“That’s how it starts,” Finesia said. “Such beautiful thoughts of glory and conquest. We shall make fine partners.”
But I ignored her and turned Velos back towards the marching company. It was time to get this show on the road. And it was to be a grand spectacle indeed.
26
By the time we returned to the company, the sun had begun to set low in the sky and would soon sink below the horizon. The latent warmth that it had brought to the land was dissipating with it, and soon the cold would set in once again. Then, the melted slush on the ground would freeze and become slippery, making marching difficult. We could have sent the marines in on dragons. But we planned to use the dragons as a distraction, drawing the automaton’s fire into the air as the ground-based marines sneaked passed them with their explosives.
I didn’t even bother to land. Instead, I sang out to the dragons to coordinate them. And I continued to work the spell in my voice, commanding them into a long V-formation, so we could sweep across the sky in a broad swathe.
“You’re looking good and ready, Dragonseer Wells,” General Sako said over the speaker system.
“Better than ever,” I said, keeping my sentence short, so I didn’t interrupt the song.
“By the way, we have something for you,” General Sako said. “We thought you should be well equipped.”
“And you brought two of them I trust,” Faso said.
“Of course.” General Sako turned around and raised his hand to halt the march. “Troops, reveal the cannons.”
The marines by the large sled saluted, then the ones on the right-hand side took hold of the cloth and tore it away to reveal two long weapons. These attached to the underbellies of Velos and the dragon automaton and could punch a hole in the largest of automatons, taking it down in a single shot.
“Oh, goodie,” Faso said. And from behind me he clasped his hands together. It was lucky for his harness, because without it he would fall off. “We’ll pick it up first.”
Soon after, the dragon automaton swooped towards the ground. Faso had lined it up perfectly. His automaton let off a loud clanking sound as it connected with the target, then emerged from the swoop with a massive cannon sticking out of its belly. Now, the dragon automaton truly looked like a machine of war – more terrifying than any I’d seen in King Cini’s or Travast Indorm’s arsenal.
“Our turn,” I said. And I glanced over my shoulder to check that Lieutenant Talato was buckled in. I brought Velos around in a broad circle and then pushed up on his steering fin and sent him sharply towards the ground.
When the marines on the right saw my aim was off a little, they scattered. But they didn’t have to, because I quickly corrected my course. We hit the target, the cannon clanked onto Velos’ underbelly, and we lifted it back up into the sky.
I felt a triumphant roar build inside him, and I let out a dragonsong to admonish him before he cried out and encouraged the other dragons to do the same. There was something strange about the way they were behaving. They were almost mischievous, as if in the presence of something trying to control their minds.
“That went smoothly,” General Sako said over the speaker system. “Why can’t every operation go that way?”
“I wish it could,” I said. I flew Velos around to meet up with Faso, flying within the protection of the Grey’s V formation. But we weren’t going to cower at the back. With our powerful weaponry, it made sense that we should take the vanguard. So, I sang out to instruct the flock to part, and I signalled Faso to join me at the front. He did so without complaint or any sign of annoyance.
Behind me, Talato controlled the distribution of secicao in the armour. Velos didn’t need much of it, only enough to compensate the extra weight of the cannon and stop it dragging him down. But we were going pretty slowly to keep up with the troops marching on the ground. So most of the flight was a casual soar, with each dragons’ wings turned against the air stream slightly to slow us so we didn’t end up abandoning our company.
Fortunately, the troops below were also augmented, and hence they marched unbecomingly fast.
Eventually, the first automatons came into view. Two Rocs faced us head on, their sharp beaks looking like they wanted to skewer us in flight, and their missiles primed, ready to fire.
“Pontopa, put your helmet on,” Faso shouted.
“No, Faso,” I said. “Remember, I’m the one in charge here, and I’m going to do this my way.” The effects of the secicao from before had already worn off, and so I lifted the hip flask to my lips and took another swig. The greenness washed over my vision, and time slowed.
