She immediately pulled her fighter behind another drake when one of the other fighters called out, “Daoji One, this is Wraith Three… I’ve got one on my tail! I can’t shake him!”
“Copy that, Wraith Three…”
She pulled her fighter around and attempted to get on the tail of the beta, “I can’t get a lock… he’s too fast! Hang on, my friend!”
She fired several rounds, hoping something would hit, but nothing did. The dragon dodged her bullets like they were tiny bugs, “No good, Chiyou wing, use your smart missiles, quickly!”
Three Mi-28NM night hunters rose from the dust below, “Copy that, Douji leader. Target in our sights!”
The lead chopper released a single missile towards the beta dragon. The beast saw it and attempted to dive out of the way. The missile quickly compensated and turned to follow it.
The dragon attempted to turn and grab it, but the missile was designed for that exact maneuver. It speared him right in the chest and exploded. The beast didn’t even have a chance to scream.
“Another one down!”
Captain Suen nodded, “Good work, Chiyou leader!”
“This is Wraith Three, thanks everyone!” A relieved voice came over the com. “Back to business!”
Captain Suen turned and looked at the massive horde of dragons still funneling into the battle, “Wraith Three, form on me! We’ll take them together!”
“Roger, Daoji Leader!”
Before he could turn and form up with Captain Suen’s fighter, three wyverns body slammed the fuselage of his plane. The impacts were so hard that they left huge dents in the armor.
Another massive dragon appeared out of nowhere and hit the jet with a fireball. Wraith Three exploded right in front of Captain Suen’s eyes. She immediately pulled out of the way to avoid the blast., “Wǒ cào!”
She circled around the battle field, trying to get a feel for what was going on. The com chatter was almost deafening;
“Watch yourselves, 4 o’clock low!”
“I see him… I see him…”
“I’m hit Chiyou leader, oh my God!”
“This is Wraith Two, I’m going down!”
“Wraith Leader, this is Baker One. We’re starting our attack!”
“Mayday! Mayday!”
“Chiyou Leader to Wraith Leader, lost units two and three!”
“Copy Chiyou Leader!”
Captain Suen shook her head as she locked onto another drake, “There’s too many of them!”
………………….
On the ground, things weren’t going much better. Eric watched as an elder dragon swooped down and grabbed one of the MLRS launchers and ripped it from its base. He ran towards the center of the fight.
A wyvern jumped out of the horde and landed next to him, “Think you can take me on, filthy human?”
Eric smiled as he drew his blades, “Bring it on, motherfucker!”
The wyvern dove towards Eric, intent on killing him in a single blow. Eric had seen this before. Younger dragons were far more foolish and thus easy to kill.
Eric dropped to the ground, landing on his back. The wyvern dropped in on top of him, ready to deliver a death blow. It stopped dead in its tracks when it realized what he had done. As the wyvern came down, Eric raised one of his blades and allowed the weight of the wyvern to drive it into the beast’s chest.
The wyvern went limp as Eric pushed it aside, “Too easy!”
As he got back to his feet, Eric caught sight of Commander Bhatia. He quickly ran through the thick of battle, trying to get to the officer. All around him, the nomads were fighting to the end of their lines. They were good, but there were just too many dragons.
Horrific screams rose from a group nearby. Three wyverns jumped on top of one of the nomadic fighters and began ripping into him with their claws. Eric turned and pulled out his gun, firing several rounds at the nearest dragon. He couldn’t save the man, he knew this. However, it might be possible to get close enough to end his suffering.
The largest wyvern turned away from the nomad and charged at Eric. He aimed the pistol right at the wyvern’s eye, “Come on Eric, remember what you were taught… breathe, relax, and shoot!”
He pulled the trigger as the wyvern jumped into the air. The bullet screamed from the barrel and struck the beast in the eye. It let out a mournful cry as it hit the ground lifelessly.
………………….
