Dragon 3 Chapter 10

The sound of propellers beating the air below me made it clear what had caused Morgana to curse.

“Zach, we have two helicopters in bound. If you can get up to the clouds, we can ditch them.”

I grumbled back a response, continuing to beat my wings as hard as I could. I thought I was doing pretty damn well for a guy who had never tried to fly before. Thankfully, my beast was helping me pull through the bundle of instincts was really paying off its rent right now. But the wings were new, and I wasn’t sure just how far I could push them.

The sound of the beating propellers was growing closer, though, so my wings would just have to hold up a bit longer.

I worked on trying to go higher versus further ahead, trading off, letting them close in on us in an effort to get some cloud cover.

Bullets whizzed past us as a spray of gunfire just barely skimmed past us.

A few of the bullets pinged off my body, showing me just how close that had been.

And it also drove a new realization. The webbing of my wings didn’t look nearly as sturdy as my scales. I knew they wouldn’t hold up to gunfire.

But the clouds were getting closer.

I strained my wings to lift me just a little higher.

It worked, and I poked my head through the cloud and broke out on the other side. It felt almost like I’d stepped into a new world.

“Good job. Now stay high. Most helicopters can’t get this high.” Morgana advised me.

Unfortunately, more bullets popped through the clouds in little puffs as the helicopter’s blades rose up behind me.

“Okay, never mind.” She spat.

My pride dimmed quickly, replacing itself with anger over the pesky contraptions.

With two hard flaps, I rose up and turned.

Morgana braced against my horns as I took in a deep breath and dove. I let the fire build up in my chest as I closed in on them.

The helicopters scrambled, trying to turn as gunmen on the side brought their guns up as they hung out the side of the cabin.

My dragon fire roared out of me at the first helicopter, even as the guns flashed.

The bullets got caught in my fire, melting and losing their trajectory.

The side of the first helicopter warped and crumpled, and I lifted my body just over the melting propellers, feeling the wind off them as I rushed over.

I blew past both of them as the first helicopter became nothing more than a melted tin can and stalled mid air before plummeting.

A roar tore itself from my chest. I felt on top of the world.

“Settle down. Normal people are going to hear that. Besides, you still have one helicopter to deal with, champ.” Morgana reminded me.

The other helicopter had managed to turn, because another distant spray of bullets pinged harmlessly off my scales.

Now that I was getting more comfortable flying, it felt more like I was swimming through the air.

I dipped my wings, swooping down to gain speed as I banked to the right to get a view of my last opponent.

The helicopter tilted forward and was going full steam once again, working to keep up with my speed.

But I noticed the man in the side door had wings as he clung to the handles.

I rumbled at Morgana, keeping my eyes on him.

“I see him too. You just got your wings. Might I suggest not trying aerial combat with a seasoned angle?” She said sarcastically.

While I understood her point, the first helicopter had gone down pretty quickly. Maybe I could take this one the same.

I circled back to let loose another blast of fire.

This time, though, they were ready. A screen of light blocked my fire from torching the second helicopter.

And as soon as my breath was out, a flash of white wings shot out of the helicopter as the angel beelined for me.

This angel was quick, but I had a feeling my top speed would out wing him any day of the week. My wings were far larger than his.

As we approached each other, he ducked his wings and dove under me. I felt a sharp pain lance across my stomach as the angel pulled out of a dive on the other side of me, his sword wet with my blood.

“You worry about the helicopter.” Morgana shouted over the wind, and I felt her balancing on my head and walking down my neck. I tried to keep my neck steady as I turned my head to watch the helicopter.

The angel was circling, rising higher into the air above me, no doubt to take another diving attack at me.

But I trusted Morgana to have my back. I could feel her squaring up her stance between my wings.

As I watched, the helicopter banked away. Apparently, dropping off the angel had been their job.

Like shit I was going to let it end there.

It would seem that the helicopter had done their job as they turned and tried to outrun me. I headed after them.

“Zach.” Morgana warned me, but I didn’t need it. I knew the angel would be about to attack once more.

I decided to try picking up my speed.

I tucked my wings close to my body, Morgana pressed herself close to me as to not get thrown off my back.

