How to Lose Your Dragon (The Immortality Curse Book 1) by Peter Glenn (beach read TXT) 📕

poor Rick for just a moment, and he jumped backward. I grinned. That was just the kind of thing I needed to catch up to him.

I sped up as much as my tired body would let me, determined to catch up to him before anything bad could happen. Up ahead, I saw him start to run again. He scrambled around a nearby corner into an alley, which made me wrinkle my nose.

Just where was he going? Did he even know how dangerous alleys could be in the dark? I really didn’t have the energy to save him twice in one night. Not injured like I was.

I sped across the street, ignoring the cars. A few other drivers honked at me, but I’d almost caught up to Rick by this point. I made it across the rest of the street with no problems.

From somewhere behind me, I heard a low growl and wondered if Lanky Guy had somehow caught up to me again.

I chanced it and spun around to look, panting and wheezing. My eyes scanned the crowds, but I didn’t see Lanky Guy anywhere.

Off to the left, I saw a couple of guys hunched over a trash can, and there was another dude with a giant mohawk walking up to them. Drug dealers, most likely. Or spellcasters. Either way, it wasn’t great, but it wasn’t my problem.

Further down the street, I thought I spotted a rather large, gray dog, but it was only there for a moment, then it was gone. In its passing, my nose caught the faintest scent of wine wafting down the sidewalk.

I shook my head. Exhaustion and blood loss were probably getting to me by this point. For all I knew, the street was empty. I returned my attention to finding Rick.

The alleyway he’d turned down was just ahead. I crept into it, trying to move slowly so I wouldn’t startle the guy.

“Rick?” I said in a voice barely over a whisper. “You there, Rick?” There was no answer.

I took a few more steps forward. A quick flash of something dust-colored swam past my vision as something moved off to my right.

My hand instinctively went to the hilt of my katana, but I reminded myself it was probably just Rick, so I retracted it just as quickly, willing the muscles in my arm to release their tension.

“Come on, Rick. I just want to talk to you.” I put my hands out in front of me, palms open, to show that I meant business. “I won’t attack you, I swear.”

“Gaah!” someone yelled.

Something heavy crashed into me from behind, sending me sprawling. I pushed out my hands to break my fall as damp concrete rose up to fill my vision.

A fresh wave of pain rocked the back of my head as I felt a bruise start to form there, and I spun around, scrambling back to my feet and unsheathing my katana in one swift motion.

I raised my blade to lash out at my attacker only to see Rick standing there, holding his briefcase in both hands, eyes looking wild.

“Dude. You scared me,” I said, putting my katana away again. “Now, put that briefcase away so we can talk.”

Rick blinked his eyes a few times, but he didn’t budge from his attack-like stance.

Off in the distance, I heard the tell-tale sound of sirens blaring. They were several blocks away yet, and we were in an alley, so we still had a few minutes, but not long. I’d have to convince Rick in a hurry, or do something drastic.

Not that I minded doing things the hard way, but it was a pain in the butt, and I was still tired. Plus Rick really didn’t deserve it. He hadn’t done anything wrong. Other than agreeing to work with me, but we all make mistakes.

“Come on, Rick. If we don’t go soon, we’ll have some unwanted company.” I extended my hand to him again, the non-bloody one, palm open. “Just come with me and I’ll explain everything.”

Rick still looked like he was about to swing his briefcase at me again, but I saw his arms flinch just a little bit. Whether it was from exhaustion of his own or a willingness to listen, I couldn’t tell, but it was promising. It meant the adrenaline was most likely starting to leave his body.

“Let’s go, Rick. I can take you some place safe.”

“Safe from whom?” he spat. “More of your sword-wielding friends?”

I balked. “Friends? You mean Lanky Guy back there?” I barked out a quick laugh. “I wouldn’t really say we were friends. More like acquaintances at best. Friends don’t usually try to skewer you with three feet of metal.” My face was beaming at him for that last bit.

Rick rolled his eyes and his hands lowered just a little bit. “Very funny.”

“Hey, I try. But nah, from the police. I just killed a man on the middle of 6th Avenue. That’s not going to go over well with the onlookers.”

I craned my neck a little toward the entrance of the alleyway, listening for those sirens. They were maybe two blocks away now, coming in hot.

“We’ve got a couple minutes, tops. Scenes like that make a pretty big splash with the locals.”

“Tch,” Rick replied, staring straight at me. “I bet.”

I laid my hands bare and shrugged. It seemed like this wasn’t the right time for humor. Or maybe Rick just didn’t like my jokes. Either was possible. It was information to file for later, but right now, I had to get both of us off the streets, and fast.

My hand reached out to him again. “Okay, enough with the jokes. But we really do have to get going. You were with me, so the police will be after you, too. Come on.”

Rick’s eyes trailed down to my outstretched hand and his briefcase faltered.

“That’s a good lad. Put that thing down and we’ll get out of here.”

His briefcase finally fell to his side, and his free hand snaked toward me at a snail’s pace.