Elise saved the day. She shooed off the boys and allowed me some privacy to write down my vision. I wasn't sure Geoff needed to know his future. It wasn't completely set in stone, and since the vision seemed so far away, there was no point in giving him a false impression.

The only person I confided in was Dylan, and it was only to tell him about his sister. My cousin listened intently and nodded as I tried to describe Kira. Finally, I grabbed a pencil and a pad of paper and sketched.

I wasn't a horrible artist. I didn't practice much, but I could draw anything I saw in my head in great detail. Dylan always joked that it was my sketch artist superpower like I might use it to solve a crime or make twenty bucks as a portrait artist at the boardwalk.

"Oakmore CEO," Dylan said. "I mean, Kira can have it. I don't want anything to do with Dad or his company."

I wondered when the last time he'd even seen his father was. Dylan had lived with our grandparents on the ranch for as long as he could remember. His mother's family only invited Dylan on family vacations or asked him to come to Thanksgiving.

"I think that Granmam might win her case," I said. "I mean, I haven't seen it or anything, but that's the second time I've seen Kira in our future."

Dylan smiled. "I was talking with her online, and Kira thinks her mother is going to cave this time for the right price."

"As long as it doesn't destroy our family," I said. "Wasn't Kira's mom asking for ten thousand monthly last time?"

"They've got her down to a reasonable deal," Dylan said. "And if they can get Sunni to sign the papers, we'll have Kira out of there the moment the ink dries."

"You'll see your sister soon," I said.

Dylan smirked. "Your professional opinion?"

I laughed, and he gave me a big hug. I broke away as an engine revved outside. I looked through the window as a woman clad in leather pulled up on a motorcycle. She had amber eyes and her blue hair styled in a short pixie cut, giving her the appearance of a very tall and angry water sprite with tatted-up arms and a sour expression. She walked up the driveway like there were a thousand places she'd rather be.

"Vita Valan," Dylan said as he opened the door. "How are you?"

"Oakeley," her voice was sharp enough to cut glass. "Why am I playing courier today? We can't afford distraction on a day we transport giants back home."

"Sorry, Vita," Dylan said. "You've heard about my cousin, Terri?"

Vita looked me up, and she frowned. "She really shouldn't wander off. Especially on delivery day."

"Not sure she actually knew that was today," Dylan scratched the back of his neck. "I mean, she's kind of new to this."

Vita shook her head, and then she held her finger to her ear to take a call on an earpiece. I stared as she argued with whoever was on the other end about something related to fire and locks.

I turned to Dylan. "Delivery day?"

Dylan bit his lip. "When you first showed up, I assumed the halfants sent you with a guard to watch us do a prisoner transfer. I figured your guard was Moreno, and he was keeping his distance."

"Sorry if I messed things up," I said.

"Delivery day is sometimes messy, but we do our best," Dylan said. "But Vita is just grumpy. She doesn't like things that interrupt her flow. She and her daughter Emma are our best trackers in the human world."

The Valan family was intricately tied up in Jontun. I wondered if Vita was anything like her brother Cato. Then again, if she spent all her time hunting giants in the human world, there was probably something she didn't like about Jontun.

"Focus, little Oakeley," Vita snapped. "Your grandmother was hoping to make it back for the transfer, and it's looking like she's still tied up in a meeting."

"Can I talk to her?" Dylan asked.

Vita sighed and tapped her black fingernails on the porch railing. Then she put a finger to her ear and nodded at Dylan.

Dylan popped something from his pocket into his ear and grinned. "Hey Granmam." He listened for a few moments and nodded his head. "I can take care of the transfer... I got this. Trust me. Tell my father... tell him... he shouldn't be taking up so much of your time... yeah, I'll tell her. Bye."

I looked at my cousin. "What's your father done this time?"

Dylan actually grinned. "Something right for once. He signed the settlement. Kira's coming to the ranch."

"Told you it would happen," I smiled back.