Commander Bhatia stood next to his Humvee, firing his pistol at anything that got too close. He had a receiver that was wired into the truck almost pressed against his lips, “Central, this is forward command. We have engaged the enemy, but we are vastly outnumbered! Requesting reinforcements!”
“Negative, Commander. We can’t spare anyone. If things are getting too dicey, you have permission to retreat!”
Commander Bhatia sighed, “Where we gonna retreat to? There is no getting away from these dragons. They’ll cut us to ribbons if we even try it! We’re too far out now!”
“I’m sorry commander. We have no one to send you!”
Commander Bhatia threw the receiver back into the Humvee, “Useless bastards…”
“No help?” Eric asked.
“Not so much.” Commander Bhatia replied. “It looks like we’re on our own.”
“How bad is it?”
Bhatia shook his head, “We’ve lost two fighters, a gunship, two tanks, a missile truck, and I don’t even know how many men! There’s just too many of them!”
Eric nodded, “I know… most of my people that I’ve been able to find have already been cut down!”
Bhatia made eye contact with Eric. Neither had any words of comfort or confidence for the other. It didn’t look like there was any way they were going to survive.
Commander Bhatia extended his hand, “I’m Sai, by the way.”
Eric smiled and took his hand, “Good to meet you, Sai.”
“Good to meet you too.”
The men shook hands as another nomad flew through the air and landed on the back of a wyvern.
“All right, let’s get back into this!” Eric shouted.
Sai nodded and picked up the receiver, “All units, this is Commander Bhatia. We could run, and some of us might survive today only to die tomorrow. If we leave, our people on Mount Whitney would quickly be overwhelmed by dragons. We’re going to keep fighting… down to the last man!”
“Hopefully it won’t come to that!” An unfamiliar voice replied.
Sai looked at the receiver in confusion, “Who is this? Identify yourself!”
Before anyone could respond, the whoosh of three fighters appeared overhead. Eric’s eyes widened, “F-22s! I recognize them!”
They were immediately followed by several pave hawk and chinook helicopters. Each one bore the white star of the American flag on the side.
The lead fighter circled around the battlefield, “Commander Bhatia, this is Lieutenant Commander Ryan Travers, United States Naval Air Corps. Is there a Jagger Bishop or a Raiya with you?”
Sai spoke in an excited tone, “No, they’re already on Mount Whitney. We need to hold the dragons where they are for now.”
“Very well.” Ryan replied. “You all should know that I was against dedicating my men to this… It better be worth it!”
A cheer went up from the remaining coalition forces as their numbers were replenished by American soldiers. Choppers quickly landed, delivered between thirty to fifty men, and then took off again.
Eric waved his dagger in the air, “Come on boys, we’re still in this!”
Eutherys growled, “What do you mean?”
Amzer’ial looked up from her perch, “It would appear that the human factions have united against us. The Eastern Coalition has joined the fight, and it would appear that those foolish zealots from the east coast have also arrived.”
“Our worst fears have been realized…” Eutherys muttered. “Send all available dragons into battle. Only one side can win today. If the united fo
rces manage to prevail, they’ll continue to push against us. We have to stop them here and now.”
“Not going to happen, father!”
Eutherys’s eyes widened when he heard the familiar voice, “You…”
Raiya stepped forward out of the shadows with Jagger close on her heels, “This is the end. You murdered my mother and destroyed my entire world. Now it’s your turn. You’re going to feel every pain… every sense of dread, every feeling of despair and hopelessness that I felt. Then maybe I’ll show you mercy and let you die.”
Eutherys laughed, “Perhaps there is some of me in you after all. Very well spoken… however today is not my day to die. This will be a day long remembered by all. First for seeing the end of those pathetic resistance fighters down there, then by seeing you die.”
Eutherys turned to his brother, “Kill her.”
“I will not.” Auirn replied.
“What?” Eutherys said in surprise.
“Brother, she came here to issue you a challenge. Honor forbids me from killing her… especially given who she is.”
“And who is she to you?” Eutherys demanded.
