“Why not? St. George certainly had no compulsions against declaring war on us. What made you think we would not retaliate?” She smiled again, her eyes glittering green in the shadows. “You are weak, St. George,” she stated. “The entire human race is weak, violent, hypocritical and prone to self-destruction. Through the long ages I have been alive, I have seen it time and time again—the war and devastation humans bring, even to their own. Those who are different, who see life in ways other than yours, you declare ‘evil,’ and use that as an excuse to persecute and destroy. It has been this way since the beginning. And it will not change without intervention. Well…”
The Elder Wyrm turned and gazed at the screens again. “Intervention has come,” she stated. “We will bring a new age to humanity, one where they will live in peace with dragons, because we will force them to. That is the only action humans understand, and if we must slaughter half the human race to make them see reason, so be it. But first, we must destroy the traitors within our own race to proceed. Dante.”
At the base of the steps, Dante looked up, his face expressionless. “Ma’am.”
“Have you seen enough of the battle? Do we know where the sniper fire is coming from?”
Tristan jerked as Dante nodded once. “Yes. I’ve determined the trajectory—it’s coming from the eastern side of the mountain, about half a mile away.”
“Then launch the second phase.” Her cold gaze found mine. “As long as they are here, I want them to see their rebellion die. I want my daughter to understand why she should never have opposed us.”
I locked eyes with my brother, pleading. He met my stare, his expression as remote as ever, then reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a phone. “Lilith,” he said, holding my gaze as he spoke into the device, “the sniper fire is coming from the east. Remove it, kill the Eastern dragons and destroy the rest of the attackers. Leave no one alive.”
RILEY
Something was about to happen, I could feel it.
The fight was going…okay. With the arrival of Jade and the two Eastern dragons, it had definitely shifted to not completely hopeless. But there were a lot of vessels, and even their smaller forms could overwhelm a larger dragon if they ganged up on it. I didn’t know how many dragons and soldiers were down, but it seemed like half our forces had been depleted, though the number of clones was finally dwindling, as well. I didn’t want to think about the hatchlings I’d lost until the battle was over, but I hoped at least some in my underground would survive this.
A shout below me drew my attention to the ground. Two vessels had a soldier of St. George by the legs and were dragging him across the stones on his stomach, with the soldier desperately trying to bring his gun around to shoot. I dove toward them and dropped onto a vessel’s back with all my weight behind me, crushing it to the earth. At the same time, the soldier finally managed to flip over, raise his M4 and shoot the second clone in the head and neck.
Panting, the soldier scrambled to his feet, nodding at me. “Thanks, lizard,” he barked out, and limped for cover once more, dodging a gout of flame from a vessel that swooped by. I had just tensed to leap into the air again when a shudder went through me, starting from the ground and shivering all the way up my spine. My stomach dropped, and for a split second, everything froze, the sounds of battle muted for a single heartbeat.
With a chilling, earsplitting groan that seemed to echo over the battlefield, the front doors of the laboratory creaked open again. Whispering a curse, I darted behind a vehicle and peered beneath the undercarriage, watching the iron barriers push outward. Of course Talon would have another surprise planned for us. What kind of monstrosities would pour forth this time?
The ground under my feet trembled, and three massive shapes prowled out of the shadows to step into the light. My heart nearly stopped. I huddled close to the ground, curling my tail around myself, as I fought back the despair and sudden terror.
Three Adult vessels. The same metallic gray of their smaller counterparts, but fifty times bigger. Their chests and forepaws were huge, their necks thick with muscle, and jagged, bony spines bristled from their shoulders and down their backs. They stalked forward, blank silver eyes blinking in the light, gazing emptily at the chaos surrounding them.
One of the Eastern dragons, the smaller red female, soared overhead, and the first Adult vessel reacted instantly. Shockingly fast, it leaped into the air, powerful wings unfurling, to slam into the other dragon. Clamping thick jaws around the slender body, it dragged the Eastern dragon out of the air and used its larger bulk to pin it to the ground. The Eastern dragon shrieked, thrashing and writhing in its grip, coiling her long body around the monster like a python, but the vessel did not relent.
With twin howls, the remaining Adult vessels launched themselves into the fight, unfurling huge leathery wings and taking to the air. Hatchlings and dragonells fled as the two behemoths began their pursuit, snapping and clawing at any dragon that came within reach. Thankfully, the hatchlings were small and quick, and the vessels’ enormous bulk weighed them down. But there was no way any of my dragons were going to bring down those monsters.
With a roar and a streak of green, Jade flew toward one of the vessels like an arrow, smashing into the huge body with a crunch that sounded like a pair of semis colliding. The Adult vessel screamed and tumbled down in a flurry of wings and tails, taking the Eastern dragon with it. The rumble as they struck the earth vibrated the ground and made my teeth chatter.
Okay, St. George, I thought, and leaped into the air once more, praying that my hatchlings would be smart enough to get the hell out of the way. If I couldn’t take those monsters down, at least I would be a distraction for the rest of them. If you ever needed a reason to use that damned rifle, here it is. You won’t ever hear me say this again, but shoot those things already!
But seconds ticked by, measured by the screams of dying dragons and the roars of those still living, and the shots never came.
EMBER
I watched the horror unfold on-screen, watched one Adult vessel pull a red Eastern dragon out of the air and tear it apart with brutal efficiency, while the other two set upon Riley’s dwindling forces. We had failed. They were all going to die, but worse than that, their sacrifice would be in vain, because we were unable to uphold our end of the bargain.
“Your friends are lost,” the Elder Wyrm stated, watching me from the top of the steps. “The alliance between dragons and St. George is finished. Everything you have done up until this point has been for nothing. We will rise, and humans will fall before us, as it should have been from the beginning.”
“No,” I whispered. “Please stop this. There’s been so much death and suffering already. We can end the war. It doesn’t have to be this way.”
“You have lost,” the Elder Wyrm repeated, her voice a terrible drone in my head. Dante walked up the steps to stand behind her and did not look at me. “And now, I will take back what is mine, what I had created specifically for me. Vessel 176, bring me my daughter.”
One of the vessels stepped forward and grabbed my arm. Instantly, Garret turned, bringing both cuffed hands up, and smashed them into its nose, sending it reeling back. In that split second of shock, I made my decision.
I leaped through the ring of vessels, Shifting forms in midair. The cuffs burst open as I landed at the base of the steps in dragon form. We were all going to die, Talon had won this round, but at least I could take the Elder Wyrm down with me. Gathering myself, I tensed my muscles and sprang for the woman at the top of the steps, aiming for her slender white neck. Garret, Riley, I’m sorry. But maybe this will be enough to change things. See you on the other side.
“I think not,” the Elder Wyrm said quietly.