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right,” the medic soothed him, “it’s been sedated.” The man nodded to a lump on the far side of the room.
    Daniel waved the man away and rolled off the mat the medic had laid him on. “Get me Laurence,” he said as he pushed the blanket off.
    The EMT’s hands came up and caught Daniel on the shoulders, stopping him from getting up. “Sir, you need to rest. An ambulance is on the way.”
    “I don’t need an ambulance,” Daniel growled, “I need Laurence!” He shoved the man back and forced his way up from the ground. “ Laurence!”
    “Yes, sir,” Laurence answered as he loped into the room.
    Daniel waved to him. “Come here.” When the larger man stepped close, Daniel grabbed him and staggered across the room to the dragon. He paused as he looked over the cloth-wrapped creature. The poor thing was out cold. Dropping to his knees next to the beast, Daniel tugged on the cloth, loosening the small animal’s bindings. “I’m sorry.” A tear ran down his cheek as the dragon’s memories raced through his head. He searched the dragon for injuries. There were a few spots that were roughed up, but it looked to be in good health. He also noted a black leather band wrapped high around the creatures throat, but the clasp was up under the boney frill and would require some work to get off. He decided to leave it for later. Once he was sure the dragon was fine, he ran his fingers over the boned frill at the back of its head. “I’ll get the king, and we will figure this out.”
    Patting the warm scales one last time, he turned to look up at Laurence. “Grab four men and take this dragon back to the main office. Get him secured in one of the guest rooms and see that a medic checks him over. I want to make sure we didn’t hurt him.”
    “Yes, sir,” Laurence said as he nodded. Reaching down, he helped Daniel from the floor.
    Once Daniel was on his feet again, he patted Laurence on the arm. “And stay with him.” He nodded down at the small dragon. “He’s going to need someone familiar nearby when he wakes up.”
    Laurence gave Daniel a confused look. “Yes, sir,” he agreed.
    Daniel nodded once more and stepped away to stand on his own. There was much he needed to do, and he didn’t know how long he had to do it. First, he needed to find something to collect that sphere before anyone else touched it and figured out what it was. Then, he had to find a place to hide it away until he could figure out what to do with it. Only then could he take the whole mess to Kyle. Maybe he would know what to do.
    “Daniel,” Laurence called before his boss could get out of the room.
    Daniel paused and looked back at him with a raised eyebrow.
    “Who is it?” Laurence glanced down at the sleeping dragon.
    The corner of Daniel’s mouth turned up in amusement. Of course he hasn’t figured it out. “It’s Noah.”
    Laurence’s mouth dropped open in shock, and he turned wide eyes to the small pile of dragon.
    A smile turned up the rest of Daniel’s lips. If the situation hadn’t been so serious, the look on the normally unflappable man’s face would have made his day.
     

 
    3
     
    The rain beat down on the pavement as Kara sat in her borrowed car and stared out at the main building of Eternity. This was just not her day. Grumbling, she reached for the umbrella she always kept under the seat but came up empty-handed. Crap. Letting out a sigh, she leaned her head forwards onto the steering wheel and resisted the urge to scream. Of course the umbrella was not there. It was under her seat in her car back at the shop, where they were putting a new head on the engine. Grabbing her attaché, she shoved the door open, climbed out into the light rain, and raised the case over her head in a vain attempt to keep dry. She wasn’t even supposed to be here today.
    Today was supposed to have been dedicated to organizing her new home. She had spent yesterday moving her things into a nice townhouse just minutes from her new