They flew on through the night, but shortly before dawn the fighter jets flying ahead of them came to a stop.  "Set down here," a loudspeaker on one of the crafts blared.  "Any farther and we'll be too close to the southernmost reach of the Alaskan border.  Vallen, the Prime Minister is waiting on the ground so he can speak to you about how you all should continue."

Sean groaned wearily and collapsed onto his stomach as soon as they had touched down, in the middle of a field in view of the Pacific Ocean.  "That was... exhausting," he gasped between breaths.  "And... we were supposed to... fly farther?  How do you... fly for... so long?"

"Looks like someone needs to work on his stamina," one of the dragons chuckled.

"Speak for yourself," Lemnir said, easing onto his belly next to Sean.  "I'm as tired as he is."

"Maybe if you didn't eat so much," the other dragon laughed.  "That's your own fault."

"Hey, I didn't ask for as big a meal as they gave us yesterday morning!"

"Did they ask you to eat it all the way down to the hooves like you did?"

"No, but I was hungry enough to."  He and the other dragon both laughed, then Lemnir started flexing his wings to stretch his flying muscles.

Sean groaned again, then removed his backpack, stood up and walked to a corner of the field where he would have enough room to change forms.  After activating the blackout cube around him, he shifted back to his human form and dressed before returning to the central area of the field.

A car drove up next to the field a moment later and parked before one of the doors opened and Ron stepped out.  Another car pulled up behind it, which Sean recognized as his own,  and he walked over to it both to check on his car and to check on Dave.

The driver got out of the car as he approached and walked over to him.  "Your car's fine, Mr. Nelson, don't worry.  I haven't driven a Callahan in years, but I was happy to do it again.  The suspension was more forgiving than I remember the old ones being, though."

Sean grinned and took back his keys when the man offered them.  "Yeah, he figured out a new adaptive damping system a couple of years before I bought this one, and it's really cleaned up the ride.  What burn rate did you average on the fuel block, did you check?"

"A hundred and twenty-two kilometers per centimeter."

He nodded.  "All right, that's good.  Did you have to get a new block during the drive?"

"About an hour ago."

"Thanks."  Sean reached for his wallet.  "Now, how much did you have to spend on..."

The man waved a hand.  "No, no, don't worry about it; the government picked up the tab."

"You sure I don't owe them anything?"

"Yes, I'm sure," the driver said, and he walked over to the Prime Minister's vehicle.

Sean opened his car's passenger door.  "You good, Dave?"

He looked up; he wasn't smiling, but he wasn't frowning, either.  "Did you learn anything interesting from the dragons while you flew with them?"

"What about--"

"Sean, I'm going into full research mode with dragons, their physiology and their culture, right now, because that's the only way I'll be able to keep myself occupied.  Otherwise, I'll keep thinking about Jim, and...  I..." he trailed off, looking at the ground.

"I understand," he said.  "If you want, I can tell you a few of the things I talked with Krain about during the flight."

"Sure."  He reached into his backpack and pulled out a notepad and a pencil.

Sean went through what he had learned as best he could remember, and when he finished Dave seemed pleased by the information.  "But honestly," he said, "Carnoc really is not a likable dragon.  That bit about their attitude towards cautious people, I know because he kept making fun of me for being cautious.  And he kept going a while after the other dragons let up about it.  I think the last time he taunted me was... about half an hour ago.  I can't stand him."

"And you think I can!?  What he did to me is a hundred times worse than anything he could possibly have done to you." Dave looked down again, and when he looked back up there was a violent gleam in his eye.  "How would you like to let him know how we feel about him... somewhat forcefully?"

He took a step backwards.  "No way.  I'm not attacking a dragon, especially not when that dragon is surrounded by other dragons who are much more fond of him than we are."

"Well, obviously not like that...  I do have my rifles with me; we could lure him away from the others, stun him, tie him up, then tell him what we think about his actions and hurt him badly enough to scare him into leaving us alone.  Or we could just kill him, if that's what you'd prefer..."

"Dave, forget it.  Why you're even thinking of going after such a violent and temperamental dragon is beyond me.  Just drop it and stick to your research."

He shrugged.  "It was just a thought...  Ah, forget it.  I'll just find some people I know will be interested in helping me."  He put away his notepad and pencil, then stepped out of the car, pulled out his cell phone and walked away, dialing a number as he went.

