dragons breath 01 - stalked by flames

by Susan Illene

  Aidan’s brothers had been working hard in recent years to prove themselves as the most obvious choices. They fought in every battle, took on any task the pendragon asked, and befriended the right people. Sons from other families were doing the same, though two strong contenders had died under mysterious circumstances in the last few years. Aidan had his suspicions about who’d done that, but couldn’t prove anything.

  Zoran and Ruari didn’t see him as a threat yet, but there had been precedent in the past for a younger brother to be chosen over an older one. Usually, it happened if the younger one proved himself more worthy or had other more desirable traits. It was up to Aidan to continue appearing harmless for as long as possible.

  He kneeled down and blew a stream of yellow and orange flames onto the stone. His aim had to be precise or else he’d burn away too much. It required all his concentration to make each side as smooth and even as possible.

  Once he had a perfectly sized stone, he changed to blue and purple flames, engulfing one whole side. The fire needed to reach deep within if he was to harden the inside as well as the outside. After it was dark gray, he flipped it around to work another angle.

  Aidan couldn’t have said how much time had passed when he finished the fifth stone. His inner dragon had been soothed and lay quiet in his head. There was hardly any light streaming through the window anymore, so it must have been at least two hours. He stretched, trying to work the kinks from his back. Just as he dropped his arms, a loud booming noise shook the workshop, rattling tools and other loose objects. This was not a ground tremor, but something else.

  He rushed outside and nearly stumbled into Donar when another boom struck—this one just across the keep. A plume of smoke rose from that direction, along with terrified screams echoing through the air.

  “What is going on?”

  Donar looked at him with a stunned expression. “I have no idea.”

  Shards of rock exploded from the castle. What was left of a spire fell, tumbling into a parapet before continuing its way to the ground. He’d seen the cause this time—a missile. A few days ago he’d witnessed the human military striking some of the pure dragon lairs up north. Even from the sky he hadn’t been able to discern the missiles’ point of origin. He’d tried telling his father about it, but the pendragon hadn’t been concerned. The fortress was more than strong enough to handle an attack in his mind.

  “We must burn the missiles before they strike,” Aidan yelled, attempting to be heard over the rising cacophony.

  Donar nodded. “Let’s go.”

  He and his cousin raced for the gates. Dragon folk and humans alike ran in every direction, slowing them down. No one seemed to know what to do. Then he saw his father up ahead, standing tall amidst the chaos. He didn’t so much as flinch when another missile struck nearby with a concussive effect strong enough to make people cover their ears.

  Humans would guess Throm of clan Taugud to be in his late sixties, though he was really over eleven hundred years old. The pendragon had broad shoulders and only a bit of softness in his stomach. His gray hair was cut short and his face was clean-shaven, revealing coarse skin that had seen too many centuries of sunlight. A shape-shifter didn’t show such signs of aging until near the end of his life.

  “There’s no enemy out there, milord,” a guard informed him. “We searched, but these projectiles are coming from somewhere beyond the horizon.”

  “I don’t want to hear excuses. Find a way to stop them!” the pendragon commanded in a thunderous voice.

  For Zorya’s sake, were Aidan and Donar the only ones who’d traveled farther than the small territory their clan held? It appeared none of them had seen the missiles before or learned how to counteract them yet. But Aidan knew. Whether he liked it or not, he’d have to be the one to do something about it. He didn’t slow to speak to his father and continued toward the gate.

  “Get in the castle,” he yelled to those he passed.

  A few heard him and began running that way. The thick walls of the castle would protect them against the missiles. It was only the slim spikes and spirals on the roofs that weren’t holding up well against the impact of the explosions.

  Just before Aidan reached the gate, he stumbled into several burned and disfigured bodies on the ground, many of them missing limbs. The scent of burned flesh permeated the air around them. Rage rose inside him, along with a roar from his inner dragon. He’d never expected to see such a sight in his ancestral home.

  They had to be humans since dragons could not have been injured in such a way, but they were under his clan’s protection. It was their responsibility to keep them safe. He clenched his fists. The idiots were sending missiles that were killing their own kind.

  One teenage girl with tangled red hair was still alive. She held her scorched arm and rocked back and forth crying. Her leg was burned, too. Aidan hesitated. People were running past her without bothering to help. Unable to leave her for the next missile strike, he scooped her up, taking care only to touch the girl where her clothes protected her skin. He didn’t want to add to her injuries by burning her further.

  Aidan found a human man and handed her off to him. “Take her to the healer.”

  “As you wish.” The man gave him a respectful nod.

  Finally, he and Donar made it through the front gates and into the clearing where they could shift. He let his inner fire engulf him, allowing him to change into a dragon. There was a moment of intense pain while his body expanded and reshaped, but he’d long since grown used to it. As soon as the fire subsided Aidan spread his wings and took off into the air with Donar joining him a moment later.

  Two more missiles came over the trees in the distance. He and his cousin flapped their wings to hold their position. The missiles sailed closer, giving Aidan an idea of their trajectory. He let out a stream of flames into their path. One of the missiles flew straight into it and Donar’s fire caught the other. Both were incinerated right before they could reach the fortress. He felt a small surge of victory that they’d protected their people from this round of the assault.