Each Roc had missile launchers equipped underneath their wings. These were currently pointed at the ground, as if they expected to attack the troops first. But they soon pivoted upwards, until they were pointed right at us.
“This will take some aerobatics,” I said.
“That’s for sure,” Faso replied. “But we’re well equipped for it.”
A warmth pulsed underneath my feet and I looked down to see that Lieutenant Talato had directed more secicao into the armour. Meanwhile, there came a screeching sound from ahead, like a flock of crows in intense pain, and the missiles detached from their launchers on the Rocs, plumes of smoke trailing in their wake. Twelve approached in total. Six headed directly for Velos, the other six for Faso’s dragon automaton.
“Talato, get the cannon fired up,” I shouted back.
“Yes, Maam,” Talato replied. And a white light glowed from beneath Velos’ neck. I knew it would be tight, and I narrowed my eyes so I could focus on the missiles directly. At the same time, I kept my hands clenched around Velos’ steering fin, so that I could make sudden movements on impulse. I didn’t have time to turn to see what Faso was doing, but I could see out of the corner of my eye he was also charging the dragon automaton’s cannon.
“Fire,” I screamed, and the blast came straight out of Velos’ cannon, bucking us upwards a little. A brilliant beam of white light seared through the cold sky, and it hit our Roc target right in the belly.
I still had the missiles to contend with. They were only metres away now, wailing out as they approached. I noted their location and speed, then veered Velos into a sharp barrel roll. The missiles shot passed us, did a one-eighty, and approached from behind.
Last time we’d dealt with these things, we’d had to duck underwater to shake them. But there wasn’t any water here. However, we had dragons surrounding us, and so I sang to them to instruct them to chase the missiles. Several of the dragons at the tips of the V-formation were far back enough that they could reach the missiles in time. They coated them in flames, knocking them off target. The missiles veered downwards slightly and then passed underneath us.
They continued away from us, glowing red hot, and they slowed again and turned in the sky to track us. This time, I thought they would take us, and I watched in horror, out of ideas.
But the heat got to them, and the missiles eventually stuttered, fell towards the floor, and exploded before they hit the ground.
I reacted quickly, singing a song to get the dragons as high as possible. We passed above the explosions, the heat brushing against my calves.
I released a deep breath I hadn’t realised that I’d been holding. Then I took stock of the surroundings. Both Roc automatons had clean holes punched in them – Faso and Winda’s shot had been just as effective as mine. They plummeted and crashed into the snow, sending out a massive shock wave that caused the troops down below to cover their ears.
Still, there were a load of automatons on the ground to deal with. Those massive Ogres, and the war automatons, placed around the men and women that I’d killed.
I led the dragons down low enough that we’d draw their fire, but high enough that they couldn’t hit us. The automatons rose to our bait, and they turned their guns upon us. Our Greys coated them in flames, slowing them somewhat.
Meanwhile, General Sako, Admiral Sandao, and the marines took advantage of our
diversion and charged into the factory without issue. It would take them time to set everything up, and we didn’t want the automatons to cotton on to our plans. So, I continued singing my dragonsongs to manoeuvre the dragons around the battlefield. They dived, and they swooped, and they unleashed carnage.
But we had to perform difficult motions in the air to dodge the bullets, and the dragons didn’t have infinite stamina. Eventually, I felt their energy fading, as the roars they let out into the sky diminished. And I also was losing control, in my voice. I hadn’t used my abilities like this for quite a while.
The first dragon got shot down. A bullet from a war automaton clipped its wing, and it screamed out, before plummeting to the ground and tumbling across the snow.
It tore at my heartstrings to see such a brave soul go. The Grey writhed on the ground and it would suffer before it died. I sang a song to thank him for being brave, to tell him he would join a better world as he transcended into the collective unconscious.
