by Lisa Daniels
Sure enough, she found the lever, partially hidden within a hollow gap, and began to crank it. Piping from the furnaces that the dragons breathed fire onto seemed to stretch beyond the walls. Obviously the energy went somewhere. The wall slid open, and the dragons were more than happy to hobble out behind Mia. Too weak to do anything more than walk. Mia waited patiently for them, all the while keeping her eyes peeled for danger. Not much energy left. Enough for a shield on her body. But she shouldn't drain it skating.
I still can't get over the fact I'm helping dragons, she thought. Attacking humans. It's madness.
Well, Mia didn't exactly know what was black and what was white anymore. Several guards lay unconscious in the main furnace rooms, where the iron pipings channeled the heat and boiling water that formed the steam. Operating pistons within the walls. But what for? The steady clacking and grinding of gear parts resonated out of the sides.
Probably for steel production. Sure enough, Mia caught remnants of steel bars piled up. Some of them with chains on the side, suggesting a dragon had been captive there.
Through the main room, down a wide, tall corridor, she stumbled over the body of Aran. A gunshot wound peppered his chest. Probably didn't know how to shield and shoot at the same time. His sapphire ring was cracked. Or maybe he lost the focus.
Shouts and gunfire screeched ahead. Gorne sure had done a job of freeing the dragons, since blood smears on the walls suggested grisly fates. Some greens were big enough to swallow a human whole.
In the next room, near the entrance, she saw the remaining two icebloods engaged in a full fight, along with rampaging dragons. How am I going to control them?
“Don't join them,” Mia hissed to her greens, who appeared wrathful. “I need them to calm down, somehow, or I can't free them.”
The teenager nodded. “You're right. It's hard to control a dragon when they rage.”
“I hope I won't have to kill any of them. I want to save lives, not end them.”
“Ride me,” the teenager whispered. “They'll know you're with me.”
He shifted into his small red form, and Mia, not wanting to be caught by the rampaging monsters, did as bidden. The three greens followed her, restless, and she charged up her power, waiting for an attack. Several factory guards were shooting with their new-fangled muskets. About three dragons were dead, and four more lunged for the attack. Dozens of humans lay on the ground.
“This isn't good...” Mia groaned. Too many casualties. Her icebloods were too noisy, too flamboyant. Zaine seriously needed to fire them.
A musket shot hurtled her way, and she blocked it with a roar. It chinked off her stomach, and she instantly refocused. Only saving her energy when she absolutely needed it. “Get to the entrance!” she screamed. “Pass the word! Dragons and icebloods! To the entrance!”
No use. The four greens continued to rage, no longer listening to reason.
“Gorne, I'm going to fucking kill you,” Mia growled, anger bubbling inside. “Those greens will die if they keep this up!”
Only eight guards and factory workers remained, and they clearly believed they were outnumbered. They huddled together like the last survivors of a massacre.
“Drop your weapons! Flee! Run!” Mia dramatically arced an icicle towards the biggest pack of humans, and their nerve finally cracked. Most dropped their weapons and fled. Two foolhardy ones remained, now aiming at Mia.
I don't think... I have the energy... She flattened herself against the red dragon, urging her dragons to just run for the entrance, not to engage in a fight, and mercifully, they trotted ahead. The two humans fled at the sight of four dragons simultaneously running at them, and Mia peered to either side, where the mindless greens were breaking everything in sight...
Outside, the dragons stared, bewildered at the airship that descended lazily down, its hydrogen and helium being sucked into tanks to weight the craft, stabilize the landing.
“There's your rescue. You'll be home soon.” Her dragons fanned out, eyes bouncing for additional danger, but the humans who had spotted them fled into the night.
“I don't have time. Get onto the craft when it lands. I need to go and seize control of the other...”
Mia patted the red dragon under her, who nodded, before she leapt off and dashed back into the factory.
