by Jamie Davis
“I’m not arguing with that,” Danny said. “But you still have time to clean up and get something to eat before we have to meet with Victor and the others. Morgan came back through the portal so she’s had hours to prepare.”
Winnie hesitated. Those were excellent arguments.
“I tell you what: I’ll go and see what she’s already done, then I’ll come and tell you. In the meantime, take a bath.”
Danny smiled and Winnie wanted to listen.
She thought about soaking in one of the large communal baths. They had showers with hot and cold running water and the tubs, also heated, were like tiny swimming pools. It would be good to relax, sort the things she’d seen.
Winnie was still nursing a strange brew of satisfaction and revulsion from the raid. While she didn’t wish needless agony on anyone, part of her wanted to see the Red Legs and their army supporters suffer. It was the war between these two sides that triggered her angst. She had to sort it all before they planned their next steps.
“All right,” Winnie conceded. “I’ll try and wash some of the grime off me from the flight. You go and see what help Morgan needs prepping for the arrival of our refugees.”
Danny smiled and pulled her close for a hug.
It felt awkward, though Winnie didn’t know why.
She gently pushed him away.
“I’ll be fine. Come find me after I’m finished. I’ll be in our room. We’ll call a meeting of the command team in an hour. That should give the others a chance to clean up and gather their thoughts as well.”
“Got it,” Danny said.
He leaned in for a kiss but she dodged it.
“I’m gross. Later.”
Winnie picked up the leather riding harness from the ground, and walked into the cave entrance. An attendant took the harness to hang on the racks as she entered. Winnie was exhausted, mentally and physically. They’d all been up for over twenty-four hours, with what felt like a full day left before she could sleep.
But maybe that was good. Who knew what her dreams might bring.
Winnie kept replaying the sights and sounds she’d experienced both through her own senses and her link to the dragons. She tried to banish the images, sounds, and smells that kept coming her way, but they refused to yield.
Maybe the bath would help.
An hour later, freshly dressed, Winnie entered the command center. The techs turned and applauded. They’d watched the attack on the wall of windows.
She gave them an uncomfortable smile then sat, squirming a bit as she took her seat. Her body was clean but her soul still felt soiled.
Winnie scanned the table. Did they feel any of what she was feeling? Victor had his ear to Morgan. Garraldi and Maria were likewise engaged. Even Danny, her mother, and Tris were talking as though nothing was wrong.
In this, Winnie was alone.
She cleared her throat.
The chatting stopped and everyone turned toward her.
She used to look forward to these round table meetings with her friends, but today the last thing she wanted was to relive the attack.
“Garraldi,” Winnie said. “Why don’t you go first. Any casualties?”
“A few injuries. Mostly from stray bullets, guards that got a couple of lucky hits before the dragons showed ‘em whose boss. No dead. I think everyone will recover fully in time.”
“I checked in on them when we got back,” Maria added. “They were evacuated via the portals so they’ve had several hours of treatment and recovery. All seem in good spirits. It might be a good idea for you to stop by the infirmary when you get a chance. I think it’d mean a lot to them.”
“I will.” Winnie tapped a note in her phone then looked up. “Morgan, what about preparations for the new arrivals?”
“I checked just before the meeting. The return flight is going faster than expected, even towing full containers. They should be here in two or three hours. I’ve got everyone resting up because once they land, it’s going to be a long night.”
“And the prisoners are in worse shape than we expected?”
“It appears that Kane wasn’t supplying them with adequate food or water,” Morgan said. “They’re all severely malnourished and dehydrated. Many are sick from advantageous diseases like cholera and dysentery according to the menders who’ve looked over the ones already here.”
Elaine leaned forward. “I’ll gather some of the teachers and other support staff. We can lend a hand.”
“That would help.” Morgan turned back to Winnie. “The long and short of it is these people need time to recover. I suspect it will be worse with every camp we liberate. It’s something we have to prepare for.”
Winnie felt sick. These people had been suffering while she and the rest of the Duster army were taking hot baths in Promise Point.
“How soon until we can rescue the next camp?” she asked.
Silence, until Victor finally spoke.
“We have to absorb the people we already have before we can add more. Some we can funnel to the cities friendly to our cause but the rest will have to stay here. That’s going to tax our resources. It’ll be weeks before we can afford to bring more refugees in.”
“That is unacceptable. In two weeks, Kane could kill hundreds if not thousands more chanters in those camps, just by stopping the food supply.”
“I know that, Winnie,” Victor said. “We don’t have a way to feed them all either, though. They’d end up dying of starvation here instead of in the camp.”
“At least they’d die free.”
Danny interrupted. “Winnie, we have to think about our Dusters, too. If we’re too exhausted or hungry, we won’t be up to taking the fight out against Kane and his forces.”
“Is this the way all of you feel?” Winnie asked the table.
“We can’t save the whole world, Winnie,” her mother said. “I know you want to, but sometimes we have to accept our limitations. Know what we can accomplish.”
