Anna gasped as she tumbled into the cool air and slammed into the dirt. Sand kicked up around her face, and she coughed as someone threw a blanket around her shoulders.
An old woman wiped her forehead with a cool, damp cloth. “Shhh,” she said. “You’re fine. Everything is going to be fine.”
Fine? She’d never be fine again.
Anna drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Those had been dragons last night. She’d witnessed an entire hoard of fairy-tale beasts fighting in the middle of town. If she hadn’t been there, she’d never have believed it.
The old woman pulled her closer, cooing something in her ear and rocking her like a child. She trembled, relishing the warm, gentle touch of a human being.
This was real, right? She wasn’t dreaming this time; she was actually here with this lady, wherever here was.
Last night was real too, no matter how hard she tried to discount it.
Anna had run into the alley with Sybil. Something grabbed her and she’d lifted into the sky. The houses and shops had looked so small, like they shrank before her eyes.
She shuddered. Anna could have been something’s dinner right now if it hadn’t been for… for who?
It seemed like hours of frigid air chilling her skin and a thousand beats of massive wings before they were attacked by another group of dragons. During the scuffle, she’d dropped from the creature’s talons. A terror worse than being snatched by a mythical beast lashed through her as the wind, so loud and cold, whipped past her in the night sky. Endless darkness had spread out below. She could sense, more than see the Earth as she careened toward her death, until a roar filled the sky, and a large hand wrapped around her arm.
She blinked away the horror of the memory.
It hadn’t been a hand. Claws had wrapped around her arm, but they didn’t dig into her flesh like the other dragon’s. They’d grasped gently, despite the creature’s haste.
Leaning away from the woman, Anna took in the wafting, tan tent walls around her.
When she’d been plucked out of the sky, she’d been shoved inside some kind of sack, and they’d continued to fall. The warm, soft bag whisked away the night chill, until it constricted, clamping around her as they crashed to the ground. She’d blacked out, and woke with the warm fabric still swaddling her.
“Take slow, deep breaths,” the older woman cautioned. “We’re going to take care of you. Everything will be fine.”
But it hadn’t been a blanket at all, or a bag. The fabric had twitched in the night, as if alive. A heartbeat lulled her in and out of sleep.
And now she was here, with this woman, and all these strangers staring at her.
Sensing movement behind her, she hazarded a look over her shoulder.
Some moments freeze in time. Some unforgettable moments are joyous, while others stick with you for very different reasons.
Seeing two huge, crystalline eyes peering at you from over a shimmering silver snout was one of those inexplicable moments.
A scream ripped from her throat.
She was awake now; she was sure of it. But here she was, face to face with another creature that wasn’t supposed to exist.
The dragon’s eyes widened. It pushed back, scrambling away from her and sitting like a dog. The beast towered shoulders, neck, and head above the men surrounding her—men who seemed more interested in her than the fact that a huge, mythical monster sat among them.
The dragon cocked its snout to the right, reminiscent, again, of a puppy.
One of the men stepped toward her. “He didn’t mean to scare you.”
“How do you know? That’s a-that’s a…”
“Dragon.” The woman behind Anna ambled forward. “A crystal dragon, to be exact: the wisest, purest, and most noble of the Draconi. You are a lucky girl.”
Anna glanced back at her before returning her gaze to the massive, looming beast. “Lucky?”
“To be chosen. Dozens of young girls came here last night to present themselves to the dragons, yet you fell to us from the sky. You must be special indeed.”
“Are you out of your mind? I was snatched off the street.”
The man came closer. “He said he saved you from the…” He squinted. “I’m seeing really big, gray dragons.”
The old woman gasped. “Nikau, do you speak the truth?” She stood and faced the beast. “Did you fight the mountain dragons? Is that how you were hurt?” She rubbed her face. “Grace of Aoraki, you are lucky to be alive.”
“He says he didn’t have a choice. They’d taken the girl from him, he couldn’t let them have her.”
