Trip flew straight toward the fortress, fantasizing about zipping in and rescuing Rysha and the others from a horrific dragon attack, perhaps while shooting relentlessly and effectively at the dragon.
That is a fantasy, Jaxi said.
Unless I can somehow manage to force the dragon to lower his defenses. Trip wished he knew how he’d done that last time, and if he truly had.
Even if you can, you don’t have any of Tolemek’s grenades or special bullets. Your flier’s puny ones would bounce off that bronze dragon’s scales, even if no magic protected him.
“Hang back, Trip,” Blazer said. “Leftie, Duck, you too. Let’s parallel the shoreline and watch to see what unfolds before throwing ourselves into the thick of a battle that isn’t ours. And for which we don’t have effective weapons to use.”
Trip obeyed, but not without frowning deeply at the idea of hanging back. “Doesn’t the fact that our people are down there, make it our battle?”
“Let’s watch the first quarter from the sidelines and see if they need our help.”
“First quarter?” Leftie asked. “Major Blazer, are you a hookball fan?”
“I go to the Ravens games when I can.”
“I almost went pro, you know. Had an invitation from the Badgers.”
“Is that so?”
Trip couldn’t tell if Blazer sounded intrigued or skeptical. Her voice always bordered on the sarcastic no matter what.
The harbor and the fortress perched at its east end came into view, and Trip ignored the rest of the chatter. As he’d seen—sensed—earlier, the black airship was docked at one of the elevated platforms, and several sailing ships were anchored or tied to docks in the water. A few crews were pulling away from those docks now, cutting ropes and waving at the sky.
Since night had fallen fully, it was hard to see the bronze dragon against the black clouds, but Trip’s senses told him where the creature was before his eyes spotted it. There. It flew over the water, paralleling the coastline.
At first, Trip thought it wouldn’t attack the fortress, since it didn’t sail straight in, but then it turned, flying in the opposite direction. Pacing? Did dragons pace?
I think he’s assessing the fortress, Jaxi said, maybe seeing if his enemies are home, but you’re the one who can read dragons’ minds. Why don’t you take a peek?
Trip thought about voicing his doubts to Jaxi, but she’d heard them all by now. Better to just try.
He turned his flier to match the dragon’s aerial pacing, heading up and down the coastline, him over the forest and fields, and the dragon over the water. He stared over his shoulder toward the creature’s head, trying to duplicate what he’d done before, something that had been entirely accidental. He’d let his thoughts drift out to the sea and looked down at the dragon from above.
This time, nothing happened except that a stiff breeze swept in from the sea, and he had to adjust the flier’s wings, something that distracted him from mind unfurling.
The dragon banked and turned inland abruptly, pressing his wings to his body and diving downward, straight at a docked ship, one with a crew scrambling to make ready to depart. He struck like an eagle going in for a fish, except that when his talons came out, he snatched up people, one in each claw. He flung them away, as if they were lighter than mice, hurling them out into the water.
Rifles fired, but even from far above, Trip could tell that no bullets harmed the dragon.
The creature flung more crewmen away, then sprang into the ship’s rigging. He shredded sails and snapped masts before landing on the railing and plunging his head down on his long sinewy neck to bite gaping holes in the hull. He rendered the vessel unseaworthy, if not on the verge of sinking, within seconds. Some of the people who’d been hurled into the harbor cried out or swam for shore, but others didn’t move.
Trip stared down, his fingers tight around his flight stick. He wanted to fly down to help, whether these were pirates or not.
His senses must have still been extended somehow—damn, he needed more training—because he felt the emotions of the people down there as if they were his own. Fear, pain, and horror mingled in his mind. And he sensed something else, the dragon’s glee.
“Major Blazer,” he started, intending to announce his intent to help.
But she cut him off. “Maintain your position, Captain.”
“I wish we had some of those special bullets,” Duck said, sounding like he, too, ached to help. “Why didn’t the general think to get us any?”
“From what I’ve heard,” Blazer said, “they can only be made with pure dragon blood, and there’s not much of that left in the capital—or anywhere in Iskandia.”
She was so calm, as if the deaths down there didn’t move her at all. Trip didn’t know why they moved him. These people had been terrorizing the east coast of Iskandia for the two years he’d been flying. And yet, he could feel their pain. Maybe that was why it was so bad.
Jaxi, any ideas of what we could do?
I believe Sardelle would think of something clever in this situation.
Like what?
