Dragon Approved Complete Series Boxed Set (Books 1 - 13): A Middang3ard Series

by Ramy Vance

  Couldn’t be that well-hidden if someone found it before us, Alex thought. And if they could hack into the system, why didn’t they just take the weapon?

  Alex put on her best fake smile, which was terrible because she hadn’t quite gotten the hang of lying to someone’s face. “I’ll find you after we finish our briefing. They’re probably going to want to hold onto that shard in the meantime.”

  Vardis nodded his assent as he bowed. “It only makes sense.”

  Alex walked away, joining the rest of Boundless as a soldier approached Vardis and guided him to another part of the base. She jogged to catch up with the soldier leading them and asked, “Would it be possible to do the debrief in the stables? Our dragons have been through a lot, and we should really take care of them first.”

  The soldier agreed to the request and told Alex he would make the arrangements. As he and the other soldier walked off, Alex and the rest of Boundless headed toward the stables.

  Alex looked over her shoulder to make sure they had left. “There was another reason I asked for a change of meeting. I needed a moment to talk to you guys away from anyone else.”

  Jollies clapped her hands and flew to Alex’s shoulder. “Secrets! My favorite.”

  “Not a secret. I’m going to let them know in the briefing. I wanted you to hear it from me first, though. When I was talking with the Dark One, he said he could make me a general. If we handed over the weapon, he said all of us would be able to rule our own realms.”

  Gill stopped walking and eyed Alex. “He offered you a deal?”

  “It was weird. At first, I thought he wanted the weapon, but he eventually said he would consider us destroying the weapon the same as giving it to him. He just wants it gone.”

  Jim pointed toward the stable, still walking. “We should keep moving. Don’t want anyone to start staring. I’m assuming you told him we’d sign up as soon as possible, right?”

  The rest of Boundless burst out laughing. Alex was glad that was how they responded. She’d been worried they’d be suspicious of her.

  Now that Alex felt more comfortable, she went into the details. “The whole thing was weird. He seemed to really want to impress on me that he could have killed us any time he wanted and that I could trust him. He said Vardis couldn’t be trusted. Didn’t say why, though.”

  Brath grunted and leaned his head back as if the whole conversation was getting on his nerves. “Great. Now the guy we’re trying to kill is messing with our heads. This is above our pay grade. Wait, do we even get paid?”

  The members of Boundless looked at each other. “Hey, that’s a good question,” Jim said. “Soldiers get paid. Shouldn’t we?”

  Gill was the only member of Boundless who looked nonplussed. “Of course we get paid. Each of us has our own account. You can access them through your HUD. But I think there are more important things to be talking about now. What did you tell him, Alex?”

  Alex shrugged as they neared the stables. “I told him I wasn’t joining his army, and that I’d keep in touch. Don’t know how yet, though. It’s not like I have him on speed dial. I didn’t give him any more information. Like I said, I wanted you guys to hear it from me before anyone else.”

  Jim put his hand on Alex’s shoulder. “Thanks. I appreciate it. I’m assuming everyone else does as well.”

  There was no disagreement, although Brath still looked annoyed at having to have the conversation to begin with. Alex could see why. Brath hated the Dark One more than anyone else in Boundless, and with good reason.

  They entered the stables and got to work draining their dragons. It was slow, gruesome work. There was a lot more than usual. The gear that had been made for their space travel had been better than a prototype, but there were obviously kinks to be worked out.

  None of the dragons were talkative, Chine in particular. They roared and groaned as their riders detached the armor and augments that had been placed on them.

  About halfway through, soldiers came in with holoscreens to project their conversation with Myrddin. Alex didn’t waste any time explaining the situation to Myrddin, talking as she took care of her dragon, occasionally stopping or wincing from the searing pain in her arms.

  Myrddin promised he’d be at the base in a few hours and thanked them for their efforts in the war. Typical businesslike wizard.

