by C. J. Hill
Tori didn’t want to keep sliding through the air toward him, so she grabbed hold of a passing branch and pulled herself onto a sturdy-looking bough.
Which only made Overdrake laugh again. He tilted his head back, unconcerned about even keeping tabs on her.
Tori stole a quick glance at the other Slayers. Now that Overdrake was paying attention to her, what was the dragon doing? She located Jesse, swooping so low to the ground he was probably getting grass stains on his jacket. The dragon charged downward, snapping at him, but only managed to get a mouthful of landscape.
Either it took more than a break in concentration to disrupt a dragon lord’s link, or Overdrake didn’t have to instruct the dragon in every motion. Perhaps Overdrake told the dragon to go after Jesse and it knew how to take things from there.
“It was unwise of you to come here while your rescue committee is busy,” Overdrake said. “How do socialites fight, anyway? Were you going to blackball me from all the right parties? Spread ugly rumors? Use your stiletto heels to inflict puncture wounds?”
She ignored his taunting and aimed her rifle at him. “Call off the dragon!” she yelled.
“Or what?”
“Or I’ll make your life miserable.”
The amusement in his voice gave way to anger. “You already have.”
She fired her rifle in quick succession. Not at him, but at the branch he held onto. It dissolved into splinters and he fell backward.
She expected him to drop his rifle. She waited for him to crash through the foliage and hit the ground. He didn’t do either. With the gun still clutched in one hand, he turned his backward momentum into a flip. His legs curled and swung around him, then impossibly, he landed on a tree limb a few feet down. He straightened up, tucked his rifle under his arm, and faced her again. His voice took on a scolding tone. “I could call the dragon over here to tear you into pieces,” he said. “You fly like a wounded bird. It would take him about two minutes to kill you.” Overdrake put his free hand on a branch to his side to steady himself. “The only reason I haven’t done it already is that I like you. Don’t make me change my mind about that.”
He liked her. Sure. She aimed her rifle at him again.
“You can’t win,” he told her with smug satisfaction. “Not here. Not later. There are nine of you. I have a small army of men to fight for me. Your deaths tonight will be for nothing. I might spare you if you surrender now.” He paused. “I might.”
She held the rifle steady. “You’re wrong. Even if we lose here, people have seen the dragon now. They’ll come together to fight you. They’ll demand the government takes action.”
He laughed deeply, as though he truly thought what she’d said was funny. “What country did you grow up in? You’re talking about Americans—the laziest, most self-serving people on earth. They won’t fight, they’ll run. And if people do catch sight of the dragon tonight, it will only make them surrender.”
Tori gripped her gun impatiently. There was no point in arguing with him about human nature. “Who is your source?” she asked. “How do you know things about me?”
“You go to one of those private elitist schools, don’t you?” he asked. “Let’s see if the tuition is worth it. Do you know what the sign in the Greek temple of Delphi says?”
“No littering. In six languages. I went there last summer. Now answer my question.”
“The sign says ‘Know thyself.’”
“Okay. I know I don’t have a lot of patience.” She looked into the site of her rifle. “You might not be so lucky the next time you fall.”
“When you understand yourself, you’ll be a lot closer to figuring out who my source is.”
It made no sense. She didn’t reply.
“Who are you, Victoria Hampton?” Although she couldn’t see Overdrake’s face, she knew he was sneering as he said this. “Where do you come from? What right does your father have to claim any sort of power in the government?”
“He was elected. That’s how we do things in this country.”
“Not for long,” Overdrake said.
She shot again, obliterating the branch in his hand. This time he didn’t fall. Instead, he leapt from his branch into a neighboring tree. It was at least a fifteen-foot jump. He wasn’t just strong, he could leap, too. What other powers did he have?
Tori swiveled to face him, but was pulled back. She panicked, sure Overdrake’s assistant had snuck up on her. Then she realized it was the chain. The back had caught on the branch behind her.
