My teeth sink in, destroying the pathetic leathery membrane in an instant. That should do it. That should ground the bitch. And in a fight between a T-Rex and a dragon, I will put my money on a T-Rex every time.
But as she spins, she roars, slashing with talons. Then fire blasts my chest. Blinding, agonizing.
I growl and release her.
***
Samantha
The tear in Talos’s wing is utterly debilitating.
I hit the ground, rolling and tucking in my injured wing, and do my best to control the other. It will heal soon, but it can’t heal if I’m trying to fly. I’ve been grounded for the time being, at least the next few minutes.
I suck in a breath, filling Talos’s massive lungs. Once inside me, I feel the air heating up. Might as well be a furnace in there. For all I know, it is. Or some version of one. When the air is ready, when it threatens to burn through Talos’s lungs, his ribs, and his flesh, I turn toward the T-Rex. If he thought he had it bad just a few minutes ago, well...
The eruption of fire is white-hot. It’s also laser focused. A beam of heat and light straight from my mouth. It hits him square in the chest.
And I pour it on, hot and furious.
***
Mark
Pain; it’s all I know.
My vision is nothing but smoke and fire. My skin is melting. My chest is splitting open. No, it can’t end like this. I was born for more than this. I’ve barely begun infecting humanity. And all that glorious money is waiting for me. Money, mansions, private planes. Women. It’s all in the cards for me.
I roar, surging toward her like a burning house with legs. I use my size, my weight. My rage.
I slam into her, and together we tumble down a steep slope, and land in a raging river. We sink to the bottom, with me on top of her. The fire that had erupted in my flesh has been snuffed out, thank god. Now it’s a fair fight.
I rear back, jaws wide...
***
Samantha
Switch with me, Sam,says Talos in my head, and I immediately see the logic of his words.
I do just that, summoning the single flame and seeing my little human self inside it. She rushes toward me, as I rush toward her, and soon, my human self is pinned underwater, under the weight of a freakin’ T-Rex. Its massive jaws snap shut where Talos’s own massive head had just been. Now, there’s only water. And yeah, I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have survived such a bite, but luckily, I’m far, far below the dinosaur. Also, I can’tdrown, so I just gather my wits and teleport back up the slope, to the ledge I had first landed on as Talos.
Down below, moving in the shallows of the river is an honest-to-God Tyrannosaurus Rex, a fossil come to life. I’m not sure what Mark’s endgame is here, or why he was so hellbent on completing the ritual. Max had said something about fulfilling his destiny or some such crap. But whatever it is, one thing is glaringly obvious: as a shifter, there’s only one way to kill him: silver to the heart. I don’t usually go around killing things that annoy me, but I will have to make an exception with Mark. He’s too big, too angry, and too powerful. Pretty much nothing can stop him.
Heck, Talos barely can, and look what he got for the effort: a ruined wing and pinned at the bottom of a river.
***
Years ago, I toured Europe with the gang; specifically, a castle in Ireland.
There, I had seen a wall of weapons, where I had been repulsed by one such weapon: it had been a lance made of silver. Wooden handle, but silver-tipped. I had logged it in the memory bank for possible future use.
Well, the future is now.
As I watch the T-Rex scrabble its way from the river depths and onto the bank, where it drops and hunches over, gasping, I make the decision and summon the single flame once more. In it, I see the wall of weapons and make the leap...
Instantly, I’m in front of a stone wall, confronted with dozens of swords, maces, lances, and spears. I hear voices coming from a side corridor, tourists likely.
Which spear is the silver-tipped spear? I let my repulsion to the metal direct me to it, which it does rather quickly. There, resting atop two iron spikes, is the spear in question, tarnishedbut sharp. Little did its maker know when forging the thing all those centuries ago that it would be used to kill a real dragon, though technically, Talos is closer to a dragon than Mark is, but close enough.
