It seemed like he was gesturing for me to go back. I was the kind of person who talked to dogs, so why not respond to a giant lizard - especially since he seemed intelligent? I could use all the help I could get- Kreturus' pet or not.
"Why would I go back? I have to get out of here. I have to talk to Al and decide what to do, and this is the way out. This is the way back to Al and sane people." I passed the dragon and continued on, but the beast lifted his huge paw and slapped it down in front of me. Startled, I jumped back, surprised. His paw made a loud thwack as his claws hit the stone ground and reverberated off the walls. "Cut it out!" I hissed. "Go away! Leave me alone."
The dragon shook his head and suddenly seemed way too lithe for his size. Panic made my heart race as the beast used his body to encircle me. His maw loomed right in front of my entire body. If he opened his mouth, he could snap me like a tooth pick. Standing perfectly still, I waited to see what he would do. He grunted softly and pushed my arm with his maw, careful to keep his lips closed so he wouldn't touch me with his razor sharp teeth. He repeated the movement and I found my feet moving towards his forearm.
"What are you doing?" I shook my head at him. I wasn't angry, just annoyed. Why this animal was following me was beyond me. And now he was herding me whether I liked it or not. He pushed me again with his maw, less gently this time, causing me to stumble. I grabbed hold of his hide to keep from falling, at which point he slid his muzzle under my butt and pushed me up to the depression between his shoulders. I rolled into the place between his shoulder blades, as he flapped down once. Then twice. And we rose into the inky sky.
I buried my face in his cold shimmering scales as the wind screeched past me. The dragon from my visions had forced me onto his back and kidnapped me. Terrified, I held on for my life, clinging to his rigid body. Every time he flapped his wings the depression that made my seat shifted. I dug my fingers around the side of a scale and held on. The wind whipped past us as we traveled a different direction than I had been coming from or going to. Within a matter of moments, the dragon landed as gracefully as a hippo, and I fell off his back. Anger and fear mingled too violently within me to say much. Instead, I just glared at him. The dragon rolled his eyes, and nodded his head towards something.
Agitated, I turned to see what he was gesturing at and felt my heart slide into my toes. There in the darkness I saw someone sitting on a large stone. Dread pooled within me as I recognized the curve of his back, and the slant of his shoulder. I knew who it was before stepping closer.
Collin.
CHAPTER SEVEN
The bond tightened with proximity to him. Damn dragon. I glanced sharply at the huge beast, angry at it for bringing me here. He was Kreturus' dragon for sure. Why else would he do this to me?
Hesitation, anger, and terror were mixing in my veins as I stood behind Collin. I knew he could sense me, and I knew he was the one who told the dragon to grab me. Part of me was elated that Collin was sitting there, perfect and alive - like before. But so much had changed since he held me in his arms. And now things were screwed up beyond repair.
Slowly, I shifted my foot forward. Collin kept his back to me, not seeming to realize I was there, which was odd since I sensed him as soon as the dragon tossed me off his back. I would have sensed Collin sooner, but I was kind of overwhelmed by that whole flying thing. Damn dragon. I glanced back to see where the beast was, but there was no sign of him. It was just me and Collin alone in the dimly lit cavern. The noise of grackles screeched in the distance, but the area around us was still. We were the only ones here.
As I approached him, I wondered when Collin would