“I once told Lucas nothing good comes from a dragon. That even a four-year-old boy was tainted beyond hope. That the evil within him would fester and grow, and eventually he would turn on us. And there are those in St. George who would say that is exactly what happened.” His face grew even darker. “The Patriarch certainly thought so, and it cost him his life.
“However,” he went on, “I find it ironic that the one who accused you of treason was himself corrupt beyond measure. And that you risked your life to expose him.” Martin shook his head, his gaze becoming intense. “I’ve watched you through the years, Sebastian. I know you better than most. Though you did make me doubt you the night you escaped with those dragons, in this, at least, I can admit when I’ve been wrong. If there is evil festering in your soul, I’ve yet to see it.” His smile had no humor in it whatsoever. “Though that does throw everything the Order believes into question, doesn’t it?”
I took a quiet breath. “The Order can change,” I said carefully. “I’ve lived with some of these dragons. I’ve seen what they’re really like. They want nothing to do with Talon or the war. All they want is to live freely, without the fear of St. George coming for them in the middle of the night.” I paused; Martin was watching me intently, eyes dark, but he wasn’t openly protesting or calling me a heretic. Still, I chose my next words carefully. “Sir, if you would just talk to one of them, let them explain their side, you would see that they’re not all soulless monsters. Honestly, some of them are a lot like us. At the very least, they don’t deserve to be slaughtered just for existing.”
Martin sighed. “Perhaps it is as you say, Sebastian,” he said. “Perhaps it is time for the Order to look at things anew. Unfortunately, we cannot do anything about it now. Let us first see if we survive the night before we talk of change.”
“Sir?”
Martin looked up as Tristan came into the room and saluted just inside the door. “We’re ready, sir,” he announced. “Everyone is in position, and the rest of the base is locked down. We’re just waiting on your orders.”
Martin nodded. “I guess it’s nearly time, isn’t it?” he mused, rising heavily from his seat. Gazing at each of us in turn, he gave a small smile. “Sebastian, St. Anthony, I can truly say it’s been a pleasure serving with you. Good luck to us all.”
DANTE
It’s time.
I stood on the raised dais at the back of the command center, gazing at the bank of screens in front of me. Each showed satellite images of a familiar desert, a familiar cluster of buildings in the middle of the darkness. On one screen, the base was dark, save for a large square building in the very center. This structure was brightly lit, and that made me suspicious.
“Are we ready?” I asked. Around me, the team of humans were quick to respond. I knew the Elder Wyrm was listening somewhere as every Talon command center around the world prepared to go to war. The Night of Fang and Fire had finally come. Tonight, among many others, the Western chapterhouse of the Order of St. George was going to fall. By any means necessary.
Then let’s begin. I took a deep, steadying breath and commanded, “Send in Alpha flight one.”
“Sir.” Immediately, one of the senior humans glanced at me, brow furrowed. “Just the one flight, sir?” he asked, as if I didn’t know what I was doing. “We have five flights and the Omega protocol on standby. Shouldn’t we send them all at once? We’re sure to overwhelm the base, and we’ll take fewer casualties ourselves.”
“No.” I narrowed my eyes at the human. “You don’t know this chapterhouse or who resides there. And, lest anyone has forgotten, this is St. George. They know how to kill dragons, and how to defend themselves from dragons. Before we throw everything we have at them, I want to know what kind of firepower they’ve got and how to deal with it. So, this is the last time I will repeat myself—send in Alpha flight one. Hold the rest in reserve until I say otherwise.”
“Yes, sir.”
I crossed my arms, watching the screens, waiting for what the night would reveal.
The match has been set into motion, St. George. Let the games begin.
GARRET
Three minutes till midnight.
Outside, the air was still. A sickly white moon hung in the sky behind a few wispy clouds, unable to pierce the darkness blanketing the chapterhouse. I stood at a window on the upper floor of the barracks, watching the sky for dragons. Behind me, the rest of my team—four of St. George’s best—sat or lay quietly on cots while I kept watch. Fifty yards away, the armory sat huddled in shadow, silent and dark. My gaze went to the spots where the snipers were hiding, Tristan among them. I wondered if he would survive this night...if any of us would survive. We’d prepared as best we could, but who knew what kind of numbers Talon would throw at us?
“All squads, this is Anvil Six,” came Martin’s voice over the radio. The lieutenant was in the armory with the rest of the squadron. “What’s it look like out there?”
“Anvil, this is Longshot Six,” came Tristan’s voice, cool and unruffled. “Nothing on our end. The sky is clear.”
“Anvil, Storm Six,” said the commander of the machine gun squad. “Same here, just sitting on our asses waiting, sir.” A few chuckles echoed that statement, and I smiled faintly.
“Anvil, Scorpion Six,” I said into my headset. “Nothing here, either. We’ve got a clear line of sight to your position and everything is quiet.”
“All right,” Martin replied. “You know the drill, gentlemen. Keep your eyes open and radio the second you see anything, lizard or otherwise.”
“Sir,” we all answered, and the line went quiet.
I glanced at my team. They seemed calm, cavalier, even, but that was to be expected. We’d all done something like this before. Never on our own turf, of course, but we all had experience in staging ambushes and waiting for the battle to start. Worrying and dwelling on the upcoming fight was useless; there was nothing we could do until go time.
Ember, I thought as my watch flipped to 11:59 and a blanket of clouds crawled across the moon. I wish I could have seen you one more time. Wherever you are right now, stay safe.
“We got movement!”
I jerked up. Tristan’s voice crackled over the radio, tense and chillingly eager. “Hostiles inbound. About two clicks away, from the west side of the fence. Ugly gray bastards like Scorpion said. Ten targets, maybe more.” A heartbeat of a pause, and Tristan added, “Damn, they really are exactly the same. Looks like the party is about to start, sir.”
“Copy that, Longshot,” Martin replied. “You may fire when ready.”
I held my breath, waiting. Outside, the night was still. I couldn’t see anything in the darkness but the armory in front of me.
Then a shot rang out, the report crystal clear in the silence. A half second later, Tristan’s voice echoed smugly over the radio.
“Lima down, Anvil Six, lima down.”