Her Mad Dragon (Dragon Guard Series Book 15) by Julia Mills Read Free Book Online

forcing the tips
of the dragon’s sharp talons to burst through his skin. Fiery pain tore through
his nerve endings as blood dripped from his claws. Forcing a change with that
amount of magic was dangerous at best and always resulted in injury. But in
this case, was absolutely necessary.
    Thankfully, the hunters had Kyran’s undivided attention,
making him miss Maddox’s actions. He lowered the sword from the mad dragon’s
stomach and slowly crept towards the opening of the grotto. He mumbled to
himself, deciding he had a few minutes to plan before the enemy was upon them
since his ‘home’ was at the back of a labyrinth of tunnels that traversed the
inside of the massive mountain. Even if by some stroke of dumb luck the hunters
breached the plethora of magical traps Kyran had set at the mouth of the cave,
it would take a miracle for them to find their way through the maze of the
cavern.
    However, since Fate had a sick sense of humor and had
already thrown a monkey wrench into the mad dragon’s plans, Maddox decided he
was going to err on the side of protecting his own ass and began to cut through
the thick jute binding his wrists with the sharp talons of his beast. As soon
as his wrists were free, he slowly lifted his head towards his feet in a kind
of upside-down touch-your-toes move.
    Damn, doing this shit is when I realize how old I really
am….
    Groaning to himself, the mad dragon grabbed his ankles, cut
the rope and clutched the lava tube with his hands. Slowly stretching his large
frame, happy to be right-side-up again, Maddox hung as still as possible as the
extra blood left his head and the black spots retreated from his sight.
    Kyran was out of sight but the mad dragon could see his
shadow while quietly dropping to the ground and creeping on silent feet to his
pack. With his short blade and his serrated edge hunting knife tucked into his
belt, Maddox made his way to the opposite side of the grotto opening. Looking
out with both his enhanced sight and his preternatural perception, he watched
as the black dragon inched along the tunnel wall, disappearing into the
darkness of the cave towards the faint sounds of the hunters holding their
ground where they’d stopped halfway up the mountainside.
    Trying once again to speak to Calysta or any of his other
brethren using the mindspeak of their kin, Maddox cursed under his breath when
his calls only echoed back to him. Facing the reality that his only ally was
the deranged dragon before him who’d held him captive and would most likely
stab him along with the hunters, the mad dragon stepped out of the cavern. One
foot in front of the other, he remained almost fifteen feet behind Kyran,
careful not to spook the black dragon or draw attention to himself until it was
absolutely necessary.
    Better the devil you know, right? Sounds like bullshit to
me.
    But it was all he had to work with, so Maddox stuck behind
his friend and prayed for the best. The closer they got to the mouth the cave
the more prevalent the feel of magic on his skin became.
    Guess I missed that the first time around. I was a little
preoccupied, but damn…
    Kyran came to a screeching halt. Put his fist in the air as
the universal signal for stop and spoke directly into Maddox’s mind. “ H ey, Doxie, looks lik' they’ve git th' exit covered.
Any ideas?”
    Shaking his head and grinding his fist into the stone wall
beside him to be sure he hadn’t completely lost his marbles, Maddox continued
the black dragon’s delusion by answering, “They’re not on the ledge. My
guess is they’re scared of us.” He chuckled for good measure before adding, “I say we wait ‘em out. Call for reinforcements .”
    When no response came, Maddox feared he’d gone too far, but
he had to try to get Kyran to drop the magical damper long enough to call for
help. Watching the Phantom’s back, the mad dragon waited for any sign that his
old friend was at least partially still in the game. Several tense