After passing through the fountain of water, Mara slowed to step over a fallen streetlight and to dodge the remains of a parking-payment kiosk blocking the center of the street. As she cleared the debris, she looked around. The roadway had been gouged and clawed into ribbons; the curbs and sidewalks lay in piles of rubble. Shop awnings hung in smoldering tatters. Glass littered the street, reflecting flashes of blue from pulses emanating from the bridge on the next block.
The ground shook three times and stopped.
Mara turned back toward the elevator. The dust and smoke was clearing, but with the indirect light, the spraying hydrant and the haze, it was impossible to see the dragon. It wasn’t making another dash at her. She continued toward the bridge, keeping her eyes down trying to navi