Meanwhile, several more dragons got shot out of the sky, left to struggle to their deaths in much the same way. And I kept muttering under my breath for the marines to hurry and set their explosives in the factory. If these automatons eliminated us, the soldiers would have nowhere to run when they emerged from their mission. Yes, we might successfully destroy the complex, but we’d also lose many men, including General Sako and Admiral Sandao.
And so, even though I was tired and wanted to just fly Velos away, I soldiered on. Meanwhile, Faso brought down the dragon automaton towards one of the Mammoths. Not far away, another Mammoth was ripping fire into a group of three Greys in the sky.
I turned Velos and instructed Talato to charge up the cannon. Then I took the dragon down and approached the Mammoth from its flank. The machine rotated slowly, while a cluster of Ogres provided support from nearby by firing at us with their Gatling cannons. I pushed on Velos’ steering fin, and he entered a barrel roll. Meanwhile, the guns on Velos’ armour turned on the Ogres, and unleashed such force, it managed to flatten one to the floor.
I turned my attention to the Mammoth automaton right in front of us.
“Fire!” I shouted. The cannon unleashed a massive beam of light, and I entered Velos into a loop-the-loop. We turned upside down, and then I executed a half barrel roll to get us upright again. I looked over to the Mammoth to see the massive hole punched right through its body. Its weapons had gone slack, and it stood there dead to the world.
Beneath us, there came a cheer, and the marines filtered out of the factory. The automatons, who still were directing fire into the air, paid them no heed as they made their retreat.
General Sako’s voice came over the speaker system. “The charges are all set. No sign of Taka. Everyone, fall back!”
And as I turned the dragons away from the battlefield, a sense of dread washed over me. This had been far, far too easy. And my heart lurched, as it dawned on me, in vivid flashes… Suddenly, I understood Travast’s plans.
Back at East Cadigan Island, Captain Colas had given drugs to the tribespeople. And he’d devised a ritual, where they would combine my blood into the drug. Exalmpora – the blood of a dragon queen – mixed with the blood of a dragonseer, mixed with secicao, heated with intensity. That specific blend of ingredients had birthed dragonmen and dragonwomen from the tribespeople after the volcano had erupted, and the magma had passed over them and stripped away their mortal lives.
Travast… He’d already been feeding the slaves with a mixture of secicao and Exalmpora. All he needed to do was add dragonseer blood to the mix. And the guard had taken a sample of my blood in the prison cell.
This had all been orchestrated. And now, the factory was about to blow.
I swallowed a bubble of air and clenched my teeth. “General Sako,” I said. “We must stop the explosives. They can’t be allowed to go off.”
“Blunders and dragonheats,” General Sako said as he ran. “We can’t stop the explosives now. They’re set and primed. What’s this about?”
“They wanted us to blow up the factory. Because, just like at East Cadigan Island, they’ve created perfect conditions here for the dragons to arise from the fires.”
As we spoke, the automatons cut off their fire. But there was movement. A floating platform, with a man on top, his cloak billowing out behind him. I swore, then put on my helmet, zoomed in, and turned on the heat-signature display for a better look.
Travast stood on the platform, with a loudspeaker pushed up against his purple bandana. I felt compelled to take Velos in there and then and shoot him down on the spot.
“Oh, you don’t want to do that, my acolyte. Don’t you want to learn who he is?”
Dragonheats, she was right. I levelled Velos into a hover so I could watch him.
“I just wanted to thank you,” Travast said. “For your brilliant help in this operation. I wanted to blow up this factory myself, but then I thought it so much better if you witnessed our power. For this isn’t the work of science, as King Cini thought, but the work of magic. The work of Finesia.” A thick black cloud rose around Travast that looked almost like crow feathers swirling around his platform.
The man continued to speak in the collective unconscious, and clearly his words were meant for me alone.
“Yes, Dragonseer Wells, we’ve all been watching you with such interest. You try to fight Finesia, and you end up aiding her plans. Well, it’s about time I revealed my true identity, because that is Finesia’s will. My name is not Travast Indorm, but Indira Trastino.