Jaxi seemed to shrug into his mind, even though swords had nothing to shrug. Technically, you and that dragon have similar goals. You should ask Sardelle sometime to share the tale of how she gained an ally in the gold dragon, Bhrava Saruth. Although I don’t recommend using her exact tactics, since that resulted in her becoming Bhrava Saruth’s high priestess.
What?
The dragon believes he’s a god, you see.
Oh, Trip thought, not feeling any more enlightened. He’d heard the name of the dragon before and knew it was one of the kingdom’s missing ally dragons.
The airship started firing cannons at the bronze invader plaguing the harbor. The dragon sprang from the sinking vessel and, with a few powerful wingbeats, landed among the airship’s crew, clawing and biting away pieces of the hull. The bronze and silver dragons might not breathe fire like the golds, but they could do plenty of damage.
Men on the deck ran at him with rifles, and with a surge of mental power that Trip sensed, the dragon blasted them with a wave of air. They hurtled backward so hard and so far that they rolled and bounced across the deck, some flying all the way over the railing on the opposite side of the ship.
Puny humans, the dragon cried into Trip’s mind—maybe into everybody’s minds—the great dragon Telmandaroo has returned. You have not defeated me. Send your bravest warriors out to face me again. This time, you shall not get the best of me.
Even though numerous men and women from the fortress had run out to the docks, firing up at him, the dragon seemed to be keeping a close eye on the top level of the structure as it razed the ship. Did the pirate king and the sorceress live up there?
It might have been Trip’s imagination, but he thought he sensed wariness from the dragon. And a desire to prove himself. As if the defeat he’d suffered here weeks earlier had hurt his pride as well as his body. He couldn’t live with that, nor the mocking he’d received from other dragons over his failure, so he was back to destroy the fortress, and especially the pirate king and sorceress that had teamed up against him last time.
You’re doing it again, Jaxi said.
What?
Reading a dragon’s thoughts.
Are you so sure that’s not just my mind making up stories to back up my beliefs?
Jaxi sniffed. I haven’t seen anything to suggest that you’re that good of a storyteller.
Trip grunted, not exactly bolstered. He wondered if Jaxi was this blunt with Sardelle.
Always. Good relationships are built on honesty.
All right, then. Let’s try being clever, as you suggested. Can you relay messages to the dragon for me? Or, better yet, amplify my thoughts somehow? So I can talk directly to him?
You can—oh, never mind. Go ahead. I shall “amplify.”
Trip sensed that she was teasing him, or mocking him, but he was starting to get used to it and didn’t bother to ask for clarification.
He banked his flier to sail back up the coast toward the fortress and the dragon, passing Leftie and Blazer and Duck, who were flying in formation, still heading the opposite direction.
“Going somewhere, Trip?” Blazer asked warily.
“Jaxi has suggested I be clever.”
“And she believes you’re capable of that?”
Trip sighed and ignored the comment, wondering what rank he would have to achieve before fellow officers stopped mocking him.
My understanding is that anyone ranked above you is free to mock you. Perhaps if you become General of the Armies, you’ll no longer have to worry about it. But the man currently in that position is eighty. You’ve probably got a ways to go.
Does anyone mock General Zirkander?
He was only in his forties, but he’d achieved so much.
I mock him daily. Whatever you’re planning, you should do it. The sorceress and pirate king have stepped out to face the dragon.
Trip spotted the figures as soon as Jaxi spoke, a man and a woman on the platform surrounding the topmost level of the fortress. Together, they strode toward the railing overlooking the harbor. The woman wore a blue robe that flapped around her body in the breeze, and she carried a glowing sword in her hand.
Soulblade, Jaxi informed him, then growled into his mind. A Cofah soulblade. She is Cofah. Or was once.
The woman looked straight at Trip’s flier for several long seconds, then turned her attention to the dragon. Telmandaroo was finishing off the airship. Its crew had given up on attacking him, and most had leaped into the water below. Shreds of the craft’s balloon and pieces of its hull floated among them.
The gray-haired man standing next to the sorceress did not look toward Trip or the fliers. He held his sword aloft, and it glowed a sickly green. Here was Neaminor, the pirate king, the man who’d been behind so many of the attacks on Trip’s homeland.
The fingers on his free hand curled around the rope railing, and even though Neaminor hefted the sword toward the dragon, he looked over at the sorceress, his face oddly contorted, as if he was fighting some inner compulsion. Trip had the bizarre sensation that the man wanted to strike down his ally, his lover of many years.
