by C A Ardron
Looking around and finding she was on her bed, she slid her legs off the mattress and onto the floor. With some reluctance she pulled up her leather vest.
Falcon gazed about the room as her fingers found the old scar of the dagger – her dagger, she remembered that now.
Her opponent had been so angry, so full of hate they’d gone out their way to make the killing blow with her own weapon.
Falcon lamented the memory. ‘My angel of death,’ she whispered. ‘I don’t blame you.’
Falcon’s door opened without warning. Dove paused open-mouthed, as she stared down at Falcon’s revealed scar.
With a grimace Falcon pulled her shirt down. ‘You could’ve knocked.’
Dove came and sat by her on the bed. ‘Falcon, I’m afraid we have a situation.’
‘Don’t we always?’
Dove shook her head. ‘I’m so sorry…but I don’t think we’ll be able to manage without you for this one.’
The hair on the back of Falcon’s neck stood up. ‘What’s wrong? You sound…strange.’
‘All warriors have been called to assist Central Sector.’
‘The rogue?’ Falcon guessed.
Dove shook her head, ‘the Bloodrunner.’
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Lion paused in the doorway leading onto the roof of the temple. His eyes roved over the large squared structures bordering the hopper landing pads.
‘Cargo warehouse?’ Tiger demanded. ‘They’ve got half the warehouse district up here!’
‘We’ll have to split up and explore,’ Lion told her. ‘Be quick and silent, we don’t have much time.’
Tiger nodded and peeled off to the right. Lion gave a small frown, eyeing the various buildings on his side. He decided to try some of the smaller ones first.
Finding they were arranged in neat alleys, it didn’t take long to navigate the many small storage rooms.
He didn’t think they would’ve put the girl in the huge cargo bay up ahead so decided to make a thorough search of the aisles first.
Lion noticed there weren’t many people about, there hadn’t been on the lower levels either. He thought it odd but didn’t really know that much about how the Dakkonin operated.
Spotting two unarmed warriors guarding a room down at the end, Lion stopped and backed up around the corner. A guarded storeroom could only mean one thing. He doubted the Dakkonin had anything else up here which would need security.
Lion crossed his arms and leaned against the steel wall. How was he going to do this? There’d always been the possibility the girl was going to be guarded, but without his medallion he couldn’t win a fight against them…or could he?
He frowned, thinking his way through it. Coyote had said the Dakkonin were confident in the safety of their temple because of the security measures. It was certainly true none of the Dakkonin he’d seen on the way up had challenged him or even given him a second glance.
For a moment his mind travelled back to a conversation he’d had with Falcon a few weeks ago. He’d been curious as to why she went to such lengths to practice her Power abilities out of armour.
Her answer had been daunting. She didn’t want to be caught unaware by an attack. Falcon had told him she wouldn’t have made it the last three years otherwise. Jackal had caught her unaware more than once, and her constant practice in martial arts and the Power were all that had stood in the way of her capture.
It had amazed him, the notion of anyone training specifically to fight a medallion warrior when they didn’t own one themselves.
It had only been a month ago Lion had truly realised just how exceptional a warrior Falcon really was. She deserved that silver armour and more, he sometimes thought she couldn’t be far off gold.
Lion wished he’d thought about all this sooner. Falcon was right, training for this type of scenario would’ve been useful.
Lion released a deep breath, he could do this, but he’d need a distraction first. Well, this was a warehouse of sorts. Dakkonin carrying supplies and boxes were probably a common occurrence.
He retraced his steps down the adjoining aisle and sought around till he found a box he liked the look of.
The one he found was quite long, heavy and made of a sturdy wood. Lion shouldered it and took a moment to balance it correctly. The contents made a metallic clinking - pipes perhaps? Considering what he was about to do with the box, Lion hoped the contents weren’t medallions.
He made his way back to the next aisle and stepped out into the open, the long box balanced in such a way his face would be obscured from the two guards until he was ready to strike.
As he began to pass them Lion twisted, swinging the box around and bashing them both in the head.
They let out startled oaths. The nearest staggered into the wall, getting the full force of Lion’s strength.