"Yeah," Dylan said. "Your new superhero name should be Captain Spoiler Alert. I mean, you saw Geoff all grown up. That's pretty wicked, Terri."

"Yes, yes," Vita said. "More powered halfants. Just what we need. Can we get back to the transfer? Emma is currently driving the truck with half a dozen prisoners here."

"Half a dozen," Dyna rubbed the back of his neck. "That's not a record, but it's more than normal."

Vita snorted. "That's why nothing can go wrong today. Japhros is landing in twenty minutes. We have to be ready."

"Terri can help," Dylan said. "Moreno trained her."

"Cato sent me the footage," Vita said. "My brother seems to think you're something of a prodigy. Either that or someone is a skilled liar."

Dylan held up his hands. "No one is lying. I'll swear it before a golden guard if I have to. Chuck knew better than to get her mixed up with training."

"So she's just talented?" Vita laughed. "I don't buy it."

"That's enough," Dylan said. "We have a job to do."

He walked towards the path, away from Vita, back to the shed where an ATV waited. I followed him at a distance, but catching up didn't take long.

"How can I help?" I asked.

"I think the best way to help is to watch and try and keep your head down," Dylan said. "We're lucky that the giants don't know what you look like. Try not to look anyone in the eye."

He was right in a way. Giants dragged back to Jontun were criminals of a sort. They could easily connect with my mother.

"Just stay out of the way, kid," Vita said. "And don't mess with Japhros's flock."

Flock? I'd assumed Japhros had some wings like the halfants when they'd said he was flying in. Now, I wasn't so sure.

I rode on the back of Dylan's ATV out to the portal grove. Vita followed us in a plume of smoke on her motorcycle and left it at the edge of the treeline before stalking toward the entrance of the giant world.

There was a rumble, and a big red eighteen-wheeler pulled up the dirt road and parked at the mouth of the grove. Emma Warden stepped out of the cab with her blue hair swept back in a camouflage bandana and a wild grin on her face.

"Momma, we got three in the back," she said. "I radioed, and the flock is here. The halfants are waiting for us on the other side. Should we send them through?"

"Elise has eyes on the cameras back at the house," Dylan said. "Call the halfants. Let's do this nice and easy."

Emma climbed back into the cab and pulled out the radio. She murmured something into the static. A moment later, the entrance of the portal glowed gold, and six halfants walked out into the grove.

Alana McDonald was in the lead, followed by Kimmy, Abel, Cullen, Petra, and finally Tres. They were all dressed in their black suits, and their belts were loaded with blue guns and several other weapons. Alana carried a thick whip, and a fierce gleam appeared in her eyes.

Kimmy looked down at her communication pad and pressed a button. "Hello, Auntie."

"Kimmy," Vita nodded. "Ready for the transfer?"

"Always," Abel said. "It's been three hundred and forty-eight days since we've had an incident in a transfer. Let's keep that streak alive, fam."

"Always playing numbers, Abel," Dylan said. "I wouldn't worry too much."

"Don't get too comfy, Oakeley," Alana said.

Emma walked around the back of the truck and opened the big padded door. My eyes widened as I saw the cells in the back of the truck. Three figures were chained to the floor with blindfolds over their eyes. I spotted a flash of purple hair, but nothing else immediately showed them as giants other than their height.

"Watch the one in cell three," she said. "He's a repeat offender and gave me problems in LA. Wouldn't leave the nightclub where he was hanging out even after I asked him nicely."

I turned to my cousin. "You mean that giant has broken out of the realm before?"

Dylan nodded. "Some giants like the challenge or the mystique of humans. We used to let giants out for certain amounts of time with the right paperwork. There were a lot fewer transfers and much more work, parole work. Then, about eighteen years ago, the king decided that the only portal for recreational use was Pacifica."

I had a sinking suspicion that had something to do with me. My birth had enraged the king, after all. Had I made it more difficult for the giants just by existing?

