by C. J. Hill
Jesse understood why Overdrake invented the metal-net launcher. His men needed it in case one of the hatchlings escaped when Overdrake wasn’t around to control it. But the magnets always puzzled Jesse. Were the dragons kept in metal surroundings? What was the point of having magnets on the net otherwise?
Now it made sense. When the net curled around Jesse and Bess, the magnets connected both sides together, closing the net and trapping them. Still carrying Bess, Jesse righted himself and saw that a chain connected the net to the launcher. Two of Overdrake’s men hung on to the launcher, skidding across the grass as they kept hold of Bess and Jesse. He was like the kite on the end of a string.
Bess yelled, “No!” The frustration in her voice told Jesse what had happened even before his gaze swung over to Kody.
When Bess moved the force field away from Kody to try to keep the net off Jesse and herself, one of Overdrake’s men shot another net at Kody. He was down on the ground, the net tangled around him.
That was another thing Dirk knew about their strategy. Despite Dr. B’s instructions otherwise, instead of sacrificing one member of the group, the Slayers tried to save everyone. This time, instead of Bess saving either Kody or Jesse, they’d all been caught.
The only advantage the Slayers had was that so far Overdrake’s men were only trying to capture, not kill, them.
Either Dirk’s wishes still had some sway with his father, or Overdrake didn’t want to have to deal with murders that would send the law snooping around in his direction.
Back when Tori had been caught by a net, the holes were big enough for her to put her fingers through. Apparently Overdrake had made improvements to his design. The holes were smaller now. Jesse wouldn’t be able to rip his way free.
The gunmen who had acted as decoys stood up and jogged toward Ryker’s house. Jesse didn’t see where they ended up. He was watching the men who held on to his chain.
Jesse flew backward, pushing against the back of the net in an attempt to rip the launcher out of their hands. His anger gave him extra strength. He wasn’t going to let himself be caught by Overdrake’s men. He’d worked too hard to be knocked out of the battle before the real war even started.
Overdrake’s men slid inch by inch across the lawn, tearing up the grass with the heels of their boots. Then a third man threw himself on the chain and stopped Jesse’s progress.
Only one man had hold of Kody’s chain. Kody couldn’t fly, so he had no way to pull himself away from the launcher. The remaining two men in the yard ran toward Kody’s trapped form. One man held a tranquilizer gun. The other held a rifle. A dart wouldn’t go through Kody’s body armor, but with Kody on the ground and trapped, it wouldn’t be long before the men managed to take off his helmet, boots, or gloves.
Kody’s arm wound back like he was pitching a baseball. The air shimmered with frost, and a freezing blast slammed into the man with the rifle. His head snapped back, his feet flew out in front of him, and he crashed to the ground. The rifle tumbled from his hands onto the lawn. The second man stopped advancing. Kody wound back his other arm and sent a fireball at him. For a moment, the man’s head was illuminated, and his goggles reflected the light like holes in a jack-o’-lantern. The man stumbled backward, dropping his tranquilizer gun as he swatted at the fire.
“Hold on to my back.” Jesse helped Bess get into position so his hands were free. He pushed his panic and anger away, relying on the years of training he’d had. Strategies and priorities clicked through his mind. He automatically evaluated each one. “Keep your shield between us and the guys holding on to that launcher.” First priority: Jesse had to get Kody off the ground before Overdrake’s men surrounded him.
As Jesse dived downward, the chain on the net went slack. He held his arms out and scooped Kody off the ground like a spatula taking a hamburger off the grill. It was a tenuous hold at best, especially since Kody kept moving. Jesse couldn’t get a good grip on him. Still, with the Slayers all in one spot, they had a better chance of defending themselves.
Kody was pumping out blasts and fireballs quick and recklessly. A freezing blast hit the guy who’d dropped the tranquilizer gun. He flew backward through the air, knocking into the man behind him. Both fell to the ground.
“Fireball the guy on your launcher,” Jesse said. He didn’t have to explain why. Once the man started pulling on that chain, Kody would slip out of his arms. Jesse didn’t dare fly high in case Kody fell. They were all dangling like a piñata over the lawn.
