“I need a drink,” the Dragon spoke loudly, stretching out his hand for someone to give him what he wanted. “And the Key of Barishem.”
No one moved for a moment, and Hunt turned to the Werewolf standing beside him. She clearly recognized Garret as well. Before Hunt could speak, someone walked up to the Dragon, a Ghoul who worked as security for the bar. He was known to be a hothead, and even before he reached Garret, Hunt knew he was a walking corpse.
“Yer nae welcome here, Garret. Get out, or I’ll have to take ye arse outta here,” said the Ghoul, his ghostly white face jittering as he moved between planes of existence.
Garret turned to him, moving only his neck. “I don’t see a drink or the Key.”
“Don’t make me ask again,” the Ghoul repeated.
“If you want to live, we’re going to leave, right now,” Hunt said to the Werewolf. “He’s going to kill everyone in here.”
She threw a glance at him before taking a step back. The Ghoul reached forward and grabbed Garret by the arm, looking to drag him off. As he pulled, he realized he couldn’t budge the Dragon from where he stood. The Ghoul took a step back, channeling energy from inside of him.
As he raised a hand to strike, Garret’s arm shot up and caught the Ghoul’s arm. Hunt watched in shock. Ghouls could easily phase in and out of existence, making themselves intangible if they wanted. They could move through solid matter with ease, making themselves intangible and indestructible at the same time.
And somehow, the Dragon held him with ease. Garret shook his head, and then began walking toward the counter. Thewoman behind the bar placed a bottle on the bar and popped it open for him, before shifting off to the corner. The Ghoul began to scream, trying to break free of the clutch of the Dragon.
“You’re too loud,” Garret said. “Do you know where I can find the Key of Barishem?”
“Let go of me!” the Ghoul yelled.
“Okay, I guess you don’t,” Garret replied, using a single hand to take his hood off his face. Hunt grimaced as he saw that the side of the Dragon’s face had been bashed in badly, leaving one side looking almost completely crushed. Garret put his hand against the chest of the Ghoul, revealing a bracelet with a green and black aura emanating from it. “That’s it for you.”
The bracelet let out a blast of energy, sending it right through the Ghoul. Hunt watched as it fought to fade to another plane, but Garret’s grip stopped it from leaving, and the blast instantly vaporized the Ghoul. The bar instantly flew into chaos, with most people rushing to get away from him. Hunt saw Conan and his men back away into a corner, scared for their lives.
“Shit, shit…” the Werewolf whispered to herself.
Hunt realized from the Werewolf’s expression that she had history with the Dragon. He wasn’t looking to get in an altercation with Garret. The Dragon was on a level of power that was beyond him. Hunt turned around to leave, knowing he would be safer away from the chaos. But he stopped. He couldn’t just leave the Werewolf behind.
She was a shifter, a paranormal creature. He had spent most of his life killing her kind. But something called to him, he didn’t want to leave her to her fate. If he could just get her away…
Hunt turned and grabbed her hand. “Look, Conan is on the other side of the room. He’s not going to make a move for you right now. This is your chance to leave.”
She pulled her hand away from him, glaring at him. “I don’t—”
“Oh, what’s this?” Garret said loudly, sniffing the air.
Hunt saw the Werewolf’s face turn a deathly pale color. The Dragon’s keen sense of smell had picked up on the Werewolf. Garrett turned around slowly until he was facing in their direction. The people between Garret and Hunt quickly parted as the Dragon walked right up to him. Hunt got in front of the Werewolf, putting himself between her and Garret.
“Out of my way,” Garret said in a low voice.
Hunt began to speak, but the man’s hand wrapped around his throat faster than he could make the words. Hunt felt himself lifted up and tossed off to the side like a ragdoll, crashing through the bar. Stunned, he looked to see Garret face-to-face with the Werewolf. He had a sinister smile on his face, looking down at her.
“I didn’t think we’d meet again, Emma.”
Chapter 3 - Emma
Emma had no idea why the man had put himself between Garret and herself. Whoever he was, he seemed to be a better option than the Vixen who had made a bid, and the Wyvern who had caused so much commotion. All of his good looks had been for naught, as the man had been taken care of with ease. But now, she had other things to be worried about. A powerful Dragon who could bring her down in a single blow was right in front of her, toying with her.
“What are you doing so far away from Ridgeshire?” Garret asked.
Emma didn’t think. She threw a blow right at his face, using everything she had and putting it behind her fist. The Dragon didn’t bother to block the attack, taking it square in the chin. It knocked him back a step, blowing the hood off his face. Garret shook his head, shrugging off the blow.
“I wasn’t going to kill you. I was going to take you, and use you to glean information from Levi and the rest of you fuckers, but you know what?” Garret spoke, drawing energy to the bracelet he had on his wrist. “I’m just going to kill you off.”
Emma began moving, looking to get out of the way of the attack. But Garret’s speed was a lot more than she could account for. He had gotten so powerful, and Emma was certain he would hit her. But just before the blow struck, a tear appeared right above her face, and Garret’s hand went right into it. The roof above them exploded from the impact of Garret’s attack being redirected up above.
Emma looked to the left to see the man who had been thrown into bar. He held his hands open, casting the spell that had opened the rift. He had saved her life. Garret turned tolook as well, seeing the Hunter recovering from the spell. He gritted his teeth before backhanding Emma, knocking her to the ground.