Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 111252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 556(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 556(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
“I’m not sure where I am. The dragon dropped me in this park in the middle of a city, but I don’t know if I’m still in Hartford or if the big lizard flew me somewhere else.”
Something muffled their voices for a second as Chen repeated what he said to Moon. The fledgling vampire’s voice came through louder when he spoke, as if he’d either grabbed the phone from Chen or the call has been put on speaker.
“What’s in the park? Any statues or buildings?”
“A fountain with a deer on the very top,” he replied.
“That’s Corning Fountain in Bushnell Park! You’re right in the center of Hartford!” Moon crowed loud enough to threaten Xiang’s hearing in his right ear.
Relief swelled in Xiang’s chest. The trip to the park hadn’t seemed long. Wherever the dragon was keeping his hoard, it was at least somewhat close to his clan. That increased his chances of making it to them safely. He needed to figure out the tricky details of how.
“Can you find a place to hide from the dragon?” Chen demanded. “We’re leaving right now, but it will take us at least thirty minutes to get downtown.” Just under his voice were the sounds of keys jangling and footsteps hitting the wooden floor hard in their haste. Other, more distant voices rose in the background as Moon spread the word that they were coming for him.
“No. Wait—”
But he never got the chance to finish.
Someone ripped the phone from his fingers with astounding force. He followed the phone with his eyes, watching fingers crush in an instant, reducing it to nothing more than broken glass, twisted plastic, and computer chip fragments. His head snapped up to see Kai standing beside him, face flushed and eyes glowing gold in the darkness.
“You lied to me!” Kai roared. “You said you needed to feed, but this was all a plot to escape.”
“No, it’s not!”
Kai shoved the fist holding the broken phone in his face and shook it before tossing the remains onto the grass. “Lies. I caught you planning to meet with your clan to rescue you. This wasn’t about hunting.”
Xiang stepped aside and waved his hands at the still unconscious man lying on the tree. “Yes, it was. Look! I fed from him.”
“Only to get his phone!”
“I called Chen so they would know I was alive and wouldn’t worry about me. I wasn’t trying to escape.” He reached for Kai’s arm, trying to get the irate man to calm down.
“I don’t believe you.” Kai threw off his arm and took a step away. His upper lip curled with disgust as he glared at Xiang. “This trip to hunt was a lie. You wanted to escape. Just like all your promises to take me with you when you leave the dragon. You didn’t mean any of it. You wanted to use me.”
His words were a sword plunged straight into Xiang’s chest. It took an extra second to even suck in a breath so he could argue, but he wasn’t giving up. “Yes, I want to escape. And yes, I will use every chance I can to escape, but only if it means I can take you with me. You’ve been trapped for too long, and you’ve given up! You’ve forgotten what it means to be free.”
Kai retreated a couple of steps, heading deeper into the trees. He shook his head once. “I don’t believe you. You will leave me behind.”
Xiang swore and took a step to chase after Kai, but the earth trembled under his feet, sending an echo all the way up to his heart. He blinked, and Kai was gone. But before he could even search for the man, he felt himself falling into darkness.
No, water.
It was like he’d been dropped into the ocean and was sinking into an endless black trench. No matter how he clawed at the water to slow his descent, he could not reach the surface.
Just as he was about to let the darkness take him, Xiang sat up on a harsh gasp that rang in his ears. His eyes shot open, and the darkness was gone, replaced by a warm yellow glow softened by pale rose-colored gauze and embroidered curtains. He was lying in the center of the canopy bed in the dragon’s hoard.
Xiang rolled out of the bed and stumbled to his feet, but his first few steps were on his hands and knees as he tried to get his body working. Nothing hurt, but it was like his brain was still trying to come out of its fog. He hurried through the treasure room, searching every nook and cranny, but there was no sign of Kai. The damn man didn’t even answer his shouts.
But there was one change to the hoard that made his heart pound painfully.
The single metal door that had barred his escape was gone.