Chapter Fourteen – Zaine
Downtrodden, wingless dragons slithered onto the airship. It wasn't that big of a ship, but it should be enough for probably ten or so dragons. The red transformed back into human form, and gave Zaine a tremulous smile.
“Thank you for rescuing me.”
Zaine inclined his head towards him. “You must be one of my nephews.” The youngster nodded, happy to at least be identified as such. Even if Zaine didn't personally know the name. But one other person remained in the factory. The one he wanted to see the most.
And Mia had gone dashing back into there. Please be alright. Both of you. Two of the greens examined Zaine curiously.
We'll try and get your other brethren out there, he sent the thought to them. He needed to be quite close to manage it successfully.
Your iceblood is brave, and smart, one of the greens responded. I am not used to this quality in a human. His internal voice had the hint of a growl in it.
Not all humans are bad. And I'm sorry for those that are.
I wanted to kill them all, the green replied, voice a snarl. Make them suffer as I did. How bizarre to see our natural enemy defend us. I watched her and the other one take eggs up the chute.
Zaine smiled. How bizarre indeed. We had dragons waiting to take them.
More dragons streamed out of the entrance. Two greens that lumbered up the ramp into the airship. He heard shouts in the distance, and knew they couldn't exactly remain parked here for long. Even with Servalan continuing with her distractions of property destruction.
Finally, after what seemed an age, since Zaine practically counted every thump of his heartbeat, Mia emerged behind her three dragons. Red, white, and blue.
Matriarchs. Including Zaine's own sister. Not something he was close with, but close enough to feel the pain of his mother and father when she was lost. Without her wings, she appeared so shrunken and miserable.
Only one iceblood followed behind Mia—Weaver. No Gorne, Aran, or Keyten.
Shame. The female dragons hobbled upwards. Amazing that Gorchev even managed to secure a white. They were the rarest dragons, and traditionally lived in the Hinterlands.
He reached for his sister as she scurried on.
“Let's go,” Mia said, rather brusquely. “We've got everyone.”
“And the other icebloods?”
“Gorne and Aran are dead. Gorne was killed by one of the dragons he freed and encouraged to rampage,” Mia said, striding to keep up with Zaine as he headed for the helmsman, barking the order to rise.
“How many dragons dead?”
“Eleven in total. Eight greens, two reds, one white. Sorry. The taskmasters killed their chained slaves when they realized that someone was attempting to free them. And the freed ones...” She fell silent, not wanting to elaborate. Zaine wondered, with a chill, if she'd needed to kill any of them. The main room was rather crowded with the greens. The reds had changed to human—the nephew and his sister, and the white curled up in a corner.
Zaiya hobbled over to her brother. “You took your time. The others mentioned about your little iceblood to me when she first came in. My son messaged me, saying that you sent her.”
“How did you know? He was imprisoned.” Mia stared at Zaiya, confused.
“We can think to each other if we're close enough,” Zaiya responded. “Thank you, by the way. Those filthy humans, stealing my clutch...” A demented glint entered her eye.
The airship floated off the ground, now drifting in the general direction of the Western Reaches, where they would all be dropped to safety.
“This might be war,” Zaiya said then. “There's no way that saving a few eggs is going
to sate the greens. They still lost dragons.”
“Not if the newspapers report about a factory being attacked by dragons first,” Zaine said gloomily. He needed to seize control of the writers, somehow. Get what happened interpreted correctly. But what exactly was correct, when people had suffered on both sides?
How did you appease both?
Hard to know. But for now, he just needed to focus on getting these dragons safely back, maimed as they were. The airship soared high and the engines rumbled, propelling the vehicle forward. The family back home, of course, would be delighted for Zaiya's return. As for the trads—he needed to sell the point that not all humans were evil. Zaiya stomped through the ship, looking for food, and Zaine's attention turned to Mia, who now leaned over the railing of the foredeck, the wind tussling her short hair. Her gaze at first skimmed over the twinkling city below, with its crooked buildings and coughing factories. But when the stars emerged above the smog layer, she let out a crow of delight, pointing to the sky.
