Tale of the Prophet Bearer: The Dark Queen's Reign

Chapter 36: Suicide Run

My feet slam on the asphalt as I run and the adrenaline pumping through my veins doesn't ease the pain of previous injuries. Bert turns his humongous head to me, a growl rumbling in his throat. Before he can shower me with fire, I leap onto his tail, using my fire to propel me and work my way up his spiky spine. Shooting his eye worked last time, so why not do it again.

The dragon bucks like an angry horse and my feet slip out from under me. I bite back a scream and clamp my fist around a scale. Gritting my teeth, I make sure my grip is secure and inwardly laugh at his attempt to shake me off. Did he seriously think this would work?

But my grip fails and to my surprise the monster falls backward.

Oh.

Realizing if I didn't do anything he would crush me, I let go and sent a beam of fire to my right, the force propelling me out of the way of certain death. Through the view of my wild hair, I see him crushing a crevasse in the road and I move my hands to propel me back to Bert. I watch the distance between us grow closer and realize that this is going to hurt a lot. I curl my hands over my head and brace myself, smacking into the hard scales and doing several somersaults.

"Ow, ow, ow," I whisper to myself, cradling my bruised arm. I leap to my feet and run down his stomach. Claws tower above me, waving as they try to knock me off. I climb up the red scales on his snout, my limbs shaking. The dragon's jaw snaps open and closed, fire brewing in the back of his throat. I cling to the scales to keep from falling back in to his mouth. Watching and waiting for a moment, I flare my fire, readying myself. Once his mouth shuts, I leap across, using my fire to get me across. I stare down at the fiery eye, preparing for victory.

My footing fails and I find myself falling. The dragon rolls to his feet and with a mighty jump, he soars into the sky, scraping along several buildings. Dust and brick crash to the ground, but they quickly leave my view. I scream and my fingers dance until they finally grab hold of Bert's claw. I hug it close and slide down the dirty talon, stopping just before I slipped off the sharp tip.

My heart feels like it's about to crack my ribs and my arms tremble. All of the movies I watched of a character on a high cliff or mountain flashes back in my mind, the advice of other characters ringing in my head: Don't look down.

But being the stupid teenager I am, I did exactly what you aren't supposed to do and my stomach jumps to my jack-hammering heart. If I fall, I'll smack against the ground like a bug on a windshield. I try to catch my breath and start climbing up. I look for cracks and dents in his claw for my grip and although the trip is taking forever, I'm making progress, even if it's slow.

Heat slaps my face and I look up to see fire blurring the dragon's face. The flames rush towards me.

With a gasp, I release my hold.

The wind slaps my face with a harsh coolness as I fall.

I'm falling.

I screech in horror and flail my arms in the air. Maybe my arms will grow feathers and I'll be able to fly. Why can't mutant powers make be grow wings? Can't powers do anything convenient for me?!

I'm FALLING!

The ground comes into more detail and my freak-out level rises higher than the dragon. The seconds drag by, but also seem to move at light speed. I can't tell which is true.

Something grabs my foot and I look up. An assassin grips my ankle, his other hand holding a chain that a lead up to a hoard of assassins waiting on the dragon's back. My mind jumps back to realize that Bert picked them up when he rammed into the buildings.