Auirn looked down at Raiya and then back up at his brother, “She is my niece. She is drakin. If you wish to kill her, then you may step forward and fight. I will not.”
Eutherys loomed over his brother. The dread lord was at least twice the size of any of the dragon lords. He spread his wings and opened his jaw, “Then you will die!”
Before Auirn could respond, Eutherys shot forward. Hitting him in the torso. The two dragon lords crashed to the ground between the perches. Amzer’ial watched in horror as Auirn struggled to get back to his feet.
He pushed Eutherys off and rolled onto his stomach. The black dragon lord shook his head and huffed as he spoke, “Is that the best you’ve got? You’re getting weak in your old age, brother.”
Auirn jumped on his brother’s back and bit down hard into his neck. Eutherys roared as blood slowly dripped from the massive dragon’s neck. Raiya had to block her eyes to prevent getting sprayed.
Eutherys brought his tail around like a whip and cracked Auirn in the face. Auirn released his grip on his brother’s next and wound up for a second pounce, “Brother, this has to end. Even if we take the planet, our race won’t survive. We should go home. With our greater numbers, we could overwhelm the people who wrongfully exiled us. Who knows, they may actually welcome us home after all this time!”
“I will not risk more death on our people. We will take this planet and turn it into the paradise we so deserve. You could have stood with me brother, but now that will never happen.”
Auirn growled, “Brother… these humans have a place called Hell. They believe that the dead of the evil go there. After all the sins I’ve committed, if that is my destiny then I’m ready. Are you?”
“You’ll be there long before I ever am!”
Jagger raised his bolt gun as the two dragons collided together again. Their claws slashed into each other’s flesh. Raiya grabbed the gun and forced him to lower it, “No, you could hit Auirn! If I could have, I would’ve used my fire breath already.”
Auirn struggled away from Eutherys and climbed to his perch, “Brother… This needs to end!”
“Yes… yes it does…”
Auirn lowered his eyes, “I really don’t want to fight you anymore. You are also drakin to me. Can’t you see that your plan is a pipe dream? You can’t challenge nature itself.”
Eutherys appeared to have been taken aback by his brother’s words, “Why not? Is it too much to ask that our people have a home where they can thrive?”
“And how many have to die on your mad quest to find such a place? I’m tired of all the killing. We’ve lost friends, allies, and we’ve committed genocide in the process. After everything is said and done in this war, how many dragons have to die before you realize that you’ve made a mistake?”
Auirn cautiously lowered himself from his perch and extended his claw to his brother, “Let us end this together. We can work with the humans to find ourselves a more suitable world.”
“You really think it’s possible?”
“I do, brother.”
Eutherys let out a deep, defeated sigh and placed his claw in his brother’s, “Auirn…”
He slowly closed his claw around his brother. It looked like the fight was over. The two stood together looking at one another for a moment.
Before anyone could react, Eutherys quickly jerked on his arm, pulling his brother in close. As Auirn moved forward, Eutherys jabbed his other claw through his brother’s chest.
“No!” Raiya cried out.
Jagger tried to grab her shoulder, but couldn’t get a grip as she charged forward, “Raiya don’t!”
She clicked her jaw together and unleashed the most powerful flame that Jagger had ever seen from her. A deafening scream filled the air as a burst of flame struck her father, knocking him to the side.
Auirn fell limply to the ground, not moving. Raiya stepped between him and Eutherys. Her teeth were clenched as she looked at her father, “Your own brother…”
“Now you.”
Raiya once again released a stream of fire. Her father countered with his own flame. The blasts connected and pushed off one another. Raiya pushed her head forward and locked her neck in place to keep her flames stable as she relentlessly attacked the dragon she hated more than any other on the planet.
Both were having a hard time maintaining their flames. While Eutherys’s stream was larger, it was not enough to bypass Raiya’s. The flames beat against each other for what seemed like an eternity.
The pain in Raiya’s jaw was becoming too much. She had to stop and she knew it. Her only hope was to time it exactly right. She needed to push hard with her legs and dodge out of the way.
