Gunz

by William Stacey

  Panic assailed her, and she feared she'd lose control of her bladder and shame herself. "Wait!" she cried out, her voice breaking as she held her hands out before her. "Help me, great dragon, and I shall help you."

  HELP ME? HOW?

  "You seek something here, yes?"

  Silence settled once more as the dragon considered her offer. Rivulets of sweat ran down her spine, and she shivered.

  WHAT IS IT YOU OFFER, ELFLING? Bale-Fire finally asked.

  "The ancient ones, those that tricked us into leaving this world, now serve the manlings. At least one of the demons rides within one of their war chariots. Its magic is strong—too strong for us. Our spells … nothing stops it, and the demon's magic has killed more than a dozen of my best mage-wardens. But you could—"

  The dragon's laughter scoured her, and she gripped the sides of her head, her vision blurring with the pain. OF COURSE I COULD. BUT WHY SHOULD I?

  "Because you seek something of value here, something buried beneath the earth. Yet as powerful as you are, great one, perhaps someone … smaller, someone skilled at finding hidden items, can retrieve what you seek?"

  Only the wind blew in response, sending clouds of ash swirling about.

  "I promise you, great one, there must be another way in, another route to this … thing you seek. Let another dig it out for you. Don't dirty your claws, scrabbling in the ground." A chill ran down her back, but she still lived, which meant he was considering her offer. After what felt like a thousand cycles, he finally answered.

  HERE IS THE BARGAIN, ELFLING PRINCESS. I WILL DESTROY YOUR FOE FOR YOU, AND YOU SHALL FIND WHAT I SEEK AND GIVE IT TO ME—RIGHT AWAY THIS TIME! BUT IF YOU FAIL ME OR TRY TO TRICK ME, THEN NOT ONLY SHALL I DEVOUR YOU, BUT I WILL ALSO RETURN TO FAERUM AND FEAST UPON YOUR FILTHY, LYING BROOD-MOTHER. I WILL BURN YOUR LITTLE FORTS, YOUR CASTLES, AND YOUR CITIES. ONLY BALE-FIRE SHALL REMAIN. DO WE HAVE AN ACCORD, ELFLING?

  "We … we do."

  Then he was gone from her skull.

  Now, despite the chill of this world, sweat coated her skin, dampening the thin fabric of her dress, causing it to stick to her. She inhaled deeply, desperate to be gone from here but knowing there was nowhere on two worlds where she could hide from Bale-Fire if she failed to keep her word.

  But she lived.

  42

  The morning sun revealed the twisting Kiskatinaw River about a kilometer behind Elizabeth and Recce Squadron. Elizabeth's LAV-III was parked just to the left of the highway in a copse of trees. Nearby, the infantry, still buttoned up inside their vehicles, secured the highway. The terrain climbed to a hundred-foot-high ridgeline on her left, dotted with tall spruce and overlooking the bridge in the distance.

  Elizabeth had climbed out of the crew commander's hatch and was now standing atop the turret, looking at the bridge. Across the river was safety—the lead elements of 1 CMBG. She couldn't see anyone, but Huck had assured her they were there, even boasting that her own artillery unit, the 1st Regiment of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, had deployed a battery of guns from Canadian Forces Base Shilo in Manitoba, three provinces away. According to the now-beaming Huck, in a few hours, they'd finally have fire support. Elizabeth didn't ruin her happiness by pointing out that within the hour, all of Recce Squadron would already be back across the river.

  Better late than never.

  The sudden sonic boom of the pair of CF-18 Hornet fighter jets almost caused her to fall off the turret as the aircraft burst over the trees, darted over the river, then banked east to disappear from sight as they circled around again. That had been the third fly pass in the last hour. The air force, it seemed, was also on the job.

  Only a few minutes ago, Major Ryker had reported over the command net that the province had finally evacuated the last of the refugees. Recce Squadron had accomplished its mission. Once they were all across the bridge, the army would detonate the bridge and send it crashing into the river, leaving the dark elf army trapped on the north shore.

  And Elizabeth would sleep for a week.

  And have a hot shower.

  Maybe even drink a beer.

  The radio chirped, startling her. She held her helmet's earpiece to her head just in time to hear the report. "1, this is 1-3 Charlie. Contact report. Wait out."

  Oh shit, she thought. Here we go again. Haven't they had enough?