The old woman walked toward the towering beast and placed her hand on its lowered snout.
The creature leaned in to accept what looked like a caress, and nuzzled her shoulder.
Anna blinked twice and stared. She wasn’t crazy. That thing was actually nuzzling the old lady. It arched its back and a translucent wing scattered what little light came through the tent. The movement projected a multi-colored kaleidoscope on the fabric wall.
The other wing lay limp, spread out along its right side. A series of stitches raked up a pink, puffy line that ran from the outer edge of the wing to its base.
So, it was hurt. That didn’t explain why they were all there, though. Had the woman trained the dragon somehow? Was it her pet?
The man; Nikau, the woman had called him, still stood a few feet from her, rubbing his eyes. A small tear in his jeans marred his left thigh, and dark, grimy streaks blemished his face, as if he’d slept in the dirt. They all looked that way, come to think of it. Maybe this was some kind of dragon loving, camping cult.
She closed her eyes, collecting herself. The cult part wasn’t really what worried her. There was still a real, live dragon just a few feet away.
Nikau dropped his fingers from his eyes. “Sorry, I know this is a little strange. This is all new to me, too.” He glanced back to the dragon. “He doesn’t want you to be afraid.”
“Okay, reality check. Is that really a dragon?”
The group nodded as Nikau helped Anna to her feet.
She squeezed his hands. “And you, how do you know it doesn’t want me to be afraid?”
He pulled free from her grasp and rubbed his face, again. “As crazy as it sounds, I am his Kotahi. It’s sort of like a translator. I can hear him.” He tapped his temple twice. “Up here.”
“I’m supposed to believe you can read the dragon’s mind?”
“Like I said, I know it sounds crazy.”
The dragon growled, nosing the air.
“Hang on, boss,” Nik said. “You’re hurt and we still need to check your girlfriend out.”
Anna took a tentative step toward the creature. “What did it say?”
“That he needs to get going, but with that wing, and those gray dragons out there ready to turn him into sushi, I think that’s a pretty bad idea.”
A taller, broad man with dark hair and a gray-peppered beard pointed at her shoulder. “I’d like to take a look at those wounds.”
Anna fingered the grayish-red stains on her blouse. Shifting, she winced. “Are you a doctor?”
“I’m a DVM.” He smiled when she cocked a brow. “Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.”
“You’re a vet?” She leaned away.
“Yes, ma’am. But if you prefer…” He pointed over his shoulder. “Tom is an accountant, Jim is a mechanic, and Nanna and Pops are both retired cooks. You can have one of them look you over, if you prefer.”
He was kidding, right?
Nikau shrugged when she met his gaze. “Don’t look at me, I’m currently unemployed.”
The dragon limped toward her, dragging his right wing behind him.
“Careful there.” The vet lifted the creature’s wing off the ground.
“He says he can help heal her,” Nik said.
Anna stepped back. “Oh, please dragon tears?”
The creature cocked its head to the left.
“He’s a little confused,” Nik said. “I’m getting a feeling that the dragon tear legend is a myth.” He squinted. “But I’m getting a vision of him licking you. I guess it’s like a dog licking a wound?”
She grabbed her shoulder. “Eww.”
“You’ll need to take off your shirt.” The old woman—what had the vet called her—Nanna? Removed her jacket and held it in front of Anna like a screen. “Everyone not needed, get out. That would be all but me, Doc Tyler, the dragon, and Nikau to translate.”
Oh, God. She was actually serious about this. “I’m not letting that thing lick me. What if it likes the way I taste?”
The woman pursed her lips. “If he was going to eat you he would have done so already.”
“I don’t even like it when my dog licks my face.” Anna clutched her shoulders as the rest of the people filed out of the tent without comment. Outside, a flurry of voices questioned them.