Seconds passed. The pain in her jaw became intolerable. It was now or never. She quickly relaxed the muscles under her tongue and jumped out of the way.
Raiya propelled herself as far as she could. She landed on her knees off to the side, just in time for Eutherys to bring his head around. His jaws were wide open, revealing teeth that were as long as her arm. This was it. She couldn’t get out of the way of his jaw fast enough and she knew it.
All Raiya could see was the tongue and throat of her father as he bore down on her. Maybe she could hit him one last time with her fire breath? Would it even be strong enough to make him back off?
Three glowing bolts hit the side of Eutherys’s jaw, turning his attention away from Raiya, “Fool… I’ll kill you for that!”
Jagger aimed the bolt gun and fired three more rounds at the dragon that slowly made its way towards him. Eutherys shrugged them off as he charged at Jagger. He wound his neck back, ready to incinerate the human boy in flames when his daughter appeared between them, “No!”
Eutherys stopped in his tracks, “You protect him, now?”
Raiya looked back at Jagger for a moment. The angry expression on her face didn’t change, “We protect each other.”
“Then you can die together!”
Instead of using his flames, Eutherys quickly spun around. His barbed tail moved like a massive whip. Eutherys’s speed was unlike anything they’d ever seen. His tail was little more than a blur as it came towards them.
Raiya had no way to move and no way to protect Jagger. The tail was too fast. She let out an agonized grunt as the end of it slammed into her stomach. Her whole abdomen hurt, but she was forced to ignore it. She was sent flying through the air towards one of the perches.
Raiya focused, she’d only get one chance. If she missed the perch, it would be a long drop down the mountain. She ignored the pounding pain and slowly extended her arms. Her claws scrapped the perch as she latched on.
Jagger wasn’t so lucky. He too had been hit, but he wasn’t sent as high. His body slammed limply into the wall just below the nearest perch. His eyes were closed and there was no sign of consciousness. He didn’t even try to grab onto anything as he
fell to the ground.
Raiya held on tightly to the rocks. Her claws were scrapped and bloody. Her stomach was in intense pain. She pressed herself against the rock for a moment as the pain that was pulsing like a shockwave slowly dissipated.
Eutherys wasn’t going to wait forever, but hiding behind the perch had afforded her some healing time. I’ve gotta get to Jagger…
Still in pain, Raiya jumped down from the perch and ran to Jagger’s side. Eutherys snapped at her, giving her another opening. She quickly dodged out of the way and ignited her fire breath. It was a single blast this time. She had only meant it as a retaliatory shot. She hadn’t even taken aim when she unleashed it.
The blast left her lips and struck the receding head of the dragon directly in his left eye. Eutherys roared as he fell backwards and immediately tried to rub the wound.
It was all the distraction Raiya needed. She ducked down and dropped to her knees next to her fallen partner, “Jagger!”
No response.
“Jagger… no, no, don’t do this to me.”
His nose was bleeding, his entire face looked like it was about to break out in bruises, and it didn’t look like he was breathing, “Jagger… come on! We’re partners here, you can’t just give up now! You… you can’t!”
Nothing she said was making even the slightest difference, “Jagger… I’m sorry…”
To her surprise, a hot tear fell from her eye. She clenched her jaw and stood up. Eutherys stopped rubbing his damaged eye and returned her attention to Raiya, “You’ve blinded me… you…”
Raiya drew her dagger as she stepped closer to her father, “Ben…”
“I’ll kill you for this!”
“Linda… The people of New Framingham…”
“You say those names like they should mean something!” Eutherys hissed.
“Miranda… Mother…”
She clenched her jaw, “And now Jagger… no more!”
“Oh, there will be more, don’t you worry about that. Once I’m done here, I’ll go finish that pathetic resistance myself!”
“The only way you’re done here is when you’re dead!” Raiya shouted as she raced towards her father.
Drakin: The Story of Raiya Page 31