The overwhelming scent of burning pitch burned Taurian's nostrils. He thrashed to sit up, but thick chains held him down on a table. No matter how much he strained, the bindings across his chest, legs, and arms refused to budge.

In the corner, the woman from earlier stared at him and smoked a pipe. Her gray hair belying her taupe, unwrinkled face. Though her shoulders were slightly hunched, she gave the air of superiority despite her small five-foot frame.

Why had this old human brought him here and chained him like a spiked pheasant about to be butchered?

“Release me!” Where was Dena? Was she okay?

“Not until you answer my questions first.” She didn't move, but he sensed she would do everything in her power to make him stay until she was satisfied.

There wasn't time for this. He had to rescue Dena...the Tryn had duplicated Taurian and chased after her.

Taurian struggled again when the woman clicked her tongue.

“Don't go ripping your stitches so soon, dragon. My sewing is equal to none, but I won't make the fix straight again if you make me redo my work.”

He glanced down at his wounds to find the threads holding pieces of his flesh together smeared with a brown, foul-smelling concoction, which stunk worse than the liquid Dena had used on his gunshot wound after she blasted him. Yet, now his lacerations appeared crusted over already with a purplish cast to the bruises as if days had passed, not minutes. Then again, how long had he been here? Dena! “Let me go and I won't burn your house down.”

“Oh, aren’t you the big bad wolf now?” She cocked her head to the side. “Answer me or I’ll rip your entrails out. Why are you here?”

Though he admired the old woman’s spirit, he had to get out of this mess and fast. She already knew he was a dragon and about the Tryn. Something no other humans were supposed to know or remember. Just how old was this woman? She couldn’t be from the time period when he was last here on Earth…but humoring her might get him out of these chains faster. “Fine. I came into this world accidentally with a Tryn. Now let me loose so I can go kill it before it hurts someone.” His voice choked on the last two words.

“You brought one of those demons along with you?” Her glare speared him. “How could you? We have no more dragons to protect us. And if one of us gets possessed, the creatures multiple like an air-born virus.”

“I didn’t do it on purpose.” He yanked against the chains again. Was this woman a hunter? Why had she bound him and she knew so much about his kind and Tryns. No, if she was a hunter she’d have killed him already. Unless she was grilling him to find out if any more Renjerians were here or would be coming. That thought sent dread barreling into his chest. Had he left his world full of Tryns just to come here to another enemy?

“Please, there’s no time. An innocent…a woman is in danger.” His heart thudded against his chest and he swallowed down the bile pressing into his throat.

“Then how come you’re in this form…human rather than a dragon?” She rose and lightly smacked his shoulder. “A dragon’s breath of fire is the best thing for destroying these little devils.”

“There are more of them now. And giant ones too.” He licked his lips. If she hated the Tryns and knew what they were capable of, then he could convince her to let him go. Perhaps this woman could help him if she knew anything about the ancient magic of her ancestors—the ones that used to fight alongside the Renjerians against a common foe. “Something happened on the way over here. I was changed somehow and I can’t shift back.”

“Guess then we’re stuck with a dragon-less dragon and a Tryn that will be a legion before the new moon.”

“Let me go and I’ll vanquish the demon.” He met her stare. “I vow as a dragon prince of Renjer that I will not cease until the creature is destroyed.”

The old woman tsked and tightened her black shawl. “I will hold you to that. And I want you to promise me a dragon for my granddaughter.”

“Wha—no.” His kind didn’t do that anymore. Even if all she wanted was a nanny, Renjerians didn’t have any contact with humans anymore. The king bent the rules to marry and impregnate Kohl’s mom, but his father paid the ultimate price with the human woman losing her life. “We don’t babysit. We are warriors and fighting a great battle.”

“So is my granddaughter.” The woman raised a finger. “She knows all the old ways I taught her, but she doesn't believe me. Don’t believe in dragons or demons or galaxies where such things thrive.” She shook her head and shuffled over to a bookcase lined with old looking tomes, skulls of various animals, and small statues. “A thousand years ago, our ancestor mated with a Renjerian. Dragon blood is in us, even though dormant. It was how I sniffed you out. That and you spilled so much of your own blood in the alley it was hard to miss.”

Just how old was this woman? And how could she access abilities that should be long obliterated by mating with other humans after all this time? Didn’t matter. “Then we have a deal?”

