'Dawn!' Quetz called her back. 'Where are you? Why do I feel that you are near me?'

Dawn started to walk deeper in the conservatory and to her shock she came across very thick fog. Right outside the fog, it was written, 'Do Not Cross. Habitat of Endangered Species.'

​​

"Shit!" Dawn broke into sweat.

'What happened?' asked Quetz, his voice suspicious.

'What are you doing on this side of Ensmoire?' she asked him as sweat slithered down her spine and she rubbed her forearms to subdue the fear forming in the pit of her stomach.

'I have come here to catch my prey. This place is abundant in food. It seems there's a marsh on the other side of the fog and somehow small animals find their way inside Ensmoire.' He screeched with excitement. 'It is one of the finest places for food!'

'Since how long have you started coming over this side?' asked Dawn as she walked through the fog only to tread in a swampy area. There were puddles of water around, some as deep as the knee, hidden in tall grasses. She stopped just before it got dangerous. And to her surprise, she noticed another signboard. 'Do Not Enter. Wild Creatures Live Here.'

Hair on Dawn's nape and arms lifted. She froze, feeling rooted to the spot. She blinked her eyes rapidly as if trying to make sense out of the signboard. She looked all around to see anything else that could and her gaze went to a small white building that she could see through the fog, thanks to her heightened sense of vision. Dawn started shaking and she pressed her mouth with her hands to hold a scream. Her stomach was rock hard. 'Quetz?'

'Yes Dawn?' he asked as he munched on a fowl he had found.

'I need you to go away from here and never come to this place!'

'Why?' he asked, obviously angry that she was removing him from his favorite food joint.

Dawn started to walk towards the building to take some course of action without thinking through. Her shocked surprise soon turned into fury. When she reached the building, she saw that it was built on a very small area. There were hardly two rooms and not a single window on the outside. 'Quetz, you need to go away now. There is something very sinister going on over here!' she alerted him. Suddenly she heard low bleats and purrs.

Laboratory animals or…

A door hinged open to her shock and she saw two lambs running out of it in the fog.

'Quetz! Let me know what kind of animals are coming in your direction? Can you hear them?'

'Yes, I can hear.'

Dawn waited as she crouched down and hid herself behind tall grass. When the door closed she got up and deftly walked to the building. At first she wanted to go and knock on the door and ask who was inside, but then she thought that if she intervened much, they would suspect her. However, what had the building got to do with Joshua Barker? He was the one who was fiercely protecting this nature reserve. Did he come to know about Quetz? Or was he suspecting that a dragon lived there? Suddenly she realized that he had set up this whole thing to lure and trap her dragon. Maybe he was planning to go inside the fog and this was all he managed. And why did she smell the presence of humans inside?

"Fool!" she muttered. "Bastard doesn't know what he is dealing with."

Quetz was screeching with joy. 'I got soft meat today. Two tiny white lambs are coming this way!'

"Fuck!" Dawn said aloud. She gulped. Her deduction was correct. How the hell did Joshua come to know his presence? This was dangerous. 'Quetz, grab those lambs and seal the borders of this place. Never ever come to this side because if you will, I will get into a dangerous situation. These people are planning on trapping you! There is an observatory on this side, which is sending these animals to you.'

'What?' he sounded surprised.

'There is no time for explanation. Just grab those damn lambs and you will never return!'

Her dragon bellowed to the sky in anger. Whispering Eobens started to grow their branches rapidly and soon the entire place became a mesh of wood and leaves. Every plant and animal that came in between the growth was also trapped and killed. Quetz spit fire in the direction of the trees, burning them immediately. Angered, he flew in the air after lifting the two lambs. 'How dare they?' he hissed. 'Who is the person?'

'I will tell you later,' she said. She had to flee from the place. Now she understood as to why the environmentalist wanted the funds so badly. Why was Doug with him? Did he also know about his mission?

With an anxious mind, Dawn walked out of the eco-sensitive park and went back home. She narrated the entire incident to Daryn.

"Do you want me to come with you to the Mayor's office?" he asked.

"No, but I want you to destroy that building as soon as possible. You should raze it to the ground without leaving evidence. And do that tonight."

"It will be done," he replied as his expressions turned dark. He would himself oversee the job done. His hands balled into fists and orange fire crackled around them.

"Calm down Daryn. You need to control this energy," said Dawn as she walked up to him and hugged him. She knew that with anger, Daryn's inner energy became uncontrollable.

An hour later Daryn called his people. Shape shifting into werewolves they all loped into the forest and the eco-zone.

---

Next day Dawn went to the office and the first thing she did was to call the Manager of the Finance Department.

"Send Ms. Jenny Hart to my office."

A woman in her thirties came to her.

Dawn was standing by the window, watching the people who looked like ants from her room. She heard Jenny walking in the room, her familiar smell hit her nose. Without turning to look at her, she said, "Take a look at the file that is on my table on the far right and explain the flow of funds."

Jenny gulped. She was an accountant in the Finance Department and had never been called to the Managing Director's office. She picked up the file and when she saw what Dawn was asking for, her face paled. Blood drained from her face and her eyes became wide. Dawn turned to look at her. Her eyes were narrow and her shoulders were tight. She looked scary as hell. "How did you manage to embezzle funds so easily Jenny?"

The woman gasped. "I— I didn't embezzle!" she croaked.

"Then how come all these years, so much money has gone to the project under your watchful eyes?" asked Dawn as she sat in her chair. She crossed her legs and rested her elbow over them. "And where was the money going?" She prodded and gestured to her to sit on the opposite chair.

"I don't know anything!" Jenny replied, breaking into cold sweat. "I did everything according to the instructions."

"Ah!" Dawn nodded. "So who instructed you?" She was easy.