Part 16

"We've had one more team call with possible answers," Thea told Thierry, hanging him a few sheets of paper with information on the small mountain town of Diamond Falls.

At least eight teams had called with possible answers. Thierry sighed as he took the papers, scanning the information. "And what are they going to do about seeing if this girl they think if the dragon, really *is* the dragon?"

"Well, they have a plan, they've already recruited Ash Redfern and his friend Jarred Mandrill to help," Thea said with a slight frown. "They didn't actually say what the plan was."

"Messing with dragons is dangerous," Thierry said, tapping a pen on his desk. "I hope they know what they're doing."

"They sounded pretty certain," Thea said, trying to sound reassuring.

Finding where this dragon was hiding was turning out to be almost impossible. So far not one lead had been any good.

"Is there perhaps some sort of distinguishing mark we should be looking for to make a dragon reveal itself?" Thea suggested.

"Dragons are supposed to have horns somewhere on their body," Thierry said. "It's the seat of their power, how they're identified."

"Or maybe *this* person can help," Hannah said, coming into the office, a smile lighting up her pretty face. With her was a boy nobody had met before.

He was tall and typically Night World good-looking with raven hair, shot through with strands of green, and usual topaz-coloured eyes. He was dressed in black jeans and a deliberately ripped t-shirt.

"Why? What do you do?" Thierry asked the boy. From just looking at him, something was making it strangely impossible to guess how old this boy was, or rather, *what* he was. If he was human, then Thierry was a famous belly-dancer.

"This is Lucifer," Hannah said, sounding extremely pleased with herself.

Thea's eyebrow raised slightly. "Lucifer - sa in named after Satan?" Her voice was small.

The boy - Lucifer - chuckled slightly. "As in meaning 'light-bearer'. As for what I do - I study dragons."

That was unexpected. "You study dragons? Why?" Thierry asked. Dragons had supposedly been extinct since the witches put them to sleep a very long time ago. He couldn't imagine why anyone would want to be studying them.

Lucifer pushed back his long fringe, revealing three small black *horns* on his forehead. "Because I *am* one."

Thea and Thierry stared at him in disbelief.

"You're the dragon in the prophecy?" Thea asked, starting to get excited.

Lucifer smiled wryly. "Nope. I've known about that for quite some time. I'm pretty certain that I'm not the dragon we're looking for. But I *am* sure the one we're looking for is a girl."

"*Salvation will come from a joined soul,*" Thierry quoted. "You think that the female dragon will be your soulmate?"

Lucifer just shrugged. "It occurred."

Thierry thought about the latest lead. Surely a dragon would recognise another dragon, which was obviously why Hannah had brought him here. How she'd found him...

But it was a damn lucky break for them that she had.

"I want you to go to Diamond Falls," Thierry said finally. "That's the latest lead we've had. Thea, sort him out?" Thea nodded. She and Lucifer left the office.

Hannah smiled proudly. "He's *got* to find her."

"How'd you find *him*?" he asked, pulling her onto his lap.

"One of the other teams called in with an expert on dragons."

Thierry shook his head, smiling slightly. How had Lucifer been woken? *Who* had women him?

"Do you think he can be trusted?" Thierry asked. He would have liked some more information on their new recruit. Maybe he shouldn't have been so quick to send him off to find the other dragon...

"He's already Daybreak. I've checked him out." Hannah refused to let her spirits be dampened. Thierry didn't want to disappoint her.

"Maybe."

Hannah nodded, fingers crossed. "Maybe."
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