Page 54 of Dragon Thief of New York
She blushes furiously. “Um… I remember going to The Black Wing. But… um…” She glances at Damian before glancing away.
I rub my nose against her neck, nuzzling closer. “We’re gonna have to recreate all the details later once we fix your memory.”
“Ifwe fix it.” She deflates in my arms.
There’s a pounding knock on the door. “Are you coming?”
“Yeah,” I call out. “Give us a minute.”
I get up and throw some pants on while Damian pulls on a shirt and Kat adds some shorts under her sleep shirt. When we join Lincoln in the living room, he’s pacing.
“I think I know what you need to do,” he says without stopping. “I’ve had this recurring dream about dragons ever since I was a kid. That’s why I draw them so much. Most of the time, the only part I remember is just glimpses of dragons flying. But last night… or well, when I woke up today… I remembered more of it.”
Damian takes Lincoln’s shoulder, stopping him mid-stride. “Take a breath.”
Lincoln closes his eyes and inhales slowly before exhaling.
“That’s it. Now, sit down and explain.” Damian leads his son to the couch and sits next to him.
Kat watches them carefully with a curious look on her face. I sit in the armchair and pull her onto my lap.
Lincoln lets out another slow breath, but his knee bounces furiously up and down. “So, I saw this dragon, and this time I knew it was Mom. She had solid red scales—really bright red.”
Damian and I share a look. Kat’s got red scales, but not everywhere, and they’re a dark, muted red. The only dragons I’ve ever heard of that are all bright red are sirens.
“She was flying up out of an active volcano, and she was singing. Or screeching, really. It made my ears hurt.”
“She has to become a siren?” I shift a little closer.
Sirens are incredibly rare. They’re like other dragons, but when they sing, they can attract and hypnotize, and when they scream, they can kill if you’re too close to them. There’s usually only one or two each generation. There’s one in the Ruby Diamond Horde that attacked us during Goddess Week this year and tried to keep Sora from transforming into a dragon. I almost died when we went head to head against them. The only way we spoiled their plans was because Sora and her mates snuck into the temple without being noticed.
“I thought sirens were born, not made,” Damian muses aloud, scratching his stubbled jaw. He looks good in the morning, a little rumpled.
“How is she supposed to do it?” I ask.
“I think…” Lincoln looks at his mom with a grimace. “I think she has to fly into a volcano.”
“Not any volcano,” Damian guesses. “Probably the Goddess’s Volcano. At the high temple.”
Kat stands up. “Great, let’s go.”
“Wait.” Lincoln jumps to his feet. “Isn’t that super dangerous?”
Kat shrugs. “Probably, but—” She cuts herself off. Both Damian and I know there’s nothing she wouldn’t do to save her son’s life. Even fly into a volcano.
Damian blocks Kat from heading to the door, then looks back at Lincoln. “What about Otto and me? Were we in the dream?”
Lincoln lifts his shoulders, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah. I think so. But I don’t really remember. I just have this sense that you had to protect her. Make sure she does it, you know?”
“Are we supposed to go into the volcano, too?” I ask.
Lincoln looks at his feet and shakes his head. “I don’t think so. I didn’t see you with her when she came out.”
“But you’re not sure?” Damian asks.
“Maybe we should wait another night.” I get up, joining everyone else on their feet. “You might remember more after—”
“No.” Kat’s voice is steel. “We’re going now. I’m not waiting.”
