Graham Dokkins is a character who has a lot of influence in the story of Senta and the Steel Dragon.  He is introduced in book 1, has a very large part in book 3, and small but important parts in books 2 and 4, and 5.  He is somebody whose presence is felt even when he’s not there, because the other characters talk about him.  One of my favorite parts in The Dark and Forbidding Land is the encounter between Graham and Senta with a couple of utahraptors.

Suddenly Graham stopped, putting his arm out to stop her as well.  Senta watched him as he slipped the strap of the rifle from his shoulder.  Only after he had pressed the butt of the stock to his shoulder did she look to see what had alarmed him.  Stalking slowly toward them, skirting the edge of the trees on the right hand side of the road were two monstrous feathered creatures.  They must have been the same two utahraptors that Aalwijn Finkler had seen.  They were magnificent creatures, cloaked in turquoise feathers that slowly turned to forest green at the end of their long tufted tails.  Those tails stuck straight out behind them, making their total length nearly twenty-five feet.  Their heads, eight feet above the ground, moved forward and back as they walked.  One of them would have been more than a match for a grown man.

Graham carefully aimed down the length of the barrel.  He squeezed the trigger, but nothing happened.  Lowering the weapon, he flipped the safety to the fire position, and then sighted again.  This time when he fired there was a satisfying crack.  The utahraptors stopped, startled for a moment, but seemed uninjured.  Graham worked the action and fired again.  This time Senta saw the bullet strike the trunk of a massive redwood about twenty feet above the ground and quite a bit behind the predators.

“It’s not sited in right,” muttered Graham, as he pulled back the bolt.

This time, as with the first shot, they were unable to determine where the missile hit.

“Um, aim at their feet and a bit to the right of them,” advised Senta.

This time the bullet hit a tree just to the right of the foremost creature.

“The next one is in your head!” called Graham as if he had intended the previous shots as warnings. 

The utahraptor did not look at all impressed.  He and his cohort were not much more than fifty feet away.  When they charged they could clear that distance in the blink of an eye.  For the moment though they were still being wary of the strange little creatures that made loud booming noises and refused to run.

“You better stand behind me,” said Graham bravely.