“I want that idol, and all this will go away.” He gestured with one arm, but his eyes never lost their lock on hers.
“I don’t have the damned thing. I have no idea why you think I do.”
“Your father left it somewhere, and your pendant is the key. I don’t believe you.”
“And I don’t give a shit what you think.” She suddenly quit pulling on the shovel and gave it a shove toward Percy. She released her grip and turned to run toward Drake.
Percy shifted instantly into his skeletal bat form, and his talons lashed out to grab her. She ducked and twisted, and she almost made it away from him.
But one of his claws caught her just under the ribs on her left side and sliced her midsection open like a filleted fish.
White hot pain flashed behind her eyes as her hands gripped the gash across her stomach. Her fingers were sticky with her own blood as she spun away from Percy and fell toward the ground.
She screamed as she hit the dirt hard, her hands not losing their grip on her wound. Her breath came in pants as she struggled to remain conscious through the blazing pain.
A roar ripped through the air around her. She twisted her neck to see Drake up on his back legs, his wings whipping up a frenzy as his cry deafened them all. The wyverns all paused in their acts just as Drake’s mouth opened and an inferno encompassed them all.
Colton suddenly leapt upwards and beat his wings to get out of the way as fire ripped through the crowd. Flash after flash exploded as the creatures were destroyed. The plethora of colors mingled with the dots already floating in front of her eyes from the pain. She tried to push herself backwards, but Percy grabbed her ankle.
She tried to kick out at him, but the tensing of her muscles made the blood flow stronger between her fingers. Another wave of agony made her lightheaded, and she closed her eyes momentarily to allow it to pass.
"Where's the idol?" Percy's raspy voice growled at her as he yanked on her leg.
She didn't bother answering. She didn't have the strength to waste on a question that she didn't have an answer to anyhow. Surviving the agonizing torture of the cut across her stomach was more important.
A shadow suddenly passed over her and plotted out the sun. She looked up at the same time Percy did. So intent was he on holding her captive, he had let his attention be distracted from Drake. Now the dragon hung overhead, and Percy didn't have time to react.
One of Drake's massive wings acted as a bat and caught Percy across the chest. He lost his grip on her leg as he flew like a baseball across the compound until he disappeared from sight. Two of the other wyverns broke off from their attempts to control Drake and flew in the direction Percy had disappeared.
Chaos continued as the swarm tried to overtake the dragons. Drake let out a mighty stream of fire and destroyed several that were approaching him. He landed close to her and used his tail to club one of the goons into the ground.
Joey's breathing became rapid and shallow, and her skin was cold and clammy. "Drake..." she called weakly.
She barely saw him land and shift back to two legs before he ran toward her.
Chapter Twenty Eight: The Final Showdown
Drake Hale
Drake ripped off his shirt as he ran to where Joey laid on the ground. His heart was in his throat as he moved her hand to get a better look at the wound that was bleeding underneath it.
"Stay with me, baby," he murmured as his heart dropped out of his body. The wound was deep, and she was in big trouble.
"I love you."
He bent toward her, unsure if he had heard what he thought he had. "Say that again?" He also wanted to keep her aware.
"I love you, Drake. I don't want to die without saying it."
"Well," he pushed his shirt under her and pulled it around her waist, "I love you, too, and you're just going to have to get used to hearing that because you're not going to die."
She sucked in her breath as he tied the shirt tightly around her. "This should keep better pressure on that cut until we can get you some help."
She gripped the knot on the shirt that he had created with the sleeves as she stared at him. "Where are we?"
"Just outside Denver."
"He wants to put your whole family in cages."
