How to Lose Your Dragon (The Immortality Curse Book 1)

sword hanging there. In a half second, the weapon was in the man’s hand and he was standing in front of me, blocking the way forward.
“So, it’s gonna be like that, is it?” I spat at him.
Half-Naked Guy nodded his head but said nothing.
I shrugged. Oh well. Not everyone that wanted to kill you also wanted to talk to you while they did it. It was a hard lesson to learn in life.
His weapon came at me then in a broad, overhead swipe. I brought Grax’thor to bear, slicing upward to parry his blow. The blades met in a clash of steel.
I slid my blade down the side of his, hoping to catch him off guard and end the battle quickly with a thrust to his chest.
Half-Naked Guy inched backward, and my blade sang through the air instead, missing him completely. I followed that with a forward lunge, hoping to press my advantage and set him off guard, but Half-Naked Guy side-stepped my swipe, and I again came up empty.
“Oh, come on!” I taunted. “Why do you have to be all good and everything?”
The big man just grunted and came at me again, blade angling low with a swipe at my legs.
This time, I was the one dancing backward, the guy’s blade managing to barely nick my jeans - my favorite jeans - tearing another small hole but leaving my flesh otherwise unscathed.
“Ugh, you’re gonna pay for that one.”
I came at him then with a hail of blows meant to force him backward. Metal clashed against metal with a loud clang as I hacked at him from every conceivable direction. With each blow, I knocked him back a little further into the alley until he was almost against a wall.
“Time’s up,” I chided. Then I lunged forward, sending Grax’thor speeding at his midsection. The blade sang in the air with a soft whoosh as it moved.
Half-Naked Guy tried to dodge, but the cool metal of my blade still grazed his abdomen, opening up a slight red line that spilled hot blood down his core. He’d managed to avoid the brunt of the blow, but at least he’d taken some damage.
I tried to pull back, but Grax’thor kept going, slamming into the wall and sticking into the brick a good half inch or so. I pulled on the blade, trying desperately to free it, but the blade wouldn’t budge.
Behind me, I heard Half-Naked Guy grunt again and knew it meant trouble for me. Sure, I’d wounded the man, but he was still standing, and this time he was the only one with a weapon.
Running low on ideas, I ducked down just as I felt a whoosh of air fly over my head as Half-Naked Guy’s blade danced through the air where my head had just been.
There was another grunt, then, and I rolled out of the way, spinning around just in time to watch Half-Naked Guy practically impale himself on the sharp, diamond-shaped end of Grax’thor’s hilt.
My opponent stumbled backward, holding his stomach with his free hand as he staggered along the street.
I took a quick glance at Grax’thor and noticed that the gem-studded hilt was covered in blood for nearly an inch.
The sight made me wince as I thought about how much that must have hurt. I tugged on the blade again, and this time it came free with barely any effort, as if my opponent’s impalement had loosened it.
Twisting around, I swung my blade wide, meeting Half-Naked Guy’s blade just in the nick of time, parrying his blow and sending it wide.
I pressed forward again, slicing downward, forcing the burly man backward. He half-stumbled, half-stepped back a time or two and readied his blade for another attack, grinning fiercely at me.
I shot him my own toothy grin, then took a half step forward and slipped on Half-Naked Guy’s blood trail. Black asphalt came up to greet me as my head smacked the sidewalk, making my eyes blur for a few seconds.
The sound of harsh, raspy laughter sounded above me, then I heard a car screech, followed by a loud thud and the smell of tires burning.
I shot up, pushing myself to my feet and took in the scene. A long, black sedan stretched out on the street in front of me, where Half-Naked Guy and I had been standing just a moment ago.
My opponent was now several feet further down the road, lying in a crumpled heap, unmoving.
Suddenly, there was commotion all around me. Someone from behind me bowled into me just as I was getting back to my feet, knocking me over again as several other half-dressed people milled about the sedan.
As I pushed myself up once more, I watched the full scene unfold, powerless to stop it. The sedan’s door opened, and I spied the tall, lanky guy from the bar sitting in the backseat, beckoning for someone else to jump in.
I let out a gasp and shot him my best evil glare, though he probably didn’t see me as I was half-hidden by a pile of refuse by this point.
Another big, burly half-dressed guy came on the scene, carrying an unnaturally still, human-shaped bundle. He shoved it into the car and sat down.
The sedan sped off before he could even close the door, running over Half-Naked Guy again. His body flailed for a moment, then went still once more.
Meanwhile, the remaining people around me all dashed off in different directions. In mere seconds, the busy street and alleyway were once again dark and empty, save for me and my would-be attacker.
I winced again, thinking of the pain Half-Naked Guy must be in, if he were even still alive, when the disparate dots in my head finally connected themselves.
“Damn it!” I swore.
It all made sense now. The guy from before, the group of half-dressed people, the human-shaped bundle. That had been Mei they were stuffing into the car!
Now they were all gone, and I was alone without a clue as to how to find her again. Sure,