Free Emma (Dark Fire) by Jodie B. Cooper Page A

hummers, tanks, and helicopters covered the area. No, the park area wasn’t swarming with tourist, because the entire place crawled with heavily armed military personnel.
    “Talk about overkill,” Emma said in a hiss, watching a troop of at least a hundred soldiers spreading outward toward the surrounding forest, while a smaller group marched toward town.
    “I’m going to see who’s in charge,” Keith said, nodding toward the tents. “Go on into town and grab some lunch.” He lowered his voice and casually tugged his ear, impressing on Emma their earlier conversation about listening devices. “There are a lot of crazies out there, be careful who you talk with. If you happen to run into Tyler or Lydia, you might invite them over for dinner and a movie. Don’t forget they’re both city people, so warn them about bugs and repellent. Okay?” Keith asked with a small frown.
    “Yeah, I will,” Emma agreed. She wasn’t sure how she could explain what a bug was to the stubborn dragons. They seemed to have a blind spot toward technology. Having to explain bugs and cameras to the hardheaded shape shifters might be impossible without showing them.
    She watched her uncle for a few minutes, making sure he didn’t look back.
    The moment he stopped to speak with a soldier, she spun on her heel and retraced her steps. She quickly caught up with the brown haired man carrying the jewelry box. In addition to the carved box, he had added a knitted shawl and a porcelain doll to his growing pile.
    She stomped up to him, forcing him to stop. “You filthy, stealing jerk, you should be shot! Don’t you even care your stealing someone’s prized possessions?”
    “Huh, you think those monsters are people? That they can think like we do?” His mouth twitched into a smile, one that shouted, humor the kid.
    “They’re not monsters,” Emma said emphatically, glaring at the man. Her temper spiked at the thought of how much it would hurt to lose everything. “They’re people, just like you and me.”
    The man’s hazel eyes looked thoughtful, and she wondered if she made a difference. His next words dumped her to rock bottom. “If I don’t take these things, someone else will. Look at them, they’re like birds of prey, snatching and grabbing everything in sight. Take a bit of advice and don’t try stopping anyone else.”
    He walked off, leaving Emma speaking to thin air.
    With a fuming glance toward the people swarming the houses, she gave up and headed toward town.
    People lined the streets.
    Northeast of Eureka Springs, the town saw its fair share of tourists, but nothing like this. Edging out of the flow of people, she stepped up onto the flower shop’s cement window casing. Standing a good foot higher than the crowd, she searched for the two dragons. She didn’t know how, but she knew they would risk coming into town.
    Like the Romans thousands of years ago, she feared arrogance would be the dragon’s downfall. As overconfident as the dragons seemed to be, half the tourists could be dragons and she had no way of knowing. She blew out a frustrated sigh. She needed to find Tyler and beat some common sense into his stiff barbaric brain.
    She hated to admit it, but she also wanted to see him.
    Rubbing her hand over her wrist, heat touched her palm. She recognized a tingle of frustration then nothing. She wondered if he might miss her at least a little bit. She had lain in bed half the night dreaming-up scenarios of him showing up on her front door step, anxious to see her. She snorted. That sure didn’t happen.
    Nearly an hour later, she glimpsed a tall, dark haired guy as he slipped behind a privacy fence between the video and feed store. Her heart raced. She hadn’t seen his face, but she thought it was Tyler.
    Hopping off the flower box, she quickly made her way around the throng of people. A few seconds later, she slipped through the swinging gate.
    Looking down the dimly lit alley, a trickle of unease tightened inside