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.
***
Daifydd 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.*
*Proceed with caution,* the Fire Crew Commander sent back. As always, his mental voice was tightly controlled, but from long experience Dai could detect the growing concern under the calm surface of his thoughts. *Dispatch reports we just lost contact.*
Dai hissed under his breath, forked tongue flickering. That meant that the woman who'd made the call, saying she was trapped by a dragon in a burning building, had either hung up or lost consciousness. The rest of his fire crew wasn't far behind, but even with Chase's reckless driving there was no way they could reach the scene as fast as he could.
*See you there,* Dai sent to Ash, then broke contact. He swept his wings back into a dive, arrowing toward the fire.
Even before he saw the other dragon, Dai knew it was no ordinary blaze. The wooden barn was burning with the white-hot ferocity that could only be sparked by dragonfire. The leaping flames silhouetted a lean, pale form hunched in front of the barn door like a cat in front of a mouse hole.
Anger rose in Dai's chest, and he had to swallow his own dragonfire. He roared instead, hurling a thought into the stranger's mind like a javelin. *Stop!*
The white dragon leapt, wings twitching open and head snapping round. The stranger's startlement lasted barely an instant, however, before his wings and tail settled into a posture of offended dignity.
*How dare you!* His mental tone was as rich as gold, and imbued with an absolute sense of his own power and righteousness. His snout turned upwards disdainfully at the sight of Dai's own crimson scales. *Some peasant Welsh red, interfering in my business? Who do you think you are?*
*Firefighter Daifydd Drake, of the East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service,* Dai shot back as he backwinged in to land. He drew himself up to his full height, glaring down at the white dragon. *Stand aside, now!*
*You can't possibly challenge me.* The other dragon's head spines bristled in indignation. *Don't you know who I am?*
*Yes,* Dai replied. The other dragon squawked as Dai lashed out with his muscular tail, knocking the smaller dragon clean off his feet. *You're in my way.*
Before the other dragon could recover, Dai shoved past him. Much as his own inner dragon wanted to formally challenge the arrogant bastard, there was no time for it. He appraised the burning barn with a single practiced glance. There was no way he could enter in dragon form without bringing the whole lot down on the heads of both himself and whoever was in there.
He shifted back into human form. Even as the other dragon struggled back upright, hissing with outrage, Dai ducked through the burning door.
Immediately flames surrounded him, licking at his skin—but the only fire a dragon-shifter needed to fear, even when in human form, was that which came directly from the jaws of a rival. This blaze had been started by dragonfire, but now the flames were just fueled by ordinary wood and air, and so couldn't harm him. Dai still wore the standard protective gear of a firefighter, but it was more for the look of the thing than any real need.