Dragon's Bayne by Cheree Alsop

Author:Cheree Alsop [Alsop, Cheree]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-11-28T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

“I understand you’re operating under a bit of a death wish right now,” Dartan said.

“Don’t even start with me,” Aleric replied as he made his way across the moonlit floor of the warehouse.

The sour reptile and brimstone scent filled his nose. He didn’t need to be in wolf form to understand what had spooked Magnus. The cloying smell refused to clear, leaving Aleric without one of the senses he relied on to detect danger. The fact put him on edge.

“I’m not starting with you,” the vampire continued. “I’m middling with you, if you take into consideration that losing a patient on the operating table was more towards the middle of your being at the hospital rather than the beginning.”

Aleric rolled his eyes. “A few weeks isn’t the middle. It’s barely the beginning.”

“Is it?” Dartan asked.

Aleric glanced at him. “Are you planning on heading back to Blays sometime soon?”

Dartan gave a single shake of his head. He paused beside the door to the next section of warehouse. The scent of the dragon was growing stronger.

“I guess I figured you’d give up after this.”

He pulled the door open before Aleric could argue.

Three smells hit Aleric’s nose all at once. The dragon was there somewhere to be sure, but underneath the reptilian musk was the jasmine and sunshine scent he associated with Lilian. Vampire was the third smell, the coppery scent that followed any member of their kind. Aleric was surprised he wasn’t more used to it considering all the time he had spent in Dartan’s presence.

“They’re here,” he said quietly.

All pretense of joking vanished from Dartan’s demeanor. They both knew entering the next room would be something they couldn’t take back. Facing an Almedragon was like staring down death. Both had survived terrible things. They weren’t sure adding a dragon to it would be pushing beyond the reach of their luck; truth be told, Aleric was pretty sure he had about used up all the luck he was allotted in life.

“That’s something you should know about me by now,” Aleric said quietly. At Dartan’s questioning look, he concluded with, “I don’t know when to give up.”

A grin lifted the vampire’s lips. “Me, neither.”

In an unspoken agreement, they entered the room together. Darkness clung to the shadowed corners, but Aleric’s wolven eyesight easily made out the black-scaled form curled against the far wall. It was already the size of a car; the Almedragon’s leathery wings lay across its body tipped with claws big enough to gut either of them. The bellows of its lungs filling and then deflating masked any other sound. The bloody scent of its breath circled around the room and turned Aleric’s stomach.

“It’s asleep,” he whispered. His mouth twisted with distaste when he said, “It just ate.”

“Human?” Dartan asked.

Aleric checked the scent for the animal notes he hoped to find. His heart sank at their absence. “Human,” he confirmed.

Dartan swore quietly under his breath. “We need to kill it before it feeds again.”

“Agreed,” Aleric replied, “But I need to find Lilian first.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.