Excerpt of Smoke and Mirrors by Jess Haines

Viper made a soft hissing sound of irritation between his
teeth, pulling back from her. “Cormac has no vision. I
know what I want and I’m prepared to offer anything to
get it. You have but to ask.”
Well. There was one thing. Her cheeks flared crimson and
she squirmed a bit before stuttering out another
question, swallowing back her embarrassment.

“You keep a hoard like a dragon, right? I don’t suppose
you would consider loaning me a little? I swear I’d pay
it back.”

His head tipped to one side, and he looked her up and
down anew. She suspected he was just noticing her frayed
cuffs and cheap shoes. He’d been so intent on getting
whatever it was he wanted out of her that he hadn’t paid
attention to the package it came in until now. When she
caught the very slight curl of his lip, there and gone in
a flash, embarrassed heat filled her cheeks.

Feeling both dirty and humiliated, she ducked her head.
“Never mind. I shouldn’t have asked. I’m sorry, I don’t
think I can do this.”

“Come now, I’m sure it’s not that hard. All it takes is a
yes.”

“No,” she said, this time with a bit more vehemence.
Cormac was right. There was something off about Viper,
and never mind what a perfect ass she’d just made of
herself. Worst of all, that flash of disgust showed he
obviously had no respect for her. At least Cormac never
made her feel tolerated. “Thank you for the offer, but
I’ll find some other way of getting what I need.”

He slowly rose to stand, heaving a sigh as he settled
back on his heels.

“That’s unfortunate. This would have been much easier if
you had agreed.”

Kimberly would have asked what he meant by that, but the
look in his eyes froze her in place.

His eyes burned a molten gold as he spread his arms,
which were expanding and shifting at an alarming rate.
Faster than she might have thought possible, he was
growing, his clothing melting and skin disappearing under
a layer of metallic scales. Nearby, people were noticing,
shouting and screaming in fear as they stampeded in every
direction to escape the shapechanging Other in their
midst.

When he ceased growing, from the tip of his nose to the
end of his tail, he was over thirty feet long, with a
wingspan half again that size.

Kimberly sat immobile, unable to so much as squeak in
terror as the beast before her lurched back to arch its
neck and spread its wings, barbed tail lashing as it
growled at her. One thick, talon-tipped paw lashed out,
flattening her on the grass and squeezing the air out of
her lungs. It gave an awkward, one-legged hop forward to
catch its balance before clenching its claws to dig deep
furrows in the grass and close around her waist and legs,
pinning her.

Then those wide, ribbed wings began to flap, the sun
playing off the tones of brass and copper and gold. The
ground fell away, people scattering before the airborne
monster.

And Kimberly could do nothing but pray, staring up at
this great beast that had her in its claws.

She’d gotten what she’d asked for. Now she would have to
pay the price.