I pumped my wings, desperate to climb higher. My muscles shrieked, my body faltered. Yellow fletching jutted from my chest, poison burning my veins. Dizziness made my head swim. I need to fly out of range.
“Get the grappler!”
Rage boiled. My throat heated, my dragonflame sparking to life.
“Shields up,” the leader barked. “He’s ignited his torch.”
Orange light illuminated my chest, my dragonflame blazing. Pressure built, and I launched a stream of liquid fire at the scrambling shadows on the ground.
Over the hunters, a protective dome took shape. My flames rained down on the metallic surface, causing it to glow red. Shouts rang out.Mmm. Roasted meat.
My fire guttered, and the shields snapped down. The frame of a cart loaded with a massive crossbow rolled forward.
Organized bastards.
“Fire!”
I banked hard. My injured shoulder lagged, the turn sluggish.
The grappling hook screamed through the air. Metal claws sank into my neck, pierced my scales, shredding flesh. Agony detonated, white-hot.
“Take up the slack! Set the hooks!”
I slammed into an invisible wall. The rope yanked tight, and the barbs tore deeper. Pain threatened to cripple me. Spots danced before my eyes.
“That’s it, boys. Reel him in.”
The shortened rope tore through muscle. I thrashed, wings floundering.
“Ready the net.”
Did they think they reeled in a flarking fish? I was done with flopping around like one.
Rather than resist the pull, I spun and dove. Dragons were not prey to be hunted, but predators. Scaled monsters designed to burn, to destroy.
“Incoming!” screamed a high-pitched voice.
“Watch out!”
“Shoot the bastard!”
Closer. Pain lanced my opposite shoulder. Another arrow. Still, my claws closed on a writhing figure. Got him. My talons pierced the hunter’s meaty flesh. Bones snapped between my toes. His agonized gurgle was music to my ears.
Weakness turned my frame to lead.
“He’s going down!”
“Launch the net!”
Weighted ropes ensnared my body, and my wings smashed against my heaving flanks.No control!I crashed into a cove of trees. Trunks splintered, battering my abused frame. Rocks and soil scraped against my sliding scales. Oxygen punched from my lungs, and the world stilled.
Cheering exploded into the night.
Darkness rushed in, and I struggled to stay conscious.
“We got ‘em.” Boots hammered the ground, and the hunters raced to surround me.
Shift. I needed to shift. As a man, I could slip free.