“Alsie Fioreletta, Chartha Lamford, Francoisa Lamford, and I, we were the Famous Four who the public thought were executed by King Cini in the gas tower. And we might have been, had it not been for our father, Captain Colas, who decided which of us dragonseers would be most loyal to Finesia.”
General Sako and Faso couldn’t hear Travast’s, or Indira’s, voice in the collective unconscious, as they didn’t have a connection to it. And so, they talked obliviously amongst themselves over the speaker system. But I was so interested in this person’s words, I didn’t register what they were talking about.
“Your father…” I replied. “You mean to tell me you are Charth’s and Francoiso’s sister.”
Indira chuckled in the collective unconscious. “Oh, he birthed eight of us. Captain Colas was a genius, and he still lives as a dragonman – Finesia’s gift for his service. And you don’t realise, do you?”
I felt the anger rising in my chest. Because I kind of suspected what she was about to tell me. “I don’t realise what? Tell me…”
“Your true mother, Sukina’s mother, and the mother of the other two dragonseers whose names have been wiped out from history. They were all my father’s daughters. As I said, he was quite a womaniser. And he was also the first and only man in history to think of having all eight dragonseers as his offspring.”
Colas… My grandfather? It couldn’t be.
“I only had to get one man to be loyal to me,” Finesia said in my head. “All this time, I could use him to manipulate the minds of the dragonseers, so I’d be born within them. I am a part of your family line. I’m innate inside you. And that is why you cannot escape my will.”
Dragonheats, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. This hadn’t just been planned over the last couple of years. Finesia had orchestrated it over generations.
I took a deep breath, as the whole gravity of this situation sank in. Soon, the clouds around Indira’s platform subsided, and from it a black dragon shot into the air. She spiralled upwards and then dived back down towards the ground. “My sister will be here soon. I believe Alsie Fioreletta has become famous. And Charth, and Wiggea – who I believe was once one of your own. And even my father. I thank you, Dragonseer Wells, for giving them immortality.”
Then Indira spoke once again out loud, this time not needing a loudspeaker to cut through everyone’s voice.
“My daughter is out there, somewhere,” she continued. “And we shall find her. And we sha
ll ensure both her and Dragonseer Wells convert to Finesia’s cause.”
And, before anyone had a chance to say anything else, the explosion came.
27
The factory exploded with a terrifying green hue. It filled the sky with ugly light. But we hadn’t added any secicao to the explosives. Which meant there must have been something else catalysing this strange explosion. The gas that had come off the men, perhaps, and a kind of magic seeping through the ground.
I knew already what had happened. The secicao had taken its roots, and it had just been waiting for a catalyst to grow. As the green smoke segued to yellowish-brown, the first shoots of secicao sprung out of the ground. Then she spoke in my head. Not Finesia, but another almost as bad.
My arch enemy…
“Dragonseer Wells,” she said in the collective unconscious. “We keep rubbing shoulders under such strange circumstances.”
“Alsie Fioreletta… I might have known you were behind all this.”
“Can you never just say, ‘Hello, how are you?’”
“You are not my friend.”
“I guess not. Friends aren’t usually destined to battle to the death.”
“We can duel now, if you like?”
“Oh, you’ll finally take Finesia’s gifts. Because she’s been waiting for you to convert to her cause. She almost had you, I believe. But you’re not loyal and that shall be your undoing.”
“I can defeat you without Finesia,” I said. “Just let me battle you in your human form.”
“You think that will be enough to defeat me, wench? I’ll never let you have access to my throat, and you are not yet mature enough for such a battle. Meanwhile, I brought your friends. Charth, why don’t you say hello?”
And I heard a groan come back from the collective unconscious. It had the same dryness and the same emptiness as the man I once knew. But he wasn’t there. His spirit had been completely stripped away from him. It was as if an automaton had been put in his place. But this time, it wasn’t cogs and gears, but the will of a mad goddess that controlled it.
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