Overdrake saw her flinch backward and he laughed again. “Did I give you two minutes with the dragon? Make that one. You’ll probably strangle yourself before he comes.”
Tori yanked herself forward. The branch snapped into pieces with a crack. The motion made several twigs wave and slap her.
Stupid chain.
As if it weren’t already impossible enough to kill the dragon. Why did Overdrake have to render her useless by sticking her with this …
The thought vanished from her mind, replaced by a picture, an idea. She wasn’t the only one who could be strangled by this chain.
It would be suicide if it didn’t work. But if it did work …
She glanced back at the Slayers. Jesse was darting around the dragon’s head like an angry hornet. He hadn’t made any progress with the Kevlar straps. How long could he do this before he got tired, before someone made a mistake and was killed?
Besides, she wasn’t doing any good here. She couldn’t fight Overdrake.
Tori jumped out of the tree, letting gravity do its work. Right before landing, she willed herself to fly into the clearing, stretching her arms out to lean in that direction. Instead of a jarring thud, she skimmed along the ground, moving faster than she could have run.
She knew Overdrake was watching her, but his attention would turn back to Jesse before long. Because she wasn’t a threat. She was a socialite who flew like a wounded bird.
Tori swung her sling so that her rifle rested on her back, then tilted her head down until the chain loops slid from her neck into her outstretched hands. She found the end, then let the rest of the chain tumble to the ground. The links jumped and swished, straightening themselves into one long loop.
Veering toward a group of Slayers, Tori called out, “Block for me!” and hoped at least some of the Slayers who could block fire had heard her.
CHAPTER 41
Tori had no way to explain to Jesse what she wanted to do. Right now she couldn’t catch up with him, let alone talk with him. And she didn’t want to get too close to where he and the dragon spun around each other.
“Jesse!” she called, hovering as close as she dared.
She couldn’t see Jesse’s expression through his visor, couldn’t tell if he’d heard her or not. He dived downward, leading the dragon toward the ground as though the two of them were connected in a roller coaster ride. The dragon craned forward, wings pressed against his body. His tail whipped so fast it looked like he was convulsing. Just before Jesse hit the ground, he turned and went straight up. The dragon had more mass and couldn’t correct his direction as swiftly. He shot off parallel across the grass, then pushed upward against the ground with his feet and tail.
“Tori!” Jesse called.
“Take the other end!” She pointed to the chain, but wasn’t sure he saw. With two sleek beats of his wings, the dragon streaked up into the sky, coming after Jesse again.
Did Jesse understand what she wanted to do? Was his counterpart sense letting him know her plan? She hoped it could do that sort of thing.
He hesitated, then yelled, “Throw it!”
Good. He understood.
Her intuition wasn’t working as well, though. She had no idea which direction to toss the chain. He wasn’t staying in place. She hurled the end in his general area. It rattled noisily, streaming out, then fell like the tail of a shooting star. Jesse swooped downward, caught it, and rocketed by so fast he pulled Tori along with him.
He
turned in midair and sped back toward the dragon. Straight on. Tori had no choice but to follow after him. She willed herself to go faster. Faster might get her by the dragon without being barbequed in the process.
When Tori was little, she and Aprilynne used to catch garter snakes in their lawn. Well, Aprilynne found them, and Tori caught them. Each time Tori had reached for snake, an instant of fear had gripped her. If Tori’s aim was off and she didn’t get the right spot, the snake could turn on her.
And now Tori was doing the same thing on a larger, more dangerous scale. The chain had to connect right below the dragon’s head so he couldn’t reach her.
The dragon’s eyes turned on her, piercing her with their golden gaze. His nostrils flared, breathing inward to fuel his fire stream.
She prayed Shang and Lilly were paying attention. The dragon was so close now, if the fire wasn’t snuffed out immediately it would fry someone.
The fire came, but the flames spread out horizontally in an orange wall. Bess had thrown up a forcefield. Heat pulsed at Tori as she went by and the air wavered like liquid.
