Aeris didn’t know what to do. She laid on the floor for what felt like hours, hoping Janine and Windor would come through the door. They would be laughing at some inside joke and see her curled in the middle of the room and worry. She would see them, and her fears would melt away.

But no one came through the door. She heard no laughter or joyful conversation.

She felt so helpless, and she hated it. With no idea who took them or why she could do nothing but hope for the best. But even she knew that wasn’t enough. Kidnappers didn’t just release their charges on a whim.

The sound of footsteps pulled her out of her melancholic thoughts. She raised her head and saw a stranger strolling into the house as if he owned the place.

“Oh, good. You’re still here,” the man said. “For a moment, I thought I messed up.”

“Who are--?”

The man waggled a long, thin finger. “Ah, ah. I’m not here for conversation. I talk, you listen.” He pulled a tuft of brown hair out of his pocket and tossed it on the floor in front of Aeris. “Or else bad things happen.”

She watched the man as she leaned forward and flicked her tongue at the hair. She immediately recognized Janine’s scent.

She backed away, her eyes wide. “What did you do to her? Is she okay?”

“I thought I told you no talking. Look, I’m a nice guy so I’ll let that one go.” He added firmly, “But don’t do it again.”

Aeris curled up and fell silent. So many questions swirled about in her mind. This man knew something, he had Janine and Windor or at least knew where they were.

The man flashed a wide smile. “Now that we’ve established that, we talk terms. You and I will go for a walk. You don’t make a scene. You don’t warn anyone. Do that and we let your friends go, understand?”

She slowly nodded, thoughts of Janine being tortured filling her mind.

“Great! Follow me, please.”

She couldn’t move. The thought he was taking her back to her former master kept her rooted.

She couldn’t go back. Wouldn’t go back. Not after everything. Not after what she lost to get away. It couldn’t amount to nothing.

The man reached the door and looked back. He frowned upon realizing she wasn’t behind him.

“You’re being difficult, dragon. Don’t you want to see your friends again? Or are you really going to abandon them?”

Her body trembled, but she remained rooted. Three hatchlings with their backs turned stood behind the man. Their celeste scales glowed in the nearby streetlamp.

She wanted to go to them, but her legs trembled too badly for her to move. She tried calling out but the words wouldn’t form.

What are their names again? She wondered. I don’t remember their names. Why can’t I remember their names? They’ll leave if I don’t call out to them. I’ll lose them again.

“Now you’re pissing me off,” the man said. “Move your fat scaly ass or I message my guy outside that you’re not playing nice.”

The dragons started to look back, but they faded from view before she could see their faces.

“No!”

She shot forward, hoping to catch them before they faded completely. She barreled into the man, knocking him off the front stoop. She ignored him and searched frantically for the hatchlings, but there were signs of them anywhere.

The man groaned as he sat up, his face red and contorted with rage. “You stupid bitch! You had one—”

She leaped onto the man, pinning him down with a single paw. “Where are they?!” she roared into his face. “Where did you take them?”

The man stared at her, wide-eyed. The fury was replaced by fear in his now pale face.

Aeris growled and pressed down, making sure to dig her claws into the man’s flesh. He cried out and pushed against her leg.

“Where are they?” she asked again.

“Get…off…” the man wheezed. “Can’t…breathe…”

She continued to glare at the man. He wasn’t getting up until he told her what she wanted to know. She wasn’t losing them again. This was her chance, and she wasn’t giving it up for anything.

He went slack beneath her, his gaze distant. But he still lived; she felt his heart beating.

“I… don’t… know,” the man said tonelessly. His lifeless eyes bulged with each wheeze. “Paid…to…collect…dragon…”

Aeris tilted her head. “Me? Were paid to collect me? Who? Who paid you?”

“Woman…in…red.”

Her chest tightened. It didn’t make any sense. No one knew she was alive. No one was looking for her or Janine.

“Where is she?” she asked.

The man didn’t respond. He only opened his mouth, eyes threatening to flee his skull, and the color drained from his face.

Aeris pressed harder, digging her claws deeper into his flesh. “Answer me!”

“Snowflake!”

She snatched her head up and saw Nesse and Brandy approaching.

“What are you doing here?” Aeris asked.

“I was worried,” Nesse said. “Ashamed as I am to admit it, I let you wander the streets alone knowing that your life could be in danger. I got too caught up in studying you and forgot. I’m very sorry about that.”

