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Rex stepped into the cell and held out a collar with a leash. “I need you to put this on. Mistress wants to parade you around before the hunt starts. That collar will prevent you from shifting whenever you want.”
Blake still didn’t move.
Rex held it out again. “There are three ways we can do this. One, you completely cooperate. Two, you fight us, and we hurt you, then put the collar on you ourselves. Three, we just kill your friends and then do number two.”
Blake looked from Rex’s face to the collar and then back to Rex’s face. He took the collar and put it on his neck. It warmed the skin, and soon, it started itching.
“Give it a couple of minutes. The itching will stop once your body adjusts to the magic,” Rex said.
“Am I supposed to walk like a dog,” Blake said.
“Not unless you want to. The plan is to walk you in front of everyone here tonight for the hunt. Once they get a good look at you, Mistress wants to open the lottery for ten more minutes to see if anyone wants to buy more than one ticket.”
“How much money is she making on this tonight?”
Rex shrugged. “It’s not my place to ask questions like that.”
“How many people will win the lottery?”
“Six. Six people will participate in tonight’s hunt and six more in tomorrow’s.”
“I’m supposed to do this twice?”
Rex walked out of the cell. When Blake didn’t move, he tugged on the leash. It wasn’t a strong leash and did nothing to control Blake’s movement. Rex nodded to a guard. He held up the metal box. Blake followed him out of the cell and outside.
Floodlights were set up to shine on the door. Blake held up a hand to block out the light and noticed the bleachers full of people. A tense hush fell over the crowd as Rex led him closer. Between the bright lights and the staggered sitting, it was hard to see how many people were there, but he guessed it was close to a hundred. He had no idea how much Beatrice charged for the lottery tickets, but he assumed it was a small fortune. These people were crazy.
Beatrice’s voice came through a loudspeaker. “As you can see, he’s stunning in his human form. When you see him shift into his dragon form, you will not be able to comprehend what your eyes are seeing. Now, who would like to buy a second, third, or even more lottery tickets?”
A loud cheer and a cacophony of screams made it hard to know what was happening.
Beatrice said, “I’m not taking your money directly. Each of you has been emailed a special email. Click on that link and transfer your money. Tickets will be available for the next ten minutes, so I would start clicking people.”
A phone rang in Rex’s pocket.
“Yes. I understand. Consider it done.” He put the phone back in his pocket.
“Mistress wants me to take you to the center of the field and let you shift. She wants me to remind you that your friends’ lives are in your hands. She also wants me to tell you that she has a contingency plan if you aren’t motivated enough to save your friends.”
“What’s that?”
“She knows her little enterprise is about to be discovered, and she’s prepared to destroy it all. She will kill every shifter on the property, and if that’s not enough motivation, she’ll go after the President.”
Blake roared. He tugged the leash from Rex’s grasp and attacked the closest guard next to him, breaking his skull when he pushed him to the ground. He ripped off the collar. The remaining guards pulled out cattle prods and proceeded to poke Blake, holding the burning end to his skin longer than necessary.
The crowd jumped to their feet and cheered. The spotlights danced across the field, highlighting Blake as he struggled to fight off the guards.
Beatrice yelled in through the loudspeaker. “Enough, Mr. Sullivan. You’ve put on enough of a show for now. Save your energy.” She paused. “We still have three minutes before the lottery closes. Who would like to see the dragon shift right now?”
The crowd went wild.
Rex told the guards to stop fighting. He started a slow clap while walking closer. “You’ve put on a good show. Mistress received more money than she imagined. Now, you will continue entertaining her guests and shift into your dragon form. There is a post in the center of the field where we will chain you until the hunt begins.” Rex held up a finger. “Oh, there is one thing I should tell you. Mistress put a spell on the area that will only allow you to fly three miles off the ground. If you get too high, it won’t be a fair hunt.”
Blake refused to move.
Rex held a hand to one of the two guards, still moving. The guard gave him a cattle prod. “I’ve been with Mistress a long time. She’s given me certain abilities that go beyond what I should be able to do. Abilities like increasing pain.” He thrust the prod into Blake’s chest and, with one word, intensified the heat until it brought Blake to his knees.
The pain created a surge of energy that involuntarily brought forth his dragon. He fell to his hands and knees. Bones broke, elongated, and reshaped themselves. His chin stretched out, and his nose shrank. His skin melted away, replaced by several layers of thick scales. Horns protruded from his head, wings exploded from his back, and a long tail wrapped around his body.
