I held on to her, took a breath, and took the leap.
Time passed weirdly in midair, so it felt less like we were jumping than like we were simply stepping down. Except for the screaming in my ear.
When we landed with a soft bounce, Mallory slitted open one eye, glanced down at her legs.
“Completely intact,” I said. “Unlike my eardrums.”
Mallory opened both eyes and looked at me. “Merit,” she said a little breathlessly. “You’re kind of a badass.”
“About damn time you figured that out,” I said, and I didn’t wait for her retort.
The dragon flew along the river and tried to snap at us, but couldn’t get close enough. We ran up the steps and flew across Wacker, where I dragged her into the stairwell as the dragon crashed behind us, teeth snapping as it tried to push its way underground, breaking off concrete and tile with every movement.
We kept running until the stairway was out of sight, stood huddled together until the dragon stopped screaming. The earth above us shook as it searched us out.
“I hate lizards,” Mallory said, wiping brick dust and grime and tears from her face.
“Yeah,” I said, glancing up at the blocked stairway. “I do, too.”
• • •
We were bloody, dirty, and torn by the time we walked back toward Cadogan House. And unlike the last time, a Guard vehicle was parked outside the House, and soldiers with very large guns stood beside the humans we’d hired to guard the gate.
“I could guess they’re providing security in case the dragon comes here. But that seems . . . unrealistic,” Mallory finished.
“Yeah,” I agreed.
We walked inside, found Ethan in his office in a clean shirt, tidy jeans. He, Catcher, and Malik were checking their phones, probably wondering where we were.
They looked up when we entered, expressions shifting from gratitude to bafflement.
“How do you look so clean?” I asked Ethan.
“We found a gypsy cab and got a ride home.” He stared at Mallory and me, took in another day of torn and dirty clothes. “Why do you not look clean?” he asked, putting away his phone and walking toward us. “What the hell happened to you two?”
“We were chased by a goddamn dragon through the streets of goddamn Chicago,” Mallory said, pushing past the men toward the beverage area. I had a sense she was headed for booze.
Ethan arched an eyebrow. “Long night, Sentinel?”
I handed Ethan my sword, my scabbard, and followed Mallory to the bar. “Bite me.”
Mallory snorted as she poured liquor into glasses.
“What’s with the guard at the door?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Mallory said. “They keeping the dragon out, or the vampires in?”
“The latter,” Catcher said. “Part of the mayor’s efforts to work with the Guard and keep the ‘situation’ from escalating. There are soldiers posted at Grey and Navarre, too.”
There were tunnels beneath the House that would get us past the guards if necessary.
“So a useless gesture to mollify the haters,” I said. “What would happen if we tried to go back out there?”
“We would be rebuffed and told to stay indoors,” Luc said. “Grey House tried. When they were threatened back at gunpoint, he called us and let us know the state of affairs.”
I lifted my eyebrows. “And Grey was okay with that?”
Ethan smiled. “Grey is planning his next move.”