by Andy Holland
Chapter 31: The calm before the storm
Deep inside the tunnel system that formed the Extermination Group's Central Command base in the Circle of Death, and long before the sun would rise and enable them to transform and begin their nearly impossible task, Mark and Jude were wide awake and in deep discussion about what lay ahead of them. Jude was a taciturn fellow, but on this subject he spoke freely. Neither of them was under any delusions about their chances of success, but both were equally convinced that the task was essential.
"He won't be fast, this Blue," Jude said, referring to Perak. "But he took out one of them already, that counts for a lot. And he is very clever. He's responsible for more of the Blue Dragons' military successes than any other dragon. I didn’t think he’d lead the attack himself; you have to give him credit for that."
"He's completely ruthless," Mark added. "He's famous for executing his own men. I wouldn't trust him at all."
"Unless they're a Golden Dragon I wouldn't trust anyone," Jude replied. "And maybe not even then. But he's competent and fearless. That'll do for now."
"Ah, there's plenty of other dragons who are trustworthy," Mark objected. "You can't really doubt Gerald, can you? What about Daisy, could you have ever seen her betraying us?"
Jude shook his head, looking downcast. "No, of course not, and I'm very sad about what happened to her. But she was exceptional. Think about the others that you know. You’ve never seen them in a situation when they've had to risk themselves for one of us. Are you so sure they would choose us? Don't get me wrong; I enjoy the Prince's company, and your brother's friends are pleasant enough, but they're still Red Dragons."
"Gerald would choose us," Mark insisted. "He's very loyal and is as fearless as that Perak."
"Maybe," Jude replied. "He's brave, I'll give him that. But I'm glad he's not here, as he'd have no chance against these things. Bravery won't be enough today."
"What would be enough today?" Mark asked. "Killing all three, or just surviving to see tomorrow?"
Jude laughed. "Neither of those things will happen! We can't fight those things and survive. No, but if we can take out at least one of them, it would be worth it. The black one, that is. I don't think the others matter."
"Jude! Are your troops ready to go?" It was Gabriel. Unsmiling as ever, he regarded them both sternly as if he had caught them misbehaving. "They should be waiting by the entrance of this tunnel. It will be light soon."
Jude stared at him coolly. "Captain Jude, thank you. I'm the same rank as you. And no, they should not be at the tunnel entrance yet. As I made very clear to all of the scouts, I don't want anyone too near to the entrance till just before sunrise. You take care of your job and let me do mine. Mark, I will see you in the air."
Jude stood up and left, paying no further attention to Gabriel. Gabriel took his seat.
"Difficult fellow, isn't he? Captain Mark, I don't want his negative talk repeated in front of the men. I fully expect us to kill all three dragons today, and although I agree that not all of us will make it, that sort of talk doesn't help anyone. Do you understand?"
Mark privately agreed but was no more keen on Gabriel than Jude. "It doesn't hurt to be realistic, Captain Gabriel, and if we might fail to kill all three, then I agree that we should focus on the black one. It's the most destructive."
"Nonsense," Gabriel replied adamantly. "They're all as dangerous as each other. We will attack whichever one we find first. Get ready to go. Your dragons should leave as soon as the scouts confirm that it is safe to take off. Mark my words, we will triumph today, just you wait and see."
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Even deeper underground in the tunnels under the Circle, Perak was lying awake on his bed, fully dressed, but resting. He had slept very little that night. It wasn't due to nerves or over-excitement, on the contrary, he was in complete control of his emotions. No, his lack of sleep was due to the amount of work that he had to do. The Golds might reign supreme in the air, but they weren't the smartest of dragons. He had spent much of the night with their commanders, going over tactics and scenarios once again, patiently pointing out the obvious flaws in their thinking and correcting their numerous errors. Normally, the idea of training his enemies to fight would have horrified him, but he particularly enjoyed it this time, mainly because hardly any of them would survive the day. They were all committed to the cause and were willing to risk everything for a glorious death, but then so had been that fool Kessick and no one would remember him now. The other reason why it gave him such pleasure was the knowledge that they were preparing to kill one of their own and they didn't even know it. Such fools! The creature's behaviour should have alerted them that something was different about it, and at the very least they should have capitalised on the animosity between it and the black one. But no, their leader was an arrogant fool and was unwilling to distinguish between the three True Dragons. And the Captains who disagreed were too weak to convince him to change his mind.
