Only when she was finally barreling back down the twisting countryside roads at a thoroughly unsafe forty miles per hour did her galloping heart begin to slow. She drew in a deep, shuddering breath, checking her rear view mirror. No sign of pursuit. Maybe he hadn't had a car. Maybe he'd given up. Maybe he was just—her racing mind scrabbled for ways that rich, evil English aristocrats might deal with people who'd crossed them—on the phone, calmly placing a hit on her.
Okay, now you're just being ridiculous. Giving herself a mental shake, Virginia returned her attention to the road ahead.
There was a dragon in the middle of it.
Virginia had barely even registered the impossible shape when her reflexes took over, stomping hard on the brake and jerking the steering wheel. She had a brief impression of a wall of ice-white scales shooting past the side windows as the Range Rover fishtailed wildly, spinning almost out of control. With all her strength, she clung onto the wheel. In a stench of burning rubber, the car screeched to a halt, facing back the way she'd come. Virginia stared through the steam rising from the hood, her knuckles white on the steering wheel.
There's a dragon in the middle of the road.
There's a dragon.
In the middle of the road.
It's a dragon.
That can't be right.
Shock gave her a strange sense of detachment, as if she was just watching a movie. Everything seemed to go into slow motion, every last detail of the beast searing into her retinas. It was sitting upright like a cat, long white tail wrapped primly around its front—paws? Feet? Huge taloned things? Its horned head was at least twenty feet off the ground. The glowing orange eyes met hers, and the dragon's jaw dropped open slightly, forked tongue lolling out. It looked for all the world as if it was smirking at her.
The dragon unfurled its wings. The lean muscles of its back legs tensed, then it sprang into the air, its wings sweeping downward with a boom.
The sound broke her paralysis. She fumbled for the keys in the ignition, her nerveless fingers slipping. Before she could restart the engine, the entire car shook as the dragon thumped into the ground right next to it.
Virginia screamed as the passenger-side window shattered. She hurled herself out of the driver-side door as two sharp ivory talons thrust into the compartment. Then she was sprinting, running faster than she had ever run before in her life, away from the sounds of tortured metal as the dragon tore her vehicle apart behind her.
The loud boom rang out again. Virginia whimpered in terror, knowing that the dragon had once more taken to the air. Her night vision goggles chafed her sweating forehead; without breaking stride, she yanked them down over her eyes. Darkness gave way to a flat, monochrome green world. She was in an overgrown field, weeds catching at her jeans as she ran.
A whistle of wind at the back of her neck gave her the barest hint of warning. Virginia flung herself flat as the dragon's talons snapped shut inches above her. Being so large, it couldn't immediately turn back and grab her. It sailed onwards and upwards, the wake of its passing blowing a heavy, animal reek into Virginia's face.
Virginia cast around wildly for any sort of shelter. There was a cluster of barns at the far end of the field—clearly dark and unoccupied, but better than nothing. Virginia ran for them, the downdraft from the dragon's wings cold on her back and neck. She just managed to fling herself into the nearest barn just as the dragon swooped down for another pass. She heard a hiss of frustration as it was forced to veer off again, wings beating hard to avoid crashing into the roof. She slammed the door that she'd come through shut, forcing rusted bolts home.
Got to find somewhere to hide.
To her relief, the barn was an old but sturdy structure, made out of thick wooden beams and metal cladding. She couldn't imagine that even a dragon would be able to easily demolish it. Virginia stumbled between looming, mysterious machinery and piles of boxes, trying to quiet her panicked gasps. A thump reverberated through the ground, as if something very large had just landed outside. Virginia pictured it circling the cluster of buildings, trying to sniff her out.
Trembling, she sank down in the shadows behind a stack of crates. I've got a moment before it works out where I am. Long enough to call for help.
She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket, and nearly sobbed in relief when she saw that it had signal. By sheer reflex, she nearly dialed 911 before correcting herself.
“999,” said a calm, professional voice in her ear. “What is the nature of your emergency?”
Virginia's mind went completely blank. “Dragon,” she blurted out.
There was a momentary pause from the emergency call handler. “Pardon?”
“There's a dragon outside,” Virginia whispered. She could hear it pacing outside the barn. It paused, and there was an odd sucking sound, as if it was drawing in its breath. “It's trying to get in.”
Another, longer pause. “Do you require fire, ambulance, or police for that, ma'am?”
Outside, the dragon exhaled, and the edges of the barn door lit up with a dazzling orange glow.
“Fire,” said Virginia.
Dai Drake beat his wings hard, hovering on the night wind for a moment as he scrutinized the South Downs far below. His searching eyes caught on a flickering orange spark near the crest of the tallest hill.
*Well, there?
??s definitely a fire, at least,* he sent telepathically to Ash. *Can’t tell if it’s dragonfire unless I get a lot closer.*