Vanessa and Tanu

  Kendra thought she heard a fuzzy voice in the distance. The words made no sense, but the speaker sounded insistent. She wished he would go away. She felt so tired.

  One word began to register. The speaker kept repeating her name. She began to notice a sharp, piquant smell. Her eyes started watering and the voice became less muddy. Somebody was slapping her gently.

  Her eyes opened and she sat up with a jerk. Tanu held her steady. Her sinuses felt raw. Wetness dribbled from her nostrils. She wiped her nose on her sleeve.

  Tanu moved a small bottle away from her nose and capped it.

  "What's that?" she asked.

  "It's like smelling salts," he explained.

  Kendra looked around. They were alone, in a dim ravine. She was forgetting something. "The dragon!" she exclaimed.

  Tanu shushed her. "It's all right. I killed it. "

  The last thing Kendra remembered, Gavin had been trying to force her into the knapsack. She had gone limp, lost contact with him, and dreamless sleep had overwhelmed her.

  "Where are the others?" Kendra asked.

  "Still out cold," Tanu said. "I dragged you well away from the fumes, but even so it took almost twenty minutes to wake you up. "

  "The dragon drugged us?"

  "Some kind of sleeping gas. Potent stuff.

  "Tanu fell asleep? But you're--"

  Tanu was shaking his head. "Vanessa. "

  Startled, Kendra reflexively scooted away.

  Tanu held up his hands innocently. "Be glad I showed up. That dragon would have killed all of you. Where are we?"

  Kendra hesitated. "I probably better not say. Just in case. How did you kill the dragon?"

  Tanu grinned. "When they sleep, I can sense everyone I've ever bitten. As I mentioned, I was curious about the unusual way Tanu and Seth had suddenly lost consciousness, so I took control of Tanu, studying the situation through half-closed eyes.

Chapter 25