by Alan Marble
Turning to see what reaction Jeffress would offer, Jonah was surprised to see the man was simply not there. He blinked into the empty space where he had stood only seconds before, turning back to Abe with a stutter. “Where did he ...”
“Sorry,” the big man said, pulling his hands back away from the wall, looking a little exhausted. “That's all I could give you. I hope it was enough.”
For a moment Jonah thought he was addressing him, but before he opened his mouth he realized that the big man was looking right past him. Turning on his heel, he was again surprised to see Jeffress standing there, panting a little bit as if he too had exerted himself. “Just enough, I think. We should know in about … ahh … Three, two, one ...”
As if on cue, a distant rumble preceded a slight vibration running through the concrete, just strong enough to cause a slight layer of the looser dust and detritus to shake loose, dancing against the ground around them in a quiet little clatter. Almost immediately afterward there was the sound of shouting that echoed down from the stairs above.
Abe’s face stretched into a broad smile as he nodded. “Jeffress, you son of a bitch. You did it. Just when we needed a loaded die.”
Jonah blinked. “Wait. What the hell just happened?”
“I'll explain later. Let’s just get the hell out of here while we have a chance.” Jeffress beckoned to them both, making his way to the stairway just as another rumble began to echo through the little bunker, shaking more tiny bits of concrete loose and showering over them lightly. Abe followed shortly thereafter and Jonah finally got into motion, pulling up the rear. “Still need to be on our guard, though. They have an administrator with them.”
“Terrell. Yes, I saw him.”
The conversation was hard for Jonah to keep up with, their voices starting to blend in a little with the chaotic noises that were coming from further up the shaft, but he didn’t want to feel totally left out. “Administrator?”
Abe looked back down in his direction, or at least he thought he saw a glance his way, but could not be certain. “Back in the day they used to call themselves arch-mages but I suppose they decided it was too old fashioned sounding. Doesn’t much matter what they are called, they’re very dangerous. They’re very rare in the Syndicate, and very powerful. We don’t want to mess with him if we can get away with it.”
“What happens if we do run into this … administrator?”
The sound of Abe’s chuckle was a little forced as it made its way down to him. “Fly. Fly as far away as you can, as fast as you can.” Yet another rumble shook the bunker, accompanied by a loud sort of thud, with enough force to rattle the stairway that they were continuing to wind their way up. “Jeffress! I thought you said distraction, not destruction!”
“Sorry, but I had to make sure to get their attention!”
Running up the tightly wound stairway was proving more and more difficult as they went. Jonah’s legs were starting to protest the climb, passing one nearly identical level in the bunker after another, concrete and rebar and dimly lit passageways. He did not know how much higher they would have to go, and to make matters worse he was starting to feel dizzy from all the turning around and around.
At last they came to a halt, Jeffress waving them off the stairs at a level that looked as unremarkable as the others, Abe protesting slightly. “Why are we stopping here? I thought you said we had to get out of here, fast.”
“Backdoor,” he explained simply enough, pushing one of the heavy iron doors open with his shoulder, disappearing into the space beyond with a little wave. Abe followed, ducking his head and once more Jonah was the last.
Just beyond the door was a plain concrete room, no real surprise, but in the side of the concrete was a large gash that had been hollowed out, a rough tunnel hewn right into the rock of the mountainside. Just wide enough for one person to pass and just tall enough that Jonah did not have to duck, and lit only with a string of small incandescent bulbs pinned to the rock at somewhat irregular intervals, it would have been enough to give Jonah pause if not for the urgency of their flight.
Fortunately it was not too long before they emerged from the cramped confines of the tunnel, the brilliance of the daylight enough of a contrast to the dim tunnel to render him momentarily blind. When he was able to adjust, blinking in the light, he could see that they had emerged on the mountainside somewhat lower than the bunker, the tunnel’s exit nestled up against a large outcropping of rocks.
