Morwitch - Breaking the Rules (Complete)

Chapter Fourteen

A short time later, Ellie and Jayce walked slowly down the street towards the place where they'd encountered the bounty hunter earlier that day. Jayce smiled as Ellie blew out a long, slow breath when there was no sight of the man anywhere.

"Thank the Stars he's gone. I had visions of him still sitting here waiting for us. Not that he would have remembered who we were, but try convincing my over-active imagination of that. I keep waiting for another one to jump out from behind a tree and we'll have to relive the whole thing again. By the way, what happened to his gun?"

Jayce squeezed her hand. "I unloaded it and stuffed it into the bottom of the backpack. We'll get rid of it first chance we get. We should be pretty safe for now. Anyone who saw me as a dragon last night or this morning has had all day to make their move. I'm just dreading morphing and exposing us again."

"As long as we land way before daylight this time we should be fine. And we won't be broadcasting to anyone who happens to be in range again either. However far that may be."

Twenty minutes later they were up and flying again. The moon was just a sliver, the night air crisp and exhilarating. Jayce felt the tension ease as he moved his powerful wings with confidence. As a dragon, and in the sky, the self-doubt he'd been having about keeping Ellie safe melted away. He'd get them to their destination in one piece if it killed him.

***

JAYCE HAD STUDIED the map Yvette gave them for almost an hour before they'd left the motel, and he was pretty sure they should be getting close to their destination. He hadn't heard anything from Ellie for the last half hour, so he assumed she'd fallen asleep. It had been a long night, but the nightmare was almost over.

He banked to the left to take a closer look at the terrain below and felt a thump against his side.

What the...?

Jayce, help! Ellie's voice screamed into his mind. He spotted her below him, her arms flailing as she plummeted towards the ground.

I'm coming! Jayce sent, as he turned and nose-dived in her direction, her screams echoing inside his head. His heart clenched in fear. He hadn't been that high up, trying to get a closer look at where they were. Which meant he didn't have much time to get between Ellie and the ground.

He'd almost reached her when he realised he didn't know how he was going to catch her. At the speed she was falling, there was no guarantee she wouldn't just bounce off his back if he got underneath her, and they didn't have time to find out either way. He'd have to use his teeth or his talons, either of which would hurt her. Still, having some scratches was definitely better than being dead.

Jayce pulled out of his nose-dive and hovered above Ellie's rapidly descending body. I'm sorry baby, but I'm gonna have to grab you with my talons. This may hurt... he sent to Ellie's mind.

Don't care... just don't let me hit the ground! Ellie's voice was high-pitched and close to hysteria. Jayce stretched out his talons and grabbed her falling body just above tree height, her body jerking as her fall ended. He felt her sag, both physically and mentally, and assumed she'd passed out. Lowering her slowly to the ground, he released her slumped body gently from his talons, and then moved to land beside her.

He changed almost the second his feet touched the ground, racing to untangle himself from the over-sized harness still hanging off his body. He ran to Ellie and pulled her into his lap, wincing at the sight of the ripped flesh running down her left side. The pain must have been incredible, yet she hadn't made a sound.

"Elle... can you hear me? I'm so sorry I hurt you. It was the only way I could think of stopping you from -"

Ellie opened her eyes and smiled up at him. "I'm alive...and you saved me. The rest doesn't matter. But damn, my side hurts. Remind me to trim your nails when we get there."