In response, her dragon blasted the ground with a wall of flames. The man came to a screeching halt.
“Shasha!” Noel screamed. “Shasha.”
The man didn’t release Noel, but froze, gawking at her. An instant later, he seemed to shake from his stupor, darted around the fire and scampered for the waiting vehicle.
Her dragon bugled her fury, and the next second, she fired at the car. Flames danced across the car’s roof. The man waiting in the driver’s seat leaped out and ran for cover.
Sasha focused on the man still gripping Noel. Her dragon dive-bombed the man. Obviously sensing he couldn’t escape—not if he tried to take Noel with him—he dropped Noel.
Noel let out a yelp, but Sasha didn’t hesitate. Her dragon swooped down and grabbed Noel in her talon. Seconds later, she was darting along the beach, keeping low as she sped over the sand to where they’d left their clothes.
“We’ll fly home,”her dragon announced.
“No, we’ve already risked too much. We don’t want too many humans to spot us.”
“But what if the men ambush us? We’ll fly.”Her dragon’s tone suggesting that no matter what argument Sasha mounted, she’d lose.
Sasha bit her tongue and prayed a limited number of people spotted their overhead flight and their landing in Max’s back yard. At least the weather was acting in their favor, the lack of sunshine and promise of rain driving people indoors. But still… Her gut bucked and roiled, and she tried to watch the passing blur of scenery. At least her dragon was putting on a burst of speed instead of taking a leisurely circle of Bamburgh.
“How is Noel?”
“Not sure,”her dragon said.“He’s not crying, and he’s not struggling.”
“Poor kid is in shock.”
“Well, what should we have done?”her dragon snapped.“Those men were trying to steal him. If we’d let them, Max would’ve sacked us in the same way the woman in the kissing book lost her job.”
“Max would never blame us,”Sasha said.“We chased after the thief and almost caught him.”
“He was going to get away. He might have hurt Noel. Horrible things happen here. You’ve seen the news on the telly.”
“Is our world any better?”Sasha asked. Their parents and brothers loved and protected them, but most dragons gave humans little respect. The older dragons held grudges. Some resented their new cage and wished to return to the world on the mainland.
“Most of the dragons wouldn’t survive here,”her dragon said.“Not with the weapons, the planes, and guns we’ve seen on television. Remember the pictures and the stories Justine showed us about the wars the humans have fought since our kind retreated to Dragon Isles. We can’t compete with the human’s machine guns and bombs. In a war between the species, the humans would win.”
“Which is why I didn’t want to reveal our dragon,”Sasha said in a tight voice.
“Too late. We’re at the house.”
Sasha groaned as she spotted the startled faces of a man and a woman out walking their dog. This was one big cluster, and she’d bet her grandmother’s emerald bracelet that these weren’t the only people who’d spotted them this afternoon.
8 – Go Get That Dragon
“Max!”
Max heard his boss’s holler from two offices away. With a sigh, he pushed up from his office chair and trudged toward the roar that resembled a mythical dragon.
“News is coming in,” his boss shouted, excitement making him bounce like a child. “Several people have spotted a dragon flying near Bamburgh Castle.”
“What color?” Max asked deadpan.
“Bronze,” his boss replied without missing a beat. “Get me the story.”
Max gaped at him.A dragon.He shook his head, waiting for the joke’s punchline.
“Why are you standing there? Bring me the scoop. My contacts are credible.”
“Are you sure they haven’t been drinking?”
