by C. J. Hill
The Slayers poured out the doors, hit the ground running, and sprinted into the trees.
Dr. B and Theo got out of the van last. Jesse scooped up Dr. B and zipped off into the cold night air. Tori wrapped her arms around Theo, reminding herself that she had the extra strength to carry him. She lifted him from the ground and the two of them skimmed through the air.
Theo was taller than Tori, which made it hard to see around the back of his head. She tilted him sideways a bit. Judging from the way he held onto her arms and gurgled, “Ohhhhaaaahhhhohhh!” he didn’t like the angle.
Jesse flew much faster than she could manage. Her chain bumped and spun along the ground behind her, tangling into plants and rocks. She had to move closer to the road so it didn’t catch on anything. Thankfully, the glow of her night vision illuminated the area. She could see Jesse hugging the tree line in front of her.
As she flew, she listened for the dragon. The rhythm of its wings mixed with the wind whistling around her ears and the chorus of crickets chirping in the trees. Fireflies buzzed around her, flashing tiny beacons like hundreds of miniature hazard lights.
When they had gone fifty yards from the van, Jesse cut into the trees and deposited Dr. B, then waited, floating above the ground, for Tori to bring Theo over. The others, went up trees or crouched behind trunks, guns ready.
Tori still didn’t know how to lower herself onto the ground. She managed to slow down somewhat, and she’d flown low enough so she could drop Theo without hurting him. Although he still stumbled a few steps when he hit the ground.
Jesse took hold of Tori’s arm as she skidded by him, pulling her to a stop. “You should go with Theo,” he said. “Make sure he escapes. If the rest of us fail, you and Ryker will be all that stands between the dragons and D.C.”
Jesse had said that she should, not that she had to. She tilted her head at him, questioning. “Is that an order?”
“No. It’s your choice.”
Her choice. She could die here because she was too untrained to fight effectively, or she could die later because she hadn’t helped defeat the dragon during its first attack. If eight trained Slayers couldn’t kill one dragon, what were the chances that she and Ryker—even with training—could kill several? Assuming, of course, they ever found Ryker.
Jesse didn’t wait for her to answer. He soared over toward the others, then perched on a high branch.
Theo walked toward Tori, nervously squinting around at the darkness. “Let’s get out of here.”
Instead of picking him up, she glanced back at the Slayers. They were completely motionless, waiting, every pair of eyes on the sky. Dr. B had taken a position behind a tree a few feet away. His rifle pointed upward, aiming at the stars. Tori wondered if he could even see in the dark. And yet, he was staying.
“I can’t leave,” she told Theo.
“Yes, you can,” he said. “All you have to do is pick me up and fly that way.” He gestured down the road, his hand waving frantically.
Tori floated in the air in front of him, experimenting with making herself rise in small increments. “They need my help.”
“You’re untrained,” Theo said incredulously, “and you’re dragging a huge chain behind you. The only way you can help is to fly me out of here.”
Tori went up too quickly and had to reach out and grab hold of a branch to stop herself. The chain swayed and rattled beneath her. Tori pulled on it, hanging loops of it from her arm so she could carry it without dragging it on the ground.
“Sorry, Theo,” she said. “I’m staying.”
Before she’d finished winding up the chain, a low triumphant grumble vibrated through the night, rising into an echoing call. This time, the sound didn’t come from her mind. The dragon was near.
CHAPTER 40
A cold tingle of dread ran down Tori’s back. She pulled the chain harder, faster, wrapping the rest into loops around her arm.
Theo turned and fled through the trees in the opposite direction. She couldn’t see him anymore, but she heard his clumsy footsteps pushing through the undergrowth.
Once the chain no longer dangled on the ground, Tori slipped the loops around her neck so she’d have her arms free to shoot. It clanged against her chest like an overweight necklace.
Tori floated upward, steadying herself with her hands, until she could peer over the foliage. She swung her gun forward, searched the horizon, and tried to remember every piece of instruction Dr. B had given her.
