Fireball Page 2

  “Noted. The ambulance has been informed of the dragon’s condition. I’ve also notified an officer to come assist you and help expedite contacting the parents.” Richard’s voice softened, losing a little of the business tone. “Would you like me to stay on the line with you until the ambulance arrives?”

  Sinclair whined again, rubbing his face against the gravel. “Let the ambulance and officer know the dragon and I are in the parking lot. There’s plenty of room for them, but I don’t want them to be surprised.”

  There was a flurry of keystrokes. “Done.”

  “Thank you.” Looking at Sinclair, I knew I couldn’t leave him to suffer alone. “I’m going to get off the phone, see if I can help the little guy.”

  “Are you sure? I can stay on the phone with you.”

  I stood up, making lots of noise so I wouldn’t alarm Sinclair. “If you could see him, you’d want to help too.”

  “I understand. If the situation changes, call back. It should only be a few minutes before the ambulance and officer arrive.”

  “Thank you, Richard.” I ended the call and shoved the phone back in my pocket. “Sinclair, can I come closer? I want to help.”

  His head was tilted in my direction so I was fairly sure he could see me, but he didn’t respond.

  I took a step forward.

  Sinclair sneezed. Again it was less of a ball and more of a plume of flames.

  “There are people on the way here to help you. They have medicine that can help you feel better.” I was within six feet of him now. The air was warm from the fire. I reached for the magic that was fueling the fire, and tugged at different parts until the sphere turned into a flat oval. I pulled myself out of the spells. It was already cooler near me, but it should be about the same temperature where Sinclair was lying.

  With two more steps, I was within three feet of the dragon. I crouched down. “Sinclair, can you talk to me? Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?”

  Sinclair lifted his head enough to shake it, sighed, and lowered his head back to the ground.

  “Then I’ll simply stay here and talk to you. That way you know you’re not alone.” And for close to five minutes I sat there with gravel poking my butt and rambled on. I told him about the different ways I could adjust the fire if there was something he would like better. I told him how his parents were going to race back to be with him. And I told him over and over how very brave he was being. When I heard the siren, a tight spot in my chest eased. People who actually knew something about helping a baby dragon would be here soon.

  The ambulance turned off their siren as they pulled into the parking lot. A police car with bright blue lights flashing was right behind them. I kept my voice steady for Sinclair’s sake. “See? Help is here, just like I said it would be. I need to dismiss the fire so you can get help. They’re going to take you to the hospital, and I want you to be really brave. I can’t go with you, and you’ll see a lot of new people, but remember, all of them want to help you.”

  Sinclair turned his head toward me and sighed.

  Tears filled my eyes. I didn’t blink, afraid they would spill down my cheeks. “You can do it.” Then I sucked all the magic out of the disk of fire.

  Two paramedics rushed out of the ambulance. One started checking Sinclair’s vitals. The other one focused on me. “What happened to him?”

  I repeated what I’d told dispatch, ending with, “I’ll see if they have his medical records now that you’re here.”

  “Not necessary.” An officer with black hair, bronze skin, and an average build handed the paramedic a couple of pages. “Here are the day care’s records.”

  “Thanks.” With that the two paramedics turned their full attention on Sinclair.

  I stood off to the side, watching them transfer Sinclair to a stretcher. Neither of them startled when he coughed up another ball of fire, which I took as a good sign. When they started rolling him to the ambulance, I sighed. “Do you think he’ll be okay?”

  One of the paramedics looked back at me. “It’s probably a cold, but at the hospital they’ll check him out and make sure it isn’t anything more serious. He should be just fine.”

  “Thank you.” I carefully brushed an escaped tear away from my eyes, not wanting to look too softhearted on my first case. In a matter of seconds, Sinclair was loaded into the back of the ambulance and the doors were closing behind the paramedics.

  Beside me the police officer sighed. “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced.” He held out his hand. I braced myself for the crushing grip some guys had, but this handshake was a polite introduction, not a show of strength. “Miguel Rodriguez.”

  “Michelle Oaks, but you probably knew that.” I thought back to what the chief had said when he signed the contract for my services. “I hear you’re the man who pushed to have me on call.”

  “That I did.” Rodriguez tucked his hands in his pockets. “I’d intended to introduce myself before now, but I only found out this morning that the contract was in place, and then we had bomb threats.” His voice trailed off. “I’m sorry your first interaction was with Smith. This entire week he’s been slacking, and the two of you were all we had to spare for this.”

  “It all worked out.” I bit my tongue to keep from saying anything bad about Officer Smith. “Is there anything else I need to do here? What kind of report do you need?”

  “I’ll send over the standard form.” He looked around the parking lot and over at the building. “I think you’re done here. I’ll need to talk to Ann again, but that should only take a minute.”

  Oh, thank the earth. There was a form. “Then I’ll get out of your way. It was nice to meet you.”

  He quickly shook my hand. “I’ll give you a call later. There are some magical items at the office I’d like you to look at.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll see you soon.” I retreated to my car before I could say something foolish.

  Officer Rodriguez waved at me as I pulled out of the parking lot. I returned the gesture, checked for traffic, and pulled onto the road. On the way home I was going to get a pint of ice cream, celebrate my first case, and do a victory dance. I already had more work lined up.

  This business of mine was going to work just fine.

  Also by N. E. Conneely

  To see the most up to date list of works please visit

  neconneely.com/books

  * * *

  A Witch’s Path Series:

  Witch for Hire (Book 1)

  A Witch’s Path (Book 2)

  A Witch’s Trial (Book 3)

  A Witch’s Concern (Book 4)

  A Witch’s Rite (Book 5)

  A Witch’s Demons (Book 6)

  * * *

  The Earth Born Cycle

  Earth Born (Book 1)

  Fire Forged (Book 2)

  Spirit Formed (Book 3)

  * * *

  Witch’s Path World:

  Handyman for Hire

  Oceanside

  Fireball

  The Golden Egg

  * * *

  Michelle’s Case Files:

  Michelle’s Case Files: A Collection of Short Stories

  * * *

  Fey Hearted:

  Fey at Heart (Prequel)

  Fey Hearted (Book 1)

  New Release Newsletter

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  About the Author

  N.E. Conneely lives in northern Georgia with her husband, her dog, and a mountain of books. They sweat through the summer and freeze through the winter, and life as they know it comes to an end when so much as a single snowflake falls out of the sky.

  For fun, N.E. plays with her dog, reads, knits, crochets, paints, and does tie-dyeing and origami. She makes a great pizza and is currently negotiating with her husband about sea monkeys and growing a vegetable garden.

  Please visit neconneely.com to find information on her current projects.

  www.neconneel
y.com

  author@neconneely.com

 

 

  N. E. Conneely, Fireball

 

 

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