by C A Ardron
The bulky Bronze Buzzard shrugged. ‘No idea, name rings a bell though.’
‘Sounds like she might be dead,’ Red Kite mentioned.
‘Try to stay positive, Kite,’ Grey Owl ordered. ‘Let’s get back in the air, let me know if any of you spot her, sounds like she might need a bit of help – and stay in sight of each other.’
‘You’re going to go along with her?’ Buzzard asked. ‘There’s no reason to think this isn’t a normal raid.’
Owl paused, another broad transmission coming through. ‘You heard the lady,’ Silver Bison’s older voice came across. ‘Keep together, don’t let the Sarpiens get the jump on you. The Silver Falcon might be new but she’s high in the standing of the Dakkonin – and that should be all you need to know.’
Buzzard grunted deep in his throat. ‘That’s why I recognise the name, she’s Bronze Hawk’s partner, isn’t she?’
‘I agree with Captain Bison,’ Grey Owl told them all. ‘She’s well on her way to becoming one of Captain Lion’s best, we’d be fools to ignore her.’
* * *
‘And they’ve set up in North Sector?’ General Red Dragon asked.
‘As far as we’ve been able to discern,’ Gyrfalcon replied from across the desk in his office. ‘The red Sarpiens have been sighted the most in North Sector, but for all we know the bulk of the sclithe’s territory may well be further north, beyond the boundaries of Steiron.’
Dragon grunted sourly, ‘any word on the general?’
‘Not as yet. We may have encountered them, we may have not, it’s hard to say. Whoever it is, they don’t seem to have the ego of Tigermoth and Jackal, they don’t mind staying in the background. In fact, it feels to me as if they’re trying to remain anonymous on purpose.’
Dragon grunted again. ‘I wonder, Golden Wolf was tracking a red that left its territory in Stradgorl. He lost him on the plains though.’
‘Really?’ Gyrfalcon asked. ‘That’s odd, it’s not easy to lose the old bloodhound.’
‘Manners, Gyrfalcon, he’s a member of the Eth’Shea.’
Gyrfalcon smiled. The hunting commanders of the Eth’Shea, he’d dreamed of being one of their number in his younger years – but most Dakkonin did. He’d come close to joining one of their units a few times, but never quite made it.
‘I have great respect for all the hunting commanders, but Golden Wolf does have a reputation for showing up where the battles are bloodiest.’
‘Hm, yes,’ Dragon agreed. The general waved a pen at him, ‘I’m trying my best to ignore it this time. If it turns out his lust for battle has prevented him from staying with his prey, I may have to demote him. The sclithe in question was Tyrosyre.’
Gyrfalcon winced. ‘In that case I really hope it’s not the same red that’s moved in.’ He paused as his radio activated itself on the open frequency. After Silver Falcon finished and the brief sounds of a scuffle came across, he looked up to meet his general’s gaze.
Dragon returned the look for a second or two. ‘Get everyone out, Gyrfalcon, looks like the battle’s come to us.’
Gyrfalcon stopped in the act of standing as another Predgarian transmission came through, from Silver Bison this time.
It ended and Gyrfalcon stepped around his desk.
‘Who is this Silver Falcon?’ Dragon asked.
The glimmer in the general’s intense ruby eyes told Gyrfalcon it was more than idle curiosity.
Gyrfalcon barked a short laugh. ‘Prime meat for Dakkonin recruitment is what she is. She joined her Order six months ago. I’ll tell you everything I know of her on the way.’
* * *
Red left the antique store and paused, his eyebrows shooting up as five or so people raced past, screaming.
He scratched at his thick dreds, glancing in the direction they’d come from, there didn’t seem to be anything amiss. He turned his attention to the sky, several flyers as well as a hopper – something was going down.
Red grinned, pulled his duffle coat a bit closer and sauntered down the street. Nothing the Preds couldn’t handle, no doubt.
He felt his radio buzzing and took it from his trouser pocket, just in time to hear the back end of Falcon’s message.
His teeth clenched as he listened to the short sounds of a scuffle before the radio cut off.
‘Kaz,’ he sighed. ‘I swear, you land yourself in more trouble than I do.’ His hand twitched towards the medallion chain at his neck, considering drawing it out. He shook his head and left it, showing his true face would only escalate the situation. A smirk tugged his lips, ‘considerin’ the bystanders? My family would be so proud.’
He changed direction and headed further into town. The Sarps must be serious, if they were going to the trouble of attacking Central Sector. Or did Kaz have the right of it? The Red Jackal wouldn’t come to the city’s main base of operations just to annoy the Predgarians, surely?
Red released an aggrieved sigh. Whatever Kaz’s deal was, he couldn’t afford to ignore her. Any medallion warrior with an ounce of common sense would make that call after knowing her a single day – and he knew her better than most. Red grinned broadly, even if she wasn’t aware of it.
He frowned down at the radio in his hand, listening to the second Predgarian transmission. Well, at least the other Preds were treating this seriously. The message had gone over the open frequency, so Jackal would probably know his secret was out.
Red glanced at the looming Dakkonin temple in the distance. The sclithe hunters probably wouldn’t be long reacting to Falcon’s message either.
He paused on the street. Did he even need to get involved? His eyebrows rose once more as a red-armoured Feline skidded on his back down the street, followed by a grey-armoured warrior leaping through the air after him.
The young warrior, his blonde hair visible above his mask, blasted his attacker back with a fierce, concentrated orb of fire.
