was inches from my own, his dark wings mantled above him.
“Wes didn’t gos tos all this troubles tos rescue yous, tos lets Isobel haves yous now.”
Okay, so much for fooling the Dragon. “It’s the only way.” My voice was calm, but my pulse raced.
“Nots the only ways. Cans yous heal her? Gives hers the power to Jump?”
Could I? “Maybe. No guarantees. And it won’t be the best thing for her.”
“No others choice.” His gaze bored into my own. “Isobel’s nots likely to ignores us, even ifs she gets yous. And ifs she comes afters me—I won’t be able to holds Nikolai backs.”
A dark form swept over us, more heard than seen, and we all crouched. They likely couldn’t see us below the branches, but Isobel and the coven riding the Dragons wouldn’t just be tracking my collar—they could sense our life essences. It wouldn’t take them long to track Lucas and Riley, as well.
“Dos it,” he hissed.
I cursed the spark that blossomed within me as I crouched over Riley. It was a false hope, but I so desperately wanted the life I’d glimpsed. If she faltered, however—I would have no option but to attempt to lure Isobel away.
The thought of the Perditor ripping everything around us to pieces in an all-out battle against Isobel spurred me on. I gathered Riley back up in my arms and told Lucas, “Shift. It’ll be an easier Jump.”
I was only dimly aware of him writhing his way to human as I fought to find the healer within me. I found the smallest trace of energy, laid my hands on her bare arms, and shot it to her…
19
Havoc
