Tae noticed a soldier dragging something toward the center of the battle. Surely, the Savra were not so cruel as to sacrifice one of their females or children in hopes of distracting the Talonians. If that was the case, then they were sorely mistaken. The weredragons would not risk their lives to save an enemy's sacrificial offering. They would just do their best to keep their aim on the soldiers. If the innocent died, it would not be by the hands of a Talonian.

A huge Savra soldier rushed at Tae bearing a large, curved knife. Without thinking, Tae raised his laser and cut the soldier in half. He steeled his heart against the pain of killing someone, but it was not necessary. Tae's heart had hardened when he had seen an injured weredragon fall from the sky, transform into a man, and be shot in the head by a Savra. At that moment, he had switched his weapon to its highest setting. No longer would he simply injure the enemy: he would destroy it.

Kelan would be pleased. The weapons were working very well. They killed proficiently, but cleanly. They did not leave blood behind to mix with the sandy soil. Instead, the wounds were instantly sealed shut by the laser's heat. Tae was proud of his part in their construction.

Tae caught sight of a huge weapon beside one of the buildings. A Savra soldier was filling its tube-like body with a large, black ball. He aimed it at the weredragons in the sky and lit a fuse at its back. The ball shot out, knocking two dragons to the ground. Tae could not let the reptile refill his weapon. He fought his way through the skirmish and used his laser to sever the lizard's arm at the shoulder. The heavy ball fell to the sand, but the injured Savra was not ready to give up. He roared and attacked Tae, though he had only one arm. They fell to the ground, wrestling. The Savra was strong, made more so by his pain. He wanted the laser. It ended up between their bodies. As it went off, Tae assumed he would die. He was wrong. It hit the reptilian man in the chest, exploded through his back, and took out another Savra behind him. Tae shoved the body off and rolled over, ready to get up and fight. But, he froze. From his place in the sand, he had a clear view of what had been dragged to the center of the battle. It was not a Savra.

How could this be? Where had they gotten her? Yes, it was a female, but she was not a reptile. Her mass of chestnut hair was tangled and dirty. She was battered, bruised, and bloody. Around her slender neck was a collar and attached to it, a chain. The chain was wrapped securely around a post, leaving her helpless to escape. She curled into herself, trying desperately to stay away from the soldier's feet. She raised her head and stared directly into Tae's eyes. Her eyes were green and pleading for help. She was human!

Tae's heart began to pound against his chest. He knew she was bait. The Savra wanted the Talonians to try and save her. It was a well-conceived trap. Protocol would have been followed without question if the female had been Savra. The Talonians would not have harmed her, but they would not have risked their lives to save her either. However, she was human and had been tortured. Would his conscience allow him to follow the rules in her case? How long had she been here? Where had the Savra gotten her? A tear fell down her cheek, leaving a clean path through the dirt and blood. He saw the resignation in her eyes. She knew why she had been put out here and she was also aware that he would have orders to leave her be. She closed her beautiful eyes and turned her face away.

Tae's heart shattered. He could not leave her. Even if she did not die in the battle, the Savra would kill her. She was useless to them if the Talonians would not take the bait. Perhaps, if it was just one man who risked his life, the Savra would not waste their time to kill him. Their intention was to distract a large group. Tae inched his way toward the woman. He stayed on the ground, stopping often to play dead. It took long, agonizing minutes to finally reach her side. He placed a hand on her foot. She jerked it back and screeched. Tae looked up at her and placed a finger to his lips, begging her to remain silent. Her face showed shock and fear, but she obeyed.

One of the Savra came to see if the woman was still alive. Tae laid still and held his breath, praying the reptile would think he was dead. When the lizard slapped the female's head, it was almost too much for Tae to bear. He was digging his fingers into the sand and grinding his teeth to keep from jumping up and tearing the cruel creature apart. Satisfied, the Savra left. Slowly, Tae rose to his knees. He jerked on the chain, but it held. The post was too big to knock out of the ground. His only choice was to cut through the chain using the laser. He would have preferred to remove the offending collar from her neck, however, using the laser near her face at this setting would kill her. He settled for severing the chain an arm's length from her body.

Tae pulled her arm, intent on getting her to her feet. She cried out in pain, falling back to the ground. He took a closer look and realized her leg was broken. She could not walk. His hopes of sending her running through the crowd were dashed. She would have to be carried. It seemed an impossible task, for he would not be able to hide as he walked amidst the fight. He bent to lift her anyway.

The woman screamed. The terror in her eyes had him turning, his laser ready to fire. A grinning Savra put a gun to his head. "I win," the reptile said. He was so very wrong. A dragon swooped from the sky and burned him to ashes with dragon fire. It landed where the lizard warrior had once stood. The bright red dragon was Hesher, the Talonian commander.

"What are you doing?” the dragon growled. "Leave her."

Tae stood up as tall as he could and defiantly proclaimed, "Respectfully, sir, I will not. She is human and in need of medical aid. I refuse to leave her with these cruel beasts. Punish me later, if you must. But, I beg you to help me now."

The mighty red dragon raised its head and sent fire into the sky. He was angry, and yet he wrapped Tae and the woman with his wings, protecting them from the enemy. Tae lifted the woman and walked through the battle as Hesher, the dragon, deflected the enemies' bullets. With Hesher's help, they made it outside the city walls.

