“Giant lizard?” whimpered Myka. “Oh, that hurts.”

Marak started laughing so hard that he doubled over. Lyra stood with her hands on her hips looking angrier by the moment. Myka frowned in confusion, and her tail twitched nervously. Suddenly, Lyra could hold the pretense no longer. She started laughing also. Myka’s eyes narrowed as she watched the two humans.

“How did you know Myka was coming?” asked Marak after he stopped laughing. “I thought you would be petrified by a dragon landing on your roof.”

“So did Rejji,” chuckled Lyra. “He warned me hours ago. He also warned me about Myka’s strange sense of humor.”

Large billows of smoke shot from Myka’s snout as she shook her head.

“I guess I had that coming,” admitted the dragon, “but Rejji will rue this day.”

“Just make sure that we are around to see it,” chuckled the Torak.

“Were you able to find the armada?” asked Lyra as she turned to a more serious conversation.

“We found it,” Marak nodded seriously. “It is huge, and it is headed for Alamar. We did not see the skimmers. I fear that they may arrive too late to do any good. We saw the evacuation of Alamar. It gives a whole new perspective on things to see them from the air. Are you ready to go to Alamar?”

“I am ready,” nodded Lyra. “How do we do this?”

“I will get on first,” offered Marak as he started to climb up Myka’s back, “then I will hoist you up behind me. Then the lizard can take off,” he added with a grin.

Myka’s tail moved swiftly and knocked Marak to the roof. The Torak fell into a roll and came up shaking his head.

“Oh, sorry,” grinned the winged warrior. “You know how a lizard’s tail has a mind of its own.”