The man who held Kody’s chain kneeled on the ground and leaned back, about to yank the chain. Kody whipped both of his hands forward, sending two fireballs in the man’s direction. The flash of flames lit up the backyard. The first fireball hit the man’s hands. The second hit the chain right above his hands, heating the metal chain.
The man yelled, let go of the chain, and peeled off his smoking gloves.
The men holding Jesse’s chain were harder to shake off. When they saw what had happened with Kody’s launcher, they dropped to the ground, lying on the launcher and chain so it couldn’t be ripped from their grasp. Even if Kody fireballed the chain, the men’s bulletproof jackets would insulate them from the heat.
Inside Ryker’s house, someone screamed. It sounded like a child. The noise made Jesse’s stomach turn. Ryker’s family needed their help, and they were trapped out here. Useless.
Jesse pressed against the top of the net, grunting with effort as he tried to lift the chain, launcher, and the men off the ground. It didn’t work. Jesse was already carrying Bess, Kody, and the weight of the nets. He couldn’t lift all that and the three men holding on to the chain.
A couple of the men on the chain pulled out assault rifles—high-powered ones. Apparently Overdrake’s men were done playing nicely. Dirk knew what the Slayers’ body armor could withstand, and no doubt Overdrake’s men were carrying guns that could shoot through it.
“Set!” Kody called, indicating he wanted Bess to move her force field so he could send blasts at the men. With their hands on their rifles, the men weren’t holding the chain anymore. If Kody could knock them off, Jesse would be able to fly Bess and Kody to safety. Kody waited for Bess to call back, “Draw,” the code that meant the way was clear.
“No,” Jesse said. It was better to let the men shoot into Bess’ force field while Kody took care of the other men.
The men didn’t shoot. Jesse immediately realized why. Overdrake’s men knew the Slayer’s calls, and when Bess didn’t respond “Draw,” they knew her force field was still between them.
Fine. It was a disadvantage that Jesse could turn into an advantage. He added it to his list of strategies.
One of the men Kody had blasted lay unconscious on the ground. Everyone else was still armed, which meant danger was coming at them from three angles. The men who held on to Jesse’s launcher and the two men who were army crawling toward Kody’s launcher. If they reached it, they would pull Kody out of Jesse’s arms. Just as dangerous, the men could keep crawling across the yard until they surrounded the Slayers on three sides. Bess’ shield was a straight wall; she couldn’t curve it to wrap around them. And even if Kody didn’t tire while sending out his blasts, eventually he would miss, mistime a blast, or not be able to see both gunmen at the same time. Overdrake’s men would succeed in shooting the Slayers.
They needed to distract, attack, and take the advantage away from Overdrake’s men.
“Kody,” Jesse said, “freeze and flame the men’s goggles coming at us.”
Most weapons could withstand freezing cold or the blazing heat, but freezing and heating glass within seconds cracked it. Once the lenses broke, the infrared goggles would be ruined.
Kody pushed one hand forward, then the other, sending a freezing shock and then a fireball. The movement made him jiggle in Jesse’s arms and Jesse had to keep adjusting his grip.
“Keep your shield in place,” Jesse whispered to Bess. “Ignore my next command. Understood?”
“Yes
.” She was holding on to his back with one arm, and using the other to try to slash the net with a knife.
“Understood,” Kody murmured. He sent out the last of his blasts. Both men pulled off their ruined goggles. It would be harder for them to see now. They would have to rely on the dim light of the streetlamp that made its way into the backyard.
Jesse raised his voice so it was loud enough for the men holding his launcher to hear. “Now take out the rest of the goggles.”
“Set!” Kody called to Bess.
“Draw!” she responded.
The men holding on to Jesse’s launcher raised their rifles and opened fire. Light flashed from the muzzles and even with the silencers on, Jesse heard the tapping sound of the shots. The bullets ricocheted off Bess’ force field. The men didn’t fire again. Their armor-piercing bullets had just backfired and pierced themselves.
