Escape and the Dragon (Redwood Dragons Book 6) Read online

  Owen smiled a dragon smile at Raven, and nodded his assent. Then he turned to look back at the ceiling, ready to burn it down. But Raven held up her hand to stop him.

  “Allow me,” she said. “Stand as flat against the wall as you can. The ceiling’s going to cave in once I cast this spell.”

  Owen tried to flatten himself against the wall, but it wasn’t much use. His dragon form was too large to get out of the way, so he just braced himself and gave a small nod to Raven. She flattened herself against the wall and raised her magic ring in the direction of the ceiling, then began casting spells.

  “Magicae invisibilia. Magicae disseco,” she yelled out.

  The first spell Owen easily recognized as an invisibility spell. She was casting it over the roof in hopes that Saul’s men would not notice that the cabin was being destroyed from the inside out. The second spell Owen had never heard before, but it seemed to be some sort of cutting spell. Raven moved her hand in a large circle as she pointed her ring toward the ceiling, and some sort of energy seemed to emanate from her ring, slicing right through the cabin’s thick wooden roof. Within moments, a giant circle of the ceiling came crashing down around them, splintering as it hit Owen’s dragon back. The crash only added to the noise coming from the front room of the cabin, where Lily and several other wizards were in a heated battle with several of Saul’s soldiers. Raven’s invisibility shield must be working, though, at least for the moment, because none of the soldier’s in the front room seemed to notice Owen, Raven, and the amethyst—or the fact that the roof back here had just caved in.

  “There aren’t any broomsticks in here, so I’ll have to ride on your back,” Raven yelled, running to scoop up the giant amethyst. She tucked the large stone securely into the front pocket of her uniform, and then ran over to jump on Owen’s back. She raised her ring and cast several invisibility and shield spells, and then wrapped her arms as best she could around the base of his thick dragon neck.

  “Alright, I’ve done all I can,” she yelled through the smoky chaos. “Hopefully those shields will hold us at least until we get beyond the view of Saul’s army. Use your chameleon skills, too, just in case.”

  Owen nodded. He had the ability to change his dragon form to match his surroundings, camouflaging himself in much the same way a chameleon would. It was difficult to maintain this type of camouflage while flying, but he would do his best. Hopefully, between his chameleon skills and Raven’s invisibility shields, they would be able to get out of here unnoticed.

  Owen glanced over at Lily, who sensed that they were ready to go. She paused for a moment and raised her magic ring to send thousands of sparks into the air. This must have been some sort of signal that she and Vance had agreed upon, because moments after the sparks started flying, Owen heard Vance roaring loudly, calling for a retreat.

  More chaos ensued as the dragons and good wizards started flying after Vance, due north. A roar of triumph went up from some of Saul’s soldiers, and they began pursuing the retreating army. The wizards who had been fighting Lily in the front of the cabin cheered, and abandoned Lily to join in the excitement of the chase. Owen took a deep breath, trying to steady his rapidly beating heart. It was now or never.

  He pushed off his hind legs, springing as high into the air as he could through the giant hole in the cabin’s roof. As soon as the momentum of his jump had pushed his wings past the hole, he began flapping furiously. He turned his face toward the south, catching only a small glimpse of Vance, the retreating army, and the dragons’ base camp. But that small glimpse was enough to tear at his heart.

  Nearly all eleven of the Redwood Dragons’ cabins were up in flames. Several of the redwood trees that surrounded the cabin were burning as well. Dead bodies were strewn across the open space between the cabins, and, while Owen could not tell from up here whom the bodies belonged to, he knew that many of them were Falcon Cross wizards. He could see the telltale black and gold of their military uniforms by the light of the flames that were burning his beloved home base to the ground.

  Owen’s stomach turned as he realized that his boyhood home, the place he had grown up, had been destroyed and was being overtaken by the most evil soldiers he’d ever encountered. Every fiber of his being filled with anger, and he wanted nothing more than to turn around and burn as many of them to a crisp as he could. But he forced himself to keep his eyes trained on the dark, southern horizon. The dragon amethyst was more important than revenge right now. He had to do his best to keep it safe.

