Page 89 of Ensnared

And it’s headed right for Azar.

I know he’s the devil, and I know that he’s the reason the humans haven’t stood a chance against the dragons. I even saw him roasting an entire neighborhood. I should be giddy. I should be relieved. This should be a patriotic moment, full of glee and joy.

But he’s also saved me.

Twice.

Axel says they’re only here to recover something they left, and he says that their attempts to communicate have all been met with attacks. Maybe that’s why a tiny part of me is sad at the thought that Azar’s about to be destroyed. Even so, I know it needs to happen. I know that the world must be safe again, and that means the dragons have to go. Blowing them to kingdom come is the right move, even if it destroys me and all the other humans still captured within Houston.

But Azar doesn’t run. He doesn’t move even a hair.

He waits, unconcerned, until the warhead’s about to hit, and then he spreads his wings, opens his giant maw. . .

And he swallows it.

Gordon’s bounding away as quickly as possible, and I’m turned all the way around in the saddle, grasping the top of it with both hands, but I’m quite sure I see it correctly.

Azar just swallowed the nuclear bomb that the humans sent to kill him. He doesn’t even shudder. A moment later, his entire body shakes and he lights up, like a phosphorescent jellyfish, or a lantern that’s just been lit with a candle. Then he squats back on his haunches and launches into the air.

He looks ready to unleash hell.

Gordon stops running then, and we both look up at the sky.

The next few moments are some of the saddest of my life—the grimmest, too. Azar’s far faster than I realized, pivoting seemingly on a dime to completely roast jets anytime they come anywhere near.

Go, go, go, I want to cry out. Escape while you can.

Two more warheads are deployed, judging by their size, and two more are swallowed. Each time, he lights up a little brighter than the last, like they’re powering him up or something. Each time, my heart sinks just a bit lower.

In spite of their massive failure, the humans don’t pull back. I suppose if this is their big push, the generals won’t call them back easily.

I’m stuck counting, my heart sinking a little more with each, as Azar melts at least a dozen jets into slag. Others he bats down or redirects into the top of a building, but they all go the same place. Into another section of the skeleton of Houston.

My city.

My people.

Life as we knew it.

And now it’s all just gone.

He’s not alone, of course. All the dragons who were gathered for his little meeting surge into the fray. The earth dragons, all except Gordon, have rushed to the perimeter, ready to take out surface troops and crush tanks. Water dragons hit the rivers, creeks, and lakes, running, diving, and surging toward the gulf. The electro dragons join Azar, diving and striking everything that moves in the air above, ensuring that the humans can’t do anything but fall back. . .or just fall.

I can’t help worrying about Sammy, Coral, Jade, and Gideon. He seemed so sure that they’d make it out, but did they? Was there enough time? Or will the earth dragons rushing to the perimeter catch them? It’ll be obvious, with the direction they’re traveling, that they’re not ensnared.

Actually, if I hadn’t convinced Gordon to bring me here, I’d be back home right now, probably marching with my poor, half-trained humans toward the earthen barricade, bracing myself to force them to attack their own kind to secure the dragon’s city.

“Why did you stop following Rufus?” I ask.

Axel wouldn’t want you to be put at risk.

Or is he more worried that, if he got close to the edge of their territory, I might unsheathe my swords and try to escape? “I can’t leave while Sammy, Coral, and Jade aren’t with me.”

Gordon grunts.

But it’s a matter of minutes before it’s all over.

Azar bugles once, then twice, and finally a third time overhead, and Gordon finally relaxes. It appears the humans have fallen back again.