Page 81 of Red Dragon’s Heart

She breathed a sigh of relief. If he could move, her plan was at least possible. Especially because Eric had been too smug so far to search her. She hadn’t had a weapon when she first arrived, and it didn’t occur to him she’d have one now.

Eric said, “Now I’m going to make you watch while Larkin finishes the experiment. Say goodbye to the dragon you knew, and watch his transformation into a supersoldier, under my command.”

Maddie turned on him. “Why are you doing this? Do you really think I’m still going to work for you if you destroy him? You’re crazy.”

He was, she realized. There was a feral light in his eyes. “I don’t care what happens to you now,” he snarled. “I just might throw you to the creature and watch him rip you apart.”

Zak struggled to get to his feet. He still had the collar on.

Larkin had been prepping his syringe while Eric was taunting her. Now he stepped up to the cell, syringe in one hand, and a long pole in the other. He hit a button on the pole, and sparks flew from it. It was a giant taser, she realized. To disable Zak so Larkin could remove the collar and shoot him up.

She had to move before he did that.

Larkin put his hand to the scanner on the outside of the cell, and opened the door. Eric grabbed Maddie and shoved her towards the wall of bars. She wriggled and pretended to fight him, but let him push her closer.

Eric slammed Maddie painfully against the bars. “Watch!”

Maddie got her hand into her jacket pocket and grabbed the key to the collar. She yelled, “Zak! Key! Catch!” and threw the disc through the bars.

Eric snarled, “What the—”

The key flashed past Larkin, hit the floor and bounced once, and Zak put his hand up and caught it. Then he pressed it against the collar. There was a flash of blue light, and the collar was on the floor.

Be a dragon, Maddie prayed. Be a dragon.

But he wasn’t. With a huge roar, the monster burst out of Zak’s skin and leaped at Larkin.

Larkin flung out his long taser, striking the monster with a sizzling flash. It froze in mid-air and dropped to the ground. Larkin dove for a button on the wall and punched it. A force field sprang up across the middle of the cell, trapping Zak in the back. Larkin backed out of the cell.

Eric pulled Maddie around to face him. “What the hell did you do?”

She didn’t care what he was saying. All she could hear was Mikah’s voice in her mind: The heart of the hoard… a piece of the dragon’s heart…

There was still a way to remind Zak he was a dragon, and it was lying around her neck.

Maddie kicked Eric and yanked herself free, pulling out the gun that Rebel had given her and ducking past Larkin into the cell. Dimly she heard one of the security guards yell, “She has weapon!”

She felt the bullets almost before she heard the explosions. They thudded into her like two hits from a sledgehammer, and she stumbled through the force field to land at the feet of the monster.

Chapter 34

Maddie lay on the floor, staring up into the monster’s eyes. She hadn’t felt any pain when the shots first hit her, but now it was overtaking her like a freight train. And there was something warm and wet all over her. Blood…

This was bad.

The monster snuffled at her, and then whined. Somewhere, faintly through the pain, she heard Eric yelling. “Get her out of there! I need her! Larkin!”

Ha. So he hadn’t really intended to throw her to the monster. Too late…

“Zak,” she said, her voice nothing but a raspy whisper. It was getting hard to breathe. The pain was growing, but she was starting to feel light. Floaty. She wanted to see Zak again. She tried to raise her hand to the monster’s face, but it was so heavy…

“Zak,” she said, louder. And then the monster rippled and Changed, and he was there, arms wrapping around her. He was so warm… she was so cold…

“Why did you come back?” he was demanding, rocking back and forth. “You could have been safe.”

“Not… without you.”

He shook his head. “I’m not worth it.”