“It’s fine.”

“Don’t worry, Dr. Nesse,” Brandy said, giving the dragon a gentle pat on the shoulder. “No one is above making mistakes. And I’m just as at fault for not noticing either.”

“Well, we have a nasty habit of getting wrapped up in our work, don’t we?” She turned back to Aeris. “Anyway, I’m sorry for not realizing sooner. But I needed to make sure you were okay or I’d never forgive myself.”

Aeris bowed slightly. “Thank you but I’m—I’m fine.”

“You can’t honestly think we’re that stupid,” Nesse said, flatly. “Who’s the man you’re crushing?”

Aeris leaped backward, having forgotten about the man she was interrogating. The man didn’t move or react to his new freedom. Her stomach tightened. All color had drained from his face and his eyes had glazed over.

Brandy kneeled next to the man and checked his pulse. A small shake of her head and the solemn look on her revealed his fate.

Aeris sank to the ground.

“We should get out of here, everyone,” Brandy said. “I don’t want to explain to city watch why we’re standing around a dead body.” She turned back to Dr. Nesse and froze. The dragoness stared at the body, eyes wide and tail wrapped tightly around her body.

Brandy rushed to the evergreen dragon, blocking all view of her front. “Dr. Nesse? It’s okay. Listen to me. Everything is okay.”

Nesse began moving again, her tail going slack and resting on the ground. “Sorry. I just--”

“You don’t have to explain. I know better than anyone what’s wrong. But we can’t stay here. It’s going to be okay; just don’t look. Come on, Snowflake, quickly before someone comes.”

Aeris took one last look at the man on the ground as she followed Nesse and Brandy, curing her foolishness again. It was them. They distracted her. If they hadn’t shown up when they did, the man would be alive and she would have her answers.

She quickly pushed the thoughts from her mind, horrified by the dark imaginings of making them pay for denying her.

To distract herself she quickly caught up and strode beside Nesse. “What happened back there?” she asked.

Nesse looked around before speaking in a lowered voice. “I don’t like the sight of blood. It’s so embarrassing. That man wasn’t even bleeding that much and it got a reaction out of me.”

“You have nothing to be ashamed of!” Brandy said. “Lots of people have fears and most of them can’t even comprehend the things you know. No one is above fears like my grandmother used to say.”

“Yes, thanks, Brandy. That means a lot.” She turned back to Aeris. “Now can you explain why you killed a man in the middle of the street? Ignoring how bold and stupid it was, you seem very distressed.”

It was the longest walk Aeris had ever taken. The street stretched on forever as if forcing her to recount every possible detail of the event. She told them everything, about her deal with Logan, her attempts to acquire the notebook, and her friends’ disappearance.

The only good news was she was allowed to talk without pause. If she had to stop to answer questions or repeat herself, she would have lost her nerve.

It wasn’t until she finished her tale that they arrived in front of Nesse’s house. Once everyone was inside, Nesse spoke first.

“Well, this is strange. I knew Dr. Saller to be an ambitious bastard, but kidnapping?”

“I knew it!” Brandy said. “I never liked him; he was always so creepy and rude! I just can’t believe that there are people like that in the world. That’s why everyone was always saying those things about him.”

“What things?” Aeris asked. Her muscles tightened at the potential horror of Brandy’s reply.

“There’s been rumors surrounding him for years that he’s been experimenting on dragons,” Nesse said. “No one’s been able to prove it, though.”

“Well, we have all the proof we need now!” Brandy cried. “I say we go down to his lab and—"

“Calm down,” Nesse said gently. “I know I put the theory out there, but it’s too soon to say it was him.”

“It is?” Aeris asked.

Nesse shook her head. “It’s mostly the convenient timing. You say you don’t have any known enemies and not many people are into kidnapping dragons.”

“But who else could it be if not Dr. Saller?” Brandy asked.

“Don’t get me wrong, he’s a bastard and while it would be surprising, I wouldn’t put it past him to stoop so low. But at the same time, something just isn’t adding up. Assuming it was him or another scientist from that gathering, they knew exactly where you’d be and had plenty of time to arrange it. Why all the extra effort to take your friends? They could’ve just kidnapped you and been done with it.”

