“I know, me too. We have to try to help the president even if we risk our own lives.”
In spite of the promises the president gave, the humans were ill-equipped to fight dragons. The gun that was used to hurt Sid concerned him because if the humans could find a way to effectively target the dragons, they might kill them. Now though, all a dragon had to do was let out a flame, and the person aiming the gun was a goner. Sid had never fought a human before, but he knew he’d win. Dragons could kill thousands of people with a single flame.
They arrived at the White House, and two armed guards gripped Sid by his biceps.
“Let go of me,” Sid said.
“We are under orders to escort you inside. Be grateful you’re not in handcuffs.”
Sid swiveled his head around and saw both Aspen and Jonathan in similar positions. Aspen fought against her guards.
“Ma’am. Calm down.”
She stilled and gave the guard a death glare. “I’m the queen of the dragons. I will not be treated like this. Let me go.”
The guard chuckled darkly. “With all due respect, ma’am, the dragons are enemies of the state. You should be sitting in a cell, not meeting with the president. If I even think you mean her harm, I’ll put a bullet in your head.”
Aspen started to argue, but Sid interrupted. “Aspen, leave it. We’ll talk to the president and make her understand.”
Aspen tugged away from her captors again, but then scowled and calmed down.
The guards marched them into the White House where they met with the general who’d been gung ho on killing all the dragons last time. That was when there was only one dragon killing people.
“The location has been moved. These traitors are not welcome here,” the general said.
“We just want to talk to the president. Offer her our help,” Sid said. This was heading south fast. If they didn’t even get a chance to talk to the president, then all would be lost.
The general got into Sid’s face. “Help? You’re slaughtering our people. You won’t rest until we are all dead.”
Sid snarled back at the man. “No. Only one dragon is ordering the others to slaughter your people. She’s killing my people too. We want to help fight.”
The man gave a sardonic laugh. “I doubt it. Cuff them. Take them downstairs. Make sure to chain them to the table. We don’t want to risk them hurting the president. Why she agreed to meet with you is beyond me.”
Several more guards approached them with cuffs and chains in their hands. Aspen struggled against the guards trying to cuff her.
“Aspen, we need to let them. Otherwise we won’t have the opportunity to talk to her. Everything will be okay.”
She scowled at him but didn’t fight her guards anymore when they cuffed and shackled her.
They marched down a long hallway to an elevator. A guard pushed a button that said negative four. But it felt like the elevator went down a lot farther than that. Sid wasn’t sure where they were going.
The elevator door opened to a long hallway with stark gray walls. They walked past six or seven metal doors, and then Sid’s guard opened a door. In the room sat a long table with nice leather chairs and a few TV screens mounted on the far wall. It didn’t look that much different than the room they met in a few weeks ago. The only difference was that they were now handcuffed to the table.
After they were seated and the guards retreated to the back of the room, Aspen leaned over. “We’re going to be lucky to make it out of here alive.”
“But if we do, hopefully we’ll have her and the humans on our side.”
Aspen frowned. “Okay, but listen, if things look bad, would those cuffs stop you and Jonathan?”
Sid gave her a small grin. “Nope. We’re not dying here today, but I hope it doesn’t come to that.”
Aspen nodded. While they waited, Sid thought through all of his arguments. The key to this was making the president understand they were there to help. That they wanted the arctic and canyon dragons dead as much as she did. Which was the absolute truth. But she was fairly unreasonable the last time they came to visit, and the cuffing was complete overkill. They’d be fighting an uphill battle.
Sid swiveled his head around. “How much longer will we have to wait?”
One of the guards glared at him. “The president will be here when she is ready.”
Sid sighed. He didn’t have time for this. Every minute they wasted was another minute that they could be closer to death. The war was raging, and the president had them chained to a table in the basement of the White House. This was ridiculous.
A door opened, and a few high ranking military officials marched in. They all took places at the table as far from Sid and the others as possible. Except one young man who plopped himself next to Aspen. He wasn’t dressed like the others. In fact, he had on a plain gray t-shirt, blue jeans, and Converse.
“Are you really a dragon?” he asked her.
She shook her head. “But I’m the queen of the dragons.”
He furrowed his brow. “How?”
Sid leaned forward. “Because it’s imperative that we take a human form. A human queen is the only way possible for us to do that.”
“Are you a dragon?”
“I am. The king.”
The man jerked back. “You’re the dragon king?”
“I am.”
He jumped out of his seat and offered his hand to Sid. “I’m Freddie. It’s an honor to meet you.”
Sid nodded. It was rare for someone to think meeting him was an honor. He wasn’t sure what to make of this man. “I’d shake your hand, but as you can see, I’m tied up.”
Freddie dropped his hand. “Oh, right. Well, I’m still glad to meet you.”
Aspen swiveled around in her chair. “Why are you so excited to meet him?”
Freddie sat. “I’ve always loved dragons. But I’ve never met any before.”
Sid chuckled. “Aspen, you’ve met your match.”
