by Sarah Noffke
“Hey, stay off the hair,” he said, ducking and covering his head as something whizzed by his head.
He didn’t know what all these fancy machines did or shot, only that they needed to be taken down.
Twice he and Coral had to swerve to avoid becoming casualties. To both their relief, they made it over the water before they were pulverized.
Maybe the men in the vehicles thought they’d retreated to safety. Maybe they thought they’d given up. The heavy smoke in the air from the various other fights made it hard to see everything.
Evan noticed the vehicles starting to retreat, which wouldn’t work for this attack at all. He encouraged Coral to open her mouth and send them a message to make them back up.
The dragon sent a huge plume of fire at the tanks and jeeps. It blasted over the tops of their windshields, which were apparently fireproof. The important thing was, it made them pause.
“Oh, did you all get a burnie?” Evan called to his enemies. “No problem. We’ll cool you off with some water.”
He raised his hands, and following the movement, a huge wave of water rose out of the basin in front of them, coming up for fifty yards on either side. The wall rose up until it was even with the dragon and rider hovering above the surface, also fifty yards up. And then, like starting a race, Evan dropped his arms, and the water fell too, crashing to the ground and flooding the vehicles threatening to take them down.
How do we take it down? Sophia asked as they raced after the 747.
Magic, Lunis answered.
She shook her head. We can’t use fire or deadly force. We need to ground that sucker, but the only way I can think of is to gently encourage it back down.
Well, the good thing is that I’m a big cuddly bear, Lunis said, spreading out his giant arms as he shot forward, moving so fast it made Sophia’s teeth hurt. Still, she wasn’t deterred by the blast of cold wind that made her eyes water. She didn’t feel like she needed to be strapped in as they zoomed miles over the Earth’s surface. She was anchored to Lunis like she was a part of him—and in all honesty, she was.
They quickly gained on the 747 and took a higher position. Several times it tried to change course, but it was unable to outmaneuver them. Lunis was too fast and his movements were too stealthy.
When he overtook the plane, soaring overhead, the pilots had to know they were out of options.
Even if it was fueled by the strongest magitech known to man or woman, there was nothing that could hold it up when the next maneuver hit it.
Gently, Lunis lowered his front feet and placed them on the wings of the plane, lowering his body weight onto the aircraft. His back legs found the back end of the plane, and his claws hooked into place.
The engines sputtered, failing under the huge new burden. The pilots had no choice but to make an emergency landing. To Sophia’s great relief, it was going to be just inside the borders of the facility, on the flooded ground where another takeoff would be unlikely.
Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Two
The Dragon Elite landed one by one around their leader on the roof of the skyscraper in the center of the base. Around them, devastation ensued. The base was flooding, thanks to Evan. A huge fault line had created a crack that split buildings, overturned planes, and created fires that were spreading. The winds Wilder had used to boomerang attacks had added to the destruction, and now the things they’d done were dominoing, quickly creating more damage as one thing started another.
The 747 was back on the ground, and with it, whatever it was carrying.
Sophia landed next to Hiker, her eyes on him as he stared at something in the distance.
“Good work,” he said softly, knowing all his riders could hear him.
None of them answered as he urged his dragon toward the edge of the building.
Something was approaching, something that wasn’t a jet plane or a helicopter or anything else they’d so far encountered.
For some reason, Sophia believed it was time for her and the guys to stand down. What came next was Hiker’s battle.
As if sensing her thoughts, Hiker turned back and looked at his men and Sophia and drew a breath. “I trust you’ll have my back, but hopefully, you won’t need to. What comes next is Thad.”
They all nodded at their leader, but their attention was stolen by what rose over the side of the skyscraper. It was unlike anything Sophia had ever seen or even conceived.
It was incredible in design. It was alive and also not. It was horribly wrong and also ingenious. And most importantly, it was possibly going to be the end of the Dragon Elite.
Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Three
A dragon with Thad Reinhart on its back rose into view above the skyscraper on top of which they all stood, but this was unlike any dragon Sophia had ever seen.
It was unlike any dragon ever.
Ember, Thad’s dragon, wasn’t dead. That much was clear now.
The dragon Thad Reinhart rode was half-real, her orange body reflecting the fires and lights all around them. But where one of her wings flapped normally, the other made a crunching noise as the machinery worked to keep her aloft. One of her red eyes was real, and the other was a bulb that shone like a headlight. The dragon was an amalgamation of blood and vessels and mechanics.
Ember was the first cyborg dragon. She was magnificent, and also wrong in every way possible.
Dragons were meant to be magic. They were meant for the ethereal.
This dragon was nothing like where she came from.
That was evident in the way all the other dragons on the rooftop tensed.
“Hiker!” Thad yelled from atop his cyborg dragon, his scarred face making his mouth move strangely. “You found me.”
Sophia saw Hiker’s back tense as he tightened his hands on the reins. “Ember didn’t die?” Astonishment overflowed in his tone. Thad had wanted this reveal, and evidenced by the laugh he let out, he’d gotten the reaction he’d been going for.