  Six dragon guards joined them, lining up in a formation on either side. A few minutes later four more missiles soared through the air straight for them. As a team, they blew out a stream of fire that destroyed them all.

  He wanted to feel victorious again, but something bothered Aidan. There was a constant buzzing noise coming from above. Lifting his head he caught sight of a flying object high in the sky. It wasn’t a bird, but neither was it large enough to be one of those crafts humans used for air travel. There was some resemblance to them, though, with its fixed wings that did not flap.

  He left the formation, which had enough dragons to cover the next assault, and flew up to investigate. The closer he got, the more he was certain that it had to be human made. What sort of beast was it and what was its purpose? Aidan had almost reached it when the buzzing beast fled away. Could it have seen him coming? The thing flew too fast for him to keep up, but he tried for a short distance before turning back.

  Looking down on the scene below, he watched for more missiles. Long minutes passed with no more coming toward the fortress. He sailed down and joined the formation, noting his older brothers were there now. They both gave him scornful looks.

  “Where have you been?” Zoran asked telepathically.

  “I was checking on something,” he replied.

  Ruari turned his head toward Aidan and snorted out a puff of steam. “The next time there is an attack you better be here right away, little brother.”

  “Of course.” He dipped his head, ignoring the beast inside who did not care for his submissive attitude. It was just as well Zoran and Ruari didn’t know he had been there before them. Aidan didn’t want to take credit for coming up with their defensive measures, anyway.

  They stayed in the air waiting for the next round of missiles. When nearly an hour passed with no more coming, Zoran ordered three guards to remain on patrol. The rest of them headed b
ack to the fortress to assess their losses.

  Chapter 14

  Bailey

  “I’d kill for some ice cream right about now,” Conrad said, letting out a loud sigh.

  I scanned the grounds outside, looking for any trouble. “A shower would be even better.”

  “Yeah, it would.”

  We were stuck on guard duty at the west library entrance. The sun wouldn’t rise for another hour, but even without it the air was stifling inside with no air conditioning. All we could do was share a canteen of water between us while we waited for our replacements to come at dawn.

  “I’ve been wondering about something ever since that day at the grocery store,” Conrad said, leaning against the wall.

  I gave him a skeptical look. “Just one thing?”

  It had been three days since he’d found out about me maybe being a dragon slayer. Every day he had new questions—most of which I couldn’t answer. It was all new to me, too.

  “I’ve been putting this one off,” he admitted.

  I frowned. “Why?”

  “Well, it’s just that I’ve been thinking. If you’re immune to dragon fire, are you immune to regular fire, too? And if you are, wouldn’t you have noticed that before they showed up?”

  That was a good question. “I’ve never actually touched an open flame, but I can vouch for hot pans burning my fingers and sparks from camp fires hurting like hell.”

  He was quiet for a moment, then he dug into his pocket and pulled a lighter out.

  “Check and see,” he suggested, holding it out to me.

  “Are you crazy? I’m not burning myself.”

  “Come on,” he said, waving the lighter. “It’s not like I’m asking you to burn your skin off—only do a quick wave or two over your hand to see if it hurts.”

  I rolled my eyes. “This reminds me of how my brothers used to dare me to do stupid crap all the time.”

  “Did you always do it?” he asked.

  “Not every time…but sometimes.”

  When you’re the only girl, and you have three brothers, you’re always trying to prove yourself. My medical records would reveal a broken arm, a concussion, and a total of thirty stitches I’d gotten over the course of my childhood. Life on a ranch gave us a lot of choices for getting into trouble.

  “Just try it.”

  “Fine.” I took it from him.

  It wasn’t that he’d convinced me so much as piqued my curiosity. It would bug me to no end and I wouldn’t be able to sleep later if I didn’t at least try it. Shooting him an annoyed look, I flicked the lighter. I stared at the small flame for a moment. This was stupid. It was going to hurt and then I’d regret doing it.

  Slowly, I lifted my hand. It shook a little as I moved it closer to the flame. No matter how this went, I had a feeling I wouldn’t like the outcome. If I did burn, then I’d be disappointed that I wasn’t immune to regular fire. If I didn’t, then something fundamental about me had changed since the dragons showed up—like they’d flipped a light switch.

  I edged my palm closer, feeling the warmth from the flame. Then I moved it all the way over until only half an inch separated my skin from the top of the fire. Nothing happened. It felt hot, but it didn’t hurt. I lowered my hand until the flame touched my skin, holding it there with the same results.

  “That’s badass.” Conrad came closer to watch.

  “If you say so.”

  I let the flame go out. He grabbed my hand and turned it over to look at it. There wasn’t a mark or even a little redness. A headache began to form near my temples. I didn’t want this. I wanted to be a normal person who didn’t have some weird destiny to fight dragons. Was this some cruel cosmic joke?

  Conrad saw my expression and gave me a conciliatory smile. “It’s all good, girl. There're lots of people who would kill to have this ability. You have a fighting chance of surviving this shit.”