Lion let the box fall from his grasp and jumped into a Fly-Kick, barrelling the second into the wall as well.
Lion took a single glance at the fallen box. That wood really was tough, it wasn’t even dented.
He grabbed the two warriors by the back of the necks and knocked their heads together. The two reeled, falling unconscious on the hard-concrete floor.
Taking a moment to recover his breath, he studied the two men, a red and a bronze. Lion knew a surprise attack wasn’t a good way to judge skill, but felt he’d done well considering the circumstances.
He searched the guards for the key and finding it, took a quick look about before unlocking the door. Lion winced at the loud screech it made when he pulled on it.
Lion peered into the dark room, the single light bulb was dim, close to dying. It took him a few seconds to locate the girl huddled near some boxes, her hands wrapped protectively about her knees. Seeing her there in a nightgown, a thin woollen blanket draped over her, his blood boiled.
‘You are Jenna Mar’Corri?’ Lion asked the blonde teenager.
Her frightened face stared up at him. Then something shifted in her eyes, some of the fear dissipating. ‘You’re here to rescue me!’ she exclaimed, getting to her feet.
Lion’s back went rigid for an instant. He smiled down at her, remembering the phone conversation - Jenna was empathic. Her gift must be very strong if she could use it so well without a medallion. He couldn’t help wondering if Dove had been like this soft-spoken, trusting girl when she’d been a child.
‘Yes,’ Lion confirmed, ‘but we have to be quick now, there’ll be people looking for us very soon.’
Jenna nodded and picked up her blanket, wrapping it about her. Lion led her out of the small room.
Jenna let out a small squeak and peered down at the fallen guards. ‘Oh, they’re alive,’ she said, her voice flooding with relief.
‘Of course,’ Lion told her. ‘I wouldn’t kill Dakkonin warriors, even if they have been misbehaving a bit.’ He began to drag the men, one by one, into the storeroom. Then he locked the door.
‘Um,’ Jenna began. ‘Will anyone think to look for them?’
‘Don’t worry,’ Lion assured. ‘I’ve left them their medallions. They’ll be able to break the door down easy enough, but it’ll stop anyone coming across them in the meantime.’
Jenna nodded, gazing up at him with wide, curious eyes. ‘Are you a medallion warrior?’
Lion paused, but since she was empathic there wasn’t any point trying to deceive her. ‘I am, but due to circumstances beyond my control I don’t have it at the moment. So we have to be as quiet as possible.’
He led her up the aisle and gasped, the wind whipping wildly about him.
‘Light, no,’ he whispered at the gigantic monstrosity of a ship in the process of landing on the roof of the temple.
Lion swallowed as he took in the crimson battle cruiser, its wings banded with black stripes and bristling with armaments.
His eyes fell upon the golden lettering along its side in a foreign alphabet. Lion remembered it from his studies in Predgariah though.
‘The Imoma’tl
im Hunshenocha,’ he murmured.
‘What?’ Jenna asked.
‘It’s old Draconic,’ he explained. ‘It means justice by fire. It’s the personal battleship of the Red Dragon.’
Jenna gasped, ‘is he here to take me away?’
Lion glanced down at her. ‘Do you know why they brought you here?’
The girl nodded, her eyes turning grave. ‘They want me to hunt Sarpiens. I…I know I could save lives by doing as they asked…but…’
Lion nodded, ‘but you want to be a Unician. That’s perfectly fine, Jenna, and no one should force you down another path.’
He tore his eyes from the ship as Tiger sped towards them. For a moment Jenna tried to hide behind him. Then she grew braver again. Perhaps she’d sensed Tiger’s emotions and realised she wasn’t a threat, Lion was pressed for time though, so didn’t ask.
‘Lion,’ Tiger hissed. ‘What do we do? He’s shown up early.’
Lion glanced down at his watch. She was right, the general shouldn’t have arrived for another hour and a half.
‘Take Jenna and get to Coyote, I’ll join you in a bit.’
Tiger frowned and opened her mouth to argue.
‘Go,’ he barked.