“Oh, no,” Thad replied. “You thought Adam ended her. I thought so too, but I’m a fighter. You’ve been given everything your whole life, but I’ve fought for it, and I found a way to bring back my girl.” He carefully stroked the dragon’s face, which was mostly metal.
“How?” Hiker growled, running his eyes over the impossible beast hovering before them.
“Magitech, of course,” Thad answered. “But more importantly, I used dragons. Why do you think they are almost extinct?”
“No!” Hiker yelled.
“Oh, yes,” Thad replied, pleased with himself.
“How could you do this?” Hiker asked. “You know better than anyone how important dragons are, no matter what side you align with.”
Thad shook his head. “You’ve always forgotten I have no side.” He threw his hand out at his facility, which was full of chaos, fire, and water everywhere. “I don’t even care that you’ve destroyed something I’ve worked so hard for. I’ll build it again after I finish you and your riders. Should I take you all at once or one at a time? Either way, there’s no getting away this time, Hiker. Ainsley isn’t here to save you.”
Sophia felt Wilder turn and look at her. He knew now. They all did. It would be hard for Hiker to hide the truth now, but that was the least of his worries. He had to survive this, and there was nothing Sophia could do to help.
The stage was set, and Hiker Wallace was the only warrior from the Dragon Elite allowed on it.
Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Four
Bell’s form seemed to grow as the dragon rushed forward to spring off the edge of the building. She flew toward the enemy.
Thad didn’t take it easy on them, immediately firing the guns laced into Ember’s wings.
Hiker ducked as the shots whizzed past them, bullets spraying everywhere, making the dragons on the rooftop scatter. Lunis rolled over, pinning Sophia to the surface. Thankfully he’d returned to his normal size and tented himself over her, deflecting the bullets with his tough hide.
Those b
ullets were meant to take out a human, not a dragon. That worried Sophia, and she pushed up from the ground, urging Lunis off her.
When she could see before her again, her heart leapt. Things weren’t going well for Hiker. He was losing before the battle had even started.
One of Bell’s wings had been hit, and she was favoring it as she tried to stay up. Hiker had his sword out and brandished it as his brother, who was higher in the air and looking down at his him, laughing.
“You never got it, Hiker,” Thad yelled down to him. “Good does not win. It never has.”
“You’re wrong!” Hiker screamed, a guttural ache in his voice.
“I’m not,” Thad said in a low voice all of them could hear.
The leader of the Dragon Elite was one attack away from defeat. That much was obvious to all that were watching. And yet, the riders couldn’t intervene. They simply watched as Hiker struggled to stay upright and Bell hurt. Any attacks they made were going to be hard to place. Bell was trying to make up the lost space, continuing to flap her wings.
“The thing about you, Hiker,” Thad went on, “is that you were always meant to lose. You don’t have what it takes. You never did, and now you’ll lose with everyone watching, as you were meant to from the beginning. Goodbye, brother.”
The cyborg dragon shot a blast at Hiker Wallace none of them could have averted, and it hit him in the chest. It knocked Bell over, making her roll head over feet.
The lucky part for the dragon and rider was they crashed on the roof of the skyscraper, where they tumbled one on top of the other until they were completely still.
Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Five
“Noooooo!” Sophia yelled, sliding off Lunis and trying to race forward. Wilder caught her arm and pulled her back.
“No,” he whispered. “He’s not out just yet. Have hope.”
“But he is,” she wailed, watching as Hiker Wallace, bloody and mostly broken, pushed up from his dragon, who was trying to fold her wing back.
The leader of the Dragon Elite staggered toward the edge of the building. Sophia worried he was so disoriented he’d simply walk over the side. Instead, he halted a few feet from the edge.
“Is this what you wanted?” Hiker held a finger out to his brother.
Thad laughed. “Of course. And now for the finishing blow.”
He turned his cyborg dragon around like she was a piece of machinery. Sophia could have sworn she heard the dragon beeping as it backed up, like a pickup truck. Her imagination was taking over, trying to block out the events she was seeing. None of it seemed real. None of it seemed right. Good guys were supposed to win. The bad were supposed to fall. That’s how it had to go.
“We have to help him!” Sophia yelled, trying to jerk out of Wilder’s grasp.
He held her tight, not letting her go. “No, Soph. He has to do this on his own.”
“If he doesn’t, he will die,” she whispered back. “Don’t let him die.”
“Soph, there’s nothing to do.”
They both looked up as the gun under Ember’s magitech wing glowed, charging up to fire. It was aimed straight at Hiker, and it would end him. He was too disoriented, staggering around and trying to find his footing, to dodge anything. Bell was in no shape to fight either. Her wings were badly injured, and her body burned. Whatever had hit her wasn’t something she would easily recover from.
Sophia felt into her pocket for the frequency disk. She brought her chin up, conviction in her eyes. “There’s always something we can do to save those who matter. Please, Wild. Let me go.”
She knew, and so did Wilder, that if he didn’t let her go, she’d stay pinned. Sophia was the master of strategy, not strength.
