Realm Wars

Chapter 13

Dash was rarely ashamed at her lack of physicality. She knew that her strengths were more intellectual in nature. But when she flung the child's helmet as hard as she could at the creature--and missed, she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

Nevertheless, Dash wouldn't give up so easily. She swung the helmet again wildly.

The shadow dodged, then leapt in the air. Dash covered her face and closed her eyes tight. The beast pounced on top of her. Its weight crushed her chest.

Dash never imagined this would be how she died.

In the woods.

Alone.

Searching for a child she was supposed to be babysitting.

She held her breath, anticipating another strike but it never came. Instead, she felt the creature nudge at her elbows.

Dash peaked between her forearms and caught a glimpse of the beast.

What?

Dash couldn't believe it. The creature wasn't at all what she had imagined.

Not a wolfcat.

Not a spider-bat.

Not a pantra.

It was a... well, she wasn't quite sure. The closest animal she could liken it to was a drat. Well, mostly anyways. But there was no such thing as drats. They were fictional. Yet, the creature before her was a dog-sized lizard with wings.

A wave of relief washed over her as the creature nuzzled into her arms. Dash relaxed her head on the ground, still trying to catch her breath. Scared of a mucking drat. Wait till she told the guys about this. It was nothing like the game. She'd probably leave out the part about running for her life. What would they think if they knew their archmage was afraid of a little drat? The pet-sized dragon licked her enviro-mask, leaving a streak of slobber along the view visor. Apparently, the little guy was quite affectionate. How absurd, Dash thought. A mucking drat. She chuckled and pain shot through her body. She held her ribcage. Ouch. Definitely bruised something. Dash pushed the animal off of her body, then struggled to her feet. As she wiped off her enviro-suit, she looked down at the creature. Its scales sparkled like diamonds under the bioluminescent light, as it ruffled its wings and tucked them back into place.

"You gave me quite a scare there, little guy."

The drat sat on its hind legs and tilted its neck. Its tongue bobbed up and down as it panted.

Dash shook her head.

Some hero you turned out to be.

She placed the helmet in front of the drat. "You haven't seen a little girl around here, have you?"

Wide-eyed, tongue flopping, the animal just stared back at her.

Dash shrugged. "Worth a shot." She examined her surroundings. Nothing seemed familiar and she couldn't find the cobblestone path. Better keep looking. Dash chose a direction at random and started trudging forward. If she continued in a direct line, perhaps she would meet up with Astrea, or the path, or some familiar landmark.

The creature followed. But after a few minutes, it nipped at her heels.

Dash stopped.

The creature whined.

It must want food.

She raised her hands, palms up. "Sorry little guy, I don't have anything on me."

Even if she did have a snack, she wouldn't have shared it with the drat. She was so hungry, she could eat a whole roast by herself. As soon as Dash got back to camp, she would eat, bathe, and drink. But maybe in reverse order. After a few more paces, the creature jumped in front of her. Dash stopped and placed her hands on her hips. "Excuse me."

The creature whined and nudged her leg again.

"No food. Sorry," Dash said, pressing on.

The drat barked at her, then nipped at her heels. Dash tried to shake it off but it wouldn't let go. "Sun spit." She struggled against the creature, but it continued to tug at her. Dash pulled back with all of her might. The drat released and she fell on her butt, dropping the mask. The drat snatched it up with its mouth and shook it back and forth, then clawed at it.

"Hey, give that back."

The creature darted off into the brush with the helmet.

Dash reached out. "Hey, wait." She struggled to her feet and chased after the pesky lizard.

"Give that back!"

Dash followed it up a hill. When the animal finally stopped, her lungs burned and her muscles screamed. Maybe this baby dragon would be the death of her after all. Dash rested her hands on her knees, sucking wind. Once she caught her breath, she tapped her nav-display and scanned the area. Still no connection.

Yup.

Lost.

Just what she was trying to avoid.

Not to mention, the drat was nowhere in sight. It must have scurried into the bushes. Now, what the realms would she do? How could she find Astrea? She'd have to backtrack and hope that she could find the cobblestone path. If she ever saw that little mongrel again, she'd turn it into drat soup and then--

"Miss Dash, there you are!" A small voice said.