Scales by Nicole Conway

Author:Nicole Conway [Conway, Nicole]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Young Adult, Fantasy, Dragons, Mythological Creatures, Teen Romance, Adventure, YA Lit
Publisher: Owl Hollow Press, LLC
Published: 2019-12-03T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

I burst out of the rubble with a roar, shaking off the power cords and shards of metal that bounced harmlessly off my powerful form. The crowd parted for me as I touched down next to the rubble of the stage. Everywhere I looked, flashes from camera phones flickered and blinked.

I glowered at my audience, who seemed to be watching me with baited breath. I guess they were waiting to see if I’d attack, leave, or say something else. They murmured to one another, whispering and speculating with eyes fixed on me. When I took a step, the entire crowd gasped and shrieked in alarm. Well, all except for the small group crowded around Claire and Damien.

“The ambulance is still ten minutes out,” someone shouted. “Lay her down flat. Try not to move her any more than necessary.”

“That’s too long!” Damien yelled hysterically. He whirled around and stumbled, tripping over his own feet when he found me looming right over him.

Our gazes locked, and Damien froze as though paralyzed with fear.

“What are you?” he murmured.

“Someone who wants to help,” I replied.

“Like you helped Clint Ackeridge?” someone shouted from the crowd.

I narrowed my eyes over my shoulder, though there were too many people for me to identify who said it. “He deserved far worse than what I did to him.”

I slicked my scaly ears back, looking between Damien and the rest of the crowd distrustfully. They were still filming me. I was probably being streamed live right this second. That meant people—people like police or the FBI—would be coming for me soon. They might even shoot at me, and I wasn’t sure how my dragon scales would hold up against gunfire. I wasn’t eager to find out.

I had to get out of here.

Crouching down, I peered at Claire. She lay on a coat someone had spread out on the snow for her. Her face was flecked in a few scrapes, but she still took my breath away when she smiled up at me.

“Hang on, Claire.” I tried to make my gruff, dragon voice softer. “You’ll be okay.”

“You know my name?” Her expression was mystified as she touched the scales on my cheek.

“Of course, I’m a huge cello fan.” I put my hand over hers, relishing the delicate warmth of her palm against my face.

“You’re…incredible.”

I wondered if she could see me blushing in this scaly form.

“You should go. Fly away before they try to catch you,” she said.

“Ask me to stay and I will.”

Her smile wasn’t really a smile at all. It never reached her eyes as she gazed up at me with a subtle desperation I didn’t understand. Why was she so worried about me? Why wasn’t she afraid?

“I’ll be okay. Please, just go.” Her voice grew quiet. “Get away from here as fast as you can.”

What else could I say? In the distance, I could hear the wail of approaching sirens. Police or ambulance, it didn’t make much difference. I was out of time.

I flared my wings, braced for takeoff, and gave Damien one more hard look.

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