So, although not completely rested, Perak felt very good about the coming day. He would have felt even better if he had more of his own men to command, rather than being allocated a group of strangers who as far as he knew, could be allied to Kanesh. He had five loyal dragons, including Eric, which was reassuring, but he was sure that at least ten were in custody and Pan, who he knew was a prisoner, was not coming with them. He summoned him to find out why.
"Hello, Perak, how are you? I heard you wanted to see me."
"Yes," Perak replied coolly. "I did. Why is your name not on the list of dragons fighting today? I do hope that this isn't cowardice."
"Perceived competence, I'm afraid," Pan replied. "They don't believe that I'm up to the task. I put my name forward, as you would expect, but they told me that they had enough dragons and they had to choose based on ability. Personally, I don't believe a word they said."
"So why do you think they've really excluded you?" Perak asked. His chubby friend was an excellent fighter, but his appearance and manner didn't inspire confidence, so their reasoning did sound plausible.
"Too close to you," Pan replied. "I think they're concerned that I might use this as an opportunity to help you escape. And if you did escape, they wouldn't want to lose both of us."
Perak shrugged indifferently. He doubted they cared a jot about Pan, what he did or whether he escaped. He was the only one they cared about. "But you're free?" Perak asked. "Could you leave here if you wanted to?"
"Not fully," Pan replied. "I mean, I'm not confined to my cell any more, but they're not going to let me out of the dungeon. Not until all three dragons are dead. Even then... We will have to wait and see. Good luck, General. And enjoy your revenge!"
Just as Pan left, an unfamiliar Blue Dragon appeared in his doorway.
"Perak, I've been sent to give you an update."
Perak regarded the newcomer coolly. This Blue was clearly one of Kanesh's dragons. Even if he hadn't failed to show Perak the proper respect due and had addressed him as General, Perak would have recognised someone from the Army of the Interior without any difficulty. There was a certain arrogant swagger that they all had, a contemptuous manner of looking at you which seemed to say, yes, I know you hate me, and I'm proud of that fact. A military police force, only ever used to fight against their own dragons, how could they expect to receive any respect from true soldiers such as Perak? He would show him none. "Well, give me your update,” Perak snapped.
The newcomer didn’t react, delivering his report without any emotion. "The bronze True Dragon has been spotted many times but is moving too quickly for anyone to organise an attack. The Golds have decided to wait till it tires and to focus on the other two dragons first. They're still looking for them. They're not going to begin the attack until they know where all three are."
"Unacceptable," Perak replied. "If we can't find them it is because they are asleep." He stood up and put on his cloak. "My plan was very clear. If we could only find one, after conducting a thorough search f
or the others we should attack that one. They've had long enough for a thorough search. Tell them to prepare to attack the bronze one. We will single it out while we can."
"You have no authority here, Perak," the man replied in a bored tone. "And I have no interest in your orders. You will wait until the attack is called. Stay here."
He turned around and closed the door behind him as he left. At least he didn't lock it, Perak thought, suspecting that he had been sorely tempted to do so. He sat back down on his bed, prepared for what might be a long wait. That didn't bother him in the slightest. When he was a junior officer, he had led many operations against the Reds where he had had to wait for hours until the right moment presented itself. Doing so once again was easy, especially when armed with the knowledge that today he would have his chance to finally get revenge on that Golden Dragon after having been denied it for so long. Today, John would die!