That’s typical for those swords, Jaxi said. Something to keep in mind once your colleagues have one in their hands. You won’t want to sleep next to them at night, or sleep at all while they’re wielding the blade.
The woman’s lips moved, as did Neaminor’s, and he was able to wrench his gaze back toward the dragon. He pointed the blade at the invader and yelled something.
The distance and the thrumming of his propeller kept Trip from hearing, but it definitely looked like a challenge.
The dragon sprang from the destroyed airship and arrowed toward them. The pirate king adopted a fighting stance, but his winged enemy did not come close. The dragon hurled a mental attack, a blow of wind that should have knocked his foes from the platform.
It gusted past the pirate king without stirring his clothing, even though it ripped bark from the log wall behind him. The sorceress took a step back, bracing herself, and lifted her hands. Trip sensed the barrier she’d erected around herself. It wavered under the dragon’s assault, but she managed to keep it up.
The sword in her hand blazed reddish-orange. It hurled an attack of its own at the dragon, red lightning crackling into the sky. It slammed into and branched around an invisible barrier protecting Telmandaroo.
“Has Trip done his clever thing yet?” Duck whispered over the communication crystals.
Trip snorted. “No.”
Dragon, he cried with his mind, hoping Jaxi was still ready to amplify his words, to help him telepathically contact Telmandaroo. Unless you wish to be defeated again, you will need help to win this battle.
The dragon was flapping up toward the clouds, as if to gain height before using gravity to take him down in a dive for the two sword-wielders.
What? the dragon replied. I need no help, certainly not from insignificant humans! The words carried so much power as they pierced Trip’s mind that they almost felt like an attack.
Insignificant humans are experts at defeating other insignificant humans, Trip replied. There is no reason for you not to accept my help.
Telmandaroo dove toward his adversaries, sending another mental attack ahead of his descent. This time, his power drove the sorceress to her knees, and her protective shield faltered.
The dragon’s talons flexed, as if he would sink them into her torso and tear her to pieces. At the last moment, she rolled to her side, erecting her barrier again, and Neaminor leaped at the dragon, springing higher than should have been possible. Trip couldn’t tell if some magic allowed that, or if he had springs in his boots. Or a trampoline built into the platform?
His great jump surprised the dragon, and the green of Neaminor’s sword grew brighter as the blade slashed through the air, cutting into the extended leg.
The dragon shrieked into everyone’s minds, and people on the docks fell to their knees. Trip gritted his teeth against the power, knowing it was a cry of pain, not an attack. The sorceress knew too. She jumped up, thrusting her sword into the air, and lightning streaked out again.
Trip realized she’d feigned her earlier weakness.
This time, the dragon’s defenses were down, and the lightning struck.
I’m not sure you want to help this dragon, Jaxi thought. He seems somewhat pathetic by dragon standards.
Ready to accept my help yet? Trip thought toward the dragon as Telmandaroo plummeted toward the harbor.
The dragon snarled into his mind.
I don’t think we’re getting anywhere, Jaxi said, as the dragon adjusted his flight before he would have plunged into the water.
He flapped away, not defeated yet. His magical barrier came up again, in time to deflect another branch of red lightning from the sorceress’s soulblade.
If nothing else, we’re here and ready for Rysha and the others. Trip looked toward the fortress, hoping this was buying them time to complete their mission. But they had come for the sword the pirate king wielded, so that might not be possible unless they ran out on the platform and grabbed it from him. Something that didn’t seem like a good idea with that sorceress at the man’s side.
What do you want in exchange for help, human? The dragon hovered in the air over the western end of the harbor, as if regrouping. He looked over at Trip.
Trip hadn’t thought that far ahead, but he came up with something quickly, sensing the dragon’s suspicion, sensing Telmandaroo wouldn’t believe he wanted to help if there wasn’t a catch.
These pirates kill and thieve from people in our country on a regular basis, Trip replied. It would be useful for us to have someone ruling over these islands, over the pirates, who would be an ally to our people.
No dragon would ally himself with humans!
It has happened in the past, Trip thought. Even if you are not interested in that, we would settle for having a stable ruler here who does not allow his minions to raid Iskandian shores.
Minions? Oh, yes, I would like minions. I had not considered that. I thought only of destroying the human dwellings and claiming these islands for myself.