Think before you act. Your greatest asset isn’t your extra powers, it’s your brain. Don’t get in front of the dragon. Move if he turns on you, and make sure you always have some place to retreat. Don’t take unnecessary risks.
At first she could only tell that the dragon was flying toward them. A dark outline contrasted against the backdrop of the star-studded sky. His bat-like wings sliced through the air, and the shape grew bigger. He had an angular head, pointed ears, and a clubbed tail that moved up and down, serpent-like. She couldn’t make out his color. Was he black, green, or some other color that had faded in the low light? A strange hump protruded from his back. She squinted at it, but couldn’t tell what it was.
Now that the simulator signal was gone, Tori hoped the dragon would fly past them. He might soar away and eventually just return back to Overdrake without finding them. If the Slayers were smart, they would stay hidden and save this fight for a time when they were better prepared.
But even as Tori thought it, she knew it wouldn’t happen.
The dragon slid downward through the air, disappearing behind the trees on the opposite side of the highway. A flurry of birds erupted from the vicinity like feathered confetti, scattering away on frantic wings.
Then silence.
Tori watched and waited. What did it mean? What was the dragon doing?
Before she could ask more questions, the dragon bounded upward, flying toward their side of the road. He circled the area, his wings beating out a wind that rushed through the leaves, making the trees hiss. Did he recognize their van?
The dragon drew up to a nearly vertical position, and no hump showed on his back now, just rows of sleek scales that glinted in the moonlight. His tail curled into a C below him as he hovered in front of the trees, surveying the area. Instead of having a white diamond on his forehead, he seemed to have some sort of silver horn there. He was bigger than Tori had imagined. Much bigger. If he had flicked his golden eyes in her direction, he would have seen her, but instead he looked down at something on the ground. She couldn’t tell what.
In the space of a blink, the dragon dived out of sight.
What had he gone for? A person? She didn’t hear any screams. Tori flew slowly toward the street to get a better view, her rifle gripped firmly in her hand. As she leaned forward, the chain rattled noisily around her neck. Stupid thing. She couldn’t be stealthy with it clanking every time she moved. She straightened and with the help of a few tree branches, pulled herself to a stop.
The dragon shot back up into the air with the van clasped in all four talons. His head bent to examine it. When he saw it was empty, he gave an angry shriek, bit into a tire, then dropped the van. It fell to the ground, bounced, crumpled, and lay upside down on the side of the road.
The dragon, as they had expected, wore a large rectangular piece of Kevlar across his underbelly. The straps ran up his sides and connected on his back. Either she or Jesse would have to fly over, cut the straps, and get the Kevlar off in order for their rifles to have any chance of penetrating the dragon’s vulnerable underbelly and reaching his heart.
Tori didn’t have so much as a pair of nail clippers on her, and Jesse only had the shears. With a sword it might have been possible to cut the straps and fly away, but the shears would take too long.
Their best bet was to hide, retreat, do anything but take on the dragon right now. Jesse had to realize that.
But apparently he didn’t.
While the dragon had been busy tire tasting, Jesse flew out
of the trees and circled behind him. Jesse looked so small next to the huge figure of the dragon. So unprotected.
She wanted to yell out to him that this was crazy, that he wasn’t supposed to take unnecessary risks. And anything but hiding right now was an unnecessary risk.
The dragon spotted Jesse. His head swung toward him, jaws snapping, talons stretched out.
Tori heard the dragon’s growl, heard his teeth clench together. It wasn’t a sound she wanted to hear. She minimized the noise in her mind as much as she could.
The dragon was gaining on Jesse. Tori rose from her hiding place to get a better shot and fired off a round from her rifle. Some of the Slayers obviously had the same idea—to distract the dragon. Several other gunshots punctured the night, but not the dragon. He turned suddenly, saw Tori, and lunged at her, snarling.
She dived into the cover of the trees, twisting as best she could around trunks and boughs. In her hurry, she scraped into several. The dragon skimmed above the treetops looking for her. Leaves and branches shivered in the wind of his wings. He thrust his head through the foliage, like a heron trying to pluck fish from the water. His teeth clamped together so close to Tori’s back that she felt his warm breath, smelled his rancid oil scent.
