Dragon Blood

Chapter 1

Rhia's eyes flew open as a rough hand jerked her awake. She pulled out her earplugs and looked blearily up at her partner. Ian's unnaturally pale brown eyes glinted with amusement as he laughed. "We're here." He said as their driver reported something into the radio from up front. "Time to go to work."

She followed him out the back of the ambulance, instantly awake. The ability to fall asleep anywhere and wake up just as fast had come in handy over the years. Every shift, whether it was during the day or the middle of the night, was filled with long periods of inactivity, multiple calls for non-emergency incidents, dull-as-shit paperwork, and very occasional moments of sheer terror, intense action, and adrenalin highs. She wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

Outside, two men in police uniforms were stepping out of a patrol car. The older man smiled the moment he saw Rhia. "Hey, kid!" her brother called. "I was wondering if we were going to see you tonight."

Rhia laughed and met his brief hug. His K-9 partner, Nova, was wagging her tail madly in the back seat. "I'm not a kid anymore, Maddy," she teased him with the nickname he hated before nodding to the second cop. "Who's he?"

"This is Edward Brown." Maddox turned to the younger man and clapped him on the shoulder. "Eddy, this is my baby sister, Rhia, and her partner Ian."

They shook hands. "It's nice to meet you." He beamed. "The sergeant talks about you all the time."

"Nothing embarrassing, I hope."

"Oh no, of course not." He glanced between the siblings, concern flickering in his eyes. "Sorry, I didn't realize E.M.S. was called too."

"I called them." Maddox told him. "I find its better to have medical professionals on scene for a mental health wellness check."

"I don't understand."

He sighed and tightened his grip on Eddy's shoulder. "Look, Eddy," he said patiently, like he was sick of having to explain it. "This is very much a personal preference thing, not a standard. They're here because they're trained to handle both physical and psychological health emergencies. We are trained to handle criminals. Mental illness is not a crime. So, in these cases, I refer to them and back them up. Understand?"

Eddy nodded reluctantly as the sergeant looked back to Rhia and Ian. "What do you know about the patient?" Rhia asked, tossing her bag onto the gurney and guiding it onto the sidewalk.

"Her name is Sigrid Landgren." Maddox followed the paramedics up the path leading to the front door. "Three-hundred-year-old dwarven female. She's bipolar and, according to her daughter, has a history of violent paranoia when she goes manic. The daughter lives out of state and hasn't been able to get a hold of her for the last few days. She's worried her mother has gone off her medications again. She should be landing at L.A.X. in a few hours."

"Alright, Ian you take point. You two should hang back."

"You sure?" Eddy raised an eyebrow. "Don't you want us there if she gets violent."

"She's far more likely to get violent if she sees you." Ian said with absolutely no attempt in hiding his irritation with the younger man.

"But we're the police."

"Exactly." Ian reached out and knocked hard and loud on the door. "Matron Landgren," he called out. "Emergency Medical Services. Are you there?" They waited but heard nothing. Ian knocked again. "Matron Landgren, we are coming in."

He tried the doorknob tentatively and pushed the door open. Rhia stood back as her partner stepped inside first. "Why is he calling her matron?" Eddy hissed not quietly enough.