Better to have minions who could serve you, Trip thought, not sure he should be encouraging a dragon to think that way, but we must defeat these two powerful humans first. And when we do, I shall get that blade that bit so painfully into you. I will take it far from these islands so that your minions can never use it again. I know you cannot touch it or throw it into the sea. Better to have it taken far away.
Yes, yes, this is true. It is a most foul blade.
The pirate king raised the “foul blade” as they spoke, shaking it toward the dragon and yelling another challenge. Down on the docks, his people raised their hands, cheering for him.
Let us take the blade away so that it doesn’t bother you, Trip said, and we’ll provide a distraction to make it easier for you to defeat those two.
I do not need a human’s help, but I agree that you will take that blade away.
Trip flew toward the tower. Jaxi, are you ready to confront a Cofah soulblade?
I thought I’d just try to keep you alive.
That’s acceptable.
“Where are you going, Sidetrip?” Blazer growled.
“We’ve made a deal with the dragon,” he announced. “We’re going to distract the sword-wielders so he can more easily swoop in to defeat them. And then we’ll take the dragon-slaying sword. He insists.”
“Wouldn’t we have been able to take it, anyway?” Duck asked. “The dragon would be forced to leave it on the ground after he defeated the pirates, right? He couldn’t pick it up?”
“True, but it’s questionable whether he would defeat them. That sword is useless if dragons stay out of range, but if they swoop down, it’s quite the equalizer.”
“Exactly why we’re getting it,” Blazer said.
To Trip’s relief, her flier was right behind his, and Leftie and Duck flanked her.
They arrowed toward the top of the fortress. The dragon flapped slowly across the harbor in the same direction, but Trip sensed that Telmandaroo intended to wait for them to draw fire.
He took a deep breath. “So be it.”
Jaxi groaned into his mind.
Sorry, he said, assuming she wasn’t thrilled with how his attempt at being clever had turned out.
Oh, I’m ready for battle, Jaxi said. I just get tired of dealing with these Cofah soulblades. They’re so uptight. This one must have gone to the same sorcerer’s academy as Wreltad.
Trip had no idea who that was, and for some reason, the idea of soulblades talking telepathically to each other flummoxed him. Maybe because a week earlier, he’d been flying along, barely aware of magic at all.
I’m glad sorcerers weren’t entirely eliminated from the world during the evil purges of the Referatu and Cofah mages, but I do wish we’d stumble across more Iskandian magic-wielders. And soulblades.
They were close enough that Trip could see the determined eyes of the pirate king, so he didn’t respond. He held down the trigger of his machine guns, certain the bullets would be deflected, but also certain it would distract the sorceress. The pirate shouldn’t be able to create a barrier, since the dragon-slaying swords were more like anti-magic than magic, so she was the only one who could address them.
Some of his bullets slammed into the platform around them, but others, those that should have hit his enemies, bounced off. Trip sensed the woman—no, it was her sword—hurling an attack.
Jaxi’s barrier flared to life, and Trip eased his finger off the trigger, knowing he couldn’t fire through it. Something akin to wind battered at them, but the barrier took the brunt of it, and his wings barely wobbled as he flew over the fortress.
Red lightning streaked after him, the air crackling as it curled around Jaxi’s barrier.
Trip looped and flew back toward the fortress, attempting to be obnoxious and draw fire. Blazer, Leftie, and Duck didn’t have soulblades to protect them, and he didn’t want them to be struck.
I’ll attempt to protect them if they’re targeted, Jaxi said, but I agree that you should be obnoxious. I believe you’ll find it easy.
Thanks so much.
Jaxi grinned into his mind, and he sensed exhilaration along with it. As he swooped back in for another attack, he had the distinct feeling that she’d missed going into battle. He could feel an exhilaration of his own building as the wind scraped past his cheeks, and he soared toward the sword-wielders, firing again.
Focused on his targets, he almost didn’t notice the dragon zooming in from the side. Telmandaroo wasn’t flying slowly anymore.
Trip thought he would go right for the two pirates, since he was distracting them with his fire, but instead, he slammed into the side of the fortress a level or two below them. Logs broke into thousands of pieces, wood chips flying behind the dragon as he went through the wall like a wrecking ball. His power and momentum took him all the way through and out on the other side, knocking down support posts along the way.
Glee emanated from the dragon, the pure joy of destroying things.
Which would have been fine if Trip’s people hadn’t been inside the fortress.
Jaxi, are the others still in there? Are they on their way out?
Yes, and no.
As the dragon sailed away, the snaps of wood continued, and Trip envisioned the entire structure collapsing on Rysha.
