by Ramy Vance
Jollies stuck her tongue out at him. “I was not trying to depress you. We were just talking about the war.”
Gill nodded as he scooted closer to the fire. “A good conversation for light hearts. It is something we should talk about. It makes no sense to fight a war we don’t understand, even if it concerns us. Otherwise, we aren’t much better than the Dark One’s tools.”
“Do drow have wars?” Alex asked.
Gill took his time answering, as he did anytime he was questioned about drow culture. At first, Alex had thought it was because he didn’t want to talk to outsiders about his people. Over time, Alex had determined that it was more about trying not to misrepresent his people. “We drow haven’t fought a war for some time. Maybe a few thousand years.”
“How do you settle differences, then?”
“Most drow aggression is done through subterfuge. Behind the scenes kind of stuff. The drow are technically at peace with everyone but really at peace with no one. It’s one of the reasons people don’t trust us. When your entire race is known for being sneaky, it’s hard to get people to see anything other than that.”
The four dragonriders sat in silence, watching the flames and thinking over what had been said. Then Alex pulled up her tactical display and announced, “We better start planning. Come on.”
Chapter Eight
Alex discovered within minutes that she hated planning anything more than a few steps ahead, but she wanted to get better at it. Obviously, trusting her gut was only going to keep her out of trouble for so long. Planning ahead seemed like the best way to stay alive.
It also helped that she wasn’t going at it by herself. The tactical display allowed everyone to see what was going on and chip in. That was great because both Gill and Jollies had excellent insights into some of the proposed ideas.
The four dragonriders sketched out an idea of how long it was going to take the ship to actually touch down. While they were charting the potential crash site of the ship, Alex received a comm from Myrddin. He told her he’d arrived back at Middang3ard and was in the process of pulling together whatever reinforcements he could. Obviously, his call for reinforcements held much more weight than Jollies’ and Brath’s.
After that was taken care of, Alex looked at the game plan the four had come up with. Gill and Jollies were going to try to clear out the area where the ship was going to land. From the recon the two had performed, it didn’t seem like the Dark One’s ground troops knew for sure where the ship was going. They seemed to be just guessing, and thanks to the combination of the tactical display, Alex’s eyes, and Gill’s and Jollies’ recons, the dragonriders were fairly certain they had a better projection of where the ship was going.
If there were any of the Dark One’s ground forces in the area, Jollies and Gill could get started taking care of them. If the ground forces were too numerous, they could radio for backup from Alex and Jim. There wasn’t much distance between the two areas, and it would be easy enough to move back and forth as long as they weren’t overrun.
Jim and Alex were going to try to thin the herd of monsters that were heading to the ship. If the giants suddenly decided to change course, there was going to be a much worse problem. It was better to take them out now instead of waiting until they posed a threat. That was where the valley and its surrounding hills were going to come in handy.
At the moment, Alex and Jim were outnumbered by the giants. The plan was to use the rocks and boulders on the hills to take out some of them, bringing the total down to a more manageable number.
The dragonriders went over their plan one more time, asking questions here and there when they needed clarification. It was straightforward enough, and the only thing that could really go wrong was incorrectly predicting where the ship was going to come down. Even if that happened, they could all easily correct their course once they had cleared out the Dark One’s forces, though.
Alex flipped down her tactical display and stood. “You guys ready to get going?”
Jollies groaned as she floated on her back. “I wish I had known it was going to be a mission like this,” she whined. “I would have brought along something to eat.”
Jim went to his mech and pulled out a picnic basket. “Go crazy, you guys,” he said as he tossed the basket to Alex. It was filled with sandwiches nicked from the cafeteria, along with a selection of desserts and treats. Alex noticed he had included some gnomish hard candy as well, one of Alex’s favorites.
Gill picked around until he found some fruit. “I’m sorry you two won’t be able to finish your picnic,” he said softly. “The lake was probably beautiful at this time of day.”
Alex reached over Gill’s hand to grab a piece of jerky. “Yeah, it was. Jim told me you let him know about the place, right?”
Gill nodded, his face betraying no emotion, as usual. “When he told me you were going on a date, I could think of no better location,” he replied. “Glad you enjoyed it. Jim, you and I are going to have to go swimming there soon. Brath still hasn’t been either.”
Jim grabbed a sandwich and started to scarf it down. “Sounds good to me. Honestly, after all this crap is finished, it might be nice to go for a dip before we head back to HQ. It’s hot all night, right?”
“I didn’t bring any swimming clothes.”
Jim laughed as he took another bite of his sandwich. “I highly doubt anyone in our company is going to complain about seeing your ass. And it won’t be anything I haven’t seen.”
Alex felt her face burning bright red and tried to find something to look at. Unfortunately, her eyes fell on Jollies, who was an even brighter red than Alex. Jim was having way too much fun with all this. “If you guys are done messing around, I’m ready to get going,” Alex said.
Gill smiled politely as he took a seat underneath Timber’s wings. “I’d prefer a little more time to eat if possible. Like Jollies, I haven’t had a chance to eat.”