Then I hurtled myself down, aiming for the helicopter that was descending as it tried to seek refuge back at the templar base and within range of the weapons on the ground.

My body soared downwards, my weight turning me into a giant golden missile hurtling through the air. I felt like I was going a million miles an hour.

My tail twitched behind me trying to guide my descent.

In just seconds, I caught up to the helicopter. My claws came out, grabbing the tail even as the propeller blades cut into my arm.

I ignored the pain, riding the high that came with my success.

The helicopter crumpled under my claws, and I crushed the cabin as I tore the tail of the helicopter from the body.

The blades bent out of shape as I forcefully stopped them, receiving a few more cuts along my arms.

Satisfied that the helicopter was done, for I pushed off of it just as steel rang on my back. Morgana had blocked the angel.

The angel flew over my head, and I snapped my wings open trying to slow my fall. My webbing strained in a sensation I’d never felt before. The closest thing I could equate it to was like stretching your legs past where they were comfortable going and then having someone force it further.

Metal clanging continued out on my back in quick succession as Morgana tried to protect my wings. The angel was repeatedly diving at me trying to cut my wings and send me falling to my death.

I heard Morgana curse as pain laced through my wings further out. More clanging sounded as Morgana caught up to his moves, parrying his blows.

There was little I could do at the moment, so I focused on not slamming into the ground. In an ideal world, I didn’t go splat. That had my sole focus.

I careened over the compound, spotting the barn where we’d stored the car in the distance. I aimed towards it, but I knew I was still going too fast.

The beast inside of me was screaming to pull up.

Another burst of pain from my wing surged through my body, and I could tell that I’d just lost quite a bit of functionality on my right wing as it struggled to maintain the same lift as the left.

Throwing my claws forward, I braced for impact as I cratered into the ground, sliding for dozens of yards.

Everything hurt as my bones were jarred from the impact.

The angel floated nearby, a smug smile on his face.

Morgana leapt off my back and blurred forward. “Fucker, fight me on the ground!” She made it happen, too. She jumped, taking him by surprise as she grabbed him and threw her body backward, slamming him down into the ground.

He tried to blast her with celestial magic. It flung her off, but I could tell he was surprised that it hadn’t done the damage he’d expected.

Not about to give him the chance to get into the air again, Morgana darted forward with supernatural speed, carving his wing off. She finished the combo with a roundhouse kick straight to his jaw.

Stunned on the ground, he made a perfect target. I gathered my strength and jumped on him, my maw open wide for another angelic snack.

His bones crunched as my mouth closed in around him. I licked my lips as I looked over at Morgana, my body slumping slightly.

Feeling the weariness of my first flight and the damage I’d sustained creeping back up on me, I shifted back to human.

“Can you still get the car out?” Morgana asked.

“I think so.” Gathering my strength, I made one more push, picking up the car and placing it back on the road.

I could hear noise in the distance. The town was coming alive. I had a feeling there would be more than a few additional helicopters about to be searching for us.

“I’ll drive.” Morgana pushed me into the passenger seat, throwing my torn pants and the templar sword in the back. “It’s the least I can do after all you’ve done to help me.”

“I’d go to the ends of the earth.” Now that Morgana was healed, it was time to have a different conversation. And I wasn’t about to dance around it. “You are mine, Morgana.”

She did a double take before she put the car into gear and slammed the gas. “Is this really the time to be having this conversation?”

“Not much conversation needed. I knew you wouldn’t want to do this while you were still weak, but now you are healed. And I’m not letting you avoid this anymore. Morgana, you love me.” I settled into the passenger seat, buckling my seatbelt. With Morgana driving, I’d likely need it.

“Yeah? Well I don’t know if I deserve to love.” Morgana brooded as she floored the car and tore out of the town.

I looked out the back window. Our car wasn’t exactly stealthy with its neon green flames. I knew it was only a matter of time before one of the helicopters came to investigate us.

“Lucky for you, I think you do. You are one of my mates.”

She snorted and shook her head. “Ridiculous. You can’t just—”

“It’s done, Morgana. You’ll either have to accept it or take me down. Because my dragon counts you as a mate, and it won’t let you go far.” There was no arguing. I knew from fighting Morgana that if you gave her any room, she would take the opportunity. I was holding my ground.