"There's been a change of plan," Ron said to Vallen.  "You can't cross the Alaskan border like you were planning to; there are sure to be UN forces waiting for you to arrive.  And I don't think you can just cut across the ocean here; at the rate you're flying, it'll take days to make it across and there won't be any islands en route for you to rest on.  Instead, I called a few aircraft carriers to the nearest port, and I was thinking your clan could ride across the ocean on those.  To make things easier they'd take you down closer to Nepal and you'd start flying again off the coast of China.  It'll cut a full week off your journey, and be a lot safer, too."

He paused.  "I don't know...  What if another ship came along, or a jet flew over?  They'd see us, then bring soldiers and take us back."

"They can't do that over water, first of all...  Well, not quite true.  Dave and Sean could be arrested on the ocean because they're supposed to be arrested.  Your clan, however, is technically property, not on the run from the police, so under current law governing international waters you can't be claimed while at sea.  Of course, that will end as soon as you reach UN waters, fifteen kilometers off the coast of any UN territory.  Either way, though, the ships' crews would be able to take steps to try to hide your presence if any UN ships or planes appeared on your radar during the trip."

Vallen thought for a little while, looking off to the west, then Ron said, "and we'll feed you."

"All right," he laughed, "it's a good plan.  But what about when we get to China and have to fly across it to Nepal?  We've made it across before, of course, but this time they'll be waiting for us, and when they see us on radar..."

"I'll be sending a radar jammer along with Sean, so don't worry about that."

"That wouldn't help, though.  They would be able to see the blank spot on their radar, and they would know that we're somewhere inside it."

"...how do you know how they work?"

"Back at our home caves, the human who owns the property we live on has a radar jammer that keeps us from showing up on local and international radar screens when we go flying at night."

"Ah.  But anyway, yes, I've realized that they'll see the blank spot.  That's why we're also sending out decoys with their own radar jammers," Ron said.  "Two of them will go for different portions of the Alaskan border, while four more will ride on the aircraft carriers with you, then take tangents similar to yours towards China.  But don't expect those jets to help you if you should come across any UN forces, because it would break all our treaties with the UN if it were to attack a UN fighter."

"Carnoc would probably do a better job of defending us, anyway.  Thank you for investing so much into our escape effort," Vallen said, "especially for so little personal gain."

"Oh, it's no trouble.  With the present peace, there's a lot of free space in the military budget that R&D couldn't possibly use all of."

"You humans and your money," he chuckled.

"It has its uses.  And not all societies can expect to be as self-sustaining as yours, anyway.  Whatever system of government you have can't work with more than a couple of hundred citizens, I'm sure."

"All it takes is for everyone to care enough about the quality of the system.  The moment you get someone too self-serving in a position of power, it all goes downhill."

"Yes, which is why you need a smaller population for it to work.  Less likelihood of corruption."

"Hmm," Vallen paused.  "That's probably right, actually.  You're a smart human," he laughed.

"I do run a country," Ron said, laughing with him.  "I pick up a few pieces of knowledge here and there."  The man's phone rang, and he held up a hand.  "Just a moment."  He opened his cell phone and brought it to his ear, listened for a minute or two, then said, "all right," and closed the phone again.

"What was that about?"

"My Secretary of Mutant Affairs, Elaine, is headed to Switzerland to start a movement to fight for your freedom.  It probably won't impact your flight to Nepal, but it may keep the UN from hunting you down later, and could even have some greater long-term impacts, such as your integration into worldwide society."

"Is that your doing, too?"

"Sean's, actually, but I probably would have come up with something like it pretty quickly if he hadn't.  Movements like these are slow, so it could be several months, but soon I'd expect the UN not to be troubling you any more."

"We'll see.  Right now, I'm just concerned with getting to Nepal...  Well, that, and some food."  He raised his head and looked around.  "Water would be nice, too."

Ron laughed.  "Thought you might want that.  There will be supplies here for you all in a couple of minutes."

"All right, thanks.  Will your jets lead us to the ships as soon as we're ready to go?"

"Yes; the carriers should be ready to sail by the time your clan gets there."

Vallen nodded and sprawled out in the field, watching the road where the supply trucks would likely come from.
Dave stopped walking once he was sure he was out of hearing range of everyone else, both man and dragon.  "Hello, Martin residence, this is the butler speaking."

"Yes, this is David Fuller.  Can I talk to Alex?"

"What is your business with Mr. Martin?"

"My brother was a very good friend of his, and he and I need to discuss something.  Just tell Alex who it is, all right?"

