"Ease him down gently now," Miriam commanded the wizards.

They gently lowered the cage that contained Neel onto the ground of the Romanian Sanctuary. They arrived safely into Romania, but it wasn't easy.

Thunder flashed throughout the rainy night, making it easy to strike down some wizards and even Neel. It was a relief the borders opened. It would have been chaotic if the border patrollers didn't get the memo.

"Do you know when he's going to wake up?" a wizard asked.

"Prolly not 'til the morning," she answered, putting her hands on her hips after wiping some rain and sweat off her forehead. "Don't worry 'bout him. When he wakes up, I'll be there to set him straight if he misbehaves. Go round up the other wizards and get your rest. Merlin knows you need it."

The wizard nodded, running away to the other group of wizards. Miriam was proud of herself. She grinned to herself as she looked at the sleeping Neel. She felt bad for doing so, but Mr. Babyak was right. Neel was too big - even for a Ukrainian Ironbelly. Besides, he was bothering the other dragons by refusing to socialize with them and always shooting flames at them.

"Miriam, I've found the owner and the Dragonologist!" Marley shouted, running through the mud.

He slipped and skidded across the mud as he tried to find his balance. He couldn't see clearly because of the thunder and rain. Miriam extended her arms and held onto his forearms as he almost flew past her left.

"Oh! Thank you, Miriam," Marley said as he stabilized himself.

"No problem, Mar. So where's the owner and Dragonologist?"

Miriam stood on her toes and tried to see through the rain. She put the side of her hand over her eyes to block some rain. She turned around.

"I don't see them."

"Well, they should - oh - here they come!" Marley exclaimed, pointing behind her.

Miriam turned around, ready to greet the owner and Dragonologist, but the smile from her face faded.

"Charlie?"