I wake up in my hotel room in the Paradise Lodge. Soft candlelight flickers through the white mosquito gauze hanging over the bed. I'm in my underwear, and I've still got my waterproof travel pouch hanging around my neck.

What the hell happened? Did I have a dream within a dream?

Ayana wakes up in the bed next to me, looking sleepy and confused. “Who is Rosemarie?” she asks.

“What? Who are you talking about?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “I had a dream about someone named Rosemarie. It is fading now,” she says.

“I had a pretty weird dream myself. You tried to turn me into a dragon,” I say.

Ayana sits up in bed, grabs a carafe and a glass from the nightstand, and pours me a glass of tej. I see her breasts move beneath her nightgown. The thin gold chain between her nose and ear glimmers in the candlelight. She looks incredibly beautiful.

If this turns out to be another dream, I'm going to be pissed.

I'm thirsty and I take a big gulp of tej, but it doesn't taste right, so I put the glass on the nightstand on my side of the bed.

Ayana pouts. “Please drink, Tyler. Sex is more enjoyable with tej,” she says.

Time for more tej! As I reach for the glass, I see scrape marks on my wrists.

It wasn't a dream! I was pinned down on a table and the stone cuffs scraped my wrists. Then Ayana put a needle into me.

I leap from the bed, become suddenly dizzy, and stumble to the hotel room door. I throw it open. There's nothing but a stone wall on the other side!

I'm not in the hotel. I'm still in Ayana's freaky dragon dungeon!

As I turn to confront her, Ayana embraces me. “Do not worry, Tyler. You are safe here. Please, you must drink the tej,” she says.

I push her away. “It tastes funny. What did you put in it?” I ask.

“Something to calm you,” she says.

“I don't want to be calm. I want to be free,” I say.

“You are not our prisoner. However, you must understand, you now carry the dragon blood. For your own safety and the safety of others, there are things you must learn before you leave us,” she says.

I start searching the room for a way out. “Why does this room look like the hotel?” I ask.

“This is the transition room. It was designed to be familiar and comforting. Please, drink the tej. You must remain calm,” she says.

Why can't I find the way out?

“I've got some advice for you, Ayana. If you want someone to remain calm, don't kidnap and torture them,” I say.

“I apologize for your pain, Tyler. It is a small price to pay for the gift you will soon enjoy,” she says.

I shout at her, “Do I look like I'm enjoying myself?”

She winces. “Tyler, if you do not remain calm, you may accidentally shift into a dragon, or worse, travel into another time,” she says.

I laugh angrily. “What have you been smoking?” I ask.

“Tyler, please. You must calm yourself,” she says.

I hear desperation in her voice. She's genuinely scared.

The truth is, I'm furious. And I have every right to be. Still, I don't like scaring women.

I try to speak in a calmer tone. “If you don't want me to be angry, you need to let me go. Are you the one in charge here, the high priestess, or whatever?” I ask.

“I am the Speaker. And of course, you will be free to go, but please, give me one day to explain the dangers. You're a good man, Tyler, you would never forgive yourself if you hurt someone,” she says.

She puts her hands over her heart, pressing the thin fabric of her nightgown against her breasts.

She's trying to manipulate me with flattery and sex. Good call.

“I'll give you one hour to explain, then I'm outta here,” I say.

She nods, relieved. “Thank you. We must use the stairs under the bed,” she says.

Under the bed! The only place I didn't look.

After we both get dressed, I slide the bed aside and remove a wooden cover over a narrow set of stairs leading down at a steep angle.

Ayana takes the lead, and we descend into a stone corridor lit by candles. The ventilation isn't good here, and the air is thick and waxy-smelling.

We pass several of Ayana's fellow cultists, a mix of male and female Ethiopians of various ages. None of them wear the spooky dragon masks, and they all bow to me like I'm some sort of god. What happens when they find out I'm not?