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Trees leaped out of the mist, into my path. I swerved left and right, hurdled rotten logs and over a stream. The log I’d just jumped looked familiar—it had the same fern tuft as the one I’d vaulted seconds ago. Fallen logs all looked the same, right?

Or maybe it looked familiar because we’d passed it on the way out?

Was I running in circles?

Why was running so hard?!

Wings would have been a real help right about now. Could I shift? Nobody would notice an enormous dragon in the misty woods, right?

I lurched off the path, onto the track, and through the bush we’d definitely plowed through earlier, then slowed to get my bearings. A quick glance back didn’t reveal any sign of the beast on my tail, just thick mist. I waited . . . panting . . . holding my thighs to keep my lungs from burning me up, but nothing huge came stalking after me. No Victor either.

He was probably ahead of me.

Might even be back at the motel already.

Keeping my steps light on the mossy track, I jogged back down the trail that would eventually lead to the motel.

It would be fine. Zee had probably gotten Zander somewhere safe by now, and Victor would be there waiting. Once we were all back together and better prepared, we’d return and search for Zander’s stalker.

The motel loomed ahead, cloaked in mist. Quickening my pace, I skidded around the front of the units, passed our parked van and burst into our room, expecting to find Zee or Victor waiting inside. But it was empty.

“You alright?” Duke loomed in the doorway. “Saw you run in like your tail’s on fire.”

“Uh, no, I . . .” I breathed hard, trying to think around my thudding heart. “You seen Zee or Victor?”

“Just you.” Duke’s whiskered face darkened with shadows. “You all alone here?”

I looked up and squinted around heavy breaths. How had Duke gotten here so fast? Had he been watching the motel or had he been following me? He didn’t seem out of breath . . . If he’d been Zander’s stalker then he’d have been gasping like me, right? And he’d probably be naked since he’d have shifted, and he wasn’t a dragon—dragons keep their clothes after shifting back, just go with it.

“How long have you been out there?” I puffed, straightening.

Duke invited himself into the room, getting a good look at the huge stacks of Oreos, the double bed, and Zee’s ever-growing collection of scattered clothing all over. “You know . . .” Duke stroked his beard. “For Heroes of the City, you don’t look like much.”

I didn’t know where his weird vibe was going, but I did not have time for it. “That’s kind of the point. Did you see Victor while you were lurking outside?”

Duke raked his glare over me. “Dragon, huh?”

“I don’t have time for this.” I strode for the door. Victor told me he’d be back at the motel. Maybe he was outside somewhere, or at the bar? He could be with Zee and Zander⁠—

Duke’s growl bubbled behind me, then his big hand snatched my arm, spinning me around. “I’m not done talkin’ to you.”

It takes a lot to rattle my scales. I’m generally a nice person . . . until I’m not. Smaller than Duke, I had to tilt my head back and glare up while he loomed in my personal space. A quick yank, and I freed my arm. “Listen well, and trust me when I say you do not want to pick this fight.”

Duke’s grin told me the man was a bully, and an idiot, and we’d get back to this conversation. I turned my back on him and hurried out of the room.

Victor wasn’t in the lot. I checked Jenny at reception, but found only her plants, so that just left the bar. But even as I strode toward it, the sinking sense of doubt was getting worse.

The inside of the bar was as gloomy as ever, and busy with the biker gang who apparently didn’t have homes to go to. “Has anyone seen Victor . . . the vampire I came here with?” I asked, raising my voice some.

A whole bunch of blank faces stared back, and then returned to their conversations and daytime drinking.

Dammit. They would listen! I slammed a hand down on the bar. “Hey!”

The kitchen door flew open and Galbraith stomped out, eyebrows pinched into one long bushy line. “What’s this? You comin’ in here, demanding⁠—”

“Do not test me,” I snapped back. “Where’s Victor?”

Galbraith’s top lip curled. “Some respect⁠—”