The loud report of an explosion cracked through the air, echoing across the rocks and sending a cascade of stones and pebbles skittering down toward the valley below. Obviously the source of Jeffress’ distraction, it seemed to be doing the job; off to the side and somewhat behind them, a plume of smoke and dust rose upward from the explosion, and he could see a number of dragons circling overhead, likely investigating what was going on.
“We’ll probably only have a few seconds head start,” Abe commented as he briefly watched the scene unfold before looking eastward, back across the valley. “I’d rather we didn’t get caught up in any kind of fight, this time. We’re outnumbered and outmatched. We fly hard and fast and if we’re lucky we stay ahead long enough for them to break off the chase; not even the Syndicate is stupid enough to follow us right over Seattle in the daytime.”
With no further hesitation Abe jumped off a rock and in a writhing flash of crimson took wing. Jeffress was just behind him, his body stretching into the form of a medium sized dragon, white with a set of bluish tiger-like stripes on his sides, leaving only Jonah to sigh and leap after them, once more letting the wind carry him upward as he felt his wings cut and scoop at the air.
Almost immediately as they took to the air, a great emerald shape swooped in from above and to the side, practically cutting off their escape. It was Jenna, again, her chest already swelling as she drew in a massive breath before letting it out with a sharp crack. Not about to fall for the same thing twice, Jonah tucked his wings in and sent himself into a controlled dive, beneath the shockwave, twisting about to see where her voice slammed against the outcropping of rock like a sledge, shattering the rock into a million pieces.
The other two had flitted neatly out of the way, as well. Jeffress, smaller and more nimble, was harassing the larger green dragon, flying circles around her, zipping in closer to snap harmlessly at her sides, distracting her while Abe moved in closer, shouting in her direction. “Jenna! Do you not recognize your brothers?”
The green dragon responded only with a viscous snarl, snapping back at the smaller Jeffress that continued to nip at her sides but kept just out of range. He was too fast for her to catch, and there was no way she was going to get him with her shockwave power at such close range. Lashing out in obvious irritation she flapped her wings irregularly, bobbed and weaved through the air to try and get at him to no avail.
Abe remained close but out of the fray. “We do not wish to harm you Jenna, please, you must remember us, must know us! See us for who you are!”
“It is you who are the blind fool,” a voice called out from behind them. Jonah, uncertain of how he could help and having kept back and out of the way, whipped around to see Carolus, the big ashen dragon, sneering at them almost scornfully.
Instinctively Jonah moved back, away from the big dragon, watching him cautiously though he did not make any immediately aggressive moves. Abe, unable to break off his pursuit, was forced to try and divide his attention. “Carl! What an unpleasant surprise, seeing you here.”
The old dragon cackled unpleasantly. “Did you think your little ruse was actually going to pay off? We are ahead of you at every step, Ibrahim. You will not leave this place until we choose to let you. Until I choose to let you.”
“Come on, Carl. You’re not so caught up in this power hungry scheming of yours that you don’t see what the Syndicate really wants? Can you live with the destruction of the Clan on your conscience?”
There was an angry growl at Jonah’s side, and he whipped his head a
round once again to see Jenna trying to swat Jeffress away, still to no avail, but the smaller dragon was only proving a distraction at best. In the distance other dragons - some bull drakes, some members of the Clan who had been brainwashed - continued to circle the source of the explosions, paying them little heed. Abe split the distance between Jenna and Carolus, who was still hovering lazily on the air above the rocks.
It was proving difficult to keep track of where everyone was, what everyone was doing.
“The Clan has destroyed itself with its petty need for independence,” Carolus shot back, whipping at the air with his tail. “You and those like you are the ones blinded to the truth, Ibrahim. My eyes have been opened. Open yours, or they will be opened for you.”
“I will die before I serve you and the Syndicate, Carolus.”
