Author:
Anna Mantovani is an author, blogger and songwriter based in Turin, Italy. She has a degree in Media Engineering and works in the railway sector. With her sister Maria Carla, also a science-fiction writer, she manages the blog “The Mantovanis”, which focuses on independent speculative fiction and geek culture. With her husband Dario (and sometimes their two kids as guest stars) she plays in the electropop duo “Sedona”. Find out more at: www.themantovanis.blog.

The story is set in the fictional city of Europa, in Central Europe, the last city left after a nuclear war that made most of the Earth uninhabitable and woke up dragons - prehistorical creatures that caused an mass outbreak of a lethal disease that decimated the population and turned the survivors into scale-covered, violent mutants that rebel against the government.

Sophie, a young doctor working for her boss Amanda Solarin in a medical facility, accidentally meets an elderly woman, Emma, who miraculously recovered from the dragon plague, and whose blood could be the key to a vaccine. Saving Emma from government persecution, Sophie goes on the run with her.

Meanwhile, Erik Persson, a police officer, sets out to track Sophie and Emma, while suspecting that a mole might be hiding in the ranks of the police.

Sophie and Emma hide in the slums and after almost getting caught by the police several times they finally fall in the hands of the rebels; in her captivity, Sophie discovers that the plague survivors are not as irrational and violent as the press portrays them and agrees to work with them to develop a vaccine. She also discovers that some of the survivors have the ability to communicate telepathically with a dragon.

She meets the General, the leader of the rebels, whose name is Cain, and despite her fear for his terrifying looks and enigmatic personality, she is strangely attracted to him.

The Dragon Plague

Another night shift awaited him that evening. Erik took his place in front of the security monitor with resignation. He had four hours of absolute boredom ahead, then there would be lunch (or dinner? He was not really sure at that hour) in the officers canteen. The food was bland and depressing as the rest of the work, but at least it was one thing less to worry about. Then he would go to secure one of the armoured doors between one pod and the other.


Erik was accompanied by Bruno Martinelli, one of the older jailers. The man was extremely polite, but had a tendency to doze off in front of the monitor. Erik never knew whether to wake him or not: in doubt, when he realized that his nap has lasted for a while, he intentionally moved the chair, making some noise, or got up and opened the door, causing his colleague to jolt awake. It seemed less embarrassing than pointing out that he was asleep again. 


All right, Persson? Martinelli asked.


Chapter 42