The thing Lane always hated was how folks assumed that people in his line of work didn't have a heart at all. Sure, he'd snatched a brat or two from their parents in a crowded market. Sure, he'd cheated so many Poker buddies and conned so many family members that his credit was no good anywhere. But, if all went according to plan, no one died when he was doing his job... which was more than the average soldier, guard, or hero could say. Besides, nothing teaches someone to appreciated their loves ones like a brick through the window wrapped in a blood-smeared note. 'Kidnapper' was such an ugly word. He liked to think of himself as a specialist in reunions. Instinct: to ransom

• Conceal motives with cheerful banter
• Create a diversion
• Manipulate the bonds of friendship or trust for personal gain
• Accidentally bond with captive

At first, Grayson heard only rumours: myths of a dragon with a palm tree oasis on its back, tales of travelers who chanced upon a spring where none had been before, which boiled as soon as they waded into it. He had been chasing the stories for years when he finally picked up Husk's trail in a forest just outside of Crystal Keep. The signs of its passage were everywhere: desiccated trees, soil that had dried into sand, and starving animals roaming the countryside. This was no ordinary dragon. In its swollen belly, it hoards a substance far more precious than gold: water. Instinct: to hoard liquids

• Vent steam from between its scales
• Raise a sandstorm to flee
• Bend sand and water to its will