23. CHAPTER
CHAPTER
TWENTY-THREE
“Loose?” Mr. Heiss snarled.
“Yes! Loose! The opposite of contained!” Gammy shouted back. “The wards on the doors! I wasn’t sure why they were so tricky, but it’s because they are actually pillars for a protective prison and—”
“We broke them.” Mr. Heiss swept Indy into his arms. He turned to bark at the others, commanding, “Go! Get everyone out of here that you can! Now!”
Tanze and Underwood vanished in a poof of swirling red smoke and Azazel took off down the hallway on foot. Another tremor erupted, and there was more screaming in the distance as the lights went out.
Mr. Heiss transformed, the crown between his horns offering the only illumination as he stormed toward the back door. “We’re getting the fuck out of here right now and don’t you dare—”
“I’m not going to dare anything!” Indy protested. “I am not Skeletor! I do not want to fuck with a dragon!”
“Are you sure? Because sometimes you have extremely poor judgment—”
“Oh my God, you’re doing this right now?”
“Look out!” Gammy screamed.
The tiles under their feet cracked and imploded instantly, and Indy screeched as they dropped into pitch-black darkness.
They were falling, falling, and he didn’t want to let go of Mr. Heiss to attempt summoning Dill.
This was going to be a really crappy way to die.
If they survived hitting the bottom, then they were probably going to get eaten by a dragon.
Whoosh.
Mr. Heiss soared back up through the hole with a big flap of his wings, landing them safely on solid ground.
“Are you okay?” Gammy wheezed as she clutched at her chest.
“Right.” Indy giggled nervously. “Forgot he could do that.”
Mr. Heiss snorted. “Hold on.” He flew over to the back door, kicking it open so he could then soar through it into a large gravel lot. He resumed his human guise as he jogged around the side of the building, saying firmly, “Now, you’re going into the limo and I will have it take you home—”
“Got it. Going to get out of the limo and come help.”
“No, you are staying in the limo and—”
“Coming to help!”
“Dammit, Indy!”
“You’re about to go fight a dragon! I can help!”
“So can I!” Gammy shouted from behind them.
“Listen to me very carefully,” Mr. Heiss warned as he turned the next corner. “You are going home right now and I am not going to—”
The patrons were still actively trying to flee the club, all of them screaming in panic and racing to their vehicles.
There was already one wreck where two cars had tried to flee at the same time and crashed right into each other, blocking the road and effectively trapping everyone in the parking lot.
Some had chosen to abandon their vehicles and flee on foot, and the surge created a massive stampede of people that knocked some to the ground and left them there to be trampled.
It was absolute chaos.
The limo remained where it had been parked before, but the very asphalt beneath it rippled and rose like a wave. It cracked, crumbled, and the entire limo vanished into a giant hole trunk first.
Mr. Heiss seethed, gently setting Indy down and pushing him behind him. “Tanze, Underwood!”
The two demons appeared in a blink.
“Find Azazel and go get these damn humans out of here as fast as you can!” Mr. Heiss gave Gammy a pleading look. “Can you please—”
“I’ll go help them!” Gammy was already running to the parking lot. “Take care of Indy or I’ll banish you balls first!”
“Understood. Indy? Summon Dill. Now.”
“On it!” Indy kissed the ring frantically, ready to tongue it if need be.
Dill popped up with a sleepy smile, though his eyes widened as he took in the terrifying scene around them. “Grow?”
“Yes, grow! Big, big grow!” Indy hissed. “There’s a dragon and he sounds pissed and—”
A column of blue fire burst out of the hole where the limo had vanished.
There was a deep, rumbling roar and giant blue claws grabbed at the ledge.
Said claws were attached to big scaly arms, an even bigger set of shoulders and chest, and an absolutely massive head boasting a mouth of very, very sharp teeth.
A dragon.
It was absolutely gorgeous, and every inch of its skin was covered in glittering cerulean scales.
They were so bright they glowed, shimmering like liquid as the dragon scrambled to pull itself up out of the ground.
Its eyes were bright white, glimmering like pearls, and its head had a thick crest of spikes going down the middle like a mohawk and more over its eyes.
It was terrifying, yes, but truly to see such an incredible reptilian behemoth of legend in the flesh was an incredible vision Indy would remember for the rest of his life if he lived through this.
It was a dragon.
Right out of a fairy tale, larger than life, beasts with vast reservoirs of power.
Ancient, powerful, beautiful, and deadly, and—
Thwump.
There was a crash as the dragon fell right back into the hole with an alarmed squawk.
Huh.
Maybe this one was broken.
A new rumble shook the ground, signaling the dragon’s second escape attempt.
It managed to get out this time and snarled as it clamored over the edge.
It flapped its giant wings, leathery white framed in the same blue as its scales.