“Fine. We’ll talk about it later.”

My jaw crackled as it shifted slightly. Realizing what was happening, I leaned over, letting the magic gather in my jaws.

I smiled to myself, not giving her a chance to sense my next move.

I bit down hard on Morgana’s shoulder, imprinting whatever magic had created Jadelyn’s mark into the bite.

“What the fuck?!” Morgana screamed, barely staying on the road.

“There. Now no more discussion is needed. You’re claimed.”

For a brief moment, Morgana’s face flickered with vulnerability. “You have no idea what you just got yourself into.” She swallowed, clearly feeling conflicting emotions. “We need to get out of here, but then we really should talk.”

I leaned back in my seat, feeling comfortable for the first time. My dragon was satisfied. “Let’s just get back to Sentarshaden.”

Morgana wove around a car that was stopped at a stop sign. I nearly put my feet up. I felt so relaxed at that moment.

“You say that like we don’t have three more helicopters after us. Zach, the templars will put everything they can into stopping us.”

“I have faith in you.” I replied.

Morgana leaned over the wheel and reached into her bra before awkwardly pulling out an assault rifle. “Lay down some cover fire for me then, sweety?”

The way she said it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. “Of course, babe.” I threw a pet name back at her, but it didn’t seem to have any effect on her.

I rolled down my window, exposing myself to the freezing Austria air. Taking aim, I fired it at the inbound helicopters.

Sparks pinged off the frame, and a big crack went through the front windshield. But they were too far off for me to get a clean shot.

“Don’t worry, I just want them to think twice about getting too close.” Morgana pushed the car to its limit, outpacing the helicopters.

I watched the helicopters, aware that soon we would approach the switchbacks. While we might outrun them at a straight shot, they’d overtake us quickly as we wound around the alps.

“Think you can shift again for me? We aren’t going to outrun them for long.” Morgana had clearly been following the same line of thinking.

“What are you thinking? Not sure I have the wings for flight right now.”

“I’m feeling like a little dragon off roading through the mountains?” Morgana smiled.

I laughed, realizing what she was asking. “Let’s do it.”

Morgana did a hard turn off the road into a snowy forest. The car only made it about a dozen yards before it got stuck.

When it did, we threw ourselves out of the car and Morgana stuffed it away in her spatial pocket.

I was already shifting, but this time, I was silver in the frigid mountain.

Morgana hopped on my back as I tore through the woods, keeping my head low and letting out a massive bank of icy fog to hide us amid the alpine forest.

“Fuck, that’s cold. We need to talk about this whole multiple colors thing.” Morgana rubbed her shoulders, riding on the back of my neck.

“I tried to read your books.” For once, I spoke coherently. I could speak!

“Good luck. Half of those are in dead languages. But congratulations on learning to talk.” I could practically hear the smug smile on her face.

“Minor victories. Wings and talking.” I said, happy about the progress.

The helicopters were circling overhead, but between the dense trees and the icy fog I had created, they hadn’t pinpointed us yet.

I kept the fog rolling as I ran through the forest. In the cold air, the fog hung in the forest and even expanded outwards, rolling down the mountain, creating a massive bank of fog.

We kept at this for the better part of an hour until I thought that my dragon throat was going to give out on me.

“Think we can duck out, shift back, and find some place to hole up for the night?” I suggested.

“Yeah. Might be our best chance.” Morgana peered out of the fog. Up above, I could hear three distinct helicopters. All this time they hadn’t given up and likely there were far more than three out there searching for us.

Running through the woods a while longer, I spewed miles’ worth of chilling fog. Once it spanned between two small towns, I shifted back.

“Here.” She handed me the templar sword, once again using my pants to not touch it directly. She seemed scared of what it would mean if she did.

I pulled the spatial artifact out of the pocket and tucked away the sword before pulling out a spare pair of clothes.

Morgana waited there, hand on her hips as she stared at the bra pad. “Missed me that much?”

“I found it when I was looking for clues about where you’d gone.”

“So you decided to keep the padding to my bra?”