She dropped lower, tried to move faster.
He didn’t come after her again, which was a good thing since the chain tumbled off her neck, caught on some branches, and whipped her backward. She spun out and fell to the ground with a noisy clatter.
It wasn’t the best way to get to back to earth, but it worked.
She lay there, breathless, as the sound of the dragon’s wings moved away from the trees.
Then Dirk stood over her, holding his hand down to help her up. “I give you a seven-point-five on the evasive maneuvers, and about a two on the landing.”
She took his hand and he helped her to her feet. She straightened her helmet, then picked up the chain so she could loop it around her neck again. “Where’s Jesse?”
“Out there dancing with the dragon.”
“He won’t be able to cut through those straps with the shears.”
“He might. Don’t underestimate him.”
She looked around. A few of the Slayers crouched in the branches, others stood on the ground, darting in and out of the trees. Dr. B had moved closer to the tree line, his rifle following every move the dragon made. Kody leapt out into the clearing, wound his arm back like a pitcher, and sent a freezing shock at the dragon’s face. The dragon’s head reared back in irritation, then sent a stream of fire in Kody’s direction. The night lit up with a blaze, illuminating the dragon. He was maroon and each scale was tinged in golds and reds. Kody dodged back into the trees out of the path of the dragon’s searing breath. The fire extinguished before it reached him.
Tori scanned the sky behind the dragon for Jesse. She didn’t see—No, there he was, right behind the dragon’s neck. He had the shears out, but as he went for the nearest strap, the dragon twisted his head. Jesse dashed backward and the dragon went after him, baring his teeth. Jesse dived underneath the dragon’s stomach, and the dragon somersaulted in the air, effortlessly following Jesse’s path.
Shots rang out as the Slayers tried to draw the dragon’s attention with gunfire. It didn’t work this time. The bullets plinked uselessly against his scales. The dragon flew, wings pressed back against his body, his glowing golden eyes focused on Jesse. In a moment, the dragon’s powerful jaws would be on him.
Bess threw a forcefield up in front of the dragon. Tori could tell because the dragon’s head stopped in midair while his body kept moving forward. The momentum pushed his head upward, until his body hit the forcefield. Then it gave way. The shield couldn’t hold back his mass. The dragon straightened and pursued again, but it had given Jesse the time he needed to escape.
Jesse shot toward the trees, a human arrow, plunging down into the leafy cover.
The dragon sent a fiery stream after him. Most of the fire vanished before it reached the trees. But Shang or Lilly, or perhaps both, had missed a few flames. A couple of branches glowed yellow, burning, then were extinguished, too.
The dragon glided over the trees, shrieking. Its tail lashed angrily up and down, smacking a tree so bits of branches rained down.
Tori flinched away and put up her hand to block falling pieces of bark. Dirk stood, resolutely watching the dragon pass overhead. Its dark form blackened a section of the sky, snuffing out the stars.
“Overdrake is somewhere nearby,” Dirk said.
“How do you know?” Tori glanced around, but only saw the Slayers here and there.
“Someone is controlling the dragon, making him attack us.”
Tori remembered the bulge she’d seen on the dragon’s back before the dragon had dipped down behind the trees on the other side of the street. It could have been a man. “Is there a way to find him?”
Dirk didn’t answer. Before he could, Jesse flew up to him. “Let’s do a full assault and see if it buys me enough time. Call your team. Pattern fifteen.”
“Agreed,” Dirk said. “And if I can get past the dragon, I’ll look for Overdrake. Once we take him out, we’ll have a better chance.”
Jesse shook his head. “This isn’t like when Tori knocked Theo away from the controls. It won’t make that much of a difference, and I need you to lead your team right now. We’ll take care of Overdrake later.”
“Agreed,” Dirk said, though Tori could tell he didn’t like the decision.
Jesse flew toward the others, weaving around trees as naturally as a fish swimming through a stream. Dirk ran toward the others, clapping his gloved hands together. “A-team. Fifteen, on Jesse’s call!”
What was she supposed to do now? She didn’t know pattern fifteen.