Silence fell over the table. She shook her head, her anger growing.
“You can’t shake your head and make reality go away,” Morgan said. “Your mother’s right. We’ll save who we can when the time is right. But that’s all we can do.”
Fury bubbled inside her. It was irrational. Out of control. But it spilled forth anyway.
Winnie stared back at her sister. Morgan recoiled.
“It’s easy for you and the rest of us to say it’s the best we can do,” Winnie said. “But our best is pitifully small compared to what we must do. You can all stay here and think up a way to think bigger. I’m going downstairs to speak with the wounded.”
Winnie turned and stormed out of the command center leaving paralytic shock behind her. At least her back was too them, so they couldn’t see the tears.
She’d never felt so alone, despite being surrounded by thousands.
Heading to the nearest lift tube, Winnie stepped onto a transport disc and rode it down to the mender’s quarters and infirmary. Maybe if she visited with the wounded and sick, it would assuage her guilt.
Wiping the tears from her eyes before anyone could see, Winnie straightened her shoulders and went to look in on the injured.
CHAPTER 16
Danny found Winnie in the infirmary an hour later.
“What took you so long to find me?” She asked. “Did you decide to give up on me, or have you and the others come up with a plan to rescue the other camps?”
“Neither, Win. We decided to ask the rebel cities for more assistance with relocating the refugees while we try to ramp up operations. Garraldi, Maria, and Morgan all think it will shorten the interval between raids by a week, maybe more.”
“That’s not acceptable. We need to go again now, before Kane can react.”
“Are you crazy, Winnie? You’re not even ready to go again. Have you discussed what’s happening with one of the menders?”
“Are you saying I’m crazy, Danny?”
“No. But I am suggesting that s
omething is bothering you, and that I don’t know what that something is. You’re obviously not going to share it with me, so I think you should talk to someone else.”
Winnie pressed her lips together, barely keeping her anger in check. She didn’t want to lash out again like she did during the command meeting.
“Danny, the remaining rescued prisoners are due to arrive any time. And there are plenty of things that are far more important than what’s on my mind right now. Let’s focus on getting these people settled. We can deal with other things later, after we’ve reset our forces for the next assault.”
Danny reached out to Winnie but she pulled away.
“Don’t, Danny … ” Winnie’s voice was almost a whisper. “Not now.”
“Why not?”
“I have to focus on what needs to be done. I can’t afford any distractions.”
Winnie didn’t dare Danny him how much she wanted to melt into him, spill her feelings in tears over what the dragons had done. But if she started now, she’d never regain her composure in time.
Danny stood looking at Winnie. She could see the hurt in his eyes.
He turned and walked away without another word.
Winnie watched him until he was out of sight. The few people milling around them pretended not to have overheard, going about their business of tending to the wounded and sick.
She couldn’t stick around any longer. Winnie also didn’t want to be there when the refugees started arriving. It would bring back too many memories. Winnie left the infirmary and was about to turn left when she saw a cluster of people around the nearest lift tube.
Winnie turned and hurried down the corridor in the opposite direction.
Without thinking, she drew in magic, filling herself with energy and opening a portal.
Then she ran through, letting it slide shut behind her.
———
Winnie sat on the ledge watching dragons soar in the distance. Two were chasing each other around and through the neighboring peaks near Promise Point, dancing in the sky without effort.
How could anything so gorgeous and gentle turn into something so unrelenting and terrible? The thought picked at Winnie’s mind—a buzzing fly nagging a person trying to sleep.
She’d spent the better part of two months before the raid living in and around the creatures. She’d seen the dragons hunt in the crags and valleys around the base, but never equated that prowess with their ferocity in battle.
Winnie had unleashed them on the camp guards without knowing what it meant to do so. Now she relived it again and again in her mind, paying the price for her ignorance.
And now she sat here for nearly a full day, watching and remembering, alone.
It was just after dawn on the second day, while watching the peaks light in the rising sun, when Winnie heard a tiny whirring and a familiar voice behind her
“Good morning, Seelie.”
“Winnie, we’ve all been looking for you,” said the fairy. “I was just about to give up and return to the others when I remembered finding you here before.”
“I needed to work on something. Without interruptions.”
“So,” Seelie said. “Have you worked it out?”
“I’m not sure I can. It’s … complicated.”
Seelie flew up next to Winnie and hovered, looking out at the dragons soaring in the morning light nearby.
“Scary, aren’t they?” Seelie said. “The Lady of the Lake warned us they were coming. She said the world would never be the same after they were called.”
“She knew I’d summon them? How?”
“I think it had to happen,” Seelie said. “The Fell wants to destroy the world. In order to protect it, we might have to destroy some of it, too.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of more than anything else. I don’t want to be known for destroying things. I want people to know that they’re safe from the monsters. Now I’m the one bringing them instead.”
