Page 20 of Jay's Silence
The song burst into my head as we shot through the line of air guards, only to skid to a halt.
Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball vanished from my mind.
Two large demons took up most of the hallway. Past them, shapes moved in the dark, letting me know they weren’t alone. Fluorescent-green magic, which I would bet my fortune was poisonous, held their charred flesh to their bodies in an almost web-like pattern. Flesh dangled off the one on the left’s lower jaw, while the other had a few thick, green stringy hairs falling below its ears. Both their eyes glowed with the same green, as would their creators.
“What the feck.” Tyson slid to a stop just as the first demon drove forward.
Slightly behind, the fire prince matched the demon’s movements, and the two clashed with a painful boom.
“Maybe a rutting Lux would have been helpful right now,” Og said at my back.
“No shit.” I looked behind me at the air guards who stood frozen in shock before looking at the demon not fighting Tyson.
Its gaze settled on me, waiting. We couldn’t go back, and we couldn’t go forward.
“Time to be the Kool-Aid man,” I said to Og. “Oh-Yeah.”
Og blinked at me, probably having no idea about the drink mascot who broke through walls to hand people beverages. Behind Og, Tyson still battled, punching and kicking the demon like two boxers trapped in a comically tiny ring.
I repeated myself to Og, who finally covered himself in scales—recovering enough from the shock of the last few minutes to at least follow directions.
He handed me Lux. My legs buckled under the weight of the heavy dragon shifter, but I managed to keep him over my shoulders. I wouldn’t be running, but I could still walk.
Our action broke the air guards out of their daze.
“Where do you think you're going with our prince?” One of them demanded.
Tyson let out a roar and punched his demon. A thunking squelch filled the hall, followed by a demon arm flying past me. It hit the wall next to the air guard’s head and slid down. Fluorescent-green goo sizzled, eating through the stone.
“I think the demons in your castle are probably the bigger deal,” I said too calmly.
The guard closest to me swallowed hard. He focused on the gooey mess of rotting flesh and poison splattered against the stonework. A tremor shook his body.
A second demon charged Tyson.
The guard closest to me brought up a scaled claw and pointed past me directly toward Tyson. “For King Leberecht!”
Tyson!
The group charged forward and I almost stepped into their path before a spear of air sunk into the demon Tyson fought… not Tyson.
You were worried!
Shut-up.
“Og,” I barked. “No time. Run through the fucking wall and get us out of here.”
The warlock backed up as far as he could and charged forward. His magic hit the wall first, unnaturally curving it forward before his dragon strength followed it up with a boom that shook the building. Stone and mortar exploded away from us and dropped to the ground. No outside air rushed into the hall. We’d found another room.
“Do it again!” I yelled.
I tried to carry Lux through the hole, but between the rubble and how wide the two of us were together, I didn’t have the strength or the coordination. I ended up half-chucking half, half-dropping him through the opening. The unconscious air dragon hit the ground on the other side head first. I winced.
Dragon shifter. Heads like rocks. He’ll be fine.
I dove in after him before turning back to watch the chaotic close-quarters battle.
Tyson’s red hair flashed in the sea of white air guards. He stumbled backward with his hands clutching his side.