“Then our only lead is the woman,” Brandy said. “It’s a shame our only clue is what she was wearing but even that’s vague! Did he mean a red dress? Red jacket? Red hat? And even then we have no idea what she looks like so once she changes her clothes—which she’s bound to do—”

Nesse nuzzled the woman. “Thank you for the input, but maybe we should keep our thoughts to ourselves?”

They both turned to Aeris with pitying looks. She didn’t have it in her to fake a smile and set their grievances at ease. Every word struck home how badly she messed up her only lead.

“Don’t worry, Snowflake,” Nesse said. “People have made grander discoveries with far less to work with. We’ll get your friends back.” She looked her shoulder at Brandy. “I want you to go back to Snowflake’s house and ask around for a woman in red. Hopefully, someone will be more willing to talk to you. Come back here and wait for us if you learn anything.”

Brandy straitened up, gave an affirmative nod, then hurried out the door.

“Now you and I will go see Shai.”

“Why do we have to see her?”

“She is the District Lord. A dragon going missing falls under her jurisdiction.”

****

“And what the fuck do you expect me to do about it?” Shai asked. The Horntail snorted and sat in the corner of her home. “Some weakling who lays with pets”—she shot a nasty look at Aeris—“and lets himself get captured by humans is not my problem.”

Aeris turned to Nesse. This wasn’t the response she expected. Even knowing about Shai’s abrasive attitude, she held on to hope that the dragoness would be eager to step up.

Nesse stepped forward and cleared her throat. “Well, you are the District Lord. Anything that happens to the dragons is your—”

“No, anything that happens to real dragons is my problem.”

“But what about Janine?” Aeris said, frowning. It was too clear what was implied by “real” dragons. Something she was used to hearing that domesticates and anyone who dealt with them were looked down on.

Shai shrugged. “Why should I care about some human bitch?”

“What?!”

Nesse quickly stood in front of her. “Come on. You mean you don’t care if a human just struts in here and does whatever they want to a dragon? Isn’t that what happened to your sister?”

With a vicious snarl, Shai leaped across the room and stopped just short of running into Nesse. Aeris couldn’t take her eyes off the spiked appendage waving threateningly behind the silver Matriarch. Nesse stood her ground, but her tail quivered behind her.

Aeris braced herself for the worst. She had no real experience fighting another dragon, but she couldn’t die. Not here. Not while Janine was being held prisoner.

Eventually, Shai snorted and turned away. “You’re not worth it. Get the fuck out. Both of you.”

“Wait!” Aeris said. “What about a deal?”

Shai stopped walking but kept her back turned. “I don’t make deals with pets.”

“Before I left, you warned me that Sareen wasn’t my friend. You wouldn’t have done that if you didn’t care.”

Shai turned around, rolling her eyes. “I did that because I hate her, and I wanted to ruin her plans. I don’t care about whatever happens to you.”

“So you won’t have a problem using me again, right? There has to be something you want. Help me and I’ll help you.”

The silver dragon narrowed her eyes. “I really don’t like you. You play innocent but you’re nastier than you let on.”

“I just want my friends back. I’ll do whatever I have to.”

A tense silence fell over them. Shai watched her, studying her. Aeris stayed still, never taking her eyes off the dragoness. She needed to stay firm, no matter what.

Eventually, Nesse broke the silence. “So, do we have a deal, my Matriarch?”

“Fine, if it’ll shut you up. I’ll look into it. But you need to do something for me.”

“There’s no time to—” Aeris began.

Nesse raised a wing in front of her, cutting her off. “Of course. What would you have us do?”

“I need you to make the domesticates talk. They know who killed my sister, but they won’t talk to me.”

I wonder why, Aeris thought.

“So an even exchange then?” Nesse asked. “We get the info you need, and you do the same for us.”

Shai rolled her eyes. “I said I’ll look into it. Just bring me back something useful. I don’t want to hear ‘I don’t know anything’.”

“So who do you want us to speak to?” Aeris asked.

“Start at the top. I know you’re close with that bitch, Teresa so I want you to question her pet Reban.”

Aeris wasn’t sure how to react. She didn’t count Teresa as a friend, but she didn’t like the idea of questioning her or her dragon. Then there was that they were questioning her at all. Teresa spoke against a human being District Lord; she couldn’t have anything to do with the death of the previous one.