  He could feel the weight of Raven’s body on his back, and her arms squeezing comfortably around his neck. Her presence soothed him, and he was glad in that moment that she had snuck in tonight to see him during his guard duty. Maybe, just maybe, the two of them working together could figure out a way to get the amethyst to safety.

  Owen nearly laughed as he realized that Raven had gotten what she wanted, after all. She was going to be part of the team escorting the dragon amethyst to Texas, and, so was he—whether he liked it or not.

  Let’s do this, he thought with a sigh, pumping his wings as quickly as he could and slicing through the air in the opposite direction of the only home he’d ever known.

  Chapter Two

  Raven’s muscles ached, and every cell in her body tried to seduce her into closing her eyes and sleeping. But she ignored the aches, and fought to stay awake. She sat upright on Owen’s dragon now, looking all around them as he moved steadily through the sky. She was watching for anything suspicious, but there was no sign of any enemy soldiers in the sky. As far as she could tell, their escape had been successful. Saul’s soldiers had been so excited to see Vance’s retreat that they hadn’t noticed the chameleon dragon and invisible wizard rising into the sky.

  The thought of Vance and his retreat filled Raven with sadness. She knew the retreating group would have flown as quickly as they could toward Falcon Cross, where reinforcements would be ready and waiting to help them hold back Saul’s army. But Falcon Cross was a long ways from the Redwood Dragons’ base camp, and Vance’s army would have been exhausted and weak. She didn’t want to think about what would happen if Saul’s soldiers managed to overtake them, but she couldn’t keep her mind from wandering in all sorts of horrible directions. Her only hope was knowing that Saul’s soldiers had never been as good at flying as the Falcon Cross wizards or the Redwood Dragons. Hopefully, Vance and his army had been able to keep up their pace long enough for Saul’s men to lose them. Raven knew Saul’s soldiers would stay on their trail all the way to Falcon Cross, but if they lagged behind just enough, Vance would make it. He had to make it. There were too many people Raven cared about in that army. She couldn’t bear the thought of them falling into the hands of dark wizards and evil shifters.

  The first gray light of dawn was beginning to streak over the horizon, pushing back the darkness of one of the longest nights of Raven’s life. She watched the ground below them with interest. She had no idea where they were, but she knew that they were quite far from the redwoods. Owen had flown with lightning speed, and the scenery below her looked nothing like the lush green of a redwood forest. Everything was dry, rocky, and sandy. The only plants were the small, dry shrubs typical of desert climates. And even though the sun itself had not yet peeked over the gray horizon, the air felt almost unbearably hot.

  As the sky continued to lighten, and the pinkish orange sun finally made its way into view, Raven could see that there was some sort of small town ahead. It appeared like a small oasis in the middle of the desert, with one long highway stretching away from it in either direction. She felt Owen adjusting his direction slightly, and heading for the town. She could tell that he was tired as well. His pace had slowed quite a bit from when they first left the redwoods last night, and the flapping of his wings was gradually growing weaker and weaker. He was using the last of his energy to get them to the little town.

  But what then? Raven thought. They had no supplies, and no money. Owen didn’t even have clothes. Al
l they had was the dragon amethyst and each other. Raven smiled at the thought, despite her weariness. Each other. If she had to be in as precarious of a position as she was right now, there was no one she’d rather have with her than Owen. He’d been her favorite dragon since the very first day a group of the Redwood Dragons had arrived in her hometown of Falcon Cross. He was just as stubborn and witty as she was, and she’d known from day one that they were going to be great friends.

  What she hadn’t known, though, was how her heart would fall for him. In retrospect, perhaps she should have seen it coming. After all, he was as handsome, muscular, and noble as they came. He could be obnoxious and strong willed, sure, but that only made Raven love him more. She hated it when a man acted all wishy-washy and weak. She’d take a fighter over a peacemaker any day. The only problem, of course, was that Owen was a fighter, as was she, and that meant that they were spending all of their time these days fighting against Saul’s army. There was no time for romance, or exploring feelings for each other. All their energy had been focused on one thing and one thing only: bringing an end to Saul and his regime of evil.