  We up again? Cassie asked through the mind-link.

  Looks like, Elizabeth replied.

  Crap, said Leela. I thought we were done.

  1-3 Charlie was from 3 Troop on their left flank. Earlier, Major Ryker had combined the surviving cars of 1 and 2 Troops, creating a single troop on their right flank. All night long, most of the enemy attacks had been on their left flank, where the terrain was much more open. But several times during the night, the enemy had made surprise moves on the right flank—once, even sending those strange black horse-things in a full-on cavalry charge. There was a reason why modern armies stopped using cavalry attacks—machine guns. Withering fire had cut apart the cavalry, stopping them long before they could even get close to the armored vehicles. Yet still the enemy pushed forward, accepting staggering losses. And each time, Recce Squadron had held as long as they could then fell back, trading ground for time. Since the three mag-sens had joined the fight, Recce Squadron hadn't lost any more vehicles.

  "1, this is 1-3-Charlie. Our radar is picking up massed infantry in the woods to our north, but they're not moving forward this time, over."

  "1-3 Charlie, this is 1-9," Major Ryker's now familiar voice cut over the net. "Clarify enemy intent, over."

  "1-3 Charlie. Sir, they're just … waiting."

  Waiting for what? Elizabeth flashed a thought to her friends: Cassie, you sensing anything?

  Nothing. There are mages north of us, but they're not moving forward either. Maybe they've had enough and they're just gonna give us stink eye.

  Maybe, Elizabeth mused, but a tendril of doubt sent a shiver down her spine. Why would the dark elves attack all night only to hold back now? "Come on, Major Ryker," she whispered to herself. "Pull us out of here." She dropped back into the crew commander's hatch, and someone grabbed her leg. Looking down, she saw Alex's face.

  "Hey, you okay up there, Elizabeth? Anything we can do to help?"

  "I'm good," she answered, shaking her head. In truth, she was tiring again. Cassie's jolt of magical energy had given her a few hours of peak fighting strength, but it was wearing off. She yanked up the end of the Brace from where it had slipped down, bunching up near her wrist.

  Still nothing, reported Cassie.

  She frowned, sending a message to the other two women. This doesn't feel—

  Her blood ran cold when the giant winged shape—the dragon—appeared over the treetops to their north. "Oh, God, help us," she whispered, frozen in terror.

  What is it? What's wrong? Cassie asked. I'm still not sensing anything.

  She saw the dragon clearly now, in much more detail than she had the night it destroyed the Magic Kingdom. Easily as large as a whale, it burst over the trees, a storm of leaves sweeping up behind. Its horned head, resembling a cross between a snake's and a lizard's, swept forward, the massive open jaws filled with rows of swordlike teeth. Its head was a pebbled orange-red, its angry black eyes the size of manhole covers. Four age-yellowed horns, the two largest at least twenty feet in length, sat atop its head, curving back like a macabre crown. A forest of black spikes ran along its spine from the head to the tail. As it came on, the sun glinted from the golden-crimson scales that ran all along its underbelly and elongated neck. Its massive hind legs sported curved black claws that could have peeled cars apart like oranges. It had no other appendages, only long, flapping bat-like wings, at least a hundred feet from spiky tip to spiky tip. Its long forked tail whipped back and forth behind it, smashing the tops of trees into splinters.

  And it was coming straight for 3 Troop.

  She activated her radio. "3 Troop, this is Gunz. Get the hell out of here!" />
  The command net came alive at the same time as all the young men tried to talk at once, cutting each other out. Major Ryker's voice broke through the net. "Gunz, what is it?"

  "It's the dragon," she answered. "Get them out of there!"

  Something's using mana—a crap-ton of mana! Cassie flashed to her.

  The dragon swept over the terrain to her left, opening its jaws and breathing a torrent of blue fire, setting trees ablaze and washing over one of the 3 Troop Coyote vehicles. Even from hundreds of meters away, Elizabeth felt the heat on her face as the vehicle burned and its turret and boatlike hull melted.

  The dragon swept past, trailing black smoke from its wingtips as it banked north, gaining altitude to come around again. Red tracers flashed past the dragon as the Recce Squadron gunners tried to hit it with their pintle-mounted machine guns. But it moved far too fast to track. They needed anti-aircraft guns.

  Oh my God, thought Cassie. What just happened?

