“Something is there. I—”
A faint clatter came from the level above them. Or maybe the roof? Imagining the dragons using their power to annihilate the fliers, Trip hurried to check, already half-constructing a barrier that he could wrap around them. But he detected Leftie sitting in his cockpit with his rifle and his lucky ball, twirling it on its chain as he watched the aerial battle with the dragons and felt disgruntled that he hadn’t been included—the rest of the fliers had gone to join in. He didn’t appear worried by any immediate threat to the rooftop.
Another clatter sounded in their passage, followed by a scraping from the ceiling—or perhaps the floor above—directly overhead.
The shadows stirred in the hallway behind them, and Ahn, already with her rifle butt pressed into the hollow of her shoulder, shifted her aim. But she didn’t fire. As far as Trip could tell, there was nothing to fire at but shadows.
I believe the dragons may be attempting to scare you, Azarwrath said.
“Why would they bother with little tricks?” Therrik asked, and Trip realized the soulblade had spoken to everyone in the group. “Every dragon I’ve met before just tried to kill me.”
“Imagine,” Kaika murmured.
“I don’t know, but the general said to take care of them. They’re down one more level from here.” Trip pointed to a dark stairwell at the end of the hallway. The door leading to it stood open, and a faint moan emanated from it.
An intense feeling of dread came over Trip, along with the urge to flee. He sensed the power behind it, the manipulation, and he also sensed the being, the dragon, responsible for it. A silver in the form of a bear. It had left the room with the prisoners and waited at the bottom of the stairs with one of its allies, a silver also in bear form. Only the bronze remained back with the humans, but Trip didn’t see another way down into the basement.
“Shit.” Duck whirled and stepped toward the exit.
Kaika caught his arm. “Stay where you are.”
“But death is coming for us.” Duck’s eyes were wide with terror.
Captain Ahn’s face had grown pale, and her gaze darted to either end of the hallway, but she didn’t look like she meant to bolt.
“Actually, it’s a bear.” Trip noted the chapaharii wielders were less affected than the pilots, but they also appeared to have felt the gust of fear. “Two of them.”
“Kaika, Grady, get my back.” Therrik strode for the stairs with Kasandral held aloft.
The other two sword wielders pushed past Trip, leaving him with Duck and Ahn, neither of whom looked to be in a hurry to go down those stairs. Though he didn’t know if it would work, Trip tried to bolster them with courage and to extend his mental defenses around them—hadn’t one of the soulblades once said he could learn to do that?—so they wouldn’t be affected by the intangible waves of fear rolling up the stairs.
He also formed a barrier around them because he sensed the dragons would attack soon. The message had been delivered. They would want to get rid of the threat in the headquarters building. He only wished he could protect the sword wielders with his power, too, that the magic-hating blades would allow it.
As Therrik stepped over to the landing at the top, a snarl floated up the stairwell. Then the floor quaked, stone cracked, and metal squealed. Mortar crumbled, and tiles snapped.
Azarwrath reacted before Trip, and he suddenly found himself floating in the air, hovering inches above the floor. A floor that fell away underneath him as snaps and groans erupted all around them. Stone and wood rained down from above, pelting his barrier. He fed power into it, strengthening it as he looked back, fearing Ahn and Duck would have fallen.
But they also floated, looking angry and alarmed now rather than simply afraid.
A shout of pain came from the stairwell. Trip turned back as the entrance to it collapsed, and rubble fell from above, burying the three elite troops—and the chapaharii blades.
7
You think to challenge me, puny humans? the gold dragon snarled. This land belonged to us long before your people left their rude mountain caves, and it will be ours again.
Wind rushed past Rysha’s face as Shulina Arya dove and twisted, turning her back toward her foe so Rysha could reach the gold dragon with Dorfindral. The blade glowed fiercely as rain spattered it. Rysha stood atop Shulina Arya’s back, magic holding her in position, and she lunged, slashing with the blade. It flared even brighter as it bit into scale and flesh.
A screech of pain sounded in her mind, and the dragon contorted in the air, its tail whipping straight toward her.
Not sure if Shulina Arya’s defenses would protect her when she carried Dorfindral, Rysha dropped down, flattening to her belly. The thick gold tail whipped past over her head.
Die, vile enemy! Shulina Arya cried, and some invisible power slammed into their foe, sending the other dragon hurling talons over head and tail.
As soon as the gold tumbled away, machine gun fire opened up. General Zirkander and four of the Wolf Squadron pilots strafed the dragon, flying over it and raining bullets.
Rysha watched, worried the bullets would bounce off a magical barrier—that was what had happened earlier. But between her attack and Shulina Arya’s, the dragon’s defenses were down. The bullets bit into its scales, and more pained screeches sounded in Rysha’s mind.
In everyone’s minds, she realized, as the wings wobbled on some of the fliers, the pilots wincing inside their cockpits.
Zirkander finished his run and swooped into a loop to come back for another one. If the mental screams bothered him, he didn’t show it.
Rysha was glad for the help, but with so many fliers up here in the sky with them, who was handling the three dragons in the city? Surely, not just Trip.
Our enemy’s strength is flagging, Shulina Arya announced when the gold didn’t turn back to engage them again, as it had numerous times before. When we drive it away, we will help Bhrava Saruth, since it is clear he is challenged without a rider on his back.
Bhrava Saruth flew over the harbor, hurling flames at two silver dragons that danced and dove away, weaving between the tall masts of the sailing ships, attempting to elude pursuit rather than engage. Several more fliers were over there, taking shots when they could, but they were understandably hesitant to rain bullets down on the docks. There had to be people hiding in some of those ships.
Bhrava Saruth, thankfully, wasn’t wanton in his chase and avoided using his power and fire right around the sea vessels and the docks. That was the only reason, as far as Rysha could tell, that he hadn’t defeated his opponents yet. Unlike the silver dragons, he didn’t wish to damage property.