Alex couldn’t argue with him. Everyone else was still in the process of eating, even if she was starting to get anxious, waiting around. That, and it would be easier to avoid being teased if they were in active pursuit.
Alex walked over to the picnic basket and looked for something that looked appetizing. “You know, this is the first time we’ve all been around for a meal in a few weeks, I think.”
Jim chewed as he nodded, scratching his chin. “Yeah, it has been a while. I can’t remember the last time we all had lunch or dinner together.”
“You would think things would have slowed down after the last mission. Seems like I hardly see you guys anymore unless we’re trying to save the world or something.”
Gill looked up from his food. “I don’t think any of our missions have qualified as saving the realm yet, but I do understand the sentiment. I miss you guys as well. Brath does too, even if he’d prefer not to say it.”
They were right. It had been a while since she and Jollies had spent any time with each other, even though they lived together. Today was the first day she’d seen Jim for longer than twenty minutes. Gill had been pretty much a shadow for the last two weeks. “We should make this happen more often. Minus the part where we have to chase a spaceship and kill a bunch of giants.”
Jim finished his sandwich. “Yeah, I could do with more hanging out and fewer threats of death. That sounds like a much better way to spend my holiday.”
Alex placed her hand in the middle of the group. “Promise. We all make sure to have a life outside of missions. And I’m going to count you as Brath, Gill.”
Gill placed his hand on top of Alex’s, and Jim placed his on top of Gill’s. Jollies landed atop the pile of hands and nodded solemnly. “Promise.”
Jim and Gill repeated the promise as well, then removed their hands. “Good. Now let’s go save a spaceship.”
Chapter Nine
Alex and Jim took off toward the rocky hills that rolled through the green valley as the ship above continued its slow, constant descent from the heavens. Alex couldn’t
keep herself from wondering what was inside. All of the time she’d spent with the riders had been concerned with how they were going to get to the ship, not its contents.
That could have been because none of them wanted to think about the last time they’d had to deal with anything from space. Their last excursion had ended up with them defying direct orders, most of them nearly dying, a harrowing psychedelic experience, possibly sharing a mind-meld with the Dark One, and Alex losing her arm.
It was easier not to talk about those things, and on the whole, that was what Team Boundless had been doing. That was probably why they hadn’t been seeing much of each other. Sitting in a room with Jollies for too long would have prompted conversations Alex didn’t want to have. She was already getting weird looks from other students. Everyone’s eyes gravitated toward her arm.
Alex hadn’t had a chance to have the robotic nature of her arm covered. Myrddin had mentioned something about it when it was first installed, and now she almost wished she had gone the magical route instead. She still wasn’t used to seeing steel bones instead of skin, but then again, she was only recently getting used to seeing anything.
The arm worked perfectly and she rarely realized it wasn’t the one she’d been born with, except when she accidentally exerted too much strength. But she was quickly learning to control that.
Alex had been glad to be alone with Jim for a little bit but had been worried the conversation was going to turn to her arm, or even worse, what she’d seen within the meteor that had fallen from the sky.
The experience had been too much to wrap her head around. Sometimes she would think about it during the day, and a well of dread would creep into her stomach, the room would get distant, and things would become fuzzy. She tried to keep from thinking about it.
That didn’t stop the nightmares, though. Alex had never been so happy Jollies was a night person as when they had returned from that mission. The nightmares had arrived in droves, each of them concerned with the rock in some way. She hardly remembered them when she woke. She figured it was just stress, but part of her worried there might be something deeper. She had been connected to the Dark One or one of his minions on a mental plane. Maybe she’d brought something back with her.
Alex shook her head. That was why she had been avoiding everyone, even her own thoughts. Studying was easier. Hell, getting lost in a crush was easier too.
As Alex looked at the green streak left by the ship, she couldn’t push aside the fear growing in the back of her throat like a bad nasal drip. Soon her hands were going to start shaking, then she was going to throw up. After that, she’d be useless.
Alex wondered where all this fear had just come from. Only a couple of seconds ago, there had been nothing. She’d been fine. Maybe meeting with the Nest’s shrink wasn’t such a bad idea. Talking almost sounded nice. Alex wished she could have talked this over with her parents, but they would have worried. But if they could get past the worry, they would have understood.
The hills were coming up. Time to get your head in this, Alex thought as she focused on the giants who were riding mammoths across the plains. Alex wouldn’t have assumed mammoths could move so fast, but those things were hauling ass. Hopefully, they’d be able to make it to the boulders before the mammoths passed.
Chine’s mind tugged at hers. Sometimes when there had been a long interval, Chine would politely nudge Alex before interrupting her thoughts. What’s up, Chine?
The dragon’s thoughts were soft and almost timid. As the two got closer, Alex was starting to pick up on the emotions behind his words. You seem distracted, Dustling. As if something is troubling you.
Alex should have known better than to not talk to Chine about it. She should have at least let him know what was going through her mind. Even if she tried to hide her feelings from him, he usually picked something up, and they needed to be in sync. They depended too much on each other.