Freddie’s eyes lit up. “Are you Aspen Winters?”
“Yeah, why?” Aspen asked.
“I have all of your pictures. I’m not good with a camera, but I like to watch dragons. I live near Yosemite, so the ones I see the most often are the purple ones. I had no idea you were married to a dragon. That is awesome.”
Sid almost laughed at the look on Aspen’s face. She didn’t quite know what to make of him.
“So how does the leadership work? Why are dragon queens human? How many dragons have you met?”
Aspen drummed her fingers on the table. She gave Sid a small smile. “Sid will have to tell you about the leadership. But as queen I am their connection to the human world. If Sid didn’t take a human queen, they wouldn’t be able to take human forms. I’ve met a lot of dragons. Why are you here?”
“I developed a system to track dragons that doesn’t rely on radar. Originally I used it just so I could know where to go to spot dragons, but when the dragons started killing people, I told the government what I did, and suddenly I’m in D.C. meeting with the president. Pretty awesome, huh?”
Sid didn’t think it was possible to track dragons. That was always one of their best defenses against humans. “When did you develop this?”
“A couple of years ago. I noticed something strange a few weeks ago when all the purple and green dragons dropped off my screen. Then I saw the group near Vegas, and after they killed the people, I came here.”
Aspen leaned toward him. “That is amazing. I could’ve used that before I met Sid.”
Freddie blushed. “Thanks. So what’s up now? Why are you guys killing all the humans?”
Sid scowled. “We’re not. That would be the canyon and arctic dragons. We could use your software too.”
“I’m afraid, Mr. King, that you will do no such thing. That software belongs to the U.S. governme
nt now.”
Sid spun around and found the president glaring at him.
Sid stood as much as possible and gave the president a small bow. “Madam President, how are you?”
She hurried to her spot at the head of the table. “Oh, I have definitely been better.” She sat and placed her folded hands on the table and studied Sid. “The last time we met, you assured me that you would take care of the rogue killer dragon. I was skeptical, but in the end you pulled it off. Now here we are, only a few weeks later, and hundreds of thousands of humans have died at the hand of dragons. We should’ve killed you when we had the chance.”
“So why am I still alive?”
“Because we need information from you. Why are the dragons attacking?”
“Because they are following a dragon from the north. A witch. She would like to see the end of the humans and any dragon who refuses to follow. The only races following her are the canyon and the arctic.”
“Why does this dragon want to kill everyone?”
“Because she wants power and control. She started this whole thing by killing an entire group of our dragons. Only two woodland dragons remain. Their tribe once numbered in the thousands.”
“General, make a note of that. We no longer have to worry about the woodland dragons. That’s one less group we have to take out.”
Sid jerked against his chains, rage building in his chest. “Excuse me? You don’t have to take out any dragons except those who are killing the humans. Let us help you.”
“No, absolutely not. People are panicking. We will handle this ourselves. Prepare yourself for a world without dragons.” She shuffled the papers in front of her and wouldn’t look at Sid. Her jaw was tight, and her movements jerky.
“Look, we can deal with this on our own if you’d like, but we won’t defeat her if we have to worry about fighting a battle with humans. Most of the dragons are not against you. We want to help. If you don’t let us help you, the white witch will win, and the entire world will be worse off.”
“How could we be worse off? Thousands of people have died. Refugee camps have been set up all over the country. No. The dragons must die, including you.” She leaned forward, her brown eyes piercing his. “As we speak, the weapons that were used against the rogue dragon are being mass produced. Every soldier will have them. The dragons don’t stand a chance. We will end this. Mark my words.” Her voice was low and calm.
The president was being completely unreasonable. Sid didn’t know how to handle her. When they’d met with her before, she’d at least given them a chance to fix the dragon problem on their own. Now she wanted to kill them all.
Aspen pulled at her chains, and everyone looked at her. “Madam President, with all due respect, you have no idea what you’re up against.”
“How would you know that, girl?”
Aspen sat up tall. “I’m no longer just a girl. I’m Queen of the dragons, and I expect you to address me as Your Majesty.”
The president let out a laugh. “I will do no such thing. I don’t recognize traitors.”
“You’re making a mistake. I don’t think you have any idea what you are up against. Your military doesn’t stand a chance against an army of dragons.”
“Explain to me, girl, how a few thousand dragons can withstand the might of the U.S. Air Force.”
Sid watched their interaction with trepidation. He wasn’t sure why Aspen was behaving the way she was. It wasn’t normal for her to be so arrogant. But she didn’t back down.
Aspen narrowed her eyes at the president. “Have you ever seen a dragon let out a volley of flame?”
“No, I have not. But I expect it’s quite frightening.”
“Yeah, it will incinerate a plane in a few seconds. Your air force will be reduced to ashes.”
The president rolled her eyes. This was crazy. Aspen was having a catfight with the president. Maybe he shouldn’t have brought her with.
“They’d have to get close enough to the planes. We have excellent missile guidance systems.”