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Mark was surprised to find that it was to be a few hours before they encountered any True Dragons. Of course, he had already seen the bronze one flying in the distance, but that one hardly counted. Even Gabriel had been forced to agree that launching an attack on it was impossible. The creature moved at breathtaking speeds, faster than Mark had believed possible. If it decided to actively hunt them, then he couldn't see how any of them could survive, and the idea of attacking it seemed ludicrous. However, it was currently ignoring them, so didn't appear to be posing any threat to them, but as both Gabriel and Jude had pointed out, that could change very quickly, so Mark did his best to keep track of where it was. But by mid-morning that was the only True Dragon they had seen. Jude's scouts confirmed that neither of them had left the Circle, but they couldn't say where they would be found either. Of all of the problems that they thought they might face not finding the two huge dragons was not one of them. But that problem didn't last much longer.
Mark, a Golden Dragon called, flying over to join him. We've found the two dragons. Gather your troops.
Mark, despite his promise to Gabriel that he would learn the names of all of the men, had no idea who this dragon was. He was one of the newer volunteers. Excellent, Mark replied. Which one are we going for?
Green one first, the dragon replied. They're both asleep, but the green one is further from the centre of the Circle. Follow me, I'll lead you there myself.
Mark called the seven dragons he was leading, and they followed the unknown Golden Dragon to the north east. It looked like the creature was near the edge of the Circle, which was good as they would be less likely to attract the attention of the other two True Dragons when they attacked. What was even better was the fact that the creature was asleep. Like Jude, Mark had his doubts about their chances, but it looked like luck might actually be on their side.
When they arrived where Captain Miriam’s dragons had found the green True Dragon, there were lots of other Golden Dragons in the air already, circling silently above the creature. Gabriel, Jude and the other captains were flying at the top, and Mark flew up to join them.
Something wrong? Mark asked. You don't look like you're getting ready to attack.
We aren't, Jude replied glumly. The creature is too well shielded by the terrain. We can't make an aerial attack.
Mark looked down at the sleeping dragon. Most of it was hidden inside a cave. What about a ground attack? Would that work?
Unlikely, Gabriel replied. We need the momentum to strike hard enough. No, it's safe from us, for now. Signal your units; we'll move to the next Dragon. He’s in our sector, near the centre of the Circle.
The disappointment in Gabriel’s voice was unmistakable, but he was nothing that could be done. Mark needed to say nothing to his troops, who had heard every word and merely fell in flying behind Gabriel. Moments later every dragon was flying south, heading nearer to the centre of the Circle. It was already a large group, but their numbers slowly grew as others joined them on the way, including the group of Blue Dragons led by the infamous Perak, each dragon carrying a heavy metal lance. Mark almost envied them. They would have known how impossible their task was and that they would almost certainly die, but they had all volunteered for this, and they were proud to play such a prominent role. He wondered if any of them would survive the day.
The flight was a long one, heading into the centre of the Circle, but that suited Mark fine. Hopefully, from here, the green True Dragon wouldn't be able to hear them when they began their attack on the black one. As they flew, Mark overheard the conversation between two of the dragons assigned to him.
Have you seen it already? the first dragon asked.
No, but I've seen the other two, the second dragon replied. How different can it be?
Much bigger, the first replied. So I'm told. More aggressive too. It'll attack without provocation.
We're here to kill it! The second one replied excitedly. How much provocation do you want? But anyway, it might be bigger but it'll be slower as well. Shouldn't be too hard to fight. Just a shame we're letting those Blues have all the glory from killing it.
We won’t, the first replied. Our dragons will attack first if it's still asleep. Why would they wait? If they're successful, it might be dead already.
Mark flew nearer to them. The black True Dragon flies faster than any of us. Do you not understand how many of us it has already killed? Golden Dragons who were more experienced and better fliers than either of you. Do not underestimate any of these things, just do as I tell you. Is that understood?
The two dragons mumbled their acknowledgement and fell silent.