  Once the briefing was over, the soldiers excused themselves and the riders continued their maintenance. Chine’s took the longest since his body was covered in burns from the explosion he and Alex had caused.

  Alex put in a requisition with the Nest for ointments and salves for him and asked them to send a healer if they could spare one. Then she called Abby.

  Abby picked up after a few rings. “Hey, what’s up? Wasn’t expecting to hear back from you for a bit.”

  “Hey,” Alex said awkwardly. “I just… I was wondering if you had any more information about the shard I sent you?”

  Abby took a second to answer. Alex thought she could hear the disappointment in the girl’s voice. “Oh. Well, actually, no. We are still looking into it. Is that all you—”

  “Actually, I wanted to know if you wanted to hang out with the team next time you can get some leave. Figured you’re probably getting tired of hanging out at the old folks’ home.”

  “Yeah! That would be great. I can get a few days off soon. I’ll message you, okay?”

  “Sounds good. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Gotcha. Stay safe.”

  Abby hung up, and Alex sighed. She was glad she’d said why she meant to call. It was hard enough to make friends. Even harder to let someone know you wanted to be friends.

  When Alex looked around the stables, they were empty. Chine was sleeping, as were the rest of the dragons. Maybe it was time for her to get some sleep too.

  Alex was outside the barracks, looking at the stars. She and Jollies were bunking in one that was currently unused. Jollies had already gone to sleep. Alex couldn’t sleep, though. She could only watch the stars.

  During the mission, before everything had turned into an utter crap show, Alex had recorded some footage to send to her dad. She pulled up her HUD and watched the videos. They were breathtaking.

  Alex wondered how there could be so much beauty in the universe, and the only reason she was seeing any of it was because of this damn war. If it weren’t for the Dark One, she’d still be blind.

  That thought made Alex sick to her stomach. She felt like in some perverse way, she owed her sight to the Dark One. It wasn’t like she’d done anything to earn it. She’d just been good at a video game—one that only existed because of the Dark One.

  Something moved in the darkness and Alex was on her feet, scythe drawn. “Who's there?”

  Vardis stepped out of the shadows. “The feeling doesn’t go away, you know,” he whispered.

  Alex’s lip curled without her even thinking about it. “What are you talking about?”

  “Owing him. For making your life anything but unremarkable.”

  Alex felt like kicking herself. She should have known to guard her thoughts. To be fair, though, she wasn’t certain what guarding her thoughts would look like. “I’m assuming you can relate?”

  Vardis didn’t walk much farther out from the shadows. “For some of us, there was no life before our war with the Dark One.”

  Hatred, pure and hot, radiated from Vardis as he spoke. “Some of us were born into violence, into this…constant battle for existence. We would be nothing without the Dark One. What would my life be if I had grown up on a world like this with a family that loved me? If I had been given the luxury of hope?”

  The hate coming off Vardis was hitting Alex like a wave of heat. It was almost enough to suffocate her. She tried to push back against it, but she had nothing to counter Vardis’ feelings. All she could do was make sure she wasn’t overrun by them. “I don’t owe him anything,” Alex said. “I don’t owe anyone anything.”

  “Is that so? Myrddin? Your par
ents? None of them?”

  Alex shook her head as she folded her arms. “I didn’t ask for help. Didn’t ask to be born. They gave what they wanted, and I worked for what I got. Yeah, I got help. That’s not the same as being in someone’s debt.”

  Vardis looked toward the stars as if he’d grown bored with the conversation. “That’s an interesting way to look at things. What did you and the Dark One discuss?”

  “You know, just catching up and—”

  Before Alex could finish speaking, she felt the air around her heat up. Vardis was in front of her, nearly nose to nose. She screamed and stumbled back, feeling more than just hatred coming off the alien. Pure energy was radiating from him as if he were merely a vessel for some intense power.

  Alex scrambled to her feet and stood glaring into Vardis’ dark eyes, which never stopped watching her. “What the hell—”

  Vardis raised his hand, silencing Alex. “Do not lie to me, human.”

