Page 85 of The Infirmary for Dragon Burns and Midair Mishaps

And then came the wall of heat. Min finally dove, arching away from the plume of flame that exploded into the air, as tall and wide as the towers in the capital.

I clutched my chest. Min was going to give me a damn heart attack.

The Wretch roared, smoke issuing from its nostrils as its eyes followed us. A spear caught it on the upper eyelid, causing another distraction. I watched Vaela reach one wing joint, wedging herself in as she unstrapped the bolt cutters and used them on the chains.

She worked quickly, cutting through the metal. The chains rattled as they dropped to the cobbles below.

One great, leathery wing flapped free, fanning flames that burned on nearby buildings. The Wretch roared in triumph. It attempted to take to the sky, leaping and falling hard, its head crashing through the fountain in the middle of town square.

Vaela was tossed from the wing joint, and for a moment I completely lost sight of her.

“Min, circle back around,” I shouted. “I can’t see her!”

We swooped through plumes of thick smoke. When the air cleared, I spotted Vaela again, my pulse calming as I watched her climb between the sharp armored plates along the Wretch’s spine before sliding down to the other wing joint.

Min swept around, sending a series of fireballs in the Wretch’s direction to take its attention off Matty and Dalton as they threw spears and bits of rubble and anything else they could get their hands on. The projectiles were an annoyance more than anything else, and the Wretch easily ignored them in favor of attempting to bat Min from the sky. She twisted at the last second, narrowly avoiding a swipe of the beast’s tail. We flew wide, curling over the surrounding forests.

I tapped my hand against her scales as the lake glistened below. “Down there on that shed,” I called. “Is that a person?”

Min dropped lower, circling the shed for a better view. Flames ate up one side, blocking the ladder. Upon closer inspection, I could see the person cowering on the rooftop was Cyrus. He fell to his knees, hacking on the smoke.

Min darted through the curling tendrils, landing on the roof with a thud.

“Not you!” Cyrus cried as Min inched toward him. “Get away. Don’t you touch me.”

“Do you want to die up here?” I shouted at the insufferable man.

He picked up a rake that lay on the roof next to him and pushed to his feet, prodding at Min with it.

I scowled, quickly losing patience. There were people who actually wanted our help. “Min,” I said, lip curling back over my teeth. “Get him.”

She launched forward, claws outstretched. Cyrus stumbled back, screaming as he lost his footing, pitching right off the edge of the building, arms flailing. His eyes widened at the realization he was falling, and then one of Min’s claws hooked around him. She curled her entire leg into her body, holding him tight.

Cyrus bellowed at the top of his lungs as Min swept between tall evergreens all the way to the lake where the townsfolk had gathered. She did a lap of the perimeter, then dropped him into the water.

“You ungrateful bastard!” I shouted down at him before Min shot off again.

We moved like starlight, and my eyes watered as we exploded through a thick wall of smoke just in time to see Vaela free the second wing.

The Wretch growled, stretching both its wings this time, using the remnants of its cage like a stepping stone as it launched into the air. If I thought the dragon was terrifying on the ground, it was even more formidable in the sky.

Min roared, drawing my attention.

I gasped.

Vaela was still on its back. She hadn’t jumped down in time.

I watched her tumble along the Wretch’s spine, narrowly missing the jagged plates of spikes that pointed straight to the sky. She kept skidding, missing every handhold.

“She’s not stopping!” I cried.

Min bleated in panic, the sound sending my heartbeat spiraling. Vaela was going to tumble right off the Wretch and plummet to her death if we didn’t catch her.

“Go, Min!” I shouted. “Go!”

Vaela slipped along those onyx scales, grasping for anything and everything, missing each time. The Wretch curved, and she flipped over, now diving headfirst along its ribcage.

“Faster, Min!” The air bit my face.