All the men were still alive and lying on the chain. One grasped his shoulder. One stared at his bleeding hand and swore. The third was curled and moaning.
That left the two men still crawling toward Kody’s launcher to worry about. “Shield in blue position!” Jesse yelled.
It was a made-up command. He was gambling that if the men didn’t know where Bess’ shield was, they wouldn’t risk shooting.
The wounded men didn’t take up their rifles again, and the other men kept crawling toward Kody’s launcher. Served them right for using armor-piercing ammo.
Jesse didn’t have to look over his shoulder to see if Bess had made any progress in cutting through the net. The net was made to withstand dragon claws. Knives weren’t going to have any effect.
“Shoot a hole through it,” he said.
Bess brought her rifle forward, rammed the barrel into the net. “Don’t drop Kody,” she said and shot.
The Slayers’ rifles didn’t have much kickback, but even the small amount of movement jarred Jesse so much that Kody slid in his arms. The bullets broke through the fibers of the net, leaving holes big enough that Bess could force her fingers through them. “We’re in business.”
Kody shot his net several times, aiming at the ground so he didn’t accidentally hit Bess’ force field.
“Swing,” Jesse called, without knowing why he said it. It was one of the times his instincts took over. The call was for Kody and Bess to switch their defensive areas. Jesse sensed what had happened before he saw it. Their imminent escape had rallied one of the uninjured gunmen into action.
The man angled his assault rifle up and shot at them. Right into Bess’ shield. The bullets rained back down with sharp thuds. One man rolled on the ground, cursing. The other barely moved at all.
With a grunt, Kody ripped the hole in his net until it was big enough for him to escape through. “I’m going for cover,” he said. “Bess, watch my back.” He jumped away from Jesse, before Jesse could tell him not to go.
Hotheaded.
They needed to stay in a group. If Bess covered Kody it meant she left Jesse and herself vulnerable.
Jesse helped Bess rip the hole. It was nearly big enough they could slip out of it.
None of the men on the ground shot at Kody. Perhaps they were more injured than Jesse realized or perhaps they just didn’t want to take any more chances with Bess’ shield. In seconds, Kody had crossed the lawn and made it to tree cover. While he sprinted, he shot his tranquilizer gun twice. Each hit its target: the faces of the men who had taken off their goggles.
Impressive shooting, even if it was hotheaded.
After one last tug, the hole in the net ripped wide enough. Jesse held on to Bess and flew out. He whispered, “Keep your shield in front of the men on the launcher.” It was harder to give orders this way—to whisper sentences instead of calling plays. “Don’t move it until I give the word.”
He flew down toward the men and hovered in front of them. One was motionless now. One’s hand was bleeding so badly, Jesse doubted he would be able to keep all of his fingers, let alone use his gun. The third man only had a shoulder wound. He raised himself up on his elbow and pointed his rifle at Jesse.
“Throw down your gun,” Jesse told him. “And we’ll call a doctor for you.”
“Only one of you can shield,” the man said in a raspy voice. “Surrender or I’ll take out your friend and the tree he’s behind.”
The man shouldn’t have bothered bargaining. In the time it took him to make his demand, Kody sent a cold shock that ripped the rifle away from his hand.
Jesse swooped down, dropping Bess as he did. “Cut,” he told her, and rushed into the gunman, ramming him back into the ground. Jesse took out his tranquilizer gun, pulled off the man’s night vision goggles, and shot his exposed skin. It would take a minute for the drug to work so Jesse grabbed the man, pinning his arms to his sides in case he had other weapons on him. The guy cursed and thrashed, but couldn’t break Jesse’s grip.
While Jesse waited, he turned around to see how Bess was doing. She’d already taken the other men’s rifles and shot them with tranquilizers. The man with the injured hand didn’t put up any resistance. Maybe he wanted to lose consciousness so the pain would go away.
She watched the man’s head loll back onto the ground. The gunman that Jesse held raised his voice even louder, getting more creative with his curses.