  Anger flashed across Alex’s face, and her skin unexpectedly burst into flames, the draconic energy activating in her.

  Vardis stepped back, caught off-guard by Alex resisting his intimidation.

  The flames quickly burned out, but the fire was still in Alex’s eyes. “I don’t report to you,” Alex growled. “I suggest you go back to your room.”

  The negative emotions and energy coming off Vardis vanished, and he ceased looking like a threat. Now it was hard for Alex to see him as anything other than a nuisance. “Apologies if I’ve kept you too long,” he said as he bowed slightly and disappeared into the night.

  Alex stayed outside for a little longer, watching where Vardis had gone. She didn’t trust him, but she had no idea what kind of game he was playing. Even worse, it seemed like the most trustworthy person at this moment was the Dark One. “God, I hope this crap gets easier.”

  Chapter Seven

  The next two days were given to team Boundless to recoup from the mission. Each member of the team found that when they woke up the next day, they were hardly able to get out of bed. Jim was the first to call the medics in due to him being the first to rise.

  By the time Alex woke up, medics were stationed around her bed. Apparently, no one at the base had taken into account how much wear and tear was put on the rider’s bodies by flying and fighting in space.

  Myrddin showed up to speak with Alex privately after she’d been released from her medical check. He was waiting for her in her barracks, sipping a cup of tea while the medics brought her in, sitting in a wheelchair. “Glad to see you’re still walking. No pun intended.”

  The medics helped Alex get into bed and propped her up. Alex couldn’t begin to express how happy she was to see Myrddin. The worries she’d had before about Myrddin holding back information or keeping her on the outside had been dispelled. “Glad you found time in your busy schedule to stop by.”

  Myrddin conjured a cup of tea and offered it to Alex. “Not a problem. The dragonriders are my pet project. I believe you and the DGA are tied for the most time I spend. The Riders are far too valuable a project to allow someone else to oversee.”

  “How many different groups are there?”

  Myrddin scrunched his face as he counted. “Far too many to name. The DGA and the Riders are my primary human projects. The MERC program is another one close to my heart since it holds the most humans throughout any corps, but that runs predominately on its own. It’s a huge group. Has a pretty solid infrastructure. Then there are a handful throughout the nine realms that I run with different racial delegations and the like.”

  “Racial delegations?”

  Myrddin finished his tea and placed the cup on the table next to Alex. “It is not my place to determine how any of the realms deal with the Dark One. That has been a problem in the past. It was one of the reasons the gnomish world fell. My predecessors showed up and informed the gnomes they were going to tell them how to defeat the Dark One. In many ways, it seemed like an invasion of another kind. I’ve learned from their mistakes.”

  Alex blew on her tea to cool it down. “How do you handle that now?”

  “Slowly. With patience and understanding. But war politics isn’t why I’m here. I came to see how you were doing.”

  “You came just to visit me?”

  Myrddin was examining Alex’s wheelchair as if he were looking for things to improve. “No, not to visit only you. Although you are the leader of Boundless, I have a lot riding on all of you. Jim is the youngest human mech rider. Jollies is perhaps our most proficient rider. The drow have only allowed one of their own to participate in the joint war efforts.”

  Alex leaned forward and asked, “What about Brath? What’s your interest in him?”

  Myrddin’s brow furrowed and grew dark as his eyes sharpened. “Brath. Sometimes we hold our failures more closely than our successes. If you don’t mind, I’d rather not talk about him. Lest you worry, he is just as exceptional as the rest of you.”

  Alex thought it better to keep from probing. “You talk to anyone else yet?”

  Myrddin nodded slowly. “First, the dragons. They are all recovering well. Chine will have to spend more time under observation than the rest. We thought the same would be said of you. Of the Riders, Jollies is the one having the hardest time. Her bone density wasn’t properly accounted for. She’s on bed rest in the medbay for the next two days.”

