The Clearing
Ilona ran forward through the thin trees towards the cave entrance. Mason was right behind her but slower. He was now carrying all the bags he had brought as well as the ones he'd taken from her at the stream.
Nick and Sam Thatch weren't very far ahead, and Ilona kept her eyes on them. Where ever they went, she went, trusting they knew the best path with the fewest tripping risks.
Just as the men reached the clearing in front of the cave entrance, a strange sound filled the air. It was something like the roar of a lion and a scream mixed together. Everyone's gazes jerked towards the sky, and Ilona felt her blood run cold.
One moment the glowing moon was there, and the next, it was gone, snuffed out by the shape that rose in front of it.
A dragon.
It had launched off the rocky mountainside above where its dark, scaly body had been well hidden and still. Not one of the four travelers had noticed it.