It towered over the building and all the pumps, its long tail lashing and taking the closest ones out in a flurry of screeching metal and sparks.
The sparks—chains.
The dragon had thick black chains wrapped around its hind legs, and the metal sparked as it dragged its legs forward.
It was moving sluggishly, each step a clear struggle, and it let out a frustrated growl as it tried to flap its wings and hit the side of the building.
It stumbled again, skidding forward across the pavement and crashing into the jammed-up line of cars trying to escape.
Predictably, some patrons had stopped to whip out their phones to document what was probably the world’s first photographic evidence of a drunk dragon.
“So.” Indy swallowed hard. “Is he wasted or what?”
Dill stared up at the dragon, his jaw dropping. “Grow.”
“Yeah, lots of grow.”
“Stay here,” Mr. Heiss again ordered before stalking toward the dragon. “Dill, keep Indy safe.”
“Hey! He’s my leshy! Not yours!” Indy grunted as Dill grabbed him around his middle. “Oh, come on! Dammit, Dill. Put me down. That is a direct order.”
Dill hugged Indy tighter. “No.”
Indy kicked harder. “Dill, I swear to God—”
“No.”
Indy flailed. “I swear I’m going to get some weed killer.”
“No.”
Mr. Heiss stood a few yards off from the dragon, calling out, “Dragon! Hear me! I am Mr. Heiss, a ruler of this city and—”
“I know who and what you are, demon.” The dragon sighed, its voice deep and thick as the asphalt beneath its feet. “I am Murray Moore. Trust that I want nothing more than to leave this place—”
“But not quite yet,” Mr. Mitternacht’s voice snapped. “There’s still work to do.”
Mr. Heiss whirled around with a snarl as Mr. Mitternacht and Nyp appeared behind him. “You.”
“Yeah, so.” Nyp grinned sheepishly as he waved. “Surprise?”
“Told you!” Indy shouted. “I fucking told you!”
“Would love to chat, but we’re a little busy.” Mr. Mitternacht smiled darkly and snapped his fingers.
The chains around Murray’s legs glowed red, and he roared in pain. He glared hatefully at Mr. Mitternacht, snarling, “What?”
Mr. Mitternacht pointed at Mr. Heiss and the others. “Kill them all and bring the flesh bag to me. There’s a little something I’d like to pick off his corpse. Only then will I release you.”
Murray sighed again. “As you wish.”
“Wait—” Mr. Heiss held up a hand.
Murray opened his mouth, and there was a brilliant light beaming in the back of his throat.
It took Indy several seconds to register why it was so bright.
Right.
Dragon.
And dragons breathed fire.
The flames erupted from Murray’s mouth in a thick column, beautiful and deadly, and struck Mr. Heiss dead-on. Even from a distance, the heat was unmistakable, as was the foul smell of something burning—plastic, bone, hair.
The flames vanished, but Indy couldn’t see what had happened to Mr. Heiss.
“Raph!” Indy screamed. “Dill—”
Dill grew so fast and so big that Indy was soon like a toy in his hand. He set Indy down by the edge of the trees, his brow furrowed. “Grow.”
Indy pointed urgently. “Grow over there and kick Puff’s ass!”
Dill nodded once and then took off, the ground shaking with his every step.
Indy ran toward where he’d last seen Mr. Heiss by the wreckage of the old pumps, cursing as his shoes stuck to the pavement.
It was so hot that the rubber soles were melting and sticking with every step, and his stomach churned as he saw a black lump on the ground.
“Mr. Heiss? Raph? Whatever your goddamn name is, you better not be fucking dead!”
The blackness shifted and then flapped—it was Mr. Heiss’s wings, and he’d wrapped them around himself like a shield to resist the fire. He stood and growled low. “Indy?”
“Don’t you start.” Indy grabbed his face and kissed him firmly.
Mr. Heiss growled again but kissed him back. “There. Yay. Now go and—”
Murray roared, angry and loud, as Dill jumped on his back and grabbed his neck. Thick vines curled all around Murray’s body, and Murray roared again as he tried to buck and throw Dill off. He let out another blast of fire, but he couldn’t turn his head far enough to properly aim it at Dill.
Instead, part of the nearby trees caught fire and sent coils of black smoke up into the sky.
“Go. Now.” Mr. Heiss pointed back at the club. “Find somewhere to hide—” His eyes widened and he snarled, shoving Indy out of the way right as a clawed hand swiped at him.
Mr. Mitternacht.
That bitch.
He tried to snatch Indy again, but Mr. Heiss got a hold of his arm and twisted it back at a painful-looking angle. The two of them struggled and traded heavy blows, and Mr. Heiss kept pulling him over toward the trees. He was clearly leading him away from Indy.
Indy didn’t know what to do.
He didn’t want to run.