“Kane is the one dealing with the Fell to rule the world, Winnie,” Seelie said. “And he will succeed if you don’t do everything in your power to stop him. The dragons were created by the Fae because they knew they’d someday be needed. You didn’t do that. The Fae did it when they chose you to be the one to wield Excalibur.”
“I don’t know if I can do it, Seelie. I feel the destruction within them. It’s just under the surface, ready to break free if I don’t choose wisely.”
“You’re not alone, Winnie. We’re all ready to stand with you in this fight. Don’t push us away just because you’re afraid. That’s when you need us the most.”
Seelie possessed the soul of Winnie’s unborn child, lost when the Harvester nearly killed her. She was close in ways that the others never could be.
“Will you stay by my side, Seelie? I need you.”
“Of course I will. For eternity.”
Winnie smiled and gave a last glance to the dragons frolicking in the distance. They played like children but fought like demons.
Maybe the same had to be true for her.
“Let’s go back, Seelie. I’m ready to tell my friends what must be done.”
She summoned her magic and wove the flows to open the portal back to the living quarters below. It was time to return.
Seelie perched on Winnie’s shoulder, as she stood and walked through the blue-rimmed doorway back to her friends.
———
Winnie stepped out of the portal and knew that something was wrong.
People were scrambling, running everywhere, yelling for weapons and gear.
She stopped a junior officer who tried to run past her. “What is going on?”
“Haven’t you heard? Director Kane is preparing to attack Philadelphia. We’re preparing to send a force to its defense.”
Winnie let the officer go and turned to Seelie. “The portals can’t transport the numbers we need, and the dragons will never carry them fast enough. Don’t they know that?”
“Maybe it’s the only answer they have.”
“There’s another way,” Winnie said. “Come on.”
Seelie followed Winnie up the stairs to the command level and the room filled with windows. Everyone was clustered in front of the one expanded for a wider view. Winnie could see the central city of Philadelphia in the background. The foreground was filled with rows of artillery pieces aimed at the city across the river.
Winnie said, “You’ll never get enough of our Dusters there to make a difference.”
Everyone turned around at the sound of her voice.
Danny said, “Where have you been?”
Elaine looked near tears. “We thought you’d left us, Winnie.”
“I had to think some things through. But I’m back. And good thing, because what you’re planning won’t work. We have to use the dragons.”
“We considered that,” Victor said. “But they won’t make it in time with our riders.”
“No, we only send the dragons. Without the load they’ll reach the city in a few hours.”
“Will that be enough time?” Garraldi asked.
“It will have to be. It’s the best we can do without needlessly sacrificing our forces.”
“But Winnie,” Danny said. “Without you there to control them, aren’t you afraid that they might not correctly identify friend from foe?”
Winnie felt the weight of his concerns, mirroring her own worries about what might happen. The dragons were a necessarily dangerous weapon. They had to be set free to take the fight to Kane’s forces. It would be in Philadelphia now or somewhere else later.
Gripping Excalibur in its scabbard at her waist, Winnie closed her eyes and willed her mind outward until she connected with the dragons in and around Promise Point.
Picturing the city of Philadelphia in her mind and its position on the map, she sent the location and a single word.
Protect!
CHAPTER 17
“Sir, the artillery units are all in position and ready for op
erations.”
General Couch looked up from the map table in the command tent, and toward the skyscrapers across the Delaware River.
“Thank you, Major Beckett. Have them stand by for orders.”
Couch waited until his first officer left to pass along the order, then looked at the map again. Was this really happening again? He still had nightmares from what occurred in Baltimore a few days before. Dozens of soldiers had to be taken off the line with psychiatric problems related to what they’d seen while guarding the city’s perimeter.
Their orders were to let no one out of the city during the bombardment. But in the process of executing that order, some units had fired on civilians fleeing the freshly spawned monsters. Others stood by watching the creatures pursue and consume those who had escaped the initial artillery barrage.
It had been the lowest point of Couch’s career.
Now, here he was again, preparing to loose the terrible power of Kane’s new weapons on another city. Couch hadn’t thought that Kane could resupply him so quickly. He’d hoped there would be a respite from the campaign of terror.
His personal phone chirped in his pocket.
Couch pulled it out and tapped it to enable the call.
“General!” Kane’s voice was angry, accusing with only one a single word spoken.
“Hello, Director.”
“Why haven’t you started the bombardment? I sent you orders to proceed directly to Philadelphia without delay and initiate operations immediately.”
Couch drew a deep breath before responding.
“We only just now finished with the artillery preparations. My men aren’t automatons. I have to give them a break on occasion unless you want mistakes in this campaign.”
“Lest you forget, General, I have your family here with me at all times. Perhaps I too should relax, take a break from my duties to spend time with them.”
“That won’t be necessary, sir. We’ll begin the barrage within the half hour. We’re waiting for final confirmation that the encircling units are in position to hold the perimeter points.”