“Interesting,” Jenkins said blankly.
“You don’t believe us, do you?” Sarita asked.
“Did I say that?” Jenkins asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Jenkins, I don’t even believe us!” Sarita said, not caring if the sentence was grammatically correct or not. “I don’t see that there’s any way you would.”
“Funnily enough, I do believe you,” Jenkins said. “I have my reasons, which may or may not be explained to you in time. For now, I think it’s time to get out of here.”
“Don’t you work here?” Rowan asked, sounding surprised.
“Yes,” Jenkins said placidly.
“Won’t your boss be mad?” he asked.
“Furious,” Jenkins said. “But enraged is her natural state anyway, so there shouldn’t be too huge of a difference. Besides, I’m getting tired of working here. It’s a good job, but there’s no excitement in it. You would think that after a lifetime of adventures, I’d be ready to settle down, but oddly enough, I’m not. There are still things I’d like to do in life, and being a butler, it seems, is not one of them.”
“A lifetime of adventures?” Rowan asked. “Do tell.”
“Later,” Jenkins said dismissively. “Jane, are you ready to leave?”
Jane turned around, showing her pale, tear streaked face. “What?” she asked quietly.
“The dragon is here,” Jenkins said, and burst into flames.
************************************************************************

Sarita screamed and jumped back in terror. A scene of complete chaos followed. Sarita could still see Jenkins, who seemed to be on fire without burning. Her father had grabbed her protectively, and Rowan had grabbed Jane’s arm and pulled her towards the exit. They were all running, in a confused, hopelessly entangled mass, moving far too slowly. Sarita managed to break free of her father, protesting over Rowan’s shrieks of terror that she was perfectly capable of fleeing for her own life. Jane was standing silently, not moving. She seemed to be in shock. Rowan was having to drag her along with him, slowing him down. Sarita ran back to help him, and together they managed to carry Jane up on their shoulders. They were soon out the door and down the path back to the hovercraft. The small blue vehicle was just in sight when Jenkins suddenly appeared in front of them. Jane at last found her voice, and began to scream in terror. Jenkins echoed her with a piercing, unearthly wail, and Jane stopped, too afraid to move again. Sarita dropped her and took on a fighting stance, well aware that hand-to-hand combat would be completely useless as long as Jenkins was surrounded by the flames.