Alana looked over the giants. "Team one move first. Team two follows. Bruno and I will deal with the repeat."

Petra and Abel walked into the truck and opened the first cell. They each grabbed an arm of the giant inside, and the chain connecting him to the truck's floor disconnected. Then, the two led the giant, half pulling and carrying him down the truck's gangplank and through the portal entrance.

Alana nodded at Kimmy and Tres to take the second giant. Once the giant with the purple hair was safely through the portal, she moved forward with Cullen to approach the last giant. They walked up the plank together, and Emma pulled the gun from her waist to point it at the giant.

The chain released, and the giant wailed and thrashed. Alana nearly took an elbow to the face, trying to secure the squirming giant. Cullen tightened his grip and began to steer the crazed giant to the mouth of the truck.

"If you continue to struggle, we will be authorized to shoot you with a sedative," he grunted as the giant kicked him in the shins.

"Tell me when," Emma said.

"I don't want to fill out paperwork," Alana said. "But in this case, I might make an exception. Take the shot."

Emma grinned. "With pleasure."

She fired the gun, and the blue bullet hit the giant's leg, and the dart spread like a stain. The giant's body buckled, and he howled in pain. Emma passed me her gun, and I kept it trained on the giant as she moved to help them drag the prisoner through the portal.

Once they cleared the magical barrier, I followed them into the giant realm, and my jaw dropped. A dozen massive dragons were harnessed to what looked like a prison carriage. I stared in complete shock and awe as I took in the massive chains with links the size of dinner plates that held them in check.

The lead dragon was as big as a city block, spitting smoke into the sky as it stretched its wings and waited for the giants to be loaded in the back of the carriage. The carriage driver was a giant twice my size, with dark brown skin and long gray dreadlocks falling around his face. He spotted me instantly, and I thought I saw recognition in his green eye, but his brown eye looked worried.

I lowered the gun in my hand. He was the giant from my last vision. The one playing gambit with Ric. I didn't know if the man knew me, but there was something dangerous in his stare. He hopped down from his perch on the wagon, and the ground shook.

"You brought the princess to a prisoner extraction?" He turned his piercing stare on Abel.

"Duke Japhros," Abel actually dropped to a knee. "It wasn't our plan, but there isn't any harm. She's a member of our order."

"Tytan doesn't want her in the realm," Japrhos adjusted the big silver ring on his finger. "And those who defy Tytan meet sticky ends, son of frosts."

"She is safe with us," Abel said. "Victor and your nephew Wolfe gave us their blessings."

Japhros harumphed. "Stay on the right side of the law, and don't give Tytan a reason to call for your arrests. I serve the high king. His word is my law."

Emma took her gun back and tucked it in her belt. I'd been so distracted by the giant that I hadn't noticed they'd finished loading up all the prisoners. She looked from me to Japhros with interest.

"You don't want to get mixed up with Japhros," she said. "There's a reason most giants fear him. He's got improbable strength and breeds the last dragons in existence."

Still, I'd seen him in my vision. That meant there was something important about the old giant. He was a jailer. Did that mean Ric was a prisoner?

I decided to find out. "Excuse me, sir?"

"Can I help you, little princess?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I know this is a strange question," I said. "But do you happen to know a man named Ric?"

Japhros gave me a strange look. "I'm sorry, little princess. I have no idea what you're talking about."

He turned back to his dragons and mounted his carriage. I didn't know if he hadn't met Ric yet or if he'd lied to my face. Either way, it didn't matter. I wasn't getting any future spoilers from Japhros.

I watched as the giant lifted the massive chains connecting his team of dragons and pulled back. The dragon in the lead spit fire into the air again, and its compatriots roared. Then they flew into the sky, taking the prisoners deeper into Jontun.

Hey Friends!!  This chapter took a lot of editing. I think I like how it came out and there were dragons which might be one of my favorite mythical creatures. Let me know what you think. Until next time!!