Tori was instantly thankful that the fire hadn’t been extinguished. The wall of flames blocked the dragon’s view for several seconds. He didn’t notice Tori sailing by on one side, while Jesse went by on the other. The dragon felt the chain when it hit his neck, though. His head shuddered in surprise and he was pulled backward.
Tori’s attempts to change direction to wind the chain around the dragon’s head were slow and awkward, but Jesse circled and then lapped her, drawing the chain tight.
The dragon bucked, head lurching, then swiped his tail at Jesse. Jesse zipped out of the way, pulling back on the chain so hard he grunted at the effort.
The dragon let out a strangled growl and jolted his head back and forth. The motion jerked Tori through the air, but every time the dragon yanked her backward, she pushed herself forward again, tightening the chain with all her strength.
In a switchblade-fast motion, the dragon spanned his wings outward, slamming one into Tori full force as he tried to shake her loose.
Tori’s breath gushed from her lungs and pain shot through her hip, but she couldn’t have let go of the chain if she’d wanted to. It was connected to her middle. The dragon smacking her away had only made the chain go tighter. She scanned the darkness for Jesse. Had he been knocked loose?
No. He’d flown upward out of the way of the wings.
Upward. Good idea. She wished she’d thought of that in time to do it.
She kicked the air, ignoring the pain, and kept heaving to pull the chain tighter. The dragon lurched forward, twisting, thrashing its tail. The action whipped Tori about on the end of her chain, dragging her one way, then another.
Tori had once fallen off a frightened horse. Her foot caught in the stirrup, and after she hit the ground, she’d reached out wildly, grasping for something to hold onto. There had been nothing to grip. She couldn’t even see straight. The world had been reduced to flashes of ground and sky and horse hooves.
It felt like that now, only Tori couldn’t free herself this time. She had to pull against the dragon, dodging wings and a tail that lashed every which way, while the ground and the sky flashed by her—frictionless, fast paced, jumbled.
What had she been thinking to tie herself to a dragon? Hadn’t Dr. B told her not to put herself in a position where she couldn’t retreat? That’s where she was now. Retreatless. If the dragon killed her, her friends wouldn’t even have a way to retrieve her body. She would dangle like a keychain from the dragon’s neck until Overdrake saw fit to cut her loose. If he saw fit to cut her loose.
Jesse, don’t let go, she thought. This would only work if he kept pulling on the other end of the chain. Her safety depended on him.
A tree spun by her. She reached out and grabbed hold of a thick branch, pulling herself toward it, then embracing the trunk with all of her strength. The world grew less dizzy, lines sharpened.
Over her shoulder, she watched the dragon flailing, sinking. It shuddered and its wings flapped aimlessly. The huge beast was crippled and stumbling.
Where was Jesse? She didn’t see him in the sky. She followed his side of the chain. It stretched to the ground in a taut line that led to the overturned van. Jesse must have anchored himself there.
With one last convulsing shudder, the dragon plummeted to the ground. The weight of its fall dragged Tori down the tree trunk. The sharp edges of the collar sliced into the tree, shaving off chunks of bark. Her hands scraped off some, as well, shredding her gloves. Pieces of wood spit everywhere, pinging into her neck and visor. Her palms stung like something had bitten them. Still, she didn’t let go of the tree even when she’d reached the ground.
Behind her, the Slayers converged around the dragon. They looked like wolves about to rip apart some downed zebra. Tori tried to erase the image from her mind. This was supposed to happen. The best possible outcome. No one had died. At least she didn’t think anyone had died. Nobody was sprawled out on the ground. She tried to count the Slayers, but they kept moving and she was too dizzy.
The dragon’s mouth hung open. One golden eye stared at her, the glow growing dimmer and dimmer.
Someone had already taken the shears from Jesse. Judging by his size, it was probably Kody. Part of his jacket had been burned away, exposing his arm and shoulder. He jumped onto the dragon’s back and cut off the Kevlar straps.
