Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 147649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
Literally on fire. Casting new shadows on the walls.
My hands come up and a ball of light appears between them just as the words I have read a million times over two thousand years come spilling out of my mouth:
“‘A horn, a hoof, an eye, a bone. A man, a girl, a place of stone. A tick of time, a last mistake, keep them safe behind the gate.’”
And as soon as I’m done, I stand there among the once-great gods and goddesses, a line of succession that goes back nearly eight thousand years, all silent and shrinking now, and I laugh.
Because it was me.
I am the maker of my own curse.
Just when I’m about to breathe a sigh of relief—honestly, it’s more like total satisfaction—a new fire appears between my hands, but I’m not controlling it.
And then, before I know what’s happening, I’m spelling again. Only this time, like Pie earlier in the day, these words come out of me without my bidding.
They are powerful.
They shake the whole fucking world.
They rumble the room and make the old gods fall to their knees, cowering with hands shielding their faces.
“Love is mad and love is heat,
Can win you wars or hand you defeat.
It claims the heart, the mind, and soul,
Can make you weak or make you whole.
Damaged gods, savage saints,
And royal beasts locked in restraints.
Hold them hostage, in between,
A hallway’s never-ending stream.
Curse you good and curse you all.
My blood and fire will make you fall.
Revenge is cold, and dark, and deep.
But in the end, it is still sweet.”
And then, when I look up, the shadows on the walls take on a new shape.
Wings.
A bow.
And an arrow coming right at me.
It strikes me in the chest hard and fast, knocking me forward, and the next thing I know, I am stumbling through a door.
PART FOUR
PART FOUR
Love is not enough to change.
The ending of a man of fame.
Give it up, you won’t succeed.
Because your love is based in greed.
CHAPTER NINETEEN – TOMAS
After I watch Pell go back up the stairs and into his hallway adventure, I turn with a sigh, a good feeling surging through my heart, like everything is going to work itself out.
The next thing I know I’m being attacked. Madeline headbutts me straight in the chest and I go reeling backward, arms flailing, eyes wide with surprise, and a laugh bursting from my lungs.
I land hard on the stone floor and then slide a good while until finally I crash headfirst into the wall on the other side of the dungeon.
“You did this to me!” Madeline is wailing, coming at me with claws drawn, one hand held high like she’s about to swipe it down my face.
I scramble to sit up, and then I clap my hands for her. Because I was afraid that this was it. That she was going to be lost in the transition for centuries and all I’d be left with would be her base instincts. “My love! You’re back!”
Honestly, I don’t mind base instincts. So this resurgence of her old personality is just a bonus.
“Back!” She screams this as she takes that swipe, aiming for my eyes. But I’m a good ducker and scamper out of the way. “Look at me! Just…” She glances down at herself, gets a little lost in the blood-red scales all up and down her arms, then looks back at me and bursts into tears.
“Oh, Madeline.” I walk forward, ready to give her a hug.
She puts up a hand, palm out, in a full-stop motion. “Get the hell away from me, you freak!”
“Now, now. Let’s not start name-calling yet. We’ve got thousands of years of honeymoon to get through first.”
“Are you insane?”
“Not at all. Why do you ask?”
“What the hell is happening!” This is not a yell or even a scream. This is a shriek. She’s losing it.
“Madeline, just calm down.”
“Calm down!” Her eyes are wild and roiling with fire and brimstone, alternating between red and yellow. Which is normal. All blood dragons have lava eyes. “One moment I’m… I’m… well, not exactly a normal girl, but pretty close, and I’m dating a hot guy—” She begins to sob.
I reach out, but she snaps her teeth at me. Which are considerably sharper now, so I take a step back.
“—and then…” She begins to hyperventilate. “Then… then the next thing I know, I’m being shot—”
“That was not me, darling. That was Russ Roth.”
“—and then… then…” Again, she pauses to give a breathy display of confusion. “Then I’m… this!” She points to herself.
“I know,” I say. Softly. It feels like it fits the moment. “You were dead.”
“What?” She blinks at me.
“Dead. The bullet killed you, darling.”
“No. Because clearly”—she’s shrieking again—“I’m still here! And I’m a fucking dragon!”
I hold up a finger to point out an inconsistency in her observation. “Not quite yet, my love. It’s a long transition and you—"