Read dragons breath 01 - stalked by flames for Free Online Page A

down here right now.”
    Maybe my mother had the right idea to take advantage of their absence while I still could. “How long until the weather clears?”
    Justin shrugged. “Maybe half an hour.”
    “If I’m going to get home I’ve got to try for it now.” I stood.
    Conrad walked up. “Where are you going?”
    “To a ranch outside Granbury, Texas.”
    “That’s near Dallas, right?” he asked.
    “Southwest of it.”
    “Cool.” He adjusted his backpack. “Can you drop me off at my grandma’s house in Dallas? Better than sticking around this crazy place.”
    “Yeah, sure.” It was probably better to take someone with me, anyway. “Anyone else want to ride along?”
    Trish gave me a concerned look. “Are you sure leaving now is such a good idea? We don’t even know if the roads are clear.”
    “And visibility is going to be low in this storm,” Justin added.
    “Yeah, but that’s what makes it the best time to go,” I pointed out. “It’ll be harder for the dragons to see us.”
    Conrad nodded. “And they have no problem burning up cars. I can vouch for that.”
    “Okay,” Trish said, embracing me more carefully than last time. “But call me as soon as the lines are back up and be careful.”
    “I will,” I promised.
    Conrad and I headed for the stairwell. When we opened the doors, I was surprised to find the lights on. I glanced back, but it was still dark in the corridor we’d just left.
    “What the heck?” I frowned at the lights.
    “They’ve got backup generators. Only works for the stairwells, though,” Conrad explained.
    “How do you know that?”
    He took the steps two at a time. “Heard one of the librarians say something about it.”
    We stopped when we reached the doors at the west entrance. Conrad pulled an umbrella from his backpack and got it ready while I stared outside. The ashes of the students had been washed away. I blinked. There was no sign of them left.
    “Where’s your car?” Conrad asked.
    He didn’t know what had happened out there a short time ago.
    I cleared my throat. “In the garage down the street.”
    “Good. Then the dragons probably left it alone.” He put his hand on the door. “You ready?”
    I shook myself out of my dark thoughts.
    “Yeah. Let’s do this.”
    He went out first and lifted the umbrella for us to get under. With the rain being blown in sideways, it wasn’t going to help much, but it was better than nothing. I just wished I had some shoes to protect my feet.
    We took off, winding our way through campus grounds and following the sidewalks until we got to Elm Avenue. Then we ran along it until reaching the garage on the opposite side of the street. It wasn’t until we got under cover that we slowed down.
    “I parked on the first level toward the back,” I said, stopping to pull a pebble from between my toes. At least there were no cuts or scrapes.
    “You got enough gas?” he asked.
    “Full tank.” I wiped my hair from my face. “I was planning to leave town this afternoon anyway.”
    “Cool.”
    As we walked toward my truck, I dug my keys out of my pocket. It was a miracle I hadn’t lost them while fighting with the dragons earlier. I hit the unlock button and the lights flashed on my black four-door Chevy Silverado.
    “This is yours?” Conrad gave me an incredulous look.
    “I grew up on a ranch. Trucks are pretty much all we drive.”
    “But you’re so tiny. Shouldn’t you be driving a toy car or something?” He climbed into the passenger seat.
    I dug out a pair of sandals from the back where I’d loaded my bags that morning and slid them on. It was nice to finally have footwear again.
    “Very funny,” I said, starting the engine. “You’re just saying that because of my looks.”
    People were always guessing I was from one Asian country or another.
    He grinned. “You can’t blame me.”
    “You shouldn’t stereotype.” I glanced at him reprovingly before backing up the truck.
    “What race are you,