Tiger took a step back and still frowning, nodded. As the ship’s engine died, Tiger grabbed the teenager’s hand and sprinted to the door leading to the staircase.
Lion watched till they were through the steel door, then turned his attention to the cruiser, the broad ramp was beginning to descend. It clunked to the floor and two warriors strode down.
Both silver Avians, Lion noted. He remembered reading somewhere that only experienced and seasoned warriors worked full-time on Dragon’s ship.
Lion’s breath caught at the third warrior to leave the ship. The burnished, mid-class armour was not a new sight to Lion but he gaped a second at the general’s unfurled, bat-like wings. They glowed, seeming to be made completely from fire.
Lion knew he had to stall the general and tried to will himself forwards. He hesitated, the man’s hard-planed face and deep, brown-orange eyes making a nervousness rise.
It was a sensation Lion hadn’t felt since his Choosing in Predgariah. Jaguar had been there that day. He’d been so light-headed he’d almost fainted.
Lion forced himself into a trot, intercepting the Dakkonin general. The man’s hair, held back from his face in a tight ponytail, was a ropy black. The man was several centuries old, Lion knew that. He was surprised there was no sign of grey. His face was lined but there was no weakness in his eyes or gait.
What did he say? Could he lie? Lion didn’t think he could stall him for long. For one moment Lion imagined the scene if he tried to attack the general. Very bad idea, the man was in armour. Even if Red Dragon didn’t knock him out with the first blow he’d probably be expelled and arrested for attacking such a high-ranking member of the Orders of Light.
Lion decided the best he could manage was to distract Dragon from the storeroom, then try to get out of the temple.
‘General,’ he called, trying to summon some urgency into his voice.
The Red Dragon turned towards him, his eyes roving across him, taking in every detail.
‘I’ve been asked to inform you, General,’ he rushed, ‘there’s a search taking place within the temple for an escaped prisoner you had some interest in. Area Commander Gyrfalcon suggests you wait in his office until the prisoner has been apprehended.’
Lion waited, praying the man didn’t have empathy.
‘Gyrfalcon,’ the general drawled with a small frown. The timber of his voice was deep and rich. ‘I think he lets these things happen just so he doesn’t get bored. Come on then,’ he raised one gauntleted hand, waving at the two Avians behind him. ‘Let’s go see what the damage is.’
The general strode on, followed by his warriors. None of them gave a single backwards glance and Lion watched with arched eyebrows as they made for a lift near the large cargo bay, he’d not noticed it till now.
Lion breathed a sigh of relief when the doors slid closed behind them and he was left alone on the platform.
He smiled, remembering the general’s words. They’d been tinged with humour, not what he’d expected from the legendary slayer of sclithe at all.
Lion jogged to the stairs, making a direct line for the ground floor. He’d managed to stall Dragon for a few minutes at most. As soon as he met up with Gyrfalcon, he’d know something was wrong. He hoped Coyote had managed to get in and out of the office all right.
He smiled when he found Coyote and Tiger in the corridor with Jenna at the staircase leading down into the reception.
Coyote handed him his radio and medallion.
‘Good work, Coyote,’ he said, keeping his voice low. ‘Let’s get out of here, Dragon’s on his way to Gyrfalcon’s office.’
Coyote nodded and activated his armour. As Lion activated along with Tiger, Coyote was already trotting down the steps.
‘I thought Predgarians were supposed to keep who they were a secret,’ Jenna noted.
‘We are,’ Tiger said with a grimace, ‘but getting you back was more important.’
The girl beamed at her.
Lion jogged down the stairs when he heard the quiet hum of aura energy and then a surprised yelp of pain.
He made it to the bottom just in time to see the Dakkonin receptionist topple forwards onto his desk.
Lion shook his head and sighed. ‘Gyrfalcon will be after us for this. That’s the fourth person we’ve knocked out.’
‘Fifth,’ Coyote corrected. ‘I made the commander go to sleep as well.’
Tiger groaned. ‘Let’s just leave.’
Lion led the way to the entrance and opened the doors. He let the others pass him as he glanced back inside. They’d actually got out, he could barely believe it.