This is too much like last time, Alex finally said. It’s freaking me out. The last time, it was…
I know, Chine replied. I was there. I’d never felt anything like that before. It was disturbing.
What if this is the same thing?
Alex felt her dragon’s positivity wash over her and wrap around her like a warm blanket. It was almost as good as getting a hug from her dad. It isn’t going to be the same. For one thing, if this were nearly as dangerous as the rock was, Myrddin would have had it on his map for months. And whatever it turns out to be, we’ll be able to handle it.
He was right. If this thing was as dangerous as the meteor, there was no way Myrddin wouldn’t have prepared for this situation. That was all the wizard did. And, Alex reminded herself, reinforcements were on the way. Maybe this would be an easy one.
Except for the horde of giants riding mammoths. Comparatively, though, that wasn’t as bad.
Alex and Jim sped up, flying around the giants so as not to give away their position until they got to the hills. They found a spot with a number of boulders. Alex pulled up her tactical display to see how Jollies and Gill were doing.
The display showed that the other two dragonriders weren’t too far from their destination. Alex commed Jollies and asked, “What’s it look like out there?”
Jollies’ voice came back instantly, a little garbled. “We got A LOT of bogies. That’s what you call ‘em, right? Or tangos? I don’t know. I’m not sure I’ve been getting all the targeting slang. Whatever. Wargs and orcs. Same ol’, same ol’. Tons of ‘em.”
“What’s the game plan?”
“Uh, Gill, what are you thinking? Short and sweet?”
Gill spoke over the comm. “I believe I could sneak around to the front and draw most of their attention as you split them down the middle.”
“Oh, like that two-point pattern you were showing me?”
“Exactly.”
Alex was impressed by the obvious teamwork between the two. She was a little jealous but wasn’t sure of who. Either way, it was good they knew what they were going to be doing. “All right, sounds great. Let me know if anything changes, okay?”
“No probs. Jollies out.”
Jim was already in position to get the boulders going. Alex got behind him. Once the first two went down, they were going to have to rush over to the next couple and keep going. The only way this was going to work was if they got the jump on the giants. Taking too long between rolling the boulders would let the giants catch their breath and maybe mount an attack.
After they depleted the hills of boulders, the only other option was to get up close and personal with their targets. These didn’t seem to be yhomir. They were much larger. Alex reminded herself that close didn’t mean too close.
Alex looked at Jim and gave him the high sign. Chine reared up on his hind legs and slammed his chest into the boulder as Jim fired a concussive blast at the boulder in front of him.
Both Jim’s and Alex’s boulders started to roll down the ridge. Neither of the riders wasted any time jumping over to the next boulder and pushing it. Then on to the next. And the next after that.
Alex worked as fast as she could, and it wasn’t long until they had cleared the first hill of all the boulders. She pulled up on her dragon anchor, sending Chine bolting for the ridge across from her as Jim’s mech rose. She landed and started the process again with the boulders on the other side.
The boulders Alex and Jim had already gotten moving were picking up speed as they careened down the slopes into the mostly flat valley.
Alex took off and held out her anchor, pulling her scythe out of the ether. “Let’s get this done,” she said before taking off toward the giants.
Chine dipped into the valley as the boulders Alex and Jim had set loose slammed into the mammoth’s body, knocking the creature to its knees and tossing the giant from its back.
As Chine got closer, Alex could see just how massive the creatures were. These giants were nearly twenty feet tall. They were large enough to swat at Alex and Chine if they got too c
lose. That put an end to one of Alex’s plans. She had originally planned on raining fire from above. Now that she could see how large the giants were, it became obvious that to do any real damage, she was going to have to be close enough that she would be in range of the giants.
Jim seemed to realize the same thing because he pulled up to give himself time to figure out what to do.
The boulders were still crashing into the giants. Luckily, the boulders were large enough to do damage. They were knocking over the giants and mammoths left and right. It was difficult to see if the giants were going to stay down, but some of the boulders were roughly the size of a giant and a mammoth together.
Alex was glad they had put time into coming up with a plan. If they had just walked blindly into this fight, they would not have survived.
As Alex and Jim continued to gauge what was going on below them, one of the giants who had been knocked over got to his feet. He grabbed bits of the boulder that had exploded against his mammoth’s legs and began throwing them at the riders.
Chine dodged the rock, but Jim took a direct hit to his shoulder-mounted machine gun. He threw on his thrusters, putting more distance between him and the giants. If that was how fast they could throw shrapnel, Jim was going to need more space to maneuver. The mech wasn’t as fast as Chine.
Alex worried for a second that all they had managed to do was provide ammo for the giants, but it seemed like most of the ones who had been knocked over were also knocked out. There were only half as many as there had been before.
One of the giants, the one who had thrown the boulder shards, had a gnarled face, its nose looking like it had been carved from a tree, its eyes deep and heavy, with sadness buried within them. He reached down to his side and pulled out a long, curved horn made from a mammoth tusk. He blew into it, releasing a mournful call that echoed through the valley.
Alex sighed loudly as she shouted to Jim, “Whatever the hell that is, it’s not going to be good!”