"Take her to the ship, Tae. You have already defied orders by risking your own life to save her, so you might as well take her aboard. The king will have plenty to say about your careless, defiant actions and I have not said all I wish either. Another human on Talonia will bring a new uproar. It seems we are becoming a refuge for the downtrodden women of Earth. At least Michelle will have someone of her species to reminisce with. Go, before I change my mind. I must return to the war," Hesher stated angrily.

Tae had no regrets for his disobedience. The woman did not deserve the torment she had endured at the hands of the Savra. Nothing she could have done was bad enough to earn such torture. He could tell that the collar had been on her neck for a very long time; her skin practically growing over it. If it was not removed soon, she would choke. Her recent injury was causing her neck to swell and eventually the collar would shut off her air supply. Tae began to run across the sand. He had to reach the ship and remove the collar before she died and his effort to save her proved worthless.

Eveline woke to the sounds of war. She was surrounded by blowing sand that seemed to fill her lungs with each breath. She hid her face in the shelter of her arms and the one leg she could bend. The other leg was growing numb. She knew this to be a bad sign. It meant the broken leg was swelling and her blood wasn't circulating as it should. She would lose the leg if it wasn't set properly and it couldn't wait much longer. She had no idea how long she had been unconscious. Apparently, the Savra had been wrong. The enemy hadn't tried to save her. She was sure the failure of their plan was making her captors furious. She would take the brunt of their anger, so the broken leg might not matter after all.

Eveline risked raising her head to see one of the beautiful creatures in the sky. Through the haze of the sand, their bright colors shone and gave her hope. It didn't make sense. The dragons should terrify her just as much as the Savra, maybe more. But, she felt no fear of them. She could see their fire, feel the heat, and had watched them use the weapon that shot out such a bright light. It killed upon contact with flesh. Yet, they had shown no hostility toward her. In fact, she was being ignored.

She wiped her grimy face on her equally grimy arm as a single tear rolled down her cheek. She glimpsed a set of eyes near the ground. They were staring into hers with surprise. She watched them change to sympathy when the man noticed the tear. Unable to hold back the hope, her eyes begged him for help. She gasped as she saw him crawl in her direction. Knowing he would be caught and killed, she hid her face once more. She couldn't bear to see her only hope destroyed.

Forever seemed to pass while Eveline remained chained and helpless. The scent of seared flesh was worse than the sand. She was gagging from the stench. Something warm touched her foot. She jumped, fearing it was a dead man's hand. She couldn't control the scream that came from her mouth. She dared look up, and to her shock, it was the man who had been crawling slowly towards her. He held a finger to his lips, asking for her silence. She gave it gladly. But, she was too late. Her scream had caught the attention of one of the Savra. He came to her side. She saw that her rescuer was pretending to be dead at her feet. He didn't even flinch when the reptile slapped her in the head. The ruse worked, and the Savra walked away.

The stranger rose to his knees and lifted his weapon. This was the end. He wasn't here to save her. He wanted her dead. She closed her eyes, but the pain she was expecting never came. Instead, her chain was disconnected from the post. She tried to stand as the stranger pulled on her arm, but her broken leg gave way sending excruciating pain throughout her body. Confused blue eyes looked down at her. She saw them change as he comprehended her situation. He bent down to lift her into his arms. Over his shoulder, she saw the Savra soldier raise his gun. She screamed with all she was worth. It was all she was capable of doing to warn her savior.

Out of the sky came a huge, red dragon. It incinerated the Savra and landed in the ashes. Hearing it speak was too much for Eveline. She passed out once more.

When her eyes opened, she was in a strange room. Her body was on a metal slab. Her savior had his back turned until she whimpered. He spun around, and those intense blue eyes drilled into hers. "You are awake," he stated. "I had hoped to remove the collar and set your leg while you were unconscious. I did not wish you to endure more pain. Our healer is not with us. We each are trained a little in order to keep ourselves alive until we reach home, but I do not know how much pain medication you require. I will have to guess. It will probably not erase all the pain because I do not want to kill you by giving you too much. Do you understand?"

Eveline nodded. She had grown used to pain. The Savra had gleefully inflicted it. She trusted this man not to purposely cause unnecessary anguish. His blue eyes were honest and kind, though she knew he could become a dragon like the others.

"We will begin with your leg. I will numb it as much as I dare after I give you some oral pain medication. Do not be frightened. I am not like the Savra." Tae lifted her head so she could drink the pain medication. Then he picked up a syringe filled with yellow liquid. Before he stuck her leg with the needle, he apologized. "I am sorry. This will hurt, and the medicine will burn."

The pain was nothing compared to what she had endured at the hands of the Savra. She could easily handle this.

"I will give the medication a moment to work," he said as he brushed her hair from her face. He picked up a warm, wet cloth and wiped her forehead and cheeks. It felt wonderful to be rid of some of the dirt and grime. If only she could have a bath or a shower, she would feel like a human instead of an animal.

"It is time. I will set the bone quickly. Scream if you must. There are no Savra to attack you here. You are safe with me." He lifted her leg and gave it a hard pull, twisting it at the same time. The bone snapped into place. Her screams echoed off the metal walls and then she was silent. "Good," Tae said to the unconscious woman. "You will not be frightened or move while I get rid of that collar."

Tae set the laser on its lowest setting and carefully cut through the collar. He washed her body, paying extra attention to her wounds. Then, he slathered them with medication and covered them. He bound the leg tightly to keep the bone in place. He could do no more for her. She required the healer's help. He sat down to wait for the war to end, hoping his side would win. The woman had never spoken a word.