Noah shut the door so it wouldn’t slam. Turning around, he rubbed his face, trying to come up with a plan that wouldn’t get them both killed. Byrd wanted to leap down there and rip them apart, but Noah held him in check. Jumping into that many people was a surefire way to injury, and he still hurt from yesterday’s fall and today’s explosion. The last thing he needed was a gunshot wound when he didn’t have scales that were mostly impervious.
Byrd pushed for them to shift and attack, but Noah shook his head, vetoing that idea. Even in dragon form, he was too small to take on that many while trying to protect Kara. A thought filtered into his head that made him stop. “How big can you get?” he asked.
Pausing in his fight to get to Kara, Byrd questioned him. “Big?”
“Yes,” Noah said, staring down into the room. “Raven was large when she took me.” He raised his fingers to touch his collar. “If it wasn’t for this, how big could we get?” The question floated around inside Noah as Byrd considered his answer.
“Big!”
A vague mass filled Noah’s head. He looked down at the room and mapped out his options. There was no way he could sneak in and save her. He could do a massive area spell, but that would take time he wasn’t sure he had, plus there was no way to single Kara out. The only answer was a surprise attack on a grand scale. But there were problems with that.
In their grand form, they might be able to take out some of the people, but taking them all out would be tricky.
“We do it!” Byrd piped in.
“But what about Kara?” Noah pointed out. “If even one of them gets through, they could use her to stop us.”
Byrd quieted as he thought.
Noah looked around the room. It was a massive warehouse. Shelves filled with crates were everywhere. He could shift and knock stuff over as he attacked. That could possibly distract or injure some of the people. Another shake of the head ruled out that option—his aim would have to be dead on, or the shelves could land on Kara. Their best option was a snatch and grab. Byrd pushed him to go, but Noah held him back for a moment. “We need an out,” he explained.
Glancing over the warehouse, Noah got a feel for the space. The room was huge. Most of one end was filled with tall shelves, but the area where the mages were working was open, like a shipping bay. Noah searched the wall and found what he was looking for. A bank of loading docks! Most of the doors were closed, but the one at the far end was open. A guy on a forklift was moving pallets of boxes around, but the truck that would take them hadn’t backed up to the opening yet. “Do you see it?” Noah asked.
Byrd growled his positive answer, anxious to get underway.
Noah pushed the waist of his pants down over his hips. “This is a snatch-and-run operation,” he warned the dragon. “We aren’t going to stay and kill them.”
This did not make Byrd happy. “Eat them!”
“I know,” Noah said. “I’m not sure I want to eat them—kill them, yes—but we don’t have time to take them all out.” He stared down at the group. He could feel the intensity of the magic building. “We need to get her out of there now.”
Byrd grumbled but agreed with Noah. “Protect Mine.”
“Yes. Mine first.” Noah’s fingers touched the leather band at his neck. “Are you ready for this?”
A note of fear passed through Byrd, but the need to save Kara drove it away. “Yes!”
Working the clasp on the back, Noah pulled the band off. He gasped as the spell released him. The energy of his dragon snapped away, but Noah reached out and grabbed it. “Stay with me, buddy.” He opened himself more, drawing the dragon closer to him. It was a weird sensation, but he held on to Byrd until the power stabilized. Now he knew why Byrd was protective of the collar. It held them together until their bond was settled. Raven hadn’t taken him as a mate. She had done this for Byrd.
Pushing that thought away, Noah tucked the collar between his fingers and wrapped it around into his hand. There was no way he was leaving behind something so important. “Ready?”
Byrd growled, more than ready to go.
Pulling loose his shirt, Noah stepped up to the railing. Making the mistake of looking down, he clutched to the handle, rethinking his plan. The fall was impressive.
Byrd rubbed up against his mind, reassuring him.
Noah swallowed and started to climb. He had to jump. The platform was much too small for Byrd to shift on. Taking a deep breath, Noah drew up his courage and leaped out as far as he could. The sensation of falling sent a spike of fear and adrenaline racing through Noah’s system.
Byrd loved it.
As they plummeted towards the ground, magic raced over their skin, ripping what was left of the stolen shirt and shifting their shape.
Byrd roared his anger as his wings spread, changing their fall into a glide. Screams rose from the group as Byrd dropped down on top of them. His jaws snapped, crushing one of the mages and slinging him away from Kara. He roared again, sending his surprised victims running in terror. The urge to chase filled him.
“Byrd!” Noah snapped, redirecting the dragon’s attention. “Kara!”
Refocusing on his goal, Byrd wrapped his front feet around Kara’s limp body and beat his wings. Yells and gunshot sounded as he slammed his wings down and leaped into the air. Ramming his shoulder into a shelf, he knocked it over on the scattering people as he shot for the open loading bay. The door was a tight squeeze, but he tucked his wings in and hopped through before the men chasing him could catch up.
Aiming for the sky, Byrd clutched Kara to him and flapped hard.
“No!” screamed Noah, trying to catch Byrd’s attention. “Clouds won’t cover us. Drop low.”
Byrd shifted his course away from the bank of clouds. An attack spell skittered across his scales, just missing him. He tilted his wings to swing away from it.
“Go towards it!” Noah yelled.
Byrd flipped his wings and leaned towards the missed spell. Another spell shot past him in the place where he had been heading.
“Drop to street level.”
Folding his wings, Byrd dropped like a rock from the sky. Another spell burst above him. Spreading his wings, he caught the air just before hitting the ground. Zipping past cars, Byrd dodged over streetlamps and power lines.
“Go left!” Noah yelled as they came to a T-junction in the street. “We need to get off the road!”
Flapping, Byrd gained some height but kept below the line of the buildings.
Noah searched the ground, looking for a place to land. Going back to Eternity wasn’t an option. If this group had agents there, it wasn’t safe for any of them. He needed to tell someone. Someone he knew was safe to talk to. A dragon. His mind churned as he ruled out possibilities. Suddenly, something plausible popped into his head. Where are we?
Byrd looked around but didn’t see anything that looked familiar.
“We should be safe for the moment,” Noah guessed. They had come a long way along the roadway. It should be safe to get above the buildings to see where they were. “Go up.”