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“What do we have here?” I say quietly to myself, lifting the clipboard with all of James’s findings scribbled across the first page. Turns out he’d already scanned it through the machine, and his conclusions remain the same as his hypothesis.
The bone doesn’t belong to any class of fossil we have on record. It’s a mammalian species with the distinct characteristic of being immune to any decay.
Shaking my head dismissively, I grab a scalpel to remove a piece of the bone. Having to wrestle a piece of the sturdy husk, I finally drop the piece into a glass case and head over to the particle accelerator.
Once the case containing the sample is inside the machine, I prepare it for the scan and step back to allow it to run its course. Folding my arms across my chest, I’m almost certain my suspicions will be put to rest after this. Smiling smugly when the beeping on the accelerator stops, I open the door to remove the case.
As I lift it out, the smile on my face falls when I discover the piece of bone still intact.
“How?” I breathe in disbelief. My movements are mechanical as I head back to the table to frown at the bone.
As if it’ll start speaking to give me the answers I seek. It’s insane, I know. But none of the tests we’ve conducted on the bone seem to point in any other direction. Feeling defeated, I sink into the chair and throw the case on the table, dropping my face in my hands with a heavy-hearted sigh.
In the five years I’ve worked as a researcher for fossils found beneath the surface, I’ve been able to prove my hypotheses. Even when I was wrong, I’d manage a reasonable explanation.
Ones that were fit for the books.
Right now, I can’t claim this fossil as a dragon bone. It’s absurd. It’s crazy!
I roll the chair to the desk and turn on the computer. A widespread search for the word ‘dragon’ comes up empty in our database. Wiping a hand across my face, I do an even broader search.
This only proves useless when all I can find are mythical tales and fictional romance books on online websites.
“Urgh!” I groan in frustration, letting my head fall forward, smashing keys with my forehead. I’m at my wit’s end, trying to wrestle with my mind that refuses to accept that dragons don’t exist in the real world.
Blowing an agitated breath through puckered lips, I reach for my handbag without lifting my hand, feeling inside until I find my cell phone. Only turning my head to the side to be able to see the screen, I grit my teeth when I see that it’s only six a.m.
That means that James is probably still asleep. Shrugging nonchalantly as if it even mattered to begin with, I unlock my phone and send him a text.
I hate to say this, but I think you’re right. I’ve run another particle accelerator test, and the bone is squeaky clean. I think it’s a dragon bone. Fuck! It sounds even crazier typing this out.
I hit “send” quickly before changing my mind, still battling the thought of how absurd the whole theory is. Despondently lifting my head, I slowly turn to stare at the bone through narrowed eyes.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d encounter something as confusing as this fossil. From the moment I was old enough to crawl, I’d catch dirt beneath my fingernails by digging up all sorts of hidden items. Rocks, crystals, and bones hidden by the dogs of the previous owner of the house…
I’d unearthed them all and could discern what they were even before I gained the ability to speak. It’s what led me to choose this career path. It led me to push aside any frivolities of ordinary life to focus on my career. I’ve been undefeated thus far.
Until now, faced by the greatest challenge of my life; accepting that James and I had found a dragon fossil.
Sighing a wrangled breath, I reach into my bag to fish for the snack bar I keep on standby. A restless night and early morning at the lab calls for a refuel. But then I frowned when I felt the smoothness of paper beneath my fingertips and unearthed the envelope from last night.
Holding it with both hands in front of my face, my brows knit tightly as I inspect the creaminess of the sleeve. Noting that I haven’t seen such extraordinarily sheen paper before, I turn it over to check out the seal. One finger absentmindedly traces the embossed flicker of a flame, causing a gasp to escape my lips. Almost as if I feel a flicker of recognition in that flame—a stark resemblance to the heat I felt in my nightmare rises to the surface. Curiosity spurs me on as I grab a knife and slice beneath the seal, peeling the envelope open.
“Yazmine Hendricks…
It is our great honor to invite you as an esteemed guest to a gathering in Seattle.
Enclosed are the details of the gathering. We do pray you exercise confidentiality and keep this invitation private.
We thank you in advance for your presence.
Aurora Dragons…”
“A-Aurora Dragons?” I blink my eyes in disbelief as I stutter the words out again.
No.
It’s impossible.
