Page 1 of Dragon Thief of New York
Chapter 1
Kat
Todaywasagoodday. I only got two sexist comments, one reprimand, and for once I didn’t have to hold off the red-faced finance guy’s advances. Only because he’s in Baltimore for a conference. But I’ll take it. A good day. And it’s Friday.
Sure, I had to stay late doing tasks my boss didn’t tell me he needed until five minutes before I was supposed to leave. But now I’m done. If I can just get out of the building without someone wanting something from me, I can spend the rest of the weekend relaxing. Well, relaxing, and helping Lincoln study for finals.
Finally outside, I hail a cab, climb in, and check my phone. As soon as we pull away from the curb, there’s a thump on the roof that has me looking up. It sounded like something fell right on top of us.
“What was that?” I ask, staring up at the ceiling as if I can see through it.
The cab driver shrugs and turns up the radio, completely unbothered. I guess he’d know the sounds his car makes better than I would. He’s listening to some kind of talk show where a woman is complaining about how her husband doesn’t take her out on dates often enough. Not at all what I would have chosen, but whatever.
I return my attention to my phone. Lincoln hasn’t texted me back, even though I told him to let me know when he got to tutoring, but that’s normal. Like most teenage boys, he’s not communicative, and he’s easily distracted. I’ll just check in with him again.
I’m on my way home. Have you left yet?
I mindlessly watch the people passing on the sidewalk for a few minutes as I wait for a response. They’re actually moving faster than we are. It makes me regret getting the cab. But I can’t walk in these heels, and I was in no mood to be crammed into a subway car.
Still no response from Lincoln. Which is fine. He’s probably just working with the tutor and can’t check his phone. The senior who helps him with math is pretty strict about that, but I thought he’d be done by now. He said they were gonna try to finish early since it’s Friday and they’ve been working so hard lately.
It feels like it’s been way too long since we’ve both had a night at home together. I’m looking forward to family dinner, a movie, and crawling into bed early.
My phone finally dings with a text from Lincoln. A single thumbs-up emoji. I laugh, and the cab driver gives me a look in the rearview mirror. I smile and wave my phone. “Funny text.”
Not sure why I expected more than an emoji from a teenage boy.
Are you on your way home?
Lincoln:
Yeah.
Okay then. I know he doesn’t need me hovering and prying into his life, but I sort of miss the days when he would ask me a bazillion questions and we would talk about every little thing he found interesting in the world. It still happens sometimes, but ever since he started high school, it feels like he’s slipping away little by little.
With a sigh, I put my phone back in my purse and stare out the window. The city moves past us at a crawl as we inch through traffic. Thankfully, the cab driver doesn’t make small talk. I lean back and close my eyes, the exhaustion of another busy week catching up to me. The soft hum of the radio nearly lulls me to sleep.
“We’re here.” The driver’s gruff voice jerks me awake.
Shit, I guess I actually dosed off. I quickly pay and hop out, eager to get inside so I can slip off my heels and finally take off this fucking bra. Whoever invented bras specialized in torture.
I’m halfway to the door of my building when something curls over my shoulders. I scream, startled, as my feet lift off the ground. Clawed talons pull me upward with a force I can’t fight. “Ahhhh!!!!”
People look around, but their gazes slide right past me. What the fuck?!
I kick and yell and glance up to see a… dragon?!
My throat closes, heart hammering in my ears. The massive beast is covered in green and silver scales from the tip of it’s nose to the long tail that swings behind us. Wings flap overhead as we lift higher and soar between buildings toward the bay.
Maybe I’ve snapped, but I’m not one to doubt myself. I’m also not one to dance around reality. If it looks like a dragon, feels like a dragon, flaps its wings and lifts me off the ground like a dragon, it’s probably a fucking dragon!
I finally find my voice again, yelling ten times as loud, but it’s not enough. The wind whips away the sound, and no one seems to pay attention to the dragon flying above New York. I’m not stopping, though. I’ll scream myself hoarse before I stop fighting.
My shoes fall off as I swing my body, trying to dislodge myself. They land with a splash in the water below. Shit, if I fell like that, I’d be dead. Okay, okay, fighting isn’t the right move. Yet. It won’t do much good to get out of its grasp if I just plummet to my death. I’ll have to wait it out. As soon as we get closer to the ground, I’ll do whatever I can to get these claws off me.
We fly right past the Statue of Liberty and out toward the sea. How am I going to get away if it’s taking me to the middle of the ocean? But just as I have that thought, an island comes into view. An island that shouldn’t be there. Pillars of sandstone rest atop steep cliffs that lift out of the ocean like a perfectly round tower. It’s like something out of a movie or one of Lincoln’s video games. Ancient and ethereal.
The creature sweeps right inside, speeding between pillars and past other dragons.Other dragons!How is this real?