“That every dragon can outrun. For you to kill a dragon, you’ll have to get close, and if you get close, your planes are goners.” Aspen was so calm, like she bantered like this with world leaders everyday.
The president rubbed her chin. Her demeanor had changed just a little. Her hands shook as she picked up her pen. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you need the good dragons to help defeat the bad.”
“How exactly?”
Sid interjected before Aspen had a chance. “Dragons don’t fight each other with fire. Their scales are immune. But use those guns you used to nearly kill me a few weeks ago. Put them in the hands of your soldiers and put them on the back of the royal, sea, and fire dragons. Let’s win this fight together.”
“No, I’m sorry, this will never work.”
Sid leaned as far over the table he could, and he stared right into the president’s eyes.
“I don’t think you understand the losses I’ve sustained. My own father was killed a few weeks ago. Dozens of my closest friends have died. Please try to understand the hole in my heart. An entire race of dragons has disappeared. They will never grace the skies with their shimmering purple bodies and green wings again.” Sid’s voice caught in the back of his throat, and he fought the tears that threatened to fall. He’d not allowed himself to think off all the loss, but he had to make her see.
“I didn’t see it coming, and I wish I could go back and notice the signs because maybe then, some of my friends would still be alive. I can only move forward, and now we have the chance to stop these horrible dragons, but only if we work together.
“If we don’t put aside our differences and join forces in this war, more innocent people and dragons are going to die. People like Aspen and her family. People I love. I’m willing to fight to death for them. Let us help you.”
The president leaned back and was silent for a few seconds. Sid couldn’t believe she was actually considering letting them help.
“Tell me what dragons are the ones who are wreaking havoc on our country.”
“The canyon and the arctic. The others want peace,” Sid said.
“Let’s say we were to consider this, how would it work?”
Sid let himself feel just a glimmer of hope. Maybe they’d work this out after all. “You would tell us how many dragons you needed and where, and we’d send them to you. Your men will need to learn how to fight on the back of a dragon, but that shouldn’t take more than a few hours if they are already trained soldiers.”
“How would the soldiers communicate with the dragons?”
“We can communicate telepathically, but we can also send river dragons to help facilitate communication.” Sid sat up tall in his chair. He needed her to get on board. “Madam President, if we can work together on this, we will make an unbeatable team, and we can win this war before any more lives are lost.”
“Mr. King, I want to like this idea. If what you say is true, then this may be our only option. But how can we trust you?
“I have to think of my citizens. Right now they fear all dragons. They may not be satisfied with only killing the white and orange ones. I need to discuss this all with my joint chiefs. We’re meeting in the Pentagon in a couple of hours. I will let you go for now, but I’d like you to return at four, and we’ll discuss this further.”
Sid couldn’t believe it. They were getting out of there. He thought for sure she’d try to kill them. He wouldn’t die, but he’d never be able to set foot in the White House again.
The president swept from the room, and their guards undid their chains from the table. Freddie stood at the same time as Aspen, and he must’ve caught his foot on something because he fell into her. One of Aspen’s guards grabbed Freddie and pulled him back.
“Watch it, son.”
Fre
ddie straightened his shirt and glared at the guard. “Sure thing.”
The guards led them to the elevator, and Freddie jumped in with them. No one said much as the elevator ascended. Aspen looked angry as she had her handcuffs and shackles removed. She clenched her fists and scowled at her guard. As soon as he undid her feet, she kicked out, knocking him over. She leapt out of the way as he lunged after her, but another guard held him back.
Aspen grabbed Sid’s hand.
“Let’s get out of here,” she said.
Once in the car, Sid spun on her. “What the hell was that? You could’ve gotten hurt.”
“Relax, I needed to distract him.”
“From what?”
“From what’s in my hand. I didn’t want to alert him to what I had. As long as he focused on my feet, he wouldn’t notice.” She opened her fist. Inside was a small folded piece of paper and a flash drive.
“Where’d you get that?”
“Freddie. He’s not as clumsy as he looks.”
She unfolded the paper. Sid read it over her shoulder. Here’s a copy of the program. If you need more help, text me. A number was scrawled next to it.
“I think we need to take Freddie home with us,” Aspen said.
“Hopefully that won’t be necessary. Now explain to me your attitude with the president. Why were you so insistent on her calling you Your Majesty?”
Aspen snorted. “I hope you know me better than that. I actually did that for your benefit, not mine. I don’t really care what she calls me. But you have to understand, she doesn’t see you as a king. She needs to know that we are just like any other world leaders, not just a couple of teenagers making trouble. I did that so she would start to view you as a real king with a real kingdom. I was hoping it would humanize you a little.”
Sid was a little taken aback. That was not what he thought she was doing at all. “You weren’t exactly very nice about it.”
“Look, women like her don’t respect timid little women. Trust me, it was better that way. Also, I don’t think we should go back this afternoon. She’ll call you if she wants your help.”
The Kings: The Dragon Kings Book 5 Page 8