Jestin Kase and the Masters of Dragon Metal by J. Michael White

Author:J. Michael White [White, J. Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: J. Michael White
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Emotional Support Animal

Jestin felt Colt’s hand squeeze back, firm, but gentle.

The Inquisitors pulled Relics from their jackets. Jestin didn’t recognize the weapons but doubted they would feel like fuzzy bunny cuddles. They looked like small silver crosses with pins and tacks to attach to the skin.

Jestin still couldn’t move. He squeezed Colt’s hand tighter, braced himself.

A roar rumbled the dirt beneath them.

Hiss pounced through the air, barreling through the Inquisitors while using his teeth to carry Colt’s duffel bag by the straps. The panther landed next to Jestin and Colt, dropped the bag, and roared at the Inquisitors, a reverberating sound that shook the attackers enough that they dropped their weapons, shaken to their bones.

The panther’s eyes glowed bright yellow. His tail quivered, teeth bared. Jestin had never seen the panther this pissed. The beast’s powerful muscles coiled and sprang, launching him forward. He tackled an Inquisitor to the ground and swatted through another trio, paws moving so fast they appeared as streaks of motion.

Slowly, feeling returned to Jestin’s body and his muscles relaxed. He crawled over to the duffel bag and reached inside for his enchanted daggers.

Colt sat up next to him, trying to stand. “We can’t kill them, they’re not thralls. They’re human.”

“No,” Jestin agreed as he stood, dagger in hand. “But we can point our weapons at them and look intimidating.”

Jestin helped Colt to his feet. The grunge boy shook his head. “Can we? That seems like a stretch.”

“Hey, you’re supposed to be the optimistic one,” Jestin said. “Work with me here.”

Professor Kibb had climbed to his feet, dusting himself off. He didn’t seem taken aback by the sight of the panther at all. “Stand back, please.”

The man picked up his pack and pulled out another cross-shaped reliquary. The Relic fired a burst of white light that disoriented the Inquisitors, staggering them.

“Hiss!” Jestin called for his panther.

The beast leaped back and landed next to his human. Jestin slung the duffel bag over his shoulder and hopped onto the panther, taking hold of the beast by the shoulders.

“Think you can carry all three of us, big guy?” Jestin asked.

The panther answered with a sniff of annoyance, a reluctant agreement.

Inquisitors started to regroup, their sight returning.

Colt stepped closer to the panther. “Have you ever ridden him before?”

“Nope,” Jestin said. “But I’m sure it’ll be fine. Hop on to the magic panther, please.”

Colt climbed onto Hiss’s back behind Jestin, and Professor Kibb climbed on behind Colt, barely batting an eye at the oddity of the situation.

An Inquisitor pulled out his handgun, aimed.

Hiss shot through the air as a streak of motion and mist as bullets blasted through the empty space he left behind.

***

Gideon had asked Everett, Tierra, Aidan, and Zadie to take turns keeping an eye on the school to look out for trouble, in case Jestin or Colt needed help. Aidan detested the idea—he hadn’t taken on the power of Dragon Metal to babysit.

Still, reluctantly, he agreed.

He crouched on a rooftop that looked out upon the school at night.

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