After a moment, the butler said, "very well, I'll put you through to him.  One moment, please."

The phone started to ring again, then it was picked up.  "Hello?"

"Hey, Alex, it's Jim's brother, Dave."

"Oh, Dave.  I'm sorry to hear about what happened; I'll miss him, too.  Have you picked a date for the funeral yet?"

"That's not what I'm not calling about," he said.  "You know Jim was killed by one of the dragons I'm with; I know exactly which dragon it is."

"I'd like to give that dragon a piece of my mind; it was ridiculous to just go after him like that.  Yes, Jim did disrupt their day-to-day life pretty well, but..."

"Believe me, I'd like to do a lot more than shout at him.  Things aren't right for me to do anything right now, but I've had some thoughts.  You think a dragon could be accused of murder, or given the death penalty?"

"I'd certainly call it murder in this case, but I don't know how the law would apply to dragons.  We'd have to see.  Should I ask someone on my legal team?"

"Sure, go ahead.  But there's also the option of... going beyond the law."

"I'm listening."

"It's not an option right now because he's too well protected by the other dragons, Canadian security and all that, but, if an opportunity were to present itself...  I can get access to equipment capable of doing some pretty painful things, if you know what I mean."

"I know exactly what you mean.  But either way, we should probably try to go legally first...  I'll talk to a lawyer about the murder thing and get back to you later, all right, Dave?"

"Thanks.  See you."

"Bye."

They flew to the aircraft carriers after all the dragons had rested for a little while, and though some of them were a little nervous or suspicious about riding on the ships for a few days Vallen managed to coax or threaten them all into landing on the decks.  They seemed calmer once he explained the plan in detail, though some of them still weren't happy about it, but soon the ships got underway and that settled the matter.

Two days into their journey Sean got a phone call.  "News from China," Elaine said.  "Almost all UN forces there refuse to attack the dragons if they come to their province because dragons are so sacred to them.  I'm worried about how the people there figured out the dragons will be flying through and you should still try to stay out of sight, but at least you know you'll be slightly safer in China."

"Your doing at all?"

"No, I haven't gathered enough followers to start the protests quite yet; they must have followed Canada's example."

"Well, then, lucky us.  Thanks for letting me know."

"Of course.  Love you."

"Love you too.  Bye."  Sean ended the call, then found Vallen.  "I heard from Elaine: most UN forces in the Chinese province will leave us alone if they spot us, apparently."

He nodded.  "Well, I know how Chinese culture reflects us more positively than most western civilization, but do you think there might be something more dangerous there for us to worry about?"

"I don't think so; either way, we should proceed as planned and just hope this knowledge is true if something goes wrong."

"Yes, we should still stay out of sight and off radar if we can.  Better if nobody knows where we are."

Finally they reached the South China Sea, and once night fell the dragons began to fly once again.  Sean piloted his jet instead of flying as he had in Canada, and Vallen once again wore his earpiece so they could stay in communication.  Dave put the back seats together, laid them flat and slept on them while Sean blasted music up front to make sure he stayed awake; at first he was worried the noise would keep Dave awake, but he only said, "it's louder in a rainforest," before pulling a travel pillow from his backpack, putting his head down on it and closing his eyes.

They flew west-northwest for four nights, stopping in the most dense areas of forest they could find; fortunately for the first two days they were able to find places where the could hunt safely, but the further inland they went the more cities there were, and on the final two nights of their journey the dragons were forced to go hungry.  At least the skies stayed clear for them to pass through, and they saw no UN jets on their journey, not even commercial planes.

Then finally they neared the border with Nepal.  "Fighter jets fly patrols around the border," Sean said, "making sure nothing gets out of the country.  There's been civil war in Nepal for most of a decade, and they want to make sure the violence doesn't spread."

"They haven't just gone in and stopped it by now?"

"Nepal isn't a UN territory, so they claim to have no business going in...  Though some suspect they'll send troops in to stop the violence sometime in the next couple of years.  Either way, we have to wait for the next group of fighters to pass before we can make a run for the border."

"Do you all have the energy for a quick burst?" Vallen called.  "We're going to have to be fast to get by the UN fighters, so I hope you have the strength to make it."

The dragons of the clan all shouted out that they could do it.  "Sean, tell us when it's time to go."

"Well, the next...  Wait, no, I can lead them a little bit because we're still out of visibility range.  Twenty seconds."

"All right.  Twenty seconds!"

