A deafening roar sounded, followed by a gust of hot wind. The dragon’s breath. I looked up to see him standing ten feet away, visible through the haze of flames and smoke, his yellow eyes gleaming with fury.

His tail lunged toward us. Julie and I flung ourselves in opposite directions, narrowly avoiding being pierced. The dragon was going to stake us before burning our corpses to ashes.

“Duck!” I yelled to Julie as the tail swished toward us again. It clinked against my shield with such force, the shield went flying out of my hand.

“Why are you here? And whose blood stains your skin?” Breccan boomed down at me. His hand shot out, motioning to grab me by the waist. I dodged him, only to find myself stuck in a corner. His plan, I was sure.

“Tell me,” he continued. “Did you murder Lambas?”

Lambas? Despite my panic, I was momentarily taken aback by the question.

“Answer me!” he roared, scorching my eyeballs with his breath.

Maybe that cobra was Lambas. I just murdered his pet.

His jaws opened, revealing layers of razor sharp teeth.

“You killed her!” he repeated, his voice dripping with rage. “Didn’t you?”

A pointed object flew from my left toward the dragon and struck him in the eye. Breccan bellowed in pain and staggered back. I looked up to see Bahir hovering overhead. I was shocked by his bedraggled appearance. His skin was singed almost black. Of all of us, I hadn’t expected him to get injured by the flames. I could only think that he’d gotten caught by some before he’d managed to vanish himself.

Thank God.

Distracted by the pain, the dragon staggered backward, his tail flailing and narrowly missing my gut. I ducked down low on the ground as Bahir approached me. Julie hurried over—accompanied by Arron, who, like Julie, had somehow managed to reach the armor. I wasn’t sure how the Hawk managed to put it all on with one arm, but he wore a helmet and chest plate, as well as plates on his legs and knees.

Before the dragon could cause us any more damage, we gathered together and Bahir vanished us from the burning chamber.

CHAPTER 25: BEN

We reappeared back at our camp. I dropped to my knees, breathing out in relief as I felt the brown sack and the dragon scale still fastened securely to my belt. I placed both on the ground and rolled over on my back, breathing in the fresh air.

If a patient didn’t require this doctor’s help before an appointment, he sure as hell would need it after.

I removed my singed cloak and peeled off my shirt, using the latter to wipe down my face, which felt burnt to a crisp. I had a nasty burn that stretched from the base of my neck down to the middle of my chest, as well as on my hands and arms.

Julie had been covered with armor, but even still her face and hands were badly burnt. Out of all of us, Arron seemed to have gotten off lightest. Bahir healed his own skin before moving to me. He brushed his hands along my burns—causing them to sting horribly—before the burns disappeared. I was glad I didn’t have to wait for my body’s own healing capabilities to kick in. It would only exacerbate my craving for blood—which was already starting to come on full force again after the exertion I’d just put my body through.

After Bahir had finished with Arron, Arron approached and looked down at the scale. He bent down and picked it up, examining it in his hand.

“I’ll take care of this for now, shall I?” the Hawk offered. “It’s too big to fit in that sack and it shouldn’t be bent.”

I shook my head. “No, I’ll keep it with me.” After all the trouble we’d gone through to get it, I didn’t want to let it out of my sight.

Raising a brow, Arron placed it back down on the ground next to the brown sack.

Once I’d rested my limbs a little and regained my breath, I sat up.

“Are you okay?” Julie asked, leaning against the cliffside wall a few feet away.

I nodded. “Thank you,” I said, “for helping me back there.”

“That’s okay.”

Picking up the sack and fastening it back to my belt, I tucked the scale beneath my arm and stood up. I walked to the border of the ledge and gazed out at the brightening sky. I was surprised that the dragon hadn’t come out of the cave to look for us.

“So today is the day you have an appointment with the witch doctor, correct?” Bahir asked, moving next to me.

“Yes, today.” The time had flown by, and in the end it was a good thing that the doctor hadn’t been available before now. We would not have been ready.

“I suggest that we rest here a little longer,” Arron said, taking a seat and stretching out his legs. “We still have hours to pass before the appointment.”

Although I was raring to go, we could all do with more rest. I for one could hardly remember the last time I’d slept properly and although I wouldn’t be able to sleep, at least I could rest my eyes. I walked over to my cloak and wrapped it around me, covering the brown sack at my waist, before lying down on my side and sliding the scale behind my back, safely guarded between me and the wall.

Julie lay within my view. She met my gaze, and gave me a small smile. I returned the smile politely, then turned to face the other way, blocking her out and turning my thoughts to another girl. My girl. River. Will I ever see her again?

* * *

Since it would take seconds to travel to Uma’s island, we left our camp as late afternoon approached. Our appointment was in the evening but Uma’s sister had advised that we arrive a few hours earlier just in case.