Tori wanted to yell, “You don’t need to do that. The dragon is dead already. Just leave him alone.”
Which was a stupid thought. She wasn’t so sure the dragon was dead that she was willing to let go of the tree and release the pressure on its neck.
When the straps were cut, a couple of the Slayers pulled off the Kevlar blanket that had protected the dragon’s underside. One of the Slayers pointed a gun at the dragon’s heart. She didn’t know who, only that it wasn’t Dirk. He was still standing behind the others, watching the proceedings with his hands clenched at his side.
Was he feeling a lump of sickness in his stomach, or was she projecting her feelings onto him? She couldn’t tell and didn’t know why she suddenly felt this way. Maybe she’d been flung around too much and had motion sickness. Or a head injury. Or was in shock. Maybe she’d just watched one too many movies with friendly, anthropomorphic dragons.
She shut her eyes so she wouldn’t have to see the shots, but she still heard them. Each punctuated the feeling that lay in her stomach. She let go of the tree and another wave of dizziness hit her, which was why she couldn’t be certain of what she saw next.
A man—Overdrake—flying over the trees for a few moments, then sinking back and disappearing into their cover.
The next moment, Dr. B threw his arms around one Slayer and then another, shouting joyfully, “Well done, Slayers! Well done!”
It took a group effort to unwind the chain from the dragon’s neck in order to free Tori. While Rosa, Alyssa, and Shang did that, the other Slayers combed the trees searching for Overdrake. Dr. B went over to the dragon and examined its scales, claws, and the silver bump on its forehead. He used the blade of the shears to pry the bump off. Underneath was a white diamond-shaped spot. Dr. B ran his fingers over it, then scrutinized the silver covering in his hand. “The records were right,” he said to no one in particular. “Overdrake covered the spot so it wouldn’t trigger the DNA of any babies the dragon flew over.”
The Slayers never found Overdrake.
Tori told the others that Overdrake could leap distances, and that she’d seen him above the treetops, but she stopped short of telling them that she’d seen him flying.
Had it been flying, or had he only leapt up? She couldn’t be sure now. If he could fly, why hadn’t he come after Jesse and her when they’d gone off his roof?
Finally, Dr. B told them they had better go. Overdrake was gone. They needed to leave and get a hold of Booker.
Jesse flew ahead with Dr. B to find a phone before his powers wore off. The rest of the Slay
ers ran down the road. Even Tori ran. It was easier to control than flying, and besides, she didn’t want to get separated from the rest of the group.
Just before their powers left, they found Theo walking in the same direction. Then they all walked along the road, taking turns telling him what had happened. Kody used hand motions in his descriptions. Bess made a running total of how many points she thought each team had earned. “Should a dragon chokehold be ten thousand points apiece or should Jesse and Tori split that total?” She raised her hands, adding a hip-swinging dance move to her walk. “Either way. Team Magnus cleans up.”
“Shang’s the one who shot it,” Lilly said, sending her counterpart a look of evident pride.
“And he’s on Team Magnus, too,” Bess pointed out.
“Yeah, next time give the A-team more action,” Kody said. “I only got to cut the Kevlar.”
“You can’t give points for luck,” Shang said, his voice a grim contrast to the others. “That’s what we were—lucky. If Overdrake hadn’t provided us with an unbreakable chain, we’d still be back there fighting, and the dragon would pick us off one by one.”
“You’re right,” Bess said. “I hereby grant Overdrake a hundred honorary points for providing us with the weapon we needed.”
“My point is,” Shang said, “that’s not going to happen again. We need to be better prepared for next time.”
“We will be.” Lilly motioned back to where Tori brought up the rear of the procession. “We’ve still got the chain.”
Kody waved his hand as though waving Shang’s protest away. “Luck is always a part of battle. And so is using your head. That’s what Tori did tonight.”
Bess chimed in, “A hundred points to Tori because she used her head for something besides displaying those gorgeous extensions.”