“You must promise me first. A dragon prince for my granddaughter.”

He scowled. “I cannot force one of my brothers to come here on my behalf and play nursemaid to your kin.”

“Then we have no deal.” She set a pair of keys on one of the shelves beside a small skull that looked Renjerian to him.

What did he have to lose? He could say yes and get out of here and rescue Dena. Then return to Renjerian and this woman would have no way of reaching to ensure he held up his part of the bargain. For fun, he’d mention it to his father and brothers, but no Renjerian wanted to come to Earth anymore. Not after the dragon wars and humans turning on his kind and blaming them for the plague of Tryns that nearly wiped out the backward people of this planet.

“I vow that I will advise the king and my bothers to your deman—wishes. However, I will not enslave any of my brothers to this task. One, if they chose, may come, but I will not force them.”

The old woman nodded and picked the keys back up. “I’ll send my granddaughter to Renjer within a fortnight of your return there.”

Good luck with that. He was having a hard enough time trying to shift back into a dragon so he could go home. How much less a human female with no wings or nanities to activate during a lightning storm to teleport to his distant planet. “We will await her presence eagerly.” And if by some miracle the daft woman did reach his planet, he would’ve held his end of the deal easily. Then, she’d be some other Renjerians’ issue.

Once he was unchained, Taurian sat up. “Thank you.”

“See that you do not betray me, dragon. Or you will owe me and my debt is far more than you can pay.” She pressed a finger to his forearm.

Yup, this woman was looney.

His insides coiled as lancing pain radiated up and down his arm. He growled, snapping at her, but she pressed harder, bringing him to his knees.

“This will force you to keep your word or your life will be mine for all time.”

A spell? She’d bound his future to hers if he didn’t live up to his bargain for her granddaughter. Hope the girl was old enough to marry a dragon. She’d have her pick of half his brothers.

He nodded and dashed out the door. Darkness greeted him and he cursed. How long had the filthy Tryn been with Dena? He’d tear its appendages off and roast them with or without his dragonfire.

* * *

Taurian ran up the street to Dena’s house. But even with his Renjerian stamina, he wasn’t getting there soon enough. A car with red and blue flashing lights pulled up beside him. Taurian admired the fancy decoration of this vehicle. Was the man someone special to have such lights when he had seen no other human cars with such?

“You okay there, buddy?” the man asked through the open window.

“Yes, but I need transportation.” He grinned. “Give me a ride to Dena’s house.” These humans and their new fancy machines. Much better than the carriage rides of old. Almost as fast as a dragon could fly.

“Look, buddy, you lost your phone or something? I can call you a cab or the bus stops back a mile.”

“I have no phone or bus.” Taurian pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn’t have time to wait that long. He had to get to Dena…now. “Your car…” wasn’t that what Dena had called these things? “Will suit me fine.”

The man narrowed his eyes. “I ain’t no taxi driver. Have you been drinking or taken anything illegal?”

Why was the human getting so agitated? “I am a Renjerian and demand you give me a ride to Dena’s.”

Instantly, the car pulled over and Taurian jogged to the passenger side. The man leaped out of the car and brandished a silver weapon at him. “Hands on your head.”

Must be a new way to ride. Taurian obliged the man. “Please hurry. The Tryn has my friend and I must obliterate it before it makes more demons.” And if he was too late, he’d burn this city to the ground. Sorrow choked him at the thought of Dena hurt or dead and believing with her last breath that it was him.

The man slid around the car, then pushed Taurian toward the back of the car. “Inside.”

When the car roared down the road, a sick sensation pressed against Taurian’s gut. They were going the wrong way! “Dena’s house is west of the direction we are headed.”

“Don’t know who this Dena is, but hope she has enough money to bail you out.”

“Where are you taking me?” Was this human working with the Tryn? Taurian bit the inside of his cheek and tugged on the bracelets to try and free himself. His mind screaming no and rage building like a grass-fire in his veins.

“I’m taking you to the station for evaluation and lockup.”

“And how long will that take before you release me?” Taurian asked and gritted his teeth to keep from snapping at the wire cage between them.

“Depends on how soon we can get ahold of this Dena of yours and if she decides to bail you out of jail.” The man turned onto a side street. “Best case, you’ll be out in a few hours.”