Free Keeper of the Flame by Bianca D'Arc Page B

assassin pressed it against her throat.
    “That’s right, boyo,” said the first man, closing on Hugh’s unprotected back. Hugh could take him, but his partner would kill the lady without a second thought before Hugh could get to her. “Now, do we get one eye from this or two? Your choice.”
    “You get an eye for each person you kill?” Hugh was sickened by the macabre practice.
    The man nodded with seeming pride. “Twenty-seven I have today. My master there has double that number.” From the corner of his eye, Hugh saw something move in the darkness to the left. Something that blended with the night in gray and black stripes. “My master can make it quick for her or make her suffer. Which would you prefer?”
    “Neither, actually,” Hugh said conversationally to the man. “We need your help, sweetheart.” He directed his thoughts toward the baby gryphon. “Remember how I told you about your claws? Unsheathe them and sink them into the man holding the lady. I will take care of the rest.”
    A split second later, as if he’d timed it perfectly, though luck had more to do with it than planning, the gryphlet erupted from beneath the vines as Hugh sprang into action. Miss went for the man holding his knife at the lady’s throat, claws bared, sharp teeth flashing in the night as she hit the man from the side, raking his arm. She jumped upward, using her wings to bat him with air and feathers, claws and teeth, blinding him and making him let go.
    But not before the sharp blade cut into the lady’s neck.
    Hugh saw it in the split second as he shifted shape and slashed out with his much bigger claws, killing both assassins at the same time—one with his right hand, one with his left.
    The lady was bleeding, but still standing when he dropped the lifeless men to the ground and beckoned to her.
    “Get on my back quick as you can. We dare not tarry. There may be more of them.”
    The lady climbed aboard and Miss bounded up right behind her. Hugh lurched into the air with less grace and even more speed than before, heading out, over the hills, toward the sand flats beyond. He needed a place to take them where they’d see an enemy coming. Someplace safer than the city or its environs. Someplace close.
    The sandy wasteland beyond the foothills was the only place he could fly to fast that provided some of those tactical advantages. And it had to be quick. The lady was bleeding. He had to see how bad it was.
    “How are you holding up back there?”
    “All right,” she said in a weak voice. Was the weakness from shock or blood loss? Hugh needed to land in order to find out.
    He looked around for a likely spot and found something usable not far. He landed more rapidly than before, with less finesse, but more speed, absorbing the shock of meeting the ground with his elbows and knees. The lady tumbled from his back, followed by the gryphlet who glided downward using her fluffy, baby wings. She would be fledging before long, Hugh thought absently as he shifted form and knelt at the lady’s side.
    She was pale, blood flowing down the front of her dress. Hugh cursed and examined the wound, glad to see it was not as deep as he’d feared. He could heal this and in time, she would regain her strength.
    All dragons had magic. Most had healing abilities. Hugh had trained his healing powers so that he could help humans and dragons alike should there be need. He blessed his teachers now for their preparation as he laid his hands over the lady’s neck, summoning his power.
    A fog surrounded them as the Dragon’s Breath came at his call, enveloping her and healing her wound. Miss was sitting at her side and batted at the magical fog in curiosity but didn’t back away. She seemed to bask in the magic that Hugh called and he was glad for it. He hadn’t had a chance to see if any of the blood on the kitten’s fur was her own. He thought not, but he didn’t want to take any chances.
    If she was injured, the Dragon’s Breath