“And from me,” Kristine added.
“Okay. When?”
“Now,” she said.
The larger boat cut its engine, and the air suddenly seemed very still, as if something momentous was about to take place and even nature knew enough to be quiet.
He turned away and heard rustling behind him. Then Luca whined from the main boat, “C’mon, Jayce. I’ve never seen a real live dragon transform before.”
“Yeah, and you won’t if the only dragon you ever know is my wife. Now shut your damn eyes while she gets naked.”
Gabe heard everyone chuckle. The bright noon sun didn’t cast many shadows, but Gabe couldn’t help catching the shadow of giant wings appearing on the water just in front of him.
Then searing heat hit him. It was different from the heat of the sun over their heads. The air around him didn’t relieve the heat but fed it and added to it. He had promised himself not to cry out in pain. Oddly enough, he didn’t think he could. A sort of paralysis overcame him.
Soon, he couldn’t keep his eyes open, and he allowed himself to drift off into a deep sleep.
* * *
“What the hell?” Antonio Fierro yelled.
Gabe woke to gasps and shocked expressions. His little boat was on fire, and he figured he must be rising from the ashes. At least, he should have been. He turned to see Kristine through the smoke, still bathing him in fire despite the look of panic in her eyes.
He tried to rise, but something was definitely wrong. Extending his wings seemed much more difficult. They were heavy, and when he turned his head enough to look at what everyone else was gaping at, he realized his wings were huge—and webbed! Where were his feathers?
He couldn’t simply sit there with the charred boat crumbling beneath them. He tried the giant wings and rose into the air. Kristine flew up next to him. He couldn’t steer well. His tail wasn’t doing its job. She pushed him with her nose toward the fishing boat, and his brothers scattered.
Then she hovered over him and clasped his shoulders in her talons, pushing him down onto the deck. He pulled in his wings, determined to land under his own power, but his tiny bird legs couldn’t hold his weight, and he pitched onto his side.
Jayce and Antonio rushed over to him. The others just gave them room. Smoke was still rising off him, and the unmistakable smell of cinders filled the air. When Gabe tried to speak, he croaked.
Kristine transformed behind the cabin and reappeared wearing a black sweat suit. She rushed to his side.
“What happened?” Jayce asked.
“I have no idea,” she said. “I’m—I’m stunned.”
Antonio’s expression looked like fear mixed with concern. “Son? Do you feel all right? Are you in pain?”
Again, he tried to speak and could only croak.
Kristine snapped her fingers. “I think I know who to ask. I’ll be right back.” She disappeared before everyone’s eyes.
Jayce didn’t seem concerned that his wife was there one moment and gone the next.
Dante blinked at the empty space. “Where’s Kristine?”
“Probably speaking with her boss,” Jayce answered.
“Ah.” Antonio nodded.
“The chief?” Dante asked. “I don’t understand.”
A moment later, Kristine and a vaguely familiar female Gabe had met a few months earlier—the one they called Gaia or Mother Nature—peered over him. Her white hair was long and loose, and she was dressed in a white toga.
The woman jammed her hands on her hips. “Well, this is a fine mess.”
Kristine wrung her hands. “Gaia, what’s going on?”