“Now!” Jesse yelled and the Slayers sped out of the trees.
Tori itched to go with them. She found herself hovering off the ground, even though she hadn’t consciously meant to fly. It was foolish, and she would most likely just make things worse like she had back at the enclosure, but she had to do something to help.
Dr. B shot at the dragon, trying to draw the beast’s attention back to the trees, but it didn’t work. The dragon sprang toward one of the Slayers, Tori couldn’t tell which. It wasn’t Dirk; he led his team on the other side. Whoever it was, the Slayer leapt out of the way. Kody sent a freezing shock that hit the dragon’s eye. The dragon jerked its head back and a layer of frost ringed its eye, like a white bruise. The golden iris blinked and seconds later the frost melted.
The dragon bared its teeth and snarled. Fire spouted toward the two Slayers who were sprinting around the dragon’s side. Bess threw up a shield and the flames spread against the invisible wall, crackling and lighting up the night with an almost painful orange brilliance.
Jesse flew over to the dragon’s shoulder, but as soon as he got close to the Kevlar straps, the dragon turned away from the Slayers on the ground and focused on Jesse. The dragon slashed his tail upward, hitting Jesse so hard he rolled through the air, falling.
Tori zoomed out of the trees, ready to block for him, or catch him, but before she’d gone far, Jesse regained control and shot sideways. The dragon followed, slicing through the sky, wings beating. He sent a stream of fire that nearly reached Jesse before it snuffed out. Jesse changed directions, darting one way and then another. It didn’t matter. The dragon blasted after him, ignoring the Slayers on the ground. It was as if he knew Jesse was the real threat.
Of course, the dragon knew—because Overdrake knew, and he was somewhere nearby.
Tori couldn’t even fly near Jesse in hopes of confusing the dragon in a shell game of which flyer is the bona fide danger? She was easy to spot. She was the flyer with a chain around her neck.
If only she had come to camp before this year. She could have learned what her powers were and how to use them years ago. She wouldn’t have been chained up by Overdrake. She wouldn’t be hanging around the treetops uselessly.
Tori let out a deep breath. She didn’t want to look for Overdrake. She didn’t want to face him again. He had nearly killed her once already, but the Slayers needed help. Jesse needed help. If he died, what chance would any of them have? If she could break Overdrake’s link with the dragon, if Overdrake wasn’t there in the dragon’s mind telling him to attack Jesse, maybe the other Slayers could distract the dragon long enough to allow Jesse to cut the Kevlar straps.
She flew to the woods on the opposite side of the road, dropping into the foliage and winding through tree limbs. It was easier to maneuver around things than to stop, so she glided through the greenery, looking for Overdrake on the ground. Where was he? And more importantly, how could she take him out? He wore Kevlar, so shooting him wouldn’t do a lot of good, and he had extra strength so it would be hard, maybe impossible, to defeat him in hand-to-hand combat.
How had Dirk been planning on fighting him?
Her heart was beating too fast. She still wasn’t good at flying, but even if she had been able to drop to the ground, she wouldn’t have. Walking over plants and dead leaves made too much noise. Gliding through the air was better. She weaved between the trees slowly, scanning the ground. Bushes. Ferns. Rocks. Nothing out of the ordinary.
A bullet zinged into the back of her jacket. Another hit her helmet. Not stray bullets from the Slayers’ guns. These had come from the trees behind her.
It was Overdrake’s way of tapping her on the shoulder.
If she had been able to maneuver as well as Jesse, she would have flipped over like a swimmer turning in a lane. Instead, her inertia carried her forward and she had to grab hold of a tree branch and clumsily pull herself back in the right direction.
At first she didn’t see Overdrake anywhere, then she heard him. Laughing. Not on the ground—he was perched high in a tree. He stood precariously balanced on a branch that didn’t seem thick enough to support his weight. With one hand, he held onto a branch above him, with his other hand he pointed his rifle at Tori. “Beautiful form!” he called out. “I’m glad Jesse sent his best Slayer. It wouldn’t be sporting if I had to fight with some untrained socialite.”
