Screaming in rage, Patrick launched himself at the creature three times his size. His teeth crunched into the hard scales on the bone frill, and he used his weight to yank the dragon’s head back just as it opened its mouth. A great blast of fire fountained into the air, raining sparks down over the two dragons.
Kathryn watched in horror as the pair thrashed about. Part of her had expected Patrick to be a dragon. Taking off the restrictive pieces of his wardrobe led her to believe he would shift for her, but to have him do it on top of her was something else entirely. Her skin tingled from the magic and heat that had washed through him. Her gaze dropped from the dragons locked together to the singed scraps of material scattered across her. He had just saved her life. A great roar drew her bewildered mind back to the epic battle mere feet from her.
The black dragon shook furiously, trying to dislodge Patrick from the back of its head.
Ignoring the burn in his clenched jaw, Patrick sunk his talons as deep as he could get them into the black dragon’s neck and held on for dear life. If the dragon should shake him loose, it would leave Kathryn unprotected. His eyes glanced over to her. She had managed to sit up, but she hadn’t come to her senses enough to run off as his horse had. Patrick bit harder, making the rogue scream out in pain.
Furious, the black dragon tucked its wings in and rolled onto its back, crushing Patrick’s wings down. The thing raised its long neck and slammed its head back into the ground, trying to break the painful hold Patrick had on its boned frill.
The jarring impact rattled the lord’s brains around, but he held on as the dragon repeated the punishing slam. On the fourth impact with the ground, Patrick let go and scurried out from under the creature. The thing bashed its own head into the ground a fifth time. Hurrying over, Patrick placed himself between the attacking dragon and Kathryn. She still hadn’t gotten herself together enough to run. “Mine!” he shrieked again as he lowered his head and thrashed his tail. He tucked his wings up against his body, easing the pain of being crunched under such a great weight. Thankfully, nothing seemed to be broken.
The black dragon rolled up onto its feet and retreated a few steps, gathering itself together. “Maiden!” it growled as it turned towards the pair.
“You cannot have my maiden!” Patrick yelled back. He no longer cared if the dragon had eggs or not; no one attacked what was his and got away with it. His tail thumped into something solid, and he froze, afraid he might have hurt the woman behind him accidently. The soft feel of her hand on the fringy end of his tail distracted him from the danger in front of him, and he closed his eyes, trying to push the wave of pleasure back. Her fingers had run across a rather sensitive section.
Seeing Patrick’s moment of inattention, the black dragon pounced, wrapping its jaws around his exposed neck. It yanked the smaller dragon up and shook him savagely, slamming him into the ground again.
“Patrick!” Kathryn cried out as she watched the creature drop the lord’s limp body to the ground.
The rogue grabbed the lord by a wing and, with a great twist of its head, tossed the still lord far out into the lake.
“No!” Kathryn shrieked as Patrick hit the lake with a heart-breaking slap and slipped below the surface. Tears streamed down her face as she raced towards the water’s edge. She could just see the tips of his red wings disappearing into the darkness. With a sick heart, she fell to her knees and watched her lord die, unable to do a thing about it.
The roar of the triumphant dragon shook her out of her grief. She turned just in time for the enormous creature to snatch her up. Its large wings sent out a great blast of air as the beast beat them down and launched into the air. Hope died in Kathryn’s heart as her eyes skimmed across the still surface of the lake. Her lord was dead, and she would soon be the next victim of his murderer.
9
Cold shocked Patrick back into consciousness. He tried to draw in a deep breath but got a lungful of water instead. Coughing, he snapped his eyes open to find he was sinking. Floundering, he righted himself and pushed to the surface of the lake. He drew in a great breath as soon as his head found air. Bobbing in the water, he worked to clear his mind as the cool liquid soothed the burning sensation in one of his wings. How did he get in the water?
Mine!
The memory hit him, and he scanned the shoreline, looking for signs of his maiden. She was not there. A distant roar drew his attention, and he twisted around to see the black dragon disappearing over the lake.
Mine!
Patrick kicked hard, trying to launch himself into the air to give chase, but the burn in his wing screamed and kept him from flapping it. He splashed back into the water, helpless. The wing was definitely dislocated, if not broken.
Tucking the injured limb up, Patrick lashed his tail and swam as fast as he could after the creature he was sure had stolen his maiden. If he was lucky, she was still alive. He turned his thoughts away from her possible death and concentrated on cutting through the water. Thankfully, that was one thing he was very good at. He could swim almost as fast as he could fly.
He had almost caught up to the black dragon when the creature did something that made his heart drop. It tucked its wings in and plummeted into the lake near the base of a rocky cliff. Patrick dove down and followed the great beast with his eyes.
The dragon lashed its tail back and forth, driving itself towards a dark place in the rock wall.
Patrick slowed his pace as the dragon slipped into the underwater cave. So that’s where the thing has been hiding. It made sense now. The forest that Patrick’s men had been losing the dragon in bordered this lake. The creature had probably been going in there, shifting to a lesser form, and losing its followers in the water. Few dragons actually swam, preferring the whip of the wind to the slush of waves. He didn’t think any of his men would have suspected a wild dragon to take to the water.
Pausing, Patrick debated his choices. He could go in there and confront the dragon, or he could go for aid. Every ounce of his instinct pushed him to rush in and reclaim what the beast had taken. Mine! But the ache in his wing reminded him he was already injured. There was no telling what other dangers he would have to face in the small cave. Snorting with displeasure, Patrick twisted in the water and whipped his tail, gaining speed. He wanted to fight his own battles, but he wasn’t too proud or stupid to admit when he needed help. Going up against something as large as the rogue dragon with an injured wing was just suicidal.
As the far shore drew near, Patrick burst from the water and tried to take flight. With his horse gone, he had no time to spare in getting to the castle. A quick flight around the village would limit the contact the people would have with him. Pain ripped through his shoulder as he spread his wing. There was no way that thing would support him through the needed flight. Tucking it back up, he pulled himself from the water and stood, panting, while the spots cleared from his vision. There was no other choice, he needed to get his men and go after the dragon before it killed Kathryn. Mine!
Deciding to throw caution to the wind, Patrick bunched up his muscles and raced up the shoreline straight towards the town. There was no way around it. He couldn’t get into the castle without going past the village. Maybe if he had been smaller in either of his forms, he could have snuck in, but he wasn’t. The idea of shifting and running naked back to the castle crossed his mind, but he really didn’t want to lose his dignity in front of the villagers. He was supposed to be their lord, and lords didn’t do those types of things. Besides, he was nowhere near as fast in human form, and time was of the essence here.