When we reached the hospital, I had to put Moria’s resurrection out of my mind. Taryn directed the truck to a gated entrance. They waived me through after the truck, and I followed them to a giant building. I’d never seen an airplane hangar, but it looked like this thing could house more than one jumbo jet. It dwarfed the sizable though mostly empty parking lot to the side.

  I settled Fabian in a visitor spot and followed the truck on foot. Taryn didn’t call me over, so I stayed close enough to help but out of the way.

  The truck stopped next to an oversized forklift looking thing. It clearly wasn’t a forklift. Rather than the traditional forks, it had an oversized C shaped attachment. The bottom of the C was slender and flat, and the top had hydraulics so it could extend and retract. Even without dampening the shield that prevented me from seeing magic all the time, I could see the ripples of power spanning the inside of the C.

  The forklift raised the attachment until the bottom of the C was resting against Jolly’s side. Then the top potion curved around to Jolly’s other side. The magic flared and it lifted Jolly off the table. The spells on it were tight and well thought out, because not even the tip of Jolly’s tail twitched, and the forklift thingy carted the dragon into the building.

  Taryn came over to be. “I think Jolly will make it. But they won’t be in any shape to answer questions today, maybe not tomorrow. It depends on how things go.”

  I handed her my card. “Could you call me when Jolly is awake? The sooner I can get a report of Jolly’s injuries, the better.”

  “I’ll call when Jolly is awake and coherent enough for conversation.” She took the card. “But I’m not handing over medical records without cause. Right now, that’s a juvenile dragon who had an accident.”

  The case in my car had me convinced this wasn’t a simple accident, but I couldn’t blame her for protecting a patient. “Court order or active investigation?”

  “Court order.”

  “I can do that. I need to talk to Jolly even if I don’t get access to their records.” Even if it was a simple accident, Jolly would have to give a statement. Dragons didn’t crash into highways every day, and people took notice when they did.

  “Understood.”

  The sun dimmed, sending us into deep shadow.

  Taryn’s eyes widened.

  Above us, a moss-green dragon flared its wings to slow its descent. It backwinged as it neared the ground, buffeting us with gusts of wind.

  I crouched down and moved closer to the truck. Taryn followed me.

  The dragon landed in the open space between the parking lot and the building. A person in a TBI jacket was perched on its back. The figure looked small, but that was only because the dragon was easily three hundred feet long.

  “Ready to meet a relative?” I asked.

  Taryn tugged her coat straight. “Won’t be much to say yet, but yes.”

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  The figure on the dragon hopped off, landing lightly. A human couldn’t have made that jump, but Special Agent Wayne Harris wasn’t human.

  As sylph and follower of Kaikias, he’d spent his life honing his wind abilities for use in battle. He still had the stamp of military, with his sandy hair buzzed and more muscle than the average man.

  Harris waved as he walked toward the dragon’s head. “Agent Pine, this is Ylva, Jolly’s mother.”

  “I’m sorry to be meeting under these circumstances.” They weren’t the right words, but they were the best ones I had. “Jolly is with the medical team. Dr. Taryn can update you on Jolly’s condition.”

  Ylva stretched her neck out, bringing her head level with me. “Agent Harrissss tellsss me you aided my Jolly.”

  “Yes. I helped move Jolly from the road to the transport truck.” It was hard to focus on one spot with her this close, but I kept my gaze on the small scales between her eyes.

  “Kelsssey Pine of the Baussssen clan, named friend of the Tennesssssee Dragon Flight. We are in debt to you.” Ylva carefully touched her nose to my chest.

  I couldn’t figure out what to say, so I bowed my head.

  Ylva swung her head toward Taryn. “How is my child?”

  “Stable. If you come with me, we have a waiting area set up with a video feed if you’d like to see Jolly.” Taryn stared jogging, trying to match the walking pace of the dragon.

  My clan had used Tennessee Dragon Flight for years, but none of us had ever been named friend of the dragons. In witch culture, it would be similar to having an entire clan of witches willing to do any one favor you asked.

  “She likes you,” Harris said as Ylva and Taryn went around the building.

  “Ylva likes that I helped her child. I wouldn’t be surprised if she grants the same boon to all of Jolly’s doctors.” I turned to look at Harris. “What was her story?”

  His brows pulled together. “Why we couldn’t reach them? They’d given the humanoid employees the day off. The dragons had gathered for a celebration; I didn’t get the details. Yesterday there was a last-minute booking for a courier job. For such a simple job, they weren’t worried, and they didn’t expect Jolly back for another hour.”

  “I’ve got a container, probably what Jolly was transporting, in my car. It’s spelled. Couldn’t spend much time on it at the scene, but I don’t like the look of the spells.”

  “Could that wait a couple of hours? CJ has been refusing to give a full account to anyone but you.” Harris rubbed a hand over his hair. “If we could do that, then I could finish up the reports on that case while you investigate Jolly’s cargo.”

  I couldn’t blame CJ. The werewolf had been the victim of a bad set of spells and even worse luck. If Harris and I hadn’t been able to capture and purify him, he’d be dead. “Deal, if we can drop off the evidence and switch cars first.” Fabian was far more fun to drive than the department cars, but he was not insured by the bureau.

  “Works for me.” Harris slid into the passenger seat. “One of these days I’m going to talk you into letting me drive.”

  I patted the dashboard. “Keep dreaming. Fabian is all mine.”

  Wayne snorted.

  We spent the drive filling each other in on our mornings. I left out possibly bringing Moria back to life. Until I had time with the family book of necromancy, I wasn’t going to mention that to anyone. Especially since necromancy was very specifically reanimating the dead. Not shoving souls back in the living. Plus, Moria could die again. Whatever happened might not be permanent.

  At headquarters, a big concrete building with all the charm I’ve come to expect from government buildings, I stored Jolly’s cargo in locked cabinet spelled to contain magic. Back in the parking lot, I tossed the keys to my department car to Harris. “Enjoy.”

  “It’s not the same.” He settled into the driver’s seat and cranked the car. “See? None of the charm.”

  “Get your own.”

  “Volvo P1800Es don’t grow on trees, especially not in Fabian’s condition.”

  Before I could come up with a snappy retort, both of our phones rang. I answered, keeping an ear on Wayne’s conversation. “Agent Pine.”

  “Nashville Dispatch. There’s a magical fire, and the police are requesting your assistance.”

  “Send me the address, and I’m on my way. Any pertinent information from on-scene response?”

  “Address sent. I’ve told you all I know.”

  “Thanks.” I hung up and started navigation.

  Harris nodded, then then finished his call. “Called to a magical fire?”

  “Yup. CJ will have to wait.” The screen in the dash displayed the route. “Programed and ready to go.”

  “Buckle up.” Harris sighed. “It’s going to be one of those days.”

  I had no idea how right he was.