Eve went through the door first, looking around cautiously, then stumbled as the other three pushed past her. "Hey!"

"Sorry, Baird." Ezekiel looked abashed. "Never been to San Diego."

"I've always wanted to go," said Cassandra, looking around eagerly. "Where are we?"

"Balboa Park." Eve got her bearings and pointed. "The Organ Pavilion is over there, and the Japanese Friendship Garden…" The others looked surprised and she smiled. "I did some training here with the SEALs."

"Sounds about right," said Ezekiel. "Where's the sale?"

"Over there." Jake headed for a large sign proclaiming a fundraiser for a senior citizen's organization and the others followed, looking around at the beautifully landscaped grounds and tall buildings.

"This place looks like it's been here forever," exclaimed Ezekiel. "How old are these buildings?"

Eve smiled. "I know they look like they're hundreds of years old, but most of them were built in 1915 for the Panama-California Exposition. I always liked this place-you could spend hours exploring the trails and the museums and attending all the events they have here."

"Like this fundraiser," said Cassandra, looking in at the sale in progress. It seemed very quiet, compared to the adventures the Librarians had been through all over the world. There were perhaps two dozen people in all, mostly old, ambling around the room examining the wares, while a couple of young women were at a table in the corner, with a cash box and a ledger. Eve was the first to spot the dragon statue they had come for and she picked it up off the table.

"Well, it does look really old." She handed it to Jake.

"This is beautiful work," he said, turning it over in his hands. "Solid bronze, lost wax method...look at the detail on the scales and the delicacy of the whiskers."

Eve and Ezekiel traded glances. "Do you see anything unusual about it, Stone?" asked the colonel.

"Just the collar." Jake puzzled over the statue. "I've never seen a dragon with a collar-they're mythical creatures, they're supposed to be wild."

Cassandra took the dragon. "It's so heavy!" She ran her fingers over the metal and almost dropped it as the eyes glowed bright red. "Okay, that's unusual." The collar, an intricate chain, turned gold and loosened on the dragon's neck, dropping off in her hand. "Jake…"

He held out his hand and the dragon leaped at him, burying its teeth in his forearm before disappearing through the door.

"Okay, I would say that is as unusual as it gets." Ezekiel went to the door. "For an animal without wings, that dragon flew pretty good. And of course there's the coming to life part. Good thing the old folks didn't notice anything."

"As fast as it happened…" Eve frowned. "Stone, are you all right?"

Jake was holding his arm and his face was very pale. "I don't know. It's just a scratch but it hurts like hell." He swayed and Cassandra steadied him.

"You don't look very well."

He tried to smile. "All of a sudden I don't feel very well." His eyes rolled up in his head and he fell to his knees. He would have pitched forward on his face if Eve hadn't caught him.

"Stone?" She shook him. "Stone, can you hear me?"

The people in the room finally noticed something wrong and one of the young women hurried over. "What happened?"

"Call 911!" Eve felt for a pulse in Jake's throat and shook her head. "Way too fast and weak. Hurry! We need an ambulance!"