“We’ll get right on that,” Nesse said. She steered Aeris towards the exit. “We’ll be in touch when we come up with something.”

Once they were outside again, Nesse turned to Aeris. “I don’t know Teresa, but from the look on your face back there, you don’t like the idea.”

“I don’t know her very well, but she hasn’t done anything to me. I also don’t think she did anything wrong. She wants humans and dragons to get along.”

“Fair enough. But I think we’re missing something. If she was so against it, why is the current District Lord asking us to investigate her?” She let out a pleased trill. “I love a good mystery!”

“I don’t have time for mysteries! Janine is out there!”

Nesse turned her with a solemn expression. “I’m sorry. It’s just life in a coven is boring and I hate monotony, so I get a little overexcited. But you’re right, this isn’t a game. Someone’s life is at stake. Let’s go. I hope you know the way because I have no idea where she lives.”

****

“Snowflake, are you sure we should do this now?” Nesse asked, looking at Teresa’s house. “At this time of night, everyone has to be asleep and probably won’t like being woken up.”

Aeris said nothing. This was their only chance. Their best least. After her first meeting with Teresa, she knew the woman kept a careful eye on everything that happened in the city. If she didn’t know who took Janine, she knew who to ask.

Aeris had no plans to leave until she had that information. Even if it took all night.

A single Ramscale in front of the doors. Aeris recognized Reban immediately though seeing him filled her with more dread than hope. The way the shadows played on gold-red scales made him seem large and frightening.

“Hello, Aeris,” Reban said, not meeting her gaze. He sighed heavily then added, “Teresa is inside. She’s been expecting you.”

“She has?” Aeris asked.

The Ramscale said nothing as he went inside. Aeris looked at Nesse who shrugged then followed drake.

The silence and isolation were broken only by the clicking of claws on the floor. Aeris watched every corner for signs of movement, her wings and tail tucked close to her body. Something felt wrong. It was too dark and too quiet. The windows had been boarded and the shelves had been cleared.

The silence continued as they entered the living room where Teresa sat on the floor, a rifle in front of her. Even with a single candle for light, it was clear she had aged over the last few months. Her dry hair had been tied into a sloppy bun and her clothes were wrinkled as if she threw them on at the last moment or slept in them.

She gave a wide grin, her face resembling a mask in the candlelight. “Aeris, I’m glad you’re here. And hello to your friend as well. I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“We haven’t,” Nesse said. She brushed some empty wine bottles aside and sat down. “Just call me Nesse.”

“As you wish. I would offer you refreshments, but we don’t have time for such luxuries.” She turned to Reban. “Take some guards and check the perimeter, please. I want to be sure they weren’t followed.”

The drake nodded but remained where he was, staring at Aeris and Nesse.

“It’s all right. I’m sure she didn’t come all this way to kill me.”

He still looked apprehensive but left as she commanded.

Once he left, Aeris asked, “Why would I come to kill you?”

“You don’t know? Where have you been all this time? Diamus on the brink of civil war, myself and many others are fearing for our lives.”

“This is the first I’ve heard of it,” Nesse said.

“Then you haven’t been listening to the right individuals. Granted, it’s not public knowledge but things have become very tense between humans and dragons. And it’s all Shai’s doing. She cares nothing for the consequences of her actions and only cares about avenging her sister’s murder.”

“Yeah, we kinda got that, too,” Nesse said.

Teresa nodded. “Naturally, her inquiries have emboldened the dragons who believe the humans are attempting to turn them all into domesticates. If something isn’t done soon, they may get the idea that they should stop us before we succeed.”

She looked around the room, her hand flying towards the rifle in front of her. Aeris froze, a tingling in her side.  After several seconds of tense silence, Teresa calmed down.

“And of course as the dragons cry for independence, there are those who claim it is a ruse to bring humanity under their heel once more. It has not turned openly violent yet, but I’m sure you’ve seen the casualties of their clash.”

Aeris remembered the restaurant and what happened to it during her absence. She pushed the thought aside. “I don’t care about that. Janine is missing, so I came to you to ask about what happened to last District Lord?”

“The previous District Lord? What does that have to do with—oh, I see. You’ve spoken to Shai.”

Aeris nodded.

“Has it ever occurred to you that maybe she had your friend taken? That dragon has the subtlety of a charging bull and her investigation has yielded nothing as a result.”