“I know you’re uncomfortable,” the veterinarian said. “At a bare minimum, I need to take a look.” He pulled the blanket from her shoulders. “We can’t let that get infected.”
She couldn’t really argue with that. Wincing, she allowed him to help slide her blouse over her head and bit her lip against the collective gasp.
Deep red, weepy, swollen wounds and dark purple bruises covered her skin. She could barely recognize her own body. She needed a hospital. Probably surgery. Stitches at least. God, did they even have her stupid blood type in this country? What if she really needed surgery, could she get back to the States in time?
The dragon moved behind her. Heat emanated from its silvery-white scales. But that couldn’t be right. Reptiles were cold-blooded, weren’t they?
“Hold still,” Nikau whispered.
Anna leaned against the old woman, her head down. Was she really going to let them do this?
A moist heat rolled over her right shoulder. The tongue scratched lightly against her skin and dragged across her back and along the wounds on her front. Anna gulped down the bile building in her throat. This couldn’t be sanitary. She was going to die here.
And what would she even tell a doctor if she found one? Oh, you see, there was this dragon, and I let it lick me. Sorry the injuries are infected even worse now.
God, they’d think she was crazy.
She winced, her muscles throbbing, until the heat swept over her, through her, and into her, tingling through her skin until suddenly the pain eased away. She clung to the old woman, shaking, until the dragon drew back.
Nanna’s eyes lit up as she surveyed the wounds. “Incredible. Absolutely incredible.”
Anna straightened, forgetting to hide her bra from the strangers around her as she checked her shoulders.
The deep gashes had covered over, glistening with a sticky goo. The swelling had already gone down. It wasn’t as dramatic as the dragon tear-miracle depicted in the movies, but it was darn close.
She looked up at the mythical creature. It wasn’t huge like the dragons in movies, but it was definitely the largest animal she’d ever stood this close to without being terrified. The other dragons from last night, they’d been bigger than elephants. One was taller than a giraffe. Maybe that was why she’d been carried away with such ease.
When this smaller dragon finally snatched her from the sky, it had struggled in the air. She remembered the sensation of rising and falling, until the dragon had roared, and then they’d fallen. Was that when he was injured? Did they rip his wing in retaliation for him saving her?
She stood and reached for his nose. The creature startled, then lowered its snout closer to her hand. Its scales were hard, but sleek. They shimmered, even within the tent’s mottled light.
Anna realized no pain had raked through her shoulder as she reached up to touch him. He’d saved her in more ways than one. “Thank you.”
The creature quivered, pressing its nose into her hair.
“He says, always.” Nik’s eyes reddened. “The sense of warmth, it’s overwhelming.”
Shimmering tears had formed in the dragon’s eyes as well. Was it possible? Could this huge reptilian beast feel?
The creature moved its snout beneath her chin and rubbed. She laughed, scratching it behind a short, pointed ridge where its ears should have been.
Tyler mopped his brow. “It’s getting too hot to stay in the tent. Are you able to walk in the sun, Great One?”
The dragon lifted its head and faced him.
“It doesn’t seem like the sun is a problem,” Nik said. “Why do you ask?”
“There are stories about dragons not coming out in the daytime. Some accounts made it sound like sunlight might be painful.”
Nik looked at the dragon and nodded. Was he really talking to it inside his head?
He turned to Tyler. “Apparently the gray ones can’t see in the sunlight, so they only come out at night. The rest of them have no problem with the daylight.”
“That is good news for us,” the old woman said. “But this tent won’t fool them again. Tonight, they will search in earnest.”
“The glow worm caves,” Tyler said. “They are more than large enough to hide a dragon.”
“Waitomo Caves are on the North Island,” Nik said. “We’ll never get there before nightfall, especially with an injured dragon.”
The old woman smiled. “Waitomo Caves are a tourist trap. There are wonders on South Island the Maori have kept to themselves.” She reached up and ran her hand down the dragon’s neck. “We have the perfect place to hide you, Great One.”