Bess tilted her head at him. “Dude, you need an anatomy lesson. It would be impossible to pull somebody’s heart out through their—”
“Call nine-one-one,” Jesse interrupted her. “Police and ambulances.”
She shook her head. “The phones won’t work. I already tried mine.”
Kody jogged over, joining them. “Overdrake’s men must have a signal jammer somewhere.”
That meant none of them could call Dr. B and report what was happening. Had he already tried calling them?
The man in Jesse’s arms went limp. Jesse dropped him to the ground and walked toward Ryker’s house. A light was on in the second floor. Judging from what he could make out in the large picture window, it was probably the living room. Overdrake’s men were in there somewhere.
Jesse could run to a neighbor’s house and use their landline to call the police. He didn’t want to take the time, though. Not while people were in danger inside.
He took out his infrared scanner. “I saw two men go inside. More probably went in the front. They most likely have guards inside the front and back doors.” Sure enough, a heat spot came up on the scanner right by the back door. But only one. That was good news.
Kody kept his voice low. “We can plow down the door easy enough.”
Bess took out her infrared scanner as well. “We should find out where Ryker’s family is being held first.”
No one said anything else, because at that moment a crash sounded above them. Breaking glass. Jesse looked up and saw a coffee table and two of Overdrake’s men flying out of the living room window. The men shouted, and for a moment Jesse thought they were performing an air assault. He yelled, “Shield!” and looked to see what sort of weapons the men were using. Their rifles tumbled with them, spun downward along with the shards of glass. When the men lay crumpled on the lawn, unconscious, Jesse realized they had been thrown from the window.
Who had done it, and how? It wasn’t an easy thing to throw two armed men out of a window.
The lights in the living room suddenly went off. The heat signature of the guard who’d been at the downstairs door moved away. He was probably going upstairs.
“Kody,” Jesse said, “break down the back door. Bess, cover him.” Jesse refrained from adding, “Don’t go anywhere you haven’t cleared first.” No point in being their mother. They’d been trained.
“I’ll check out the window.” Jesse was already off the ground and heading toward the living room as he said the last sentence. He flew upward, keeping off to the side of the window to be out of anyone’s line of sight. His infrared scanner showed four people in the room, three lying on the floor, one standing in the middle of the room. Somewhere in the ho
use a dog barked. It made it hard to hear anything else.
Jesse took a quick glance inside the window, ready to dive through the opening to tackle the figure standing. He expected it to be one of Overdrake’s men. It wasn’t. A teenage girl stood in the dark, at an angle to the doorway that led into the living room. Willow. She gripped an end table in one hand as though it were a club and was watching the door, waiting for someone to come through it.
The end table looked too heavy for a normal teenage girl to hold that way. And why had she turned off the lights?
Jesse’s gaze went to the figures on the floor. Mr. Davis lay on his back, unconscious. Blood trickled from a wound on the side of his head. His wife lay next to him, propped up on one elbow. She had some sort of cloth pressed against his wound, but she couldn’t see well enough to attend to him. A younger girl lay near them, crying.
“Stay down,” Mrs. Davis whispered. “Be quiet.”
Mr. and Mrs. Davis obviously hadn’t helped Willow fight off Overdrake’s men. Somehow, she’d managed to throw them out a window by herself.
No, not somehow. Jesse knew how—he should have known as soon as he’d seen her holding the end table that way. Willow had extra strength and she had turned off the lights to try and give herself an advantage. She could see in the dark. She was a Slayer.
Despite the grim situation laid out in front of Jesse, he smiled. He’d found another Slayer.
Footsteps sounded. Someone was coming into the living room. Before the man had even stepped inside, Willow hurled the end table through the doorway. Jesse caught sight of Overdrake’s man, rifle drawn, just before the table smashed into his chest. Once he was on the ground, Willow picked up his gun. She didn’t seem to know what to do with it or how to use it.
“There’s another man coming from downstairs,” Jesse told her, keeping his distance outside the window. The last thing he wanted was for her to attack him when Overdrake’s man was about to come in the room.