Jonah realized he had been keeping back, that he had been doing nothing to help for too long. He might have no special powers that he knew of but that did not make him powerless, did not make him useless. Tucking his wings in again, he circled around and then dove right at Carolus, just as he started to fire back, “Then you will not leave here alive …”
He slammed hard against the old dragon’s side, his talons extended and grasping at his scales, pulling and tugging, seeking to rend. Carolus roared out in pain and confusion as he was knocked over, his wings flailing for a moment before he was able to right himself again, his thick tail whipping around in anger; Jonah managed to get out of the way just in time. “Insolent whelp,” the old dragon snarled as he righted himself.
Jonah didn’t respond, but tried his best to mimic what he had seen Jeffress doing. Willing his wings to work overtime he pushed himself, diving in and away, snapping his jaws at Carolus’ ponderous, flapping wings, clawing at his side when he was able to get close enough, making sure to stay clear of the big dragon’s jaws.
“I’ll see to it you regret this,” he snarled angrily again, whipping his tail about and snapping his own jaws, trying to reach out and swat Jonah out of the air but he was succeeding in keeping just out of reach.
He was smaller, weaker but faster. He knew there was no way he could hope to bring the big dragon down, but he could keep him busy, keep him away from the others. Not only that, but it felt damned good to have the upper hand for a change.
“Carolus! Enough of this nonsense! Bring them down!”
The voice had come from the direction of the outcropping of rock. Jonah caught a glimpse of a man standing there on one of the large boulders, the same man he had seen ordering Carolus about earlier. How he could speak and be heard, his voice projecting every bit as loud as one of the dragons’, could only have been the work of magic.
With a loud snarl, Carolus snapped at him again, trying to pull away before responding. “Of course, administrator,” he began, when another loud roar in the opposite direction once more tugged at their attention.
A great emerald dragon, head thrown back and roaring angrily was diving out of the sky, but it was not Jenna; he was, in fact, diving straight for the other dragon still busily evading Jeffress. “Jenna,” he cried out angrily, desperately.
“Jason … no, Jason no!” Abe shouted loudly at the new arrival, but when it was clear that the drake was not going to move, he simply shouted for Jeffress to get out of the way. The smaller dragon did so, flitting off to the side just as the two emerald green dragons collided in midair, grappling in a flurry of limbs and talons.
Enough of Jonah’s attention had been diverted that he hadn’t seen Carolus whip around and lash out, and before he could get out of the way he took a swipe right against his back. Claws raked against his scales, tore at part of his wing membrane and forced him to cry out sharply in pain. The big dragon wasn’t done, however, swooping in to snatch him up.
A crimson blur crossed between them, knocking the old dragon out of the way. Jonah was barely able to roll out of the way and keep from being caught up in the tussle as Abe smashed headlong into Carolus, both of the drakes snarling as they tried to fight each other off.
Jonah looked for a way to help, some way to duck in and get a cheap shot on the old dragon but there was simply no room. He could only hang back and watch while the two dragons snapped and clawed at one another, barely able to keep themselves aloft. All the while, he could hear Jason crying and pleading in the air behind him, trying to get his sister to snap out of whatever sway she was under, but the only responses were angry snorts and growls.
Then a flicker of something bright in the corner of his eye caught his attention. The man standing on the little outcropping of rock had his hands up in the air, a sort of a spark building up in the empty space between them. “This is intolerable,” he said, his voice still unnaturally amplified, when the little spark over his head suddenly burst into a sort of weird conflagration, a ball of writhing white flame that launched outward from his hands, arcing straight for the two green dragons who were locked in combat.
Jeffress, who was circling nearby, had seen it too, and cried out with unmasked urgency in his voice. “Jason! Look out!”
There was no time. It only took a second for the strange little fireball to splash against the side of one of the two green dragons - Jonah could not tell which, they were so intertwined - and immediately erupted into a brilliant firestorm that enveloped both of them in white light so bright he had to look away. It crackled angrily against the air, radiating enough heat that Jonah could feel it against his own hide from dozens of yards away, and then was snuffed out as quickly as it had burst in to life.