“It’s a bag of holding.”

“It’s bra padding.” She said, the corner of her lips twitching. If I let her she was going to rage me about this for the next decade.

I waved her away. “Let's get going.”

She put on her amulet with a smirk still lingering on her face, and her skin tone turned human again. She tucked her ears under a big woolen hat as she hid her corset and leather pants under more normal winter attire.

The helicopters were searching overhead, casting a large net. But that meant they couldn’t figure out where we were. I’d created miles’ worth of fog; they couldn’t cover all the ground.

We slipped away into the nearby town, both of us appearing like visitors.

Jackbooted thugs and square jawed cherubs were making themselves known, roaming the town as we ducked inside a motel.

“Crazy out there.” The lady at the desk said, looking up from her book. “That fog came out of no where, but good for business.”

“Nuts on the highway. Thought it would be better to spend the night and start again in the morning.” I put on my best smile.

“Uh huh.” She looked Morgana over distractedly, a flicker of heat in her eyes. I didn’t blame her. Morgana was gorgeous.

“Room for the night?” I pressed her.

“I have to warn you, the thugs going around town are going to come knocking, and there’s not much I can do to stop them from rummaging through your stuff or messing up your room.”

I respected her candor.

“Thanks.” Morgana said with a smile and patted her on the hand before grabbing my hand and pulling me away.

“What’s that for?” I asked, confused.

“Permission to break into one of the rooms. If we aren’t on her books, then she won’t have to report us to the thugs.”

“Somehow, that isn’t the message I got.” I squinted at Morgana, but she just strolled around the corner and slipped a finger into the keypad before it beeped angrily several times and clicked green.

She pushed open the door and did a quick sweep of the room. “We have no car out front, and they have no reason to check this room. It should be safe for now, but we can’t be too careful.” She braced a chair up against the door.

We didn’t even turn on the light as we moved to the back of the room, crouching low in the shadows.

We sat in the quiet for a moment before she spoke. “Zach, I need you to do me a favor.”

“Anything.”

“Survive. If I’m going to open my heart for the first time in a long while, I need it not to be short.” She said slowly as if even talking about it was opening old wounds.

I realized given her past and the troubles that surrounded her; she wasn’t closed off for no reason. “Of course. I’ll be here and by your side, no matter what comes our way. The templars aren’t going to be the thing that takes us down. Neither is your situation with the elves.”

“And the vampires.” She reminded me. “I feel like I’ve cursed you.”

Grabbing her hand, I pulled her close even as a commotion happened outside the motel. I could hear men yelling and someone screaming a few doors down as a door banged.

“They are checking the rooms.” Morgana said calmly.

But there were more doors banging than people shouting. I realized they were going to check all of them. “Move the chair. I think we can hide in the ceiling.” Looking up, they were cheap drop ceiling tiles.

Despite them being thorough, they wouldn’t be that thorough.

Morgana was quick, moving the chair back into place as I lifted one of the ceiling tiles and hoisted her up before climbing in myself.

The little aluminum braces gave slightly under my weight. I froze, trying not to shift my body weight.

I breathed a sigh of relief as they managed to hold.

The door to our room slammed open, and I could hear boots thumping their way around the room. The clack of straps against guns felt like bombs in the otherwise silent room.

“All clear.”

“I told you, the two I mentioned turned back.” The lady from the front desk sounded tired.

“We still need to check every room.” A gruff replied.

The door closed behind them, and I cracked a ceiling tile. The coast was clear.

I jumped down, and Morgana followed me shortly after. We quickly put the chair back in place against the door handle. I turned to check out the window, confirming they were moving on.

“Things should calm down, at least for a while. They’ll look elsewhere.” She commented from behind me.

When I turned around, she was prowling up to me, her hips swaying.

As she stepped up to me, her nails traced down my jawline in a way that covered me with goose bumps.

“You don’t know what you signed up for.” She kissed my neck softly, leaving a soft wet spot behind. She slowly blew on it, causing a soft chill to run along my neck, but I quickly realized it was combined with the venom in her saliva taking effect.

It wasn’t as strong as her bite, but it gave me a light high that made me feel like I was floating back up above the clouds.