  For all the irritation Myrddin had caused Alex recently, she was glad he had checked on her team. It let her know he cared. At times like this, Alex thought, that was the most important thing. “Itching to get your hands on that weapon?” Alex asked.

  Myrddin looked solemn as if this was a question he’d been contemplating his entire life, and he was preparing to give the proper answer. “We’re waiting until all the riders can be present. You risked your life for this. We should wait until you’re all ready. Until then, at the request of your teammates, we’re providing a…movie day. I believe that was what Jim called it.”

  If Alex could have, she would have leaped out of bed. “Are you serious?”

  Myrddin jumped back a little bit, caught off-guard by Alex’s excitement. “Uh, yes. He thought you might enjoy it a lot.”

  Alex didn’t want to tell Myrddin, but since she’d gotten her eyes, she had been wanting to watch a movie. She’d spent much of her childhood listening to movies her father wanted to watch with her.

  Myrddin stood and got ready to leave. “Also, one of the DGA agents has leave now as well. She should be arriving within the hour. Abby. I hope you all hit it off.”

  If Myrddin hadn’t been in the room, Alex would have jumped for joy. Also, she had to be able to move comfortably. But she wanted to maintain some kind of professionalism, and she couldn’t move much. “Great. Can’t wait to see everyone.”

  Team Boundless was wheeled into Alex’s barracks a few hours later. Everyone was complaining, Brath more than anyone else. A couple of strings had been pulled, and Jollies was brought into the barracks as well. After Boundless got settled, Abby arrived. She stood in the corner of the barracks for a bit after the soldiers left the room, not knowing whether she was going to talk to anyone. When Alex finally noticed her, she waved for Abby to come into the room.

  Abby walked slowly as if uncertain if she should be included in the events, but Alex patted her bed multiple times to let her know she should feel comfortable enough to take a seat. Within minutes, Alex, Jollies, Abby, and Gill were in a heated debate over which movie they should watch.

  Despite Alex’s protests, they ended up watching a new elvish movie that Gill convinced Jim and Brath was worth viewing.

  Needless to say, none of the humans were prepared for their first forays into elvish cinema. To begin with, there was hardly any dialogue. Most of the movie took place in a forest, with long shots meandering through trees. After the first hour, Abby finally convinced everyone to try another movie.

  They eventually settled on an old film about a group of dwarves and halflings and elves making a j
ourney against insurmountable odds. Alex was ecstatic about the choice. It was one of her parents’ favorite films. She wished she was watching it with them, but she was glad her first movie experience was being shared with her teammates.

  From there, they watched movies far into the night. The soldiers arranged for an additional bed to be put in for Abby and for Jollies’ medbay setup to be brought into the room.

  For the first time in a while, Alex forgot she was a soldier. She, Abby, and Jollies stayed up late, talking about whatever dropped into their minds. Alex would have been hard-pressed to remember the conversations, yet they felt more important than anything going on in the world at the moment.

  Alex didn’t know when she fell asleep, but it was the most peaceful repose she’d had in a long time.

  Chapter Eight

  The briefing took place at nine in the morning after the two-day leave. Team Boundless was rested, having enjoyed the brief period of normalcy. They were allowed to be teenagers for a bit, and even Brath seemed like he had benefited from not thinking about war 24/7.

  Unfortunately, things had to return to normal, and Alex could see the disappointment on her team’s face. For two days, they hadn’t talked about the Dark One, read anything about battle tactics, or been drilled on flying exercises. They’d visited their dragons, but the beasts were still resting as well.

  The briefing was a reminder that this was just a break.

  Abby accompanied Boundless to the briefing. She wanted to get information on the weapon that was being used and take it back to the DGA base. They would run tests and do research. If she skipped out on the briefing, she would have to wait for secondhand information. “Don’t make sense to wait around when I’m right here,” she had said.

  There were no disagreements. Abby was part of the Middang3ard efforts, even if she was in another department. Jim mentioned that was something the military had problems with. You almost never saw government agencies working with each other. Maybe that was why Myrddin’s system worked so well.