Page 4 of Fire Dragon
At almost the same moment, the alarms sounded.
The resulting scurry of bodies heading back into their offices confirmed what he suspected: His day’s work wasn’t over.
Yet he wasn’t surprised. Just before he’d landed, he’d caught a whiff in his broad dragon nostrils of the unique smell of red sand which often came out of the northeast and Magi country.
Anything from the northeast could spell disaster.
As tired as he was, he’d ignored it until now. Then he remembered that the on-call dragons had been sent elsewhere. Logan had been summoned west and Noah to the north. If there was a looming battle, like he suspected, he’d be the one who would have to go out. But damn he was tired.
A long string of expletives moved through his head like knives pitched one after the other.
He gestured to the staffer on his right indicating he would speak with his boss.
Both delegates slowed then stopped. Unless ordered, they wisely stayed out of Santos’s way. He didn’t blame them. Miguel Santos ran a tight ship and didn’t hesitate dressing down any of his staff for even the smallest infraction.
Liam had known Miguel for decades. Before Santos had taken over as Field Marshall of the ADF at this end of the lake, he’d been a lead caravan driver and warrior. He’d fought his battles against the Magi and driven caravans through horrendous winds that topped the higher reaches of the two-hundred mph range. The man was a legend.
By the time he reached the Field Marshall’s massive office, and saw the drawn look on Santos’s face, Liam knew the score. “How long have we got before they make lake-fall?”
“Fifteen minutes, give or take. And I’m sorry to say, but you’ve got a virgin on this one. She’s well-trained. I’ve seen her in action. She’ll serve you well.”
“Fine. I’ll be ready.” What else could he say? He just wished his tailbone didn’t feel like it had fragmented and was slicing him up every which way.
He wondered suddenly if the rider would be Emma. He knew she’d graduated with about all the honors a rider could receive. He also knew she was now on the rotation.
But what were the odds he’d be her first?
~ ~ ~
By the time the alarms sounded, Emma was already back at her HQ apartment waiting for Jane to locate the cape. She arrived a few minutes later her complexion high.
“You won’t believe who’s on deck.” She was empty-handed as she crossed the room to the closet. “Liam.”
“That’s not possible. He just got back from a caravan run. It’ll be too much for him.”
“I know. But I checked with scheduling and all the other lead dragons are out.” Jane opened the closet door and began rooting around.
“I thought both Logan and Noah were on call.”
Bent over, Jane glanced at Emma over her shoulder. “Santos had to send each of them out. Logan headed west about three hours ago and I don’t know where Noah is.”
“Haven’t you found the cape yet?”
Jane went back to her hunting expedition and a few seconds later called out. “Got it.”
She returned with a hideous red thing that tied around the neck. She shook it out several times.
“You’re kidding. It has ruffles. What if Santos finds me wearing this? He’ll have my head. You know how he is about uniforms, about everything really.”
“It’s the best I’ve got.”
Emma didn’t really have a choice. She slid it on then groaned at how she looked. “Give me a basket and I’m Little Red Riding Hood.”
Jane’s lips twisted into a grimace.
Emma glanced at her. “What?”
“Do you know what I’ve always suspected about you? That you have no idea how pretty you are. Because I swear you look like a princess in that thing.”