Two of the trads leaned over the rail as well. Perhaps for the memory of flight. Zaine, meanwhile, approached his favorite iceblood and gave her a gentle smile. “We only went and did it, didn't we?” He inhaled the piercing cold air, enjoying the way it iced his lungs.
“This won't be the last we'll see of Gorchev,” Mia said, still drinking in the stars. Maybe it was the residual adrenaline inside her, or maybe the airship lights displayed human bodies better, but Mia to him in that moment looked like the most beautiful person alive. The way her eyes, wild and alert, took in everything. The smile on her face that couldn't be stopped. He wanted to burn that memory in his skull.
“I'm half expecting him to come and follow us in his airship.” Zaine glanced behind as if the balloon would spring up at any moment. “It's not like we were particularly quiet... Servalan made quite a ruckus.”
They casually examined some of the toppled buildings, induced by Servalan's earthquake. Including one of Gorchev's coal factories, which jutted precariously at an angle, ready to fall.
“Well, she succeeded in the distraction,” Mia said, grinning wolfishly. “We did end up fighting a lot less people. But... some casualties, all the same. Sorry about your icebloods.”
“I'll need to tell their loved ones.” Zaine's lip twisted at the thought. “I promised them that I'd take care of their families, if anything happened to them.”
“Nice of you.”
Several of the trads slouched off now, drawn by the smell of cooking food. Apparently, Zaiya had discovered the kitchens.
Not thinking of anything else to say, not in the boil of adrenaline, in the uncertainty of making it to the Western Reaches, they drew apart for now, to eat, and rest, and make sure their rescued charges were comfortable.
They did have a busy few days ahead, after all.
Chapter Fifteen – Mia
They dropped the trads off first. Mia didn't like being paraded in front of the monstrous green dragons, clustered together, staring at their procession in flinty silence as the wounded members straggled home.
She didn't catch much of a conversation, but Zaine apparently communicated with them, and he beckoned her over. She followed reluctantly. Some of those beasts towered over thirty feet high. Insane proportions. They likely couldn't understand that a tiny thing like her was capable of killing them. Moving through the throng of dragons, Mia's attention fixed on a mound of green dragon eggs.
“The ones that you helped rescue. I told them you were on main duty for carrying each egg out of the factory.” He beamed at the impassive greens, and Mia attempted a smile of her own, though she didn't quite feel it. The dragons had some of the things she expected of them. Lived in big, cavernous spaces, with an extensive network of tunnels. However, they also appeared to have a sense of decorum, for she saw stone carvings of dragons, big rounded tables that had blood stains on them, perhaps for eating from. And then, a hatchery like this, where the young were kept in a room so sweltering hot that Mia needed to turn on her iceblood powers to endure it.
“They are asking why an iceblood like you would bother saving them. They can understand your tongue.”
So eerie, not having any signs of speech, no mouths moving, and yet they all apparently talked without issue. All those unblinking blue, yellow, and red eyes were fixed upon her.
“It wasn't right,” Mia said. Zaine glowered at her, clearly expecting more. She sighed before saying, “I used to hate dragons. I lost my father to them when I was a child. I trained my powers to attack the ones that attacked us. There is blood on these hands, human and dragon. Then when I worked for Zaine... when I went into the factory and saw the chained dragons, the eggs... I didn't know what to think. I didn't like dragons, but it wasn't right. Just because I didn't like them, it didn't mean... they deserved this, right? No one deserves it. I couldn't ignore the pain.”
Obviously, nothing but silence greeted her statement. Zaine, however, appeared to be listening intently.
“They ask if you will continue to attack their kind, after what you have seen. If it has changed you in any way.”
Mia wrinkled her lips. “I'm more interested in Zaine's work, now. Trying to... bring peace. Clearly, people are suffering on all sides of... whatever this is.”
Some of the dragons blinked.