Sean counted down the time, then, "three, two, one...  Go!"

Sean's engine exhausts lit a dull blue as his jet rocketed forward, while Vallen and the rest of the clan sprinted along behind him.  A laser barrier came into view ahead of them, and Sean said, "there's the border.  The next patrol won't be in this area for another half-hour or so, but just making it to the other side doesn't mean we're safe.  We have to be on the other side and out of sight of the border before we're in the clear."

"I know," Vallen growled.  "You're sure we can get through?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

Sean rocketed through the laser barrier first and made his way over the low hills until the barrier was a distant glow on the horizon, then he spun the jet in midair and hovered to watch the dragons follow him through.  "Did we lose anyone in that rush?"

Vallen did a quick count.  "No, we're all here.  Did your heart explode, Lemnir, or will you make it these last few wings?"

The old dragon managed a laugh between gasps for breath.  "I'll make it."

"All right, then."  He paused and looked at the terrain below them.  "I don't know where we are...  We've never had to fly this way before.  Sean, how far are the mountains?"

Sean checked a map.  "About an hour's flight northwest, but the sun will have risen by the time we get there."

"But aren't we out of UN territory now?  Even if the people see us, they won't report it to the people who want to capture us."

"Word would still spread..."

"Let's fly until the sun rises, then, and see where we are.  The mountains near our destination are completely unpopulated, so once we make it there we'll be fine no matter what time it is.  Come on, everyone, fly as hard as you can!  If we can keep up a good speed, we might be able to get there today!"

The clan set out once more at an impressive pace, and by the time dawn arrived they had reached the mountains.  Vallen eventually called for a halt once they reached a cluster of mountains he recognized, and after thinking for a little while he said, "three and a half wings west, one and a half north," he said.  "Nesleh, you get the same location I did?"

He tilted his head.  "Yes, I know where we are now.  Come on, let's get moving; I'm hungry."

"I am too, believe me," Vallen laughed.  "But we're going to have some explaining to do when they see the young and old ones, and the two humans.  Come on, everyone, follow me."

He set out along the mountain range, the rest of the clan following him and Sean trailing behind them this time.  "And you're sure these dragons won't attack my jet on sight?" Sean said, voice a little higher than usual.  "It was sort of really expensive, and I happen to like my life..."

"I'll get them to leave you alone, don't worry.  They always have a sentry watching this side of the range for us, so they've probably already sent their elder out to meet us."

Sure enough, they had only gone six kilometers before Vallen spotted a dragon heading towards them.  "Hold on, here comes one," he said, and the clan stopped and began to circle behind him.  He flew forward a little ways, then landed on an outcropping of rock, and behind them all Sean dropped his jet towards the ground and hovered almost out of sight.

"I can hear someone coming," Vallen called out.  "Who's the elder of this clan nowadays?"

A dragon emerged from between two mountains.  This one had dull blue-grey scales, with a body smaller than a male's but wider wings and a longer tail.  "I am Dulna, elder of the dragonesses' clan," she said.  "Who am I greeting?"

"I am Vallen, elder of the dragons' clan."

"Welcome, Vallen."  Dulna flew closer.  "You know there's a human craft following you, right?"

"Yes, but don't worry, it's friendly.  We're late because we've had some problems back home with humans; I'll explain everything once we're all safely underground."  Vallen switched to English.  "Sean, you can follow us now; it's safe.  But stay in the jet until I say you can get out."

Sean brought his jet back up to the dragons' altitude and trailed behind them as they flew along through the valleys.

Dulna led them to one mountain that stood larger than the others around them, where a gaping hole was just visible in the mountainside.  She paused for a moment, then led Vallen, the rest of the clan and Sean's jet through the hole and into a huge, open cavern within the mountain.

Carnoc could see the dragonesses gathering as his clan came in to land, then a fire flared up when Dulna lit a bonfire in the center of the cavern.  Carnoc blinked and squinted a moment as his eyes adjusted to the sudden light, then glanced around at the dragons, clustered on one side of the bonfire.  But then his gaze was drawn to the other side of the blaze, where the dragonesses stood with Dulna at their head.  Vallen moved to stand in front of the rest of his clan, then breathed some of his own flames into the bonfire.

Dulna roared, and Vallen matched her voice with his own, then the other dragons of both clans joined in, roaring as long and loud as they could.  Then they all fell silent, and Dulna waited for the echoes of their roars to die out before she spoke.  "Welcome to the caves of my clan."