  “If I really am a dragon slayer,” I paused and swallowed hard, “then that means I have an obligation to fight dragons. How am I supposed to do that?”

  He took his lighter back, then almost dropped it. I’d left the flame on too long and overheated the metal at the top. Somehow, even the heat from that hadn’t bothered me.

  “I don’t know what to tell you, but we’ll figure it out. I’ve got your back—whatever you decide to do,” he reassured me.

  “Thanks.” I gave him a weak smile. “That means a lot.”

  He made dismissive gesture with his hands. “Don’t thank me. I’m just making nice with the toughest girl on the block.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  If only I had as much confidence in myself as he did. Once a dragon came around all my fears went away, but in the still morning hours when they weren’t around the prospect seemed a lot more daunting.

  “So, um, I guess the military stopped their bombing campaign,” I said, hoping to talk about something else.

  Conrad gave me a knowing look, but he backed off and returned to his spot against the wall. “Yeah. It’s been quiet for hours.”

  For the past few days different parts of the city had been getting hit. Most of the explosions seemed to come from the north, but we’d noticed some strikes southeast of us the previous evening. There’d been sightings of drones flying overhead recently, too—probably scouting out potential targets for the missiles to hit. The last radio report we’d heard confirmed some dragons had been killed in the bombings. No accurate estimates on how many, though.

  “Think they’ll start up again soon?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “Now that just about everywhere in the country has dragons they’ll probably have to move around and help different cities.”

  “True. And this is the longest they’ve gone without bombing since they started. They might have already moved on to somewhere else.” The prospect sort of relieved me. We’d been living in fear of them hitting us and had been staying in the basement as much as possible—other than the guards posted at each end of the library.

  Shouts from down the corridor drew our attention.

  “What the hell?” Conrad said, looking that way.

  Gunshots fired next.

  “Shit, they’re getting attacked at the other entrance.” I pulled my gun from my holster. “Go warn Justin. I’ll stay here and watch the doors.”

  “Got it.”

  Conrad, holding the gun he’d been given for his shift, took off at a sprint. After seeing him disappear inside the stairwell, I turned my attention to searching the dark grounds outside. Nothing moved that I could see, but that didn’t mean no one would come. Justin had made a point of telling us never to leave our posts empty. He’d said that sometimes attackers would strike one side first in order to divert attention that way, then enter from another.

  More shots rang out. It killed me not to go help the two guards stationed at that end. What if one of them was hurt? I didn’t know the man and woman stationed over there very well, but they seemed nice enough around the library.

  Movement outside caught my attention. A group of five men and women holding an assortment of weapons ranging from handguns to bats ran toward my doors, coming from the north. All the fear and uncertainty I’d felt earlier about being a dragon slayer shut off. It was as if ice water had been poured through my veins. These people were trying to move into my territory and I had to stop them.

  They were still about a hundred feet away. I unlocked one of the doors and propped it open. Swinging into full view, I opened fire on them. A man went down first and then a woman fell. Another woman raised her gun and I backed up against the wall out of her line of sight. She sent a couple shots my way, hitting the door I hadn’t opened. Glass shattered and fell to the floor.

  Their footsteps came closer. I crouched down low and took a quick peek around the corner. Three of them were still coming and would reach me in seconds. I pulled back just before a few more shots zinged past me. They were too close. I fled the entryway and raced for the checkout desk, scrambling ov
er the counter.

  They didn’t follow me inside, but I could hear them whispering near the doorway. From the corner of my eye I caught a handful of guys come out of the stairwell. I got their attention, pointed at the library entrance, then held up three fingers.

  Justin nodded. He and Conrad moved behind the information desk while the rest of his group headed to the other end of the library. There weren’t any more shots coming from that direction. I had to hope they’d fended off their attackers.

  A sizzling sound came from outside and then something went sliding across the floor on the other side of the checkout desk. It wasn’t until loud popping sounds went off that I realized they’d lit up a bunch of firecrackers. I ignored them and aimed at the three people rushing through the door, firing a couple of times at them before ducking down.

  More shots rang out—coming from their direction and Justin and Conrad’s position. I heard someone on the other side of the counter grunt and another cry out. At least one of them had to be down.

  I crawled along the floor until I reached a spot where I could pop up out of their range of vision. Taking a deep breath, I stood. Only one was left and he was shooting at Justin and Conrad’s position. They’d had to duck down and couldn’t return fire. I aimed my gun at the guy’s back and pulled the trigger. He went limp and fell to the floor.

  No one else moved. For a moment, I stood there, hearing only the ringing in my ears from so many gunshots being fired. Was it over? Just one of the attackers showed any signs of life. A guy Justin or Conrad must have shot was groaning and clutching a wound on his leg. Justin came from behind the desk, holding his pistol at the ready, and walked toward the man.

  He glared at the guy on the floor. “It’s over. Let the gun go.”

  “Jackass, you killed my girlfriend,” the man on the floor said.

  He raised the pistol, aiming it toward Justin. He didn’t get it halfway up before a shot rang out. His arm fell back to the floor and the weapon fell from his hand. Even in the dim light of pre-dawn, I could see there was a bullet hole in his head.