  The dragon happened, Elizabeth flashed back, staring at the flames and smoke of the burning vehicle. Once again, she saw Clara standing defiantly before the dragon, a rocket launcher on her shoulder.

  Elizabeth! Cassie flashed at her. What's wrong? Snap out of it.

  The dragon came back, this time breathing fire on the highway and incinerating two of the infantry vehicles. She screamed and fell back inside the turret as the flames swept past, drawn by the beat of the dragon's wings as it flew overhead. The radio clicked in her ear, followed by a shriek that was cut off a moment later. She heard nearby explosions and realized that the ammunition inside one of the burning infantry vehicles was cooking off from the heat.

  It's all right, Elizabeth, flashed Leela. I'm shielding the fires and heat.

  With trembling fingers, Elizabeth pulled herself back up into the open hatch and peered outside. A huge column of fire jutted from the cupola of a burning armored vehicle. The other LAV-III was half-melted, with the turret gone. Leela was right—the air should have been an inferno, but Leela's invisible dome kept them safe. Now, the single remaining infantry LAV-III pulled away, heading south toward the bridge.

  We all need to run for it, Elizabeth realized, while we still can.

  Can you block a direct attack? she asked Leela.

  Leela hesitated for a moment. I don't think so—only the secondary fires. Whatever magic that thing is using, it's too strong for me.

  Several of the Coyotes tried to track the dragon's flight with their 25mm Bushmaster chain guns, but they couldn't raise the cannons high enough to fire on it. The black smoke and explosions trailed below the dragon as it swept around again. Now, Elizabeth saw glowing red dots of light on the scales of the dragon and realized at least some of the tracer bullets had hit it after all, but the dragon seemed unaffected. If Clara's anti-tank missile didn't hurt it, 7.62mm bullets aren't going to do any better.

  Use the Brace! Cassie practically screamed in her head.

  As the dragon whipped past, opening its jaws as it soared toward the vehicles on the right flank, Elizabeth let loose with a lightning bolt that struck it near its large rear legs. Arcs of lightning jumped from scale to scale, and this time the dragon did react, emitting an earsplitting roar of anguish, but a moment later, it released blue fire on another Coyote, destroying it.

  Elizabeth stared openmouthed as the dragon climbed for altitude, banking for another attack run. The Brace—their only real weapon—had done nothing more than anger it. "We need to run," she whispered.

  "All call signs, all call signs, this is 1-9," Major Ryker's panicked voice came over the command net. "Everyone get over the bridge. Move now. Move now! I'll guard."

  She saw the major's Coyote as it tore toward the ridgeline on her left, its diesel engine screaming. Dirt and stones flew up behind its eight large wheels as the vehicle clawed its way up the sloping bank to the tree-covered summit. The dragon must have seen the vehicle as well, because its serpentine head whipped about, its black eyes glaring at the armored vehicle.

  She activated her radio. "You're drawing its attention."

  "Get out of here, Gunz!" Major Ryker's voice cut through the radio hiss. "That's an order."

  "Hang on, Elizabeth!" Huck screamed through the hatch. "We're rolling."

  Elizabeth, her heart pounding, gripped the handles beneath the hatch and hung on as the vehicle took off. The LAV-III thundered onto the burning highway, its tires screaming as it raced along behind the remaining squadron vehicles, now speeding for the bridge and safety. She turned in the hatch, facing behind as the dragon banked and flew toward Major Ryker's armored vehicle, still fighting its way up the elevated ridgeline. He's not going to make it up, she realized in horror.

  Tracer fire flashed across the river, cracking overhead as the 1 CMBG units finally opened up on the dragon, no doubt trying to provide covering fire for the surviving vehicles. The dragon banked suddenly, winging away unexpectedly from the major's vehicle. Elizabeth understood why in a single heart-stopping moment—it had seen the fleeing vehicles and was going after them instead. It needed to make only a single pass along the highway, and it would burn all of them.

  Do something! Cassie flashed.

  Elizabeth, hanging on with one hand, raised the Brace. The dragon flew directly at them, the last vehicle, its mouth open, arcane blue fire blazing deep in its throat. She drew in more mana than was safe and prepared to cast lightning. If she managed to hit its eye, maybe—

  A burst of 25mm cannon fire struck the dragon's right wing, ripping jagged holes through it.