  Owen was getting closer to the small town now, and descending as he did. Raven finally allowed herself to lie down on his back for a moment to rest, although she would not close her eyes for fear of falling asleep. She let herself enjoy the way Owen’s strong dragon back moved beneath her, gently rolling her side to side as his wings made their final efforts of the night. He landed with a soft thud just as the sun finally broke over the horizon in all its fullness. Next to him was a small cluster of rocks which would offer some shade, which Raven could already tell would be a necessity as the sun rose higher and higher into the sky.

  Owen lay down on his belly to allow Raven to slide off his back. Once she her feet were on the ground and she had taken several steps back from him, he began to shift. A rush of energy pushed her backwards a bit as his transformation began, but she did not fall. She knew enough by now to brace herself whenever one of the dragons was shifting. She didn’t pay much attention to the change as Owen’s body began to lose its dragon shape and return to its muscular human form. She was digging in the pocket of her shirt, double-checking to make sure that the dragon amethyst was still there, safe and secure. She knew that it was, and yet, it made her feel better to see it with her own eyes. She stared down at the shimmering purple stone, and sighed. So much trouble, for such a seemingly ordinary gemstone.

  Owen had completely returned to human form now, and she looked up at him to see that his eyes were as tired as her own. He was completely naked, of course, but this did not faze her. She’d seen many of the dragon shifters naked numerous times, since they lost their clothes every time they morphed into dragon form. She had to admit, though, that she always noted with satisfaction that Owen had the largest dick of them all. They were all huge, but he seemed just a bit huger. Not that it mattered. She had no claim to him. Still, he was her favorite, so she liked seeing that he was the “best.”

  “Any idea where we are?” she asked, closing the pocket the amethyst was in and forcing her thoughts away from his dick.

  Owen rubbed at his tired face with open palms. “Somewhere in Nevada, I’d guess,” he said. “But I have no way of knowing for sure.”

  “We’ll have to get supplies,” Raven said, her voice flat. Owen nodded, his expression looking just as flat. They both knew that the only way they were going to be able to get supplies right now was to steal, and neither one of them relished the idea. They preferred to do things the honorable way, but since the only thing of value they had on them was an amethyst that they must keep and protect at all costs, they didn’t have much of a choice.

  “I suppose I’ll have to do the honors,” Raven said with a sigh.

  Owen nodded. “Sorry, I hate to make you be the one to sneak around, but I think it’s better that way. You can use invisibility spells and I can’t. You know the chameleon trick only works when I’m in dragon form. And I’m naked, which you might not mind so much but I have a feeling that anyone who caught me would be pretty upset to find a random naked man slinking around.”

  Raven couldn’t resist a smile. “Hey now, don’t get so cocky. What makes you think that I don’t mind seeing you naked?”

  Owen smirked and thrust his hips forward, accenting what lay between his legs. “You’ve never complained before.”

  Raven just rolled her eyes at him, but her smile broadened. It felt good to flirt with him for a moment. It made their current situation seem a bit more normal. A bit more like just another day at the job. And that was all it was, wasn’t it? Just another day on the job. They’d faced challenges worse than this before. Raven hadn’t had to steal for the cause before, but she was willing to bet that if any of the humans in this town knew why she needed supplies, they’d be more than happy to help her. The problem was that if she told them the truth, they would probably think she was crazy. Humans seemed to have a hard time believing that there was an evil dark wizard dragon shifter out there trying to take over the world. So, stealing it was. All Raven could do was make a note of what she took and send payment for it as soon as she was able.

  “I suppose I’ll go ahead and get this over with,” she said, glancing toward the town. The spot where Owen had stopped looked like it was about a half mile outside the small town’s borders. Not very far, but Raven was so tired right now that the thought of walking even a half mile made her groan with pain. She wished she had a broomstick so she could fly in, but she didn’t, and she wasn’t likely to find a broomstick of the wizard sort out here.

  “Sorry you have to be the one to go,” Owen said. He looked at her with a tenderness that was a bit out of character for him, and Raven felt her body heating up under his gaze. She quickly waved her hand in the air, as though waving away his concern.

