Excerpt: Dragon Fire, Dryad Soul

Diana was being chained to a tree.
Not just Diana,either; there was a small but determined group of Santa Cruz students who had gathered this mild Saturday morning, in protest over the University’s proposed construction of a new residential college in some of the school’s treasured woodland. Most of the students looked a great deal groggier than Diana did, some of them showing signs of considerable trepidation when the chains were brought round by an older student who had once been Diana’s TA. One boy even left, and a couple of girls decided they would chant slogans and be supportive, but did not want to be chained up.
It was all good; everyone could contribute in their own way.
If you were going to be chained to a tree, you couldn’t have asked for a better day for it. It was one of those brisk November days when California might as well thumb its nose at the rest of the country, saying, “Yeah, we’ve got fires and earthquakes, but look what we get in exchange!” It had rained just a few days before; long enough ago that the ground was not muddy, but the dirt was damped down and, despite the slight breeze, there was very little dust. Today, it was sunny, and the forecast called for temperatures in the upper sixties or lower seventies, which was a good thing, because Diana didn’t know exactly how she could put her jacket on when she was all chained up.
“You’re completely insane,” Roger told her.