The Last Dragon Shifter

Chapter Forty-Six

The tunnels through this exit were as winding and gloomy as the one from Malcolm's room. Stumbling in near darkness, Naomi and Quinn raced through the cramped walls as quickly as they could. Naomi tripped over her own feet at one point, but she didn't care. The most important thing was finding Malcolm. At last, they caught a break. The next turn in the tunnel hinted at their progress.

"There." Naomi pointed at the dim light leading to another opening. As they passed through, the narrow passageway opened up into a cavern. The underground space was dimly lit with torches and had a concentric circle design embedded on the floor. It was eerie, but not the most important thing they encountered.

Soraya stood in the middle of the room.

And she wasn't alone.

"Frank?!" Naomi shouted. The skeevy RC guy had a stymie-chained Malcolm slung over his shoulder. The chains would be strong enough to help him heave Malcolm, while also keeping him sedated if the prince woke up.

"You're in on this?" Naomi growled at him.

"Guilty as charged," Frank said. "It's nothing personal. Honest." Soraya let out a labored sigh.

"Don't bother explaining anything to her, Frank."

"There's no need. I can guess what you two conspiracy nuts are up to."

"Hey! I'm not a conspiracy nut!" Frank pouted. "We—"

Quinn interjected then, appealing to his former partner as he tried to inch closer. "Soraya, think about this. You can't steal a prince, for goodness sake. What good does it do you?"

"Oh, lots. You just don't know about it. Yet."

Soraya didn't wait for them to act. She pressed down on one of the circular tiles. The floor retracted below while the ceiling opened up. In between, a ladder shot up from the ground to the gaping hole above. Quick beyond belief, Soraya shot up the ladder, with Frank close behind her. Naomi and Quinn raced after her and began to climb up the ladder. As they did, it started to retract back down into the floor.

Naomi moved faster, barely making it aboveground. Behind her, Quinn was able to stay afloat and pass by her, using his wind. Brushing off grass and dirt, Naomi caught sight of Soraya and Frank fleeing toward the city lights.

Sprouting her wings to propel her faster, Naomi rushed after them. A sense of triumph filled her when she reached Frank and tackled him. The impact caused a latch on the stymie chains to rip apart, jostling Malcolm loose in the process. Yet, before Naomi could switch gears and free Malcolm, Soraya was on her.

The two girls battled, rolling on the ground, fighting for dominance. That is until Soraya bit her. Naomi hissed and jumped back, taken by surprise. Soraya took the opportunity to hop to her feet, but before she could take off, Naomi blew a torrent of fire at her ankles.

Soraya yelped in pain as she tried to put out the fire. Gratefully, Naomi saw Quinn off to the side, protecting Malcolm from Frank's attempts to recapture the prince. Thank Dija Quinn had come with her. Naomi tried to edge her way to Malcolm again but Soraya stopped grappling with her feet long enough to shoot a throwing star at her—exactly the same type as the one that had nearly hit Malcolm at the show. The girl was a good shot too, lodging the weapon right into Naomi's left shoulder.

"Now, now, you're being sneaky, Naomi. That's not fair," Soraya tsked.

"Why are you doing this?" Naomi asked. Her best bet was to keep Soraya distracted until she or Quinn could get closer to Malcolm.

"Haven't you figured it out? I want to live for eternity." Soraya smirked.

"Yeah, yeah. Your elitist crap. Don't talk to me in riddles. I want real answers." Naomi charged forward, kicking Soraya squarely in the stomach. Fighting dirty, she held Soraya down by her hair. Because hey, the girl had bitten her.