“They say that they would hire you to help them in the future, in that case,” Zaine translated. “They do have some unruly members of the outer congregations, who, sadly, have chosen the more destructive path.” Zaine quickly added, “You're talking to the elders of the biggest trad clan, by the way. These are the ones who are more inclined to fix things. But their influence only goes so far. Too many splinter clans, you see. Anyway, they ask if you would be willing to help them.”
“Why?” Mia squinted, confused. “Why would you ask me to kill your own kind?”
“They say that sacrifices must be made. And they say that they think you have a good heart. Since even in your hate, you still chose to help a foe you had every right to shun.”
Mia didn't know what to say to that. She stood there in awkward silence as Zaine wrapped up the conversation, before they left the catacombs and clambered back onto the airship. The fiercer, more unpredictable trads watched them go, and Mia had a sudden vision of them all spewing gouts of flame at once.
“One more trip to go. My own clan. Should be fun.” Zaine grinned, even as the airship slowly gathered speed, the helium and hydrogen refilling the static balloons, lifting them into the air, and turning the great dragons below them into green pinpricks.
“What about the white?”
“She's asked for refuge with mine. According to her, most of her clan was wiped out when the humans attempted to secure her as a broodmother.”
The white dragon slumbered on the deck, not bothered by the breeze ruffling her wings. They sauntered quietly past her, heading towards Zaine's private quarters. It resembled a spacious cabin, though it had no windows. There was a rather impressive supply of coffee beans, courtesy of the rightful owner of the Zeppelin.
A small gas stove, placed next to a vent that provided oxygen and aired out the room, was responsible for making the coffee. Mia didn't like coffee herself. She much preferred a nice, traditional Miner's Jolt, or a strong ale, but allowed Zaine to pour her some. Her eyes kept flitting between Zaine and the bed, and that funny, electric feeling tickled inside her.
Now that all the action was over... she grinned. “I'm having a quick wash!” She pranced into the little bathroom before Zaine could respond, and took the opportunity to freshen herself up, scrub at her armpits and down below with some of the rosewater. A little hair fluff—excellent. She turned herself to the side, once more critically examining her too-long nose, her pointed chin. Well, he would mostly be seeing the front of her...
Bouncing back into the cabin, she accepted the coffee with a smile.
“You look unusually peppy right now. Something up?” Zaine sipped at his hideous drink. Mia tried one mouthful,
reminded of just how much she hated the awful thing.
“Oh, I'm glad the worst part is over now,” Mia said, now considering if she should just throw the whole mug away. “No more life-threatening activities... two straight days of sailing on an airship, and not much to do...”
Now the dragon elicited a rather sly grin. “That's true, isn't it?” He moved a little closer to Mia. Her heart lurched, and a pleasant heat settled in the pit of her stomach. “And I denied you the first time, and you denied me the second time... didn't you?”
“Mm hm.” She leaned close to Zaine. “Will you stop me this time?”
He placed a hand on her chest, stopping her from nearing. “Actually, I need to ask. Is this a relationship? Are we in a relationship?”
She stared down at his large hand, seeing a few tiny hairs upon his arm. The gray, long-sleeved sweater he wore seemed maybe too tight for his muscles. “I don't know. It's not like I know what being in a relationship is like.”
The arousal inside her continued to flicker, demanding action. Demanding to shut Zaine up, somehow, and just drag him into bed.
“I have to ask this. I want to know if you want things to be... long term. With me.”
The anxiety in his voice made her look up into his bright blue eyes. The gaslight waved, shifting the shadows upon his chin. At this distance, she smelled the sweat and brimstone that made up his fragrance.
She didn't really like thinking about this topic. But she knew nothing would happened until he received his answer. And, well, he deserved one. And she deserved one. About time she tried digging into those icky feelings. “Like I said, I don't know. But what I do know is that I don't plan to leave this life anytime soon. And I don't plan to leave you. And I certainly do plan to, ah, do certain things with you.”
He gave a little smirk. “I suppose I can settle for that. I mean, alternatively, you could just say ‘I love you,’ and then we get to it...”