When he opened his eyes again to look at the aftermath, he was stunned to see that instead of a pair of grappling dragons, there was only a pair of charred, lifeless husks falling away to the ground. There was nothing he could do but gape in horrified amazement. He heard a sharp gasp from where Jeffress was circling, and even the sounds of the struggle behind him, where Abe and Carolus were grappling, suddenly went quiet.
He turned to look away before what was left of the pair crashed against the rocks and disintegrated into dust.
Both of the larger dragons had stopped fighting and were staring with openly stunned expressions. With a rough shove Carolus pushed himself away from Abe, circling around and then gaping at the administrator. “What have you done?”
“Ended one distraction,” the man responded coolly, raising his hands over his head and repeating the same gesture as before, the little spark coming to life over his head. “As I shall end another.”
“She was on our side,” the old dragon responded a little hollowly, watching with a sort of detached horror while the mage leveled his assault against Abe, firing off another one of those balls of writhing energy. Abe, stunned as he was, was still quick enough to dodge the attack. The ball of energy exploded harmlessly in the air, basking the mountainside in unnatural heat.
The mage looked unmoved, except for the irritation at having missed. “And she was causing a distraction. We cannot waste our time on such things,” he spat angrily, quickly summoning another ball of energy and lobbing it off in Abe’s direction.
“Stop it … you’re going to kill them all,” Carolus objected, looking about in an increasingly conflicted and helpless manner as the dragons tried to scatter and avoid the attacks. “That wasn’t part of the plan.”
The whole scene unfolded in a kind of weird, twisted dance from Jonah’s perspective. The mage was focused on attacking Abe, lobbing the writhing balls of energy one right after another. Jeffress made a rather feeble attempt to intervene at one point, diving in at the man when his back was turned, but the mage simply shrugged him off - some unseen force pushing the dragon back hard enough that he tumbled against the ground with a low groan. He began to feel sick to his stomach, realizing there was nothing he could do.
“They’ve proven themselves unfit for service to the Syndicate. You couldn’t control them Carolus, so I am going to control them in the only way I know how,” the man shouted, firing off one more fireball that exploded just in front of the
crimson dragon, close enough that the drake faltered. A second fireball caught him just at the edge of the explosion, singing his wing, Abe roaring out plaintively in pain as he came down hard against the mountainside.
“Stop it,” Carolus repeated, looking on with a wide eyed, wild expression.
The mage showed no interest in stopping. With Abe grounded he was no longer in a hurry, summoning up a larger, more powerful ball of energy between his hands, his eyes fixated on the crimson drake with murderous intent. For a brief heartbeat, Jonah considered diving down and attacking the mage, buy Abe enough time to get up, to carry on the fight. But he had withdrawn too far from the side of the mountain, was too far to make it. He would not be able to help. He would be unable to do anything except watch as Abe, too, was burned in front of his eyes.
When Carolus spoke again, his voice was deeper, louder, more resonant. He spoke but a single word, two syllables in a language that Jonah did not know but somehow instinctively understood their meaning : Die.
The force of the dragon’s voice spilled over the mage as he stood, ruffling his hair slightly before the power of his conjured fire went out. The man’s eyes widened briefly as he reached up and clutched at his throat, gagging and gasping for breath. Spinning around he shot off an intensely hateful glance in the direction where Carolus had been hovering before he keeled over, his body flapping in the breeze for the brief moment it was airborne as he tumbled off the boulder he had been perched on.
Then he was gone.
Carolus, too, had begun to tumble earthward. His strength seemed to give out as soon as he had spoken the command, his wings suddenly incapable of keeping him aloft. The big ashen dragon struggled as he fell, his head leaning back, breathing out a sort of deep, rattling sigh.
Jonah realized what he had done, and as soon as he did, he dove in after the falling dragon, as fast as he could. Before they had crashed into the ground, he reached out with his talons to snag at the old dragon, closing around flesh. He looked down to see the limp, ragged body of Carolus, the old, white haired man, dangling from his grasp. Looking for a spot to set him down, he chose a small level patch very close to where Abe had gone down, and set the old man against the dirt as gently as he possibly could.