  "Go, go, go!" screamed Major Ryker through the radio as his Bushmaster cannon continued to spit explosive rounds at the dragon. That's why he went up there, Elizabeth realized, so that his cannon could elevate high enough to fire on the dragon.

  The dragon screamed in pain then rolled over in flight and changed direction in a moment, darting straight at the major's Coyote. It fell out of the sky with a thunderous crash upon the ridgeline, snapping trees and bowling the armored vehicle over with a screech of twisted metal. The dragon, now holding the upside-down vehicle between its wings, breathed magical blue fire directly on it.

  Elizabeth turned away, her heart ripping apart.

  Just ahead, most of the other vehicles were already across the bridge and speeding away into the trees on the other side of the Kiskatinaw River. More tracer fire from dozens of large machine guns flashed across the river, creating a constant barrage of supersonic bullets. Judging by the dozens of red fires burning along the dragon's flank, Elizabeth knew that many of those bullets were hitting.

  But are they getting through its armor?

  The dragon took to the sky again, just as a sonic boom shook the air. A CF-18 Hornet fighter jet appeared over the trees and released a missile at the dragon. The dragon banked, and the missile struck the hillside, exploding in a flash of orange fire and black smoke. The CF-18, moving far too quickly to react, swept past, banking to come around again. Another sonic boom announced the arrival of a second CF-18, this one spitting 20mm cannon fire at the dragon. The dragon, moving impossibly lithely, tumbled away from the cannon fire then arrested its fall, spinning about in midair. The CF-18, unable to duplicate the aerial aerobatics, banked to the opposite direction, exposing itself to the dragon as it moved past.

  "No!" yelled Elizabeth.

  The dragon breathed fire on the aircraft, melting one of its wings. The CF-18 rolled over and fell, exploding in the trees. Elizabeth cast her lightning bolt, and it burned through a wing, but the dragon didn't appear to notice. The other CF-18 was coming back, launching another missile. The dragon swept away around the hilltop, and this missile missed as well. The smoke obscured the dragon. Then she saw it flying north. Was it fleeing? The second CF-18 thundered after it. In seconds, both were gone from sight.

  Elizabeth's LAV reached the bridge, following closely behind the last of the Recce Squadron vehicles, another Coyote. Her heart throbbed painfully in her chest. Twice now, that damned monster had almost killed
her. Twice now, it had slaughtered her friends instead. Why had God abandoned—

  Someone's channeling! Cassie flashed in warning. Mage at seven o'clock.

  To her credit, Leela threw up a shield, but they weren't the target—the Coyote ahead of them was. Fire erupted in front of the Coyote, and the driver swerved to avoid it too quickly and rolled the vehicle, the crushed metal shrieking. The FOO LAV's driver hit the brakes but couldn't stop in time. As they hit the overturned Coyote, Elizabeth flew from the turret.

  I'm dead! she thought as the bridge's surface rushed at her.

  But instead of turning into a wet smear, Elizabeth slid forward, cocooned in one of Leela's shields, skidding inches away from the surface of the bridge.

  Cocooned or not, she flipped repeatedly until finally coming to a jarring stop against the safety railing along the side of the bridge. Pain lanced through her skull. She lay there stunned for some time, until she finally became aware of the smoke in the air and realized she was no longer protected by Leela's shield. Her head still throbbed painfully, and her vision was blurry. Guys, you okay? she flashed.

  No answer.

  She tried to rise but couldn't even get to her knees before she tipped over once more, everything spinning around her. She lay in place, trying to capture her breath and wondering how badly she had been hurt. She might even have slipped out of consciousness because she suddenly came awake again with a start at the sudden close shriek of a wyvern. Now she could see clearly enough to make out the large wyvern that had landed atop the bridge a dozen paces away from her. Its wings beat the black smoke away in curls. Fire! At least one of the armored vehicles was on fire. A lithe figure dropped from the wyvern then sauntered toward Elizabeth before stopping before her. She saw the bright flash of the tip of a sword blade next to black boots—a dark-elf mage!

  Once again, she remembered the other bridge and the other dark-elf mage—the one that had tried to put that disgusting insect on her. Fear clawed through her, galvanizing her into action. She pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, trying and failing to rise. The dark elf kicked her over onto her back and held her in place with her boot atop Elizabeth's chest, staring down at her in amusement.