War of Dragons by Andy Holland

stay. Hospitality is very important to us, so you will be comfortable here. Follow me."
    "John, please come with me," Miriam told him. "We have a few moments of light left, so the doctor will want a quick look at your wounds while he still can." Miriam and John hurried into the building together.
    "Where will John stay?" Daisy asked, watching him leave. "Will he stay with us?"
    "I've been talking to John while we've been flying," Aharon said. "I wasn't familiar with his situation before, but he's explained everything to Miriam and me. He won't be leaving you—at least not yet. He has almost completed his mission by bringing us Crystal, but he has a lot of paperwork to complete before he can leave."
    "Then what?" Daisy asked. "What happens to John then?"
    "That will be up to John," Aharon replied. "I can't answer for him."
    Daisy looked a little worried by his reply, but didn't say anything, just trailed behind the group as they followed Aharon up the steps. The entrance hall to Immigration House was large and well lit, with the failing sunlight flooding in through large glass windows complimented by a number of lamps that a young man was lighting. Aharon led them to a large desk, behind which sat a lady who was in her early thirties who smiled and stood to greet them as they approached.
    "Thank you, Aharon. I can take them from here. I was told they were coming."
    Crystal wondered how she could have known they were coming. The lady rang a bell and a young lady entered the hall from a side room. She looked barely older than they were. She smiled at the children, sizing each one up before nodding to the first lady and retreating back into her room.
    "Hello, and welcome to Immigration House, to our capital and to our country. I'm Naomi, and I'll be looking after you while you're here. If there's anything you need while you stay with us, you'll just need to find me and I'll be able to help you. Now, I understand you've been travelling a long way, so I expect you'll want to wash and eat first? Good. Follow me. Don't worry about your bags; they'll be brought up to you shortly."
    Naomi led them up the stairs to the top floor, then along a corridor to where their rooms were. She produced a key, unlocked a door and led them into a large well-furnished lounge with several side rooms. Jenna looked in one of the side rooms.
    "A bath!" she squealed gleefully. "Please guys, can I use this first?"
    Naomi laughed. "This room is for just one of you. I was going to put Crystal in here but it really doesn't matter. Here's the key to the room. There are towels in the bathroom already. Enjoy your bath!"
    Naomi took them to their rooms and told them that they could eat whenever they liked; just to come and find her when they were ready and she would take them to dinner.
    The accommodation was luxurious, a sharp contrast with how they had lived for the past few days, and on a par even with the standards that the twins had enjoyed back at their palace in the west. Crystal was delighted to find that a hot bath had been prepared for her and wasted no time in taking advantage of it, letting the warm water ease away the aches and pains that had accumulated over a week of uncomfortable resting places and continuous strenuous effort. She hadn't felt this relaxed for a long time. She had barely finished her bath when she heard a rap at the door. She answered it wearing just a towel to find no one there, just a pile of nearly folded clothes lying outside the door. She carried them into her room after drying herself, tried them on and found that they fitted her surprisingly well. Now that she was warm, clean and wearing fresh clothes, she decided to see what the others were doing, so she went to knock on the door of her cousin's room.
    "Who is it?" Jenna called cautiously.
    "Me!" Crystal called back impatiently. "Are you ready yet?"
    "It's open," Jenna replied.
    Crystal walked into the room, but Jenna was nowhere to be seen. She opened the bathroom door to