"Yeah," I breathed, setting him down so he could hide. "Get out of sight, Tamin. I'm going to see if I can find Kanik and Zasen."

"No," he whimpered. "You hide too."

"I can help," I insisted. "You hide. I'm going to make sure no one else followed us."

Because that had to be how Elias had found us. He must've seen me trying to carry the boy up the hill, and if one hunter had, then there could be more. This time, however, I had a gun. That meant they wouldn't get the chance to shoot Tamin again!

Tamin shifted under the fallen log and pulled leaves over himself, obviously understanding what he needed to do. The tip of his tail was still exposed, as were his eyes, but he wouldn't be obvious like this. Clearly, it was something he'd done before.

"Stay here," I whispered, turning off the safety and lifting the gun to my shoulder as I headed back towards our house.

In the streets, the Moles were moving in groups, tactical and organized. Dragons were still screaming, but this time I could make out words. It seemed they were doing their best to fight back. Those with tails seemed to be the front line, but they couldn't stand against the guns. I watched a large-scaled brown man get cut down. Two Moles grabbed his body and began retreating. The remaining two moved forward, closing ranks.

So I raised my gun and aimed. I'd never fired a rifle before, but all children were taught how to use them for safety reasons. Boys or girls, it didn't matter. The Elders made sure to teach us the basics - but only the basics. It would have to be enough.

My first shot went wild, but the second hit the man's leg. The third was bad as well. I made the fourth count, and the other man dropped. I was pretty sure I'd hit him in the chest, but the wounded man was looking for the shooter. For me. Frantic, I ran toward him, then paused to squeeze off a pair of shots at his head. It exploded in a spray of gore that turned my stomach.

I could feel my bile rise, but simply took a breath and kept moving. "Zasen!" I yelled. "Kanik!"

I didn't dare go too far from Tamin. I couldn't leave him alone and unprotected. Zasen and Kanik were grown men. They were smart enough to take care of themselves, but I was all Tamin had right now. Swinging between our house and the next, I looked back, hoping for some sign of my friends.

Then I saw him. Three houses down, in the darkness behind someone's home, Zasen fought like a beast, but he was outmatched. His tail whipped around him, his hands blurred with blades and blood, but the Moles were about to take him down. I hurried to the side, finding an angle that would be safe enough, then dared to take a shot.

One man dropped, and another looked. I lifted the rifle to shoot again, but it just clicked. Empty. I started running, shifting my grip on the gun because it was the only weapon I had. When I got close enough, Zasen grabbed a man and turned. His tail struck, but the venom took a moment to take effect. I decided to make it faster.

I swung the butt of the rifle into the side of the hunter's head as hard as I could. Zasen dropped the one he held, and turned for the next. I went for the last. Trying to use the gun as a club, I heaved, but the man ducked out of the way and grabbed me. I saw the flash of blue streak near my face, then Zasen shoved the guy, forcing him away from me.

"What are they doing here?" I demanded, desperate for some idea of what was going on. "Why are hunters trying to kill us?"

"They're hunting," Zasen growled, his arm around that last man's throat.

"What?" My brain refused to accept that.

He lifted his chin, gesturing towards the street. "Look at them, Ayla. The Moles leave their dead. They take ours and the guns. Why?"

"Hunting?" No. No, no, no, no, no. That couldn't be true.

His next words were a vicious snarl. "What did you eat in the compound? Think about it, Ayla. Why did they just call it meat? Because it was Dragon!"

I couldn't breathe. "Tamin."

Before he could say anything else, I turned and ran as fast as my legs would go. They were hunting Dragons for food? They were trying to kill my friends? I'd eaten them? That was why the meat had tasted bad! It was people, not beasts! They'd been feeding humans to the Righteous!

"Tamin!" I screamed, terrified something had already happened to the boy.

I almost made it. In my panic, I forgot to watch, forgot to look around me, and an arm grabbed my dress, pulling me to the ground. The man behind it pointed his gun at my head and smiled.

"Ayla Ross." His voice was cruel. Worse, I recognized him as the shorter man who'd chained me to the post: Phineas. I didn't know him well, and I hadn't been raised with him, but it seemed he remembered me. "You're surprisingly healthy."

"Why are you killing them?" I lifted my hands, letting the empty gun fall to the ground.

His eyes narrowed. "Because they make it too easy. All these lizards group together, just waiting to be harvested."

"They're people!" I insisted, realizing he meant this was our meat. This was where the hunters went. This was why hunters always came back wounded by arrows.

Phineas's fingers tightened. "They don't even speak. They aren't people, Ayla. They're animals."

I saw movement behind him but knew better than to look away from Phineas's face. "They can speak. They speak a language called Vestrian. I've been learning it. Some of them even speak English."

"Lies."

I nodded at him emphatically, desperate to keep his attention. "It's true."

A dark-striped arm wrapped around his throat at the same time as a blue tail plunged into his leg. "It's true," Zasen said in English, yanking the man off his feet so the gun was no longer aimed at me. Both of them hit the ground, but Zasen would not release the man's neck.

I quickly lunged forward to pull the rifle away. "Don't kill him!"

"What?" Zasen asked, his eyes flicking to the man's leg. "I stung him, Ayla."

I nodded, hoping he could understand what I was trying to do. "Don't kill him." Then, holding up one finger, I rushed back to our house.

It was just next door, so not far, and I had to know more. If they were intentionally hunting Dragons for food, and this wasn't the first time, then I needed to know when they were coming back.

Stumbling into the house, I saw the body of the last man sprawled out on the kitchen floor. The blood stain beneath him had gotten much larger. Not caring about any of that, I waded through the mess, feeling the dampness soaking into my bandaged feet as I grabbed a glass.

With my hands trembling, I filled it halfway with water and then ran back as fast as I could. Phineas, the man Zasen had stung, was grunting in pain, trying to claw at the wound in his leg, but Zasen held him as he looked around warily.

"I have the antidote," I said, rushing to Phineas's side. "This can help you."

"Ayla..." Zasen said, stunned. "That - "

"It's the antidote!" I snapped in English, hoping he understood.

"Please," Phineas gasped, reaching for the glass I held.

I pulled it away. "It will cure you, but I need to know when you're coming back."

Phineas shook his head, and Zasen was staring at me in shock. "Ayla," he hissed one more time.

So I glared back at Zasen. "I'm saving him," I insisted as sternly as I could. "He's my friend. I know your Dragon secrets now, and I'll use them for my friends!"

Phineas groaned, writhing with the pain of the venom, but his eyes were locked on the glass. "I can't tell you," he panted.

"I will give you the cure if you tell me. No one needs to know," I assured him.

"Holidays." He sucked in a breath. "We get the meat for holidays."

"I know that," I said. "But when do you come? How long before the holiday do you leave?"