Lucid (14 page)
Authors: A.K. Harris
Deegan pulled himself up with a snarl, his fangs bared. But I could see the blood dripping into the already wet ground. Deegan braced his body as Mr. Shadar slowly turned his large serpentine mass toward him.
“Thisss isss making me sssick,” he hissed vehemently. “You are ssstrong. And thessse
humansss
are weak. Their blood isss for the taking. Yet you would sssave
her
. Ssshe is a
dreamer.
Ssshe could give you all the power you ever wanted.”
“She
is
all I ever wanted. Alive and whole. Well and safe,” Deegan snarled. He set his feet ready to continue the fight. “ She is
mine
and I'll die before I give her to
anyone.
”
The warmth of his words washed over me, filling any hollow voids I may have ever had, and creating new fears in their place. He was mine as much as I was his. The possibility that I might lose him because of that terrified me. My body sat in motionless fear as they began to slowly circle each other.
With a shouting roar they threw themselves at each other, their bodies colliding like a clap of thunder. The snarling and hissing continued as they crashed into each other over and over, each vying for the upper hand in the fight. Each time they parted and slowed, bracing for another round, I could see more open wounds on them both. Deegan was panting heavily and it was apparent he had lost a lot of blood but Mr. Shadar was in the same situation. Every time he tried to edge himself closer to me, Deegan would keep the pressure on him making sure to keep him further back. Even exhausted and bleeding, he was doing everything he could to protect me. I had to help him.
Mr. Shadar managed to get his snake like coils around Deegan, and I knew this was it. I ran forward as fast as I could, and using all my strength I pulled my arm back. Then let my fist fly. It landed with a resounding crack against his scaled face. I could feel my hand break on the impact. The bones crushing against the strength of his scales. Like I had tried to shove my fist through a brick wall. But as his face turned from the fight, and he let out a dark hiss I knew I had accomplished what I had set out to do. Distraction.
He flew at me with lightning speed. When I hit the ground all the air was knocked out of my lungs, his large serpentine form landing on top of me. His clawed talons tearing into my flesh, and cracking my ribs.
My world was a buzzing cacophony of noise. My visibility fading in and out. I used every muscle in my body to try and push him off me. But my body was at its limit.
“Sssweet victory,” he hissed, as his head pulled back to finish me off.
Before he had a chance to sink his fangs into me, Deegan smashed into us. The impact rocked through me and tossed me aside as Deegan clamped his fangs around Mr. Shadar. The snarling and hissing continued as they each vied for position. I tried to pull myself back with my hands, but the pain that ricocheted through my body stopped me cold. Definitely my hand was broken. I tried to remember the things my father had told me, things he learned from medical school. Things he learned from his practice. But the pain was disabling. All I managed to do was use my good hand to try and stem the flow of blood. The gash in my side was worse than I had thought. It would need stitches... a lot of them... and probably more than that if I didn't get it stitched soon.
As they separated and crashed into each other once again, my body was jerked back. I let out a sharp cry before I could stop myself, and that was all it took. Deegan's head instantly snapped out of the fight, looking to find me in the shadows. The moment his head turned Mr. Shadar took the upper hand, his fangs sinking deeply into Deegan's body. I let out a scream and turned to struggle at whatever was holding me captive. I had to get to Deegan. I had to save him.
Turning, I struggled against what was holding me back. But Ethan's strong arms wouldn't budge. He was motioning for me to be quiet but he didn't know. He didn't know what I would do to save Deegan from that... that
thing
.
I struggled against him trying to fight him, but my body was so weak. The black was beginning to fade in around the corners of my vision. I had lost a lot of blood. And it wouldn't be much longer before I lost too much.
I pushed that thought out of my mind, and I turned to pull myself away from Ethan's tight grip, dragging me backwards. Away from the fight. Away from where I needed to be. Deegan had somehow managed to get his fangs around the basilisk's skull. I heard the thick popping sound as he crushed it under his powerful jaws. I felt relief, at the sight of him victorious. But it was short lived, I felt the hard crack on the back of my skull. And my last sight was of Deegan falling to the ground as my world went black.
Books By A.K. Harris
Lucid (Dreamer Legacy Book One)
Recall (Dreamer Legacy Book Two)
Deja Vu (Dreamer Legacy Book Three) TBR – December 2013
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