He saw something in her that caused him to release her. His hands let up on her shoulders. He seemed torn, but he allowed her to pull away. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“I don’t,” she said to him as she backed away. “I never do, though. It’s all instinct.”
She turned and raced toward the only leader she’d ever known. The only one she’d wanted to follow. She wasn’t letting Hiker go without a fight—even if he hated her for it.
Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Six
Before Thad Reinhart noticed her, Sophia ducked into the shadows of the rooftop, cast by Bell, who had crouched in her agony. She’d do anything to take the pain from the dragon, but there were more pressing matters to attend to.
Sophia rolled and dove until she was crouched just behind Hiker.
“What was that?” Thad asked, his voice barely audible over the hum of the guns about to deliver a five-hundred-year-old man’s untimely death.
“Just a pain in the ass,” Hiker answered, his eyes diving to the side as he glanced over his shoulder, seeing Sophia.
Thad apparently didn’t think much of this reply. He simply grunted as his attention stayed focused on the guns charging.
Sophia didn’t waste any time activating the frequency disk. The red meter started to build. She hoped it wasn’t too late, and Ember’s software hadn’t figured out how to troubleshoot it after the first attempt.
The large man continued to sway in front of her. Sophia was afraid Hiker would tumble over the side of the building before she could help him. She used the last thing she had remaining—her words.
“Sir,” she said in a whisper only he could hear, the roar of the charging gun too loud for Thad.
Hiker tensed and listened.
“You are better than him. You are stronger. And we have your back.”
She glanced down to find the red meter all the way to the top. The device was ready.
“Now it’s time for you to have your front,” she said, looking back and finding Hiker Wallace’s sword lying next to his injured dragon. She grabbed it just as the humming of the gun ceased.
“What?” Thad yelled as his dragon descended, losing elevation.
“Sir!” Sophia yelled, thrusting the sword into the air.
Hiker spun and grabbed it in a fluid motion that nearly stole her heart. He still had his grace, even injured. His speed and strength followed with a flash of perseverance in his eyes. Hiker Wallace wasn’t done yet.
The frequency disk had taken effect. Fear flashed in Ember’s eyes. It quickly spread to Thad Reinhart—panic taking over both dragon and rider.
The lights on the dragon dimmed. The humming dissipated. It’s wings froze.
“What have you done?” Thad yelled, frantically searching his dragon for the cause of the problem.
The cyborg dragon was quickly losing height and beginning to spiral, her wings folding in, bringing her closer to the edge of the building. With Thad on her back, his face full of terror, Ember fell toward the skyscraper.
Her wing folded in, crushing into the roof as she dove face first into the hard surface. Ember teetered halfway on the edge of the building. Her rider was forced to the side, hanging mostly off. Thad’s attention was on Ember. He was scrambling, trying to figure out how to keep her from falling over the side, plummeting to what would be certain death this time.
Hiker didn’t hesitate. This time when his brother fell toward him, he brought his sword around and down, decisively ending the one man who had terrorized him since the beginning.
The scream that cut through the night air was full of pain and regret. Thad’s face contorted with terror as Hiker shoved the sword deeper through his brother’s abdomen, pinning him straight down to the surface of the roof, making his head hit the concrete hard. The man’s hands reached for Hiker, but he was powerless to stop his twin from twisting the sword, making the wound even deadlier.
Hiker then picked up his boot and with a deliberate shove, he kicked at the side of the dragon, sending her out from beside Thad. The metal scraped the rooftop but it didn’t stop the dragon that was dangerously teethering over the side. Nothing Ember could do would stop her from what happened next. And she seemed mostly paralyzed without magitech. Much like her rider, she was powerless. Thad w
as pinned to the roof as Ember was sent with a brute force across the distance.
The dragon’s body slid over the edge and down the side of the building. Thad, seeming more dead than alive, reached longingly for his dragon, but she was gone. And soon he would be too as he stayed stuck to the rooftop by a single blade—blood everywhere.
Hiker Wallace stood on the roof, his breathing heavy and his balance wavering as he looked down at his brother, watching him take his final breath. Hiker didn’t appear victorious as his enemy perished but he was alive, and the greatest battle of his life was over.
Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Seven
The cold of the Gullington air was the most welcome thing Sophia had ever felt. She didn’t remember the hands that pulled her through the portal.
She didn’t remember how they got there. All she knew was that she and Lunis had at the last moment sent all their magical energy to Hiker Wallace to keep him from tumbling over the edge of the building when he was at his weakest, right after the death of his twin brother. He actually tumbled forward, but she had stopped it. Lunis had helped.
Now the bigger question was who had saved her. Brought her back.
She didn’t know.
But somehow, she was staring at the leader of the Dragon Elite on the frozen ground of the Gullington, not wishing to be anywhere but Scotland.
Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Eight
The next morning brought a headache unlike any Sophia had ever experienced. With it came the realization that the world was brand new.
She awoke in her bed in the Gullington, soft and comforting, with so many questions.
Sophia sat bolt upright to find Ainsley smiling at her.
“You did it, S. Beaufont,” the housekeeper said.