He stepped out and as the door began to swing shut, heard an alarm begin to ring. Inside his helmet he grinned. ‘Too late,’ he whispered and let the door shut behind him.
Chapter Thirty
Gyrfalcon dragged himself up, clinging to his chair. He grunted, stretching to reach the intruder alarm.
He picked up the phone put paused as the office door opened.
‘You’re looking a little pale, Gyrfalcon,’ Dragon noted.
Gyrfalcon slumped in his chair, releasing his grip on the receiver. He glanced over the two silver Avians with the general - Silver Condor and the young but very talented Silver Sparrowhawk.
‘What happened?’ the general asked as he stepped into the room, his wings blazing and dripping flame.
‘Puma,’ Gyrfalcon rasped. ‘No! Coyote.’
Dragon’s eyebrow arched. ‘You’re not making much sense.’
‘Green Puma, Stradgorl.’
Gyrfalcon gritted his teeth when Dragon regarded him with some bemusement. ‘Puma retired, don’t you remember?’
‘He resigned,’ Gyrfalcon told him. ‘He’s with the Predgarians now.’
Both Dragon’s eyebrows rose this time, ‘that’s a bit of a step down.’ Dragon reached for the medallion at his chest and deactivated.
Gyrfalcon tried to catch his breath, still weak from his confinement. He glanced at Red Dragon’s smart black trousers and simple linen shirt, the chest embroidered with the Dakkonin sigil. He must’ve come from Draconia if he was wearing that.
‘He’s Green Coyote now,’ Gyrfalcon told the tall man as he sat in the free chair facing him. ‘Some Predgarians noticed our interest in Jenna yesterday. They came asking questions. Martial Eagle was with me at the time, I could’ve denied it but…’ Gyrfalcon shrugged.
Dragon nodded. ‘It was bad timing,’ he agreed. ‘What did you do about it?’
‘I had them detained, but I forgot Coyote could use the Power without his medallion.’
Dragon rubbed at his left temple. ‘So, they’ve escaped and have taken the girl.’
‘It wouldn’t surprise me, General. Coyote showed up and bound me with energy rope. He took back th
eir medallions and radios and left. Golden Lion is sharp and has good warriors – Fire Tiger was with him too. I wouldn’t put it past him to have located Jenna by now.’
Gyrfalcon paused, seeing Dragon’s features had frozen.
‘Golden Lion? The captain of West Sector?’
‘You know him, General?’ Gyrfalcon asked.
Dragon gave the slightest shake of the head. ‘What’s he look like?’
‘Tall and muscular. He looks young, early twenties with light blue eyes and shoulder-length blond hair.’
Dragon sighed and looked up at the ceiling as he leaned back in his chair. ‘Jaguar, you aren’t even in Steiron and you’re causing me trouble.’
‘Sir?’ Gyrfalcon asked. ‘Is there something about the captain I’m unaware of?’
Dragon gazed at him a moment. ‘Yes, possibly. He earned his medallion almost a decade ago and was assigned to Joinstohm. He was there less than a year before earning his promotion and being reassigned here.’
Gyrfalcon gaped. ‘He got captaincy less than a year after becoming a warrior?’
‘Yes, which may not be surprising since he was personally tutored in Predgariah by General Jaguar.’
Gyrfalcon nodded. ‘I can see that,’ he admitted. ‘He wears heavy armour and has the same style broadsword as the Predgarian general. His progress is amazing though.’
‘No,’ Dragon disagreed. ‘What’s amazing is I actually fell for his ploy.’
‘Sir?’
‘He met me off the Hunshenocha and told me the girl had escaped. Then told me you’d suggested I wait in your office.’
Gyrfalcon winced. His eyebrows lifted, unable to hide his surprise when Dragon began to laugh.
‘He really is very good,’ the general conceded. ‘I’ll have to congratulate Jaguar next time I see him.’
‘But, Sir, what about the girl?’ Gyrfalcon asked.
Dragon sighed and looked up at the ceiling again. ‘Lion will have taken her out of the temple by now. I’ll head on over to see the Unicians in a bit. I’ll apologise and say there was a Sarpien plot within our walls.’
‘But Lion-’