Page 61 of Dark Dragon’s Wolf

The dragon moved her head again, gesturing to encompass the room and the shadows it contained.

Suddenly, the cavern seemed to fill with smoke. All the shadows, the whole room full, swirled around until Tristan could hardly see. Then they gathered together in front of the dragon, condensing into a tighter and tighter ball, inky dark with just the hint of a bright light in the center.

The dragon blew on it, and it became encased in a translucent shield, like a tiny glass bubble about an inch in diameter. It floated over to Tristan, hovering in front of him.

The dragon sang one long, low note, and Tristan felt a metal chain materialize around his neck. The ball floated over and fastened itself to the chain.

the dragon told him.

“I thought that’s what we were doing.”

The dragon continued as if he hadn’t spoken.

Then her eyes widened, the lightning flashing more strongly.

Gray fog filled the cavern, and Tristan lost sight of the dragon. A wind took him, rushing him away, and he heard faintly,

And then he was back in the room, with half a dozen shifters staring down at him.

Tristan sat up, his hand going automatically to his chest. Around his neck was the chain and the glass ball, inky shadows still captured inside it, along with that elusive spark of light that might be real, or just a reflection.

“What the fuck is that?” Flynn asked.

“A gift from Mayah’s dragon. And no, I don’t know what it does. Apparently, I’m supposed to break it at some vital but unspecified moment.”

Flynn just shook his head. “Fucking dragons,” he muttered.

“Hey,” Cazbek said. “I resemble that remark.” He and Xander bumped fists.

“Anything else?” Thorne asked. “Anything useful?”

“Yeah,” Tristan said, getting off the table and wishing his head didn’t hurt quite so much. “They’ve drugged Mayah, and her dragon can’t sense her anymore. We have to do this thing now.”

Chapter 28

Mayah lay on the mattress in her cell, watching the walls go in and out, in and out, bulging and receding like the cell was breathing.

Maybe it was. Maybe she was in the belly of a monster. Maybe it was breathing, not her, and if it stopped, she’d stop too and die.

Or maybe this is just a very, very bad trip, she told herself. A little tiny unicorn came prancing out of the wall. It lifted its tail and pooped a rainbow of sparkles all over her.

She could feel them tickling her skin, and she kept trying to brush them off but they wouldn’t go, and she was all sparkly forever. She hoped Tristan liked sparkly girls.

The unicorn turned to an evil elf who gave her the finger, and then turned into a dancing one-eyed dick wearing an elf hat.

“I like Tristan’s dick better,” she told it, and it lost its erection and went limp. That made her laugh, and then she couldn’t stop.

She wished she could talk to Tristan again, but she couldn’t. She tried and tried, but she couldn’t reach him at all.

At least he knew where she was. And he was coming. Ha. Coming.

The door to her cell opened, and a man walked in. No, a dragon. That asshole dragon who’d trapped her here.

He stood over her and looked down at her. “You’re pathetic,” he said.

“You’re fucked up,” she answered, still lying back on her mattress. “You work for the bad guys. And I’m totally covered in poop sparkles. They tickle.”

He rolled his eyes.