Page 52 of Hexual Healing
“Whatisthat?”I asked.
Baz went very still, his nostrils flaring.“Dragons.Plural.”
“But Illanya left.”
“Not Illanya.”His eyes had gone gold.“Someone else.”
The blood drained from my face.“Okay, seriously?This is getting ridiculous.Is this area the dragon magnet capital of the south or something?”
The thunderous sound grew closer.Through the trees, I saw shapes approaching.Huge shapes.Multiple dragons, and they weren't bothering with a basic-bitch sneak attack.
“How many?”Zelda asked, her magic already flaring.
“Three,” Baz said.“Maybe four.”
“We barely survived one!”
“Then we'll have to be creative.”
The townspeople were already assembling.The house grew spikes.
But I could feel it in my bones: We weren't ready for this.
All of us had used up too much energy in training, and the curse was weighing me down like lead chains.
“We should run,” I said.
“No,” Baz said firmly.“Running makes you prey.We’re not weak.We stand and fight.”
The first dragon cleared the tree line.Male, bigger than Illanya, scales like black iron.His human form was devastatingly beautiful in that otherworldly way dragons had, all sharp angles, sinew, and strength.
The other dragons emerged behind him.All male, all massive, all looking at me like I was a particularly interesting collectible.
“This is bad,” Gary said.“This is very, very bad.”
“Any helpful suggestions?”I asked.
“Die quickly?”
“Gary!”
“What?I'm being practical.We're outnumbered, outpowered, and you're cursed.The odds arenotin our favor.”
He was right.But as I looked around at the townspeople ready to fight for me again, at Baz standing between me and danger, at our ridiculous odds, I felt something I hadn't expected.
Hope.
“Well,” I said, “good thing I don't believe in odds.”
The lead dragon laughed.“You're going to fight us?You can barely stand.”
He was right.This was all too much, too soon, and everything hurt.But pain was just another sensation, and I'd been living with it for what already felt like three lifetimes now.
Time to put on my big girl panties and do this.
“I don't need to stand,” I said.“I just need to be inconvenient.”
And with that, I let my magic completely off its leash.