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Rimi steeled herself from shaking her head.

They might see the movement. The chemist sounded like a zealot.

He was the one the horde had run into over and over.

She now knew what they were against—a brilliant mind capable of creating a substance that could end such powerful creatures.

Unfortunately, his mind was twisted against dragons .

“If you gave us the formula for the dust, we could smite more dragons,” Evan suggested.

“Never. Only I am the justice bringer,” the old man yelled, shaking his fist at the others. “You are only my army of vengeance.”

“Right. We foot soldiers will hang out here together,” Evan said. As he turned away, Rimi could see his face had turned red with what she guessed was anger.

She edged forward slightly to hear what Evan said to the other men.

The chemist turned his head toward her and Rimi froze.

Thank goodness for the clouds in the sky that kept her shadow from revealing her presence.

He would see her move past landmarks so she couldn’t move.

She forced herself to focus on counting the number of men gathered, instead of panicking that he could see her.

There are five men plus the leader, whose name is Evan, and a withered old man they called the chemist, who created the dust. Something weird is up.

He can almost see me. No one should be able to detect me when I’m cloaked.

Rimi controlled the shakes that threatened from the close encounter with the man who emitted pure evil.

Get out of there, Mom! Slate urged.

Soon. I’m going to scout for the others. Then I’ll return. I want to monitor what’s happening here. Where are you now, Slate?

His voice exploded with excitement in her mind. Suddenly, I found an area that seemed familiar. We landed here when Keres alerted us. There was a lot of talk. I wanted to go hit them and didn’t listen.

Rimi wanted to yell at him but knew that wouldn’t help now. Scan for clues and then keep searching. You’ll remember more.

I’ll try. Sorry .

This was a lesson he wouldn’t forget. She changed the subject to tell them what she saw.

A half dozen tubes are sticking out of the ground, with a few bags of something nearby.

They’re loading them now. All the men are wearing light brown protective suits—except for the chemist. He’s wearing plain cotton pants and a shirt.

Rimi exhaled a silent breath of relief when the man’s piercing gaze moved past her.

Her camouflage was good, but not totally undetectable.

She wanted to run far away from the danger that radiated from him.

Unlocking her muscles, she forced herself to retreat stealthily.

She needed to search for the other dragons.

From here, I can only see Drake. He must have gotten the farthest past where they initially launched the dust. The other dragons have to be around.

Slowly backing away, Rimi then circled back to where she’d left Lalani, Aurora, and Ciel. Shifting quickly, she relayed what she’d discovered and what Slate had remembered.

“Drake’s there? Can I go see him?” Aurora pleaded.

Rimi’s heart went out to the young mate. She didn’t want to consider that Keres might not have survived. Her frequent messages to Keres didn’t receive answers. “Men are patrolling around Drake with weapons. You’ll endanger him if they think someone has discovered them.”

Aurora nodded sadly. “I was afraid of that. At least I know he’s alive. So, what do we do?

“We need to find the others,” Rimi suggested.

The three mates nodded. Aurora close her eyes to concentrate one more time. She was sending another message to Drake. When she opened her eyes and shook her head, Lalani wrapped an arm around her waist in a consoling hug.

“Let’s go find the others,” Aurora said .

Zigzagging in dragon form with Aurora, Lalani, and Ciel on her back, Rimi searched for the others.

Her heart leapt at the sight of two large lumps standing out from the green grass and brown dirt.

The mates slid to the ground, freeing Rimi to move closer.

Forcing herself to approach carefully and halt at a distance, she confirmed her find.

Again, three heavily armed men stood close by to each of their bodies.

Oldrik and Ardon are here, Skye! They’re breathing. There are men guarding him. Rimi sent a location to Skye. A wave of relief and gratitude flowed over Rimi from her friend. Rimi continued searching. Keres had to be somewhere.

I found him! Slate messaged triumphantly a short while later. Keres is alone. No guards are here. He was obviously circling around the camp to attack them from the other side, while everyone else on the hunt followed Drake.

Is he okay?

He’s breathing. His eyes are open. I’m not sure if that means he’s coming out of it or completely overwhelmed, Slate relayed. His mental voice sounded shaky.

He’s fighting, Rimi told him firmly. Wait! This must tell us their plan. They split up. Drake, Oldrik, and Ardon flew forward, straight toward the main camp. I bet I’ll find the others soon. Keres had a job. Look around, Slate. What was Keres up to?

A big barrel is close to him. It’s labeled AgI. The barrel broke open when it hit the ground, but there’s still a lot inside.

Baffled, Rimi asked, Does anyone know what AgI is?

Skye reported after a second. Brooks says Ag is the chemical abbreviation for silver. He can only guess I is another element. He can’t remember what that is . I wish my phone worked. I’d have an answer for you in seconds.

We’ll figure it out. Slate, move so the wind is at your back and blows over you to approach Keres. Try blowing to get the powder off him. If that doesn’t work, you’ll have to narrow your flame to a small beam, so the bad guys don’t see it, and burn that crap off his scales.

Roasting my father doesn’t sound like a good thing to do, Slate replied.

He’s resistant to flame. You can’t hurt him.

That’s totally cool. My mom can disappear and my dad is flame-proof. I can’t wait to find out what my specialty is.

Focus, Slate. Blow, then scorch.

Small beam. I’m listening, Mom.

You’ve got this, Slate. Thank you for helping.

Always. Now, let me work.

She continued searching. A few minutes later, a large green form rose from the ground.

As she approached, a silver dragon came into view close by.

Once again, Rimi signaled the mates she carried to dismount, and she shifted to share the news.

I’ve found Khadar and Argenis. From here, I can tell they’re in the same state.

Alive but not functioning. Again, a small number of men are with them.

Lalani and Ciel nodded bravely as they fought back tears.

Skye’s mind reached out to her. Are the guards with the dragons dressed in protective clothes like those in the main camp?

Rimi reported, I’m staring at this group now. These guys aren’t. I don’t think the others were. Why?

If they shoot off any more dust, they’ll sacrifice those guys. The guards have to realize that, Skye suggested. Brooks came up with that.

Everyone keep thinking, Rimi said. Something tickled against her mind. Keres? He didn’t answer. That had to be him. Was he rousing ?

Slate? How’s it going with Keres? Is he waking up?

Maybe? If I could use a larger fire beam, it would go faster.

Broaden it a bit, Slate, but stay in control. Don’t light up the area with fire. We can’t warn them we’re fighting back.