Page 45 of Mad Dragon of Chaos

Pearl Street.

The Codfather.

The street names didn’t help him as much as he’d thought they would, but The Codfather lit up bright in his brain. It was a tiny mom-and-pop fish restaurant that served the best beer-battered cod and salty fries he’d ever had. Washerlane District in Ash Row. He knew exactly where it was.

After tucking his phone away, Shey revved the engine and raced forward, heading to the restaurant. As soon as he turned, he realized Adrian was weaving his way northwest, heading toward Haru.

There were fewer people on the street in Ash Row, but the streets were dangerously narrow, with cars abandoned in the middle of the road or even half on the sidewalks, slowing Shey’s progress. He swore and swerved here and there, fighting forward. Until a screeching roar sliced through the blackness.

Shey jerked on the brakes and slid the bike sideways, threatening to fly out from underneath him. Just ahead was a giant purple squid with tentacles as long as buildings were tall, and a bright-yellow eye as big as a person dominated one side of its head. Its beaklike maw snapped open and closed, letting out pained cries. It was a monster straight out of a nightmare. Specifically, the nightmare of a dragon who hated the ocean.

“Get out of here! Run!”

Silver knives flashed through the darkness and hammered into the squid, though they appeared to make no dent in the massive creature. Adrian had placed his body between the monster and the citizens who were attempting to flee the surrounding buildings.

Shey ran to him, grasping the thread of power that ran with him. While pulling on all the energy he could muster, he threw out his hand much like he’d seen Adrian and Caelan do. He was hoping for a sword made of ice. What he got was a thick spike of ice that flew like a shot through the air and sliced one of the squid’s tentacles, severing it. It fell to the ground with a thick, wet flop. The creature screamed and cringed, pulling its remaining tentacles close to itself.

Adrian twisted around, revealing a heavily bruised and swollen face. Dried blood streaked his brow, but his gaze was clear. “Shey?”

With a grin, Shey ripped off his helmet and tossed it aside. “About time I found you.”

Adrian opened his mouth to reply, but the squid cried out, reclaiming their attention. Shey pummeled the monster with spikes of ice and covered its tentacles with thick layers of ice, freezing it, while Adrian sent more knives into its body until the thing stopped moving.

“Sharks…and now this thing…” Adrian panted, waving a limp hand at the dead sea monster. “Haru and I are going to have a very, very long talk.”

“Or at least teach him to swim.” Adrian started to laugh at Shey’s quip, but he swayed as if his legs were giving out on him.

Shey lurched forward and grabbed him by both arms, steadying him. “What the hell happened?”

Adrian winced. His left hand clutched Shey’s triceps, steadying himself. “Explosion. I don’t remember it, but I heard my captors talking. I think they were trying to get Haru, but they lost him in the chaos. Ended up with me. I…I don’t know. Everything’s fuzzy. Probably from the concussion.”

“My friend, under any other circumstances, I’d be rushing you straight to the hospital⁠—”

Adrian’s eyes flashed open, and his hand tightened painfully on Shey’s arm. “No! I need to get to Haru!”

Shey’s thoughts exactly. He turned Adrian toward the motorcycle. “Think you can hang on to me?”

“Even if I couldn’t, I’d demand that you tie my body to yours. Let’s get going.”

Shey scooped up the helmet he’d thrown aside and shoved it at Adrian. The man already had a concussion. He didn’t want to risk his brain anymore.

Adrian lifted the helmet to the top of his head and hesitated. “Where’s Tyche?”

“He went to find Haru.”

All the color leached from Adrian’s face, and he swallowed hard. “We need to hurry.”

Shey nodded and climbed onto the motorcycle without another word. He wasn’t sure if Adrian was more worried about Haru or Tyche. In truth, Shey wasn’t sure who he was more worried about, either.

SEVENTEEN

TYCHE

Tyche’s heart lodged itself in his throat and refused to move as he raced through the crowded streets. He’d ridden motorcycles on several occasions, but none of them had been this fast or powerful. One benefit of being royalty, he supposed.

As he left the palace behind, he willed a bit of good luck to follow Prince Shey. It was the only protection he could offer for now. The best way to keep Shey and all the residents of Sirelis safe was to find Haru.

Of course, finding the mad dragon wasn’t the hard part. Tyche merely turned the motorcycle toward the heart of the darkness that claimed the city and plunged in. The world around him warped and twisted. As he got closer to the dragon, illusions popped up with increasing regularity. He grew accustomed to sharks, octopi, and other sea life with giant teeth appearing randomly. He dodged and skirted them all as best he could. There was nothing to be gained by trying to confront them. It was a waste of time.