“Hold on, why would Shai do that?” Nesse asked.

“Well, it makes sense, doesn’t it? Who else could arrange to have a dragon kidnapped in broad daylight without arousing suspicion? And it’s no secret that many dragons agree with Shai but don’t respect her as District Lord. She cares little about their troubles. They would rather have Aeris in charge. If she loses her position, she loses her power and her best chance at avenging her sister. She won’t give that up for anything.”

Nesse stood, glaring at the woman. “Just like you won’t give up for anything.”

“What are you--?”

“Save it! No one said anything about a dragon going missing and how do you know the kidnapping happened during the day?”

Aeris stood as well. She turned to Nesse then to Teresa, hoping one of them would smile or make a joking reference. They continued to stare at each other, the tense silence growing. Even when Reban returned, they remained silent and glaring at each other.

Finally, it became too much.

“It was you?” Aeris asked.

Teresa slowly turned to her. “I had hoped to resolve this without your ever finding out.”

Aeris watched herself snarl and leap across the room. Teresa’s eyes widened as her mouth formed an O-shape. She didn’t get to raise a finger before Aeris bowled her over and stood over the woman. Her tail thrashed, knocking bottles against the walls.

Around her, voices shouted, but she couldn’t make out their words. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was setting things right. There would be no mistakes this time. Teresa was going to talk.

“If you kill me, you’ll never find out where she is,” Teresa said, her chest heaving rapidly. “I assure you, neither of them came to harm.”

She slammed a paw beside the woman’s head, eliciting a yelp of fear. “Liar! I saw the blood!”

“No! The dragon fought back and wounded one of my men, but I promise you, both he and Janine are alive and unharmed!”

Nesse’s muffled voice came into her ear. “Snowflake, I know you’re angry, but killing her won’t solve anything.”

She didn’t believe that. Killing Teresa would solve a lot of things. It would ensure Janine was safe and no one could ever come for them again.

“I know you can hear me,” Nesse pleaded. “Please, don’t do this. I don’t know Janine, but I don’t think she wants you to kill for her.”

Aeris blinked and it felt as if she was looking through her eyes again. She looked around and noticed several armed humans pointing guns at her. At the front was Reban, glaring daggers at her.

“Hold your fire!” Teresa cried. “If something happens to her, every dragon will riot! For goodness sake, put your guns down!”

The guards slowly lowered their weapons.

Aeris backed away and let Teresa sit up. The woman checked the back of her head but there were no signs of blood.

“I’m sorry for the deception,” Teresa said. “I’m also sorry I must resort to this. But as your friend said: I care too much about this city and I’ll do anything to ensure it remains standing. I’ll return your friends to alive and unharmed but only if you deal with Shai.”

“Short of killing her, she’s not going to back down,” Nesse said.

“Then so be it.”

“Wait, what?” Aeris said. “You want me to kill Shai?”

“Yes. If you do it, both sides will believe it to be authorized by the Dracaena herself. No one will question it. Then you can take over as District Lord and end this damnable conflict.”

“But I don’t want to be District Lord.”

“Then assign someone more capable.” She straightened up and for a moment, looked like the Teresa she met so many months ago. Proud, unflinching, and driven. “You may not have noticed but this city is one dispute away from becoming a slaughterhouse. You are our best chance of averting disaster.” Like a cloud blocking the sun, her demeanor changed, and she returned to a frightened old woman. “I’ve named my terms. Assure me that Shai is either dead or leaving for good and I’ll return your friends to you. I don’t need to tell you what happens should you refuse.”

Aeris stared at Teresa as she allowed herself to be steered towards the exit. Over and over she played their first meeting in her mind. There were no signs of her acting like this or being this driven. But there had to be a sign somewhere, she was just missing it.

Once they were outside, Nesse turned to her. “I take back what I said before. I liked it better boring.” She gave an uneasy smile which Aeris didn’t return.

The situation couldn’t be worse. She didn’t know the first thing about fighting another dragon and now she was tasked with killing one—and a Matriarch at that. Shai wouldn’t back down; a fight was inevitable. Aeris knew she didn’t stand a chance. She would die and Janine would be alone.

Nesse nuzzled her, snapping her out of her thoughts. “Snowflake—or Aeris, are you okay?”

“No, but thanks for asking.”