Good. Now stay quiet. You should be focussing on the task ahead. Communicating like this was silent and as far as they knew the True Dragons couldn't communicate telepathically, but Mark didn't want to take any chances, even this far away.
They flew for some time, heading into the centre of the Circle, an area that had been relatively unexplored. Even when the Golden Dragons had held hundreds of Blue Dragons captive in the Circle, they had avoided the centre. The Blues had been accommodated in abandoned Worm Dragon tunnels, safely locked away deep underground where the True Dragons could never reach them. It had been an ideal prison, the Blue Dragons utterly uninterested in trying to escape and the vengeful Red Dragons too terrified of the monsters overhead to try and attack the prisoners. Of course, following the signing of the peace treaty the numbers of prisoners had dropped. Now it was only people such as Perak who were still held there along with those who were still too severely injured to travel. But all throughout the time that the Circle had operated as a prison, despite the fact that the prison was dispersed over many sites throughout the Circle, this area had been carefully avoided, as if understanding that this land belonged to the monsters, and even if they had found suitable tunnels there, it would have been unthinkable to use them. Even to Mark, who was relatively unfamiliar with the Circle, he immediately understood the significance of entering this territory. In no uncertain terms they were declaring war on the creatures.
It was just on the edge of this area, this inner circle, that they encountered the black True Dragon. Unlike the green True Dragon, it felt no need to hide in a cave for protection. Although it blended in perfectly with the black volcanic rock it was lying on, it was making no attempt to hide as it slept out in the open, showing how little it worried about being attacked. Mark could sense the excitement building up until Gabriel uttered that single word they had all been waiting for, his telepathic voice loud and clear in all of their heads.
Attack!
Chapter 32: The Green True Dragon
A loud roar reminded of the urgency of her situation. The green True Dragon was closing in quickly, and there was a fair chance she wouldn't get that far. Crystal flew harder and dropped into a shallow dive towards the lake, not pulling out of the dive until she was just above the waters of the lake. A nearby splash told her that the True Dragon wasn't far behind but also that it hadn't timed its dive as well as her. She looked back just in time to dodge
to the left to avoid the blast of flame that was directed at her. The creature roared angrily when it realised she had escaped and flapped furiously to take off from the water. She had gained a few seconds, but she was going to need them. John had dodged the attacks of the brown True Dragon for some time, leading it to the Blue Dragon army, but Crystal doubted she could do it for more than a minute or two. A loud roar let her know that the creature was gaining on her again. Ahead of her, she caught sight of a tunnel entrance, not the ones that she had intended to reach but it was her only chance of escape. She pulled her wings in and plummeted towards the ground. She would have to leave it to the last second to pull out of the dive or risk being caught. She didn't dare look back to see how close it was. As she approached the ground, she realised that the tunnel entrance was smaller than she had first thought. She was committed now so had no choice but to continue, but she couldn't see how she would get in as a Golden Dragon, her only option being to transform and run in. This would be a real test of her ability to transform quickly. At least she wouldn't have to worry about dressing, having lost all of her clothes. She opened her wings, flapping them hard to slow down and began her transformation as soon as her feet slammed into the ground. The horrifyingly loud scream above her told her that she didn't have a second to lose. She scrambled over the rocks and into the tunnel, cutting her bare feet on the sharp rocks. Once inside, she continued running in the semi-darkness, knowing that the creature could flood the hole with flames if it chose to. A heavy thud seconds after she entered the tunnel told her that the True Dragon had landed and sure enough, flames poured into the tunnel behind her, lighting up the way ahead. The tunnel opened up, and although becoming uncomfortably hot, she escaped with nothing more than a little singed hair. She ran further into the tunnel, wary of being blasted a second time, but it didn't happen. Exhausted from running, her feet bloody from the floor and standing as naked as a newborn baby, Crystal dropped to her knees, gasping for air. It took a while to cool down and catch her breath but rather than feeling terrified she felt exhilarated. She had escaped a True Dragon!