  “It’s no big deal, really,” she said. “Besides, I didn’t have to do any of this. I chose to come with you last night of my own free will. I wanted to help.”

  Owen nodded. “Still,” he said. “I know stealing isn’t an easy thing, even when it is necessary for the greater good.”

  “Let’s just call it borrowing,” Raven said. “I have every intention of paying these people back.”

  “Well, then,” Owen said with a grin. “I hope you can ‘borrow’ a big breakfast for me. I’m starving after all that flying. Try to find some real food. None of these gross nonperishable meal bar things we always have to eat when we’re out on missions.”

  Raven laughed. “I’ll see what I can do. Any other requests for what you’d like me to ‘borrow’”?

  “Some clothes would be good. A backpack, perhaps? And some basic supplies like a flashlight, water…you know the drill.”

  Raven nodded. “I’m on it,” she said. “I’ll try to figure out where we are, too. Hopefully I’ll be back within a few hours.”

  “Alright,” Owen said, settling down beneath the rocks. “I’ll try not to party too hard while you’re gone.”

  Raven rolled her eyes, and then turned toward the town. “Magicae invisibilia,” she said, waving her ring over her head with a flourish. She felt the small rush of energy that told her she was now covered by an invisibility shield, and she started walking forward with a sigh.

  “Oh, and Raven?” Owen said.

  “Yes?” Raven asked as she turned back to look at him. He couldn’t see her anymore and was looking slightly to her left as he spoke.

  “If you need help from me, send up those sparks in the air like Lily did last night. I’ll shift and come get you.”

  “Alright,” Raven said. “Although I really hope that won’t be necessary.”

  She glanced up at the ever-brightening sky as she began walking toward the town again. As far as she could tell, none of Saul’s army had followed them. She wasn’t sure she had ever hoped so badly that she was right about something.

  It took her about fifteen minutes to walk the half mile, which was quite a slow pace for her. But every time she l
ifted her foot to take a step, she felt like she was lifting a heavy, leaden block. Her muscles protested with every movement, stiff and cold from the long night of flying. She mentally added a sleeping bag to her list of things to ‘borrow.’ She would have given almost anything right now for a soft spot to lie down.

  Near the border of the town was a small green sign that read “Sandview, Nevada. Population 4,903.” Raven had never heard of the place before, but of course this did not surprise her. It looked like it was barely enough of a town to warrant being a small dot on a map. The place was sleepy, with not much activity happening this early in the morning. Raven wondered what time it was as she walked down the quiet main street, until she saw a bank up ahead with a large clock out front. Six-thirty in the morning.

  Raven took in her surroundings, trying to figure out where her best chance of finding easily accessible food and supplies would be. A small gas station on the main drag was a likely spot for food and basics like flashlights, batteries, and water bottles. But she also needed a backpack of some sort, and some clothes. She would either have to break into someone’s home and search for what she needed, or find a store that sold clothes and backpacks. Somehow, stealing from a store seemed less intrusive than stealing from an individual. After all, the items in a store were up for grabs, and Raven could pay for them later, as soon as she had access to money once again. Call it a self-designed layaway, she thought. But she still felt guilty as she continued walking down the street, looking for a store that might have what she needed.

  It didn’t take long to find a place. A few blocks down from the bank and gas station was a store that boasted the best prices in Nevada on outdoor goods. Raven had a feeling the sign was exaggerating a bit about the prices, but it confirmed to her that they were, indeed, in Nevada. She walked up to the front door of the store, and saw that it did not open until ten a.m. With a frustrated grunt, she took a step back and looked around. She wasn’t sure that breaking in was the best idea. The place might be alarmed, and, even though she was under an invisibility shield, she still needed to be careful not to do anything to raise suspicion. She couldn’t open a door when someone was watching, or take items off a shelf in full view of someone. People would become alarmed if doors and objects seemed to be moving by themselves. And if she broke into a store, people would be carefully looking around for anything suspect. No, she definitely didn’t want to set off any warning bells.