Read Online Maxon by Christina Bauer - Free Book Online Page A

“What’s a Furorling like you doing in thrax body armor?” His heads lean in closer. “Could this be some kind of disguise?” His voices lower to a whisper. “Are we hiding, perhaps? In need of help?”
    â€œEveryone could use a little help,” I say.
    This is the point in any battle where I remind myself that I have rules. Demons are evil, sure. Not all of them are out of control, though. I don’t attack until provoked. Hobbling up to someone and acting like an ass doesn’t qualify as starting a fight. Knowing Chimera’s reputation, it’s only a matter of time before he crosses the line.
    A gurgling sound percolates up Chimera’s throats, and that’s when Chimera crosses the line with a vengeance. All his necks hold sacks of deadly venom. One spews yellow acid. The other’s a green-colored paralytic. The last one’s an orange, slow-acting poison. The gurgling sound means that he’s about to spit one or all of them right in my face. Anger heats my bloodstream.
    No time to lose.
    Quick as lightning, I move to strike. With my dragon-scale hand, I punch through Chimera’s first throat, rip out the venom sack, and toss the small yellow organ to the ground. Meanwhile, my tail tears through the other neck, carving out the blue paralytic and tossing that one aside as well. Chimera can regrow them, but it takes time.
    Chimera staggers around, pawing at his necks. The final silver-colored head locks on me, its poisonous venom sack pulsing.
    â€œHow dare you?” Chimera’s third head asks.
    â€œThat was for Tempest,” I say. “He’ll be paying us a visit soon.”
    â€œHow like my son to fall in league with a Furorling.” Chimera’s irises flare demon-red with rage. “You’re weak, half-blooded monstrosities, all of you. Only pure Furor have the right to live. I’ll piss on your corpse.”
    My brows rise slightly. “Creative, I’ll give you that.”
    Chimera lunges for me, his arms and heads flailing with effort. His long black tail looks lifeless as it drags behind him. Could be another sneak attack.
    And sure enough, it is.
    Chimera closes in, clawing at the torso of my body armor. I dodge his jabs while keeping my eye on his tail. It comes to life and makes a grab for my ankles, ready to pull my legs out from under me. Blood pumps faster through my veins as I make my counter-strike.
    My dragon-scale hand grips the nose-holes of Chimera’s silver head. A crunch sounds as my fingers and thumb snap through the soft tissue. Wielding the skull like a club, I swing it straight into the cobra-style head beside it. At the same time, my tail does another DIY surgery on the remaining venom sack. Once Chimera’s fully de-venomed, I flip onto my back, tossing the hybrid dragon over my head. He tumbles backward, rights himself, and stares me down.
    This time, there’s no hopping around and wailing with fury. Chimera underestimated me before. He won’t make that mistake again.
    What happens next takes place in a heartbeat but to me, Chimera moves in slow motion as his body balloons in shape. His necks stretch out long as telephone poles. His limbs turn into massive, arched legs.
    Seeing Chimera’s full dragon form makes my chest tighten with worry. Normally, I’d have killed him in his hybrid state, but I didn’t out of respect for Tempest. Now I have three dragon heads after me. Sure, they don’t have venom anymore. That doesn’t mean they aren’t deadly.
    Damn, Tempest better get here soon.
    Raising my arms, I summon my greatest supernatural weapon—lightning. A huge bolt of white fire crackles down from the darkened clouds. Thunder booms through the quiet night air.
    Chimera races toward me. My three bolts of lightning arc straight through his heads, stopping him in his tracks. Tiny whites lines of fire twist through his eye sockets and swirl around his long fangs. The