Red crossed his arms, watching as the warrior clambered to his feet and let loose a long lick of flame, forcing the Sarpien back.
‘Not bad,’ Red murmured, ‘why haven’t I heard of you?’
He reached out with an aura sweep, wanting to know the Feline warrior’s feel for a later date. Red blinked at the familiar aura. ‘Jay?’ he muttered out loud.
Giving another smirk, Red watched the young warrior match his opponent until the Sarpien gave up, fleeing the battle.
‘You’ve done well with that one, Kaz,’ he drawled.
His blood ran cold as an ear-splitting, raspy scream pierced the air. The roof of the grocery store across the street caved in when the bulky reptile landed on top of it.
The muscular half-beast sat in the shards of splintered wood and broken bricks, sniffing the air with its tongue.
‘What the-?’ Jay exclaimed, stumbling backwards.
The great lizard, its frame subtly humanoid, turned its baleful stare upon the red warrior.
‘Komodo Dragon,’ Red whispered, ‘has to be. The Unicians didn’t get to him in time.’
His hand twitched again towards his medallion. The kid would need help for this one, and Kaz obviously had problems of her own. It was time to put a different face on.
Chapter Thirty-Three
‘What the-’ in his haste to get away from the fierce monster Lynx lost his footing.
Clambering to his feet, he sucked in a breath as the lizard turned its narrow head to him, tongue flickering.
He tried to get a grip on his fear, with all his lessons Lynx thought he’d been ready, but he’d never imagined something like this.
Fumbling for his sword as the beast lurched towards him, Lynx ducked as a crimson energy sphere raced past him, hitting the creature in the face.
Lynx managed to draw his sword and planted his feet, watching as the beast clawed at the ground, roaring as it swung its head from side to side.
The monster’s eyes focused on him once more and Lynx got ready. He yelped as a strong hand appeared on his arm, yanking him back.
Lynx stumbled over again and gaped at the Canine in mid-class armour. He reached for his fallen sword as the warrior put up a furious wall of fire, making the creature halt in its tracks.
It shrieked with fright, bolting down the street and around the corner.
Lynx gritted his teeth, backing away from the intense heat of the flames. He’d never seen Jackal use fire before, though now he thought about it, it made sense. The Sarpien wouldn’t be a red if he couldn’t.
The Canine turned to him and drew his short blade.
‘We’ve scared him off for now, but we can’t leave him to wander,’ the light-voiced warrior told him. ‘That’s the rogue that was in West Sector yesterday. It’s too late for the Unicians to help him now.’
The words barely registered, Lynx was far more interested in the man’s sword. It was the classic Aljurian infantry blade, still a popular choice even though it was an old design.
Lynx glanced down at the one-handed short blade in his hand. It looked almost identical, the only real difference were the pommels. While his was moulded in the shape of a cat’s head, the older warrior’s was a defined dog’s head.
His eyes roved across the gleaming steel again. It was different, he’d seen Jackal’s sword, it was wide with a jagged edge. ‘You’re…not the Red Jackal.’
‘Eh?’ the warrior asked. ‘Oh, you mean my armour?’ He yanked his helmet off, revealing his sandy hair and grinning features. ‘I’m Red Fox, Dakkonin of West Sector. Sorry, I guess my armour does look pretty similar to the Bloodrunner’s.’
With a jolt, Lynx remembered the day before, they’d been a Dakkonin at the market, this must be the same warrior.
‘Um…Bloodrunner?’
‘The Red Jackal, that’s his nickname.’
‘Oh, I didn’t know. Why’s he called that?’
Fox grimaced. ‘Look it up sometime; it’s not a pretty picture. What do I call you, kid?’
‘I’m Red Lynx. I work in West Sector too.’
‘Pred?’
‘What? Oh, yeah, sorry. Yes, I’m a Predgarian.’
‘You sound young. You new?’
Lynx tried to control his face but could feel his cheeks heating.
Fox’s head fell back as he laughed. ‘I’ll take that as a yes. Come on, kid, out with it, I want to know what I’m working with. How long you had that medallion?’
‘I…today.’
Lynx swallowed when the Dakkonin warrior stared at him.
‘You…became a Predgarian today?’
Lynx nodded.
Fox spread his arms. ‘In that case, welcome to your first big battle. Look, I don’t mean any offence here, but I don’t see any other Preds around and the newest kid in town ain’t got no business even being here. So I’m gonna stick by your side today, okay?’
Lynx smiled at him, ‘I’m not offended. I recognise your name, you’re the one who watched over the Silver Falcon during the Sarpien attack six months ago. It would be an honour to fight by your side.’
Fox sighed again. ‘That’s great an’ all, but would you please stop with the formality?’ The Canine warrior looked about, spending a longer second on the collapsed shop. ‘All right, we’ll leave the main fighting to the Preds and Dakko’s, we’ve got to stop Komodo Dragon from muddying up the pond, so to speak.’
‘We have to stop him,’ Lynx fretted. ‘Is there no way we can get him in a corner, cage him somehow?’
Lynx saw the man glance at him and for the first time, felt a proper emotion from him. The Dakkonin was very good at keeping a hold on his feelings, he was hard to read. Lynx frowned, was it regret he was getting from him?
‘Listen, kid,’ Fox told him. ‘I’m not gonna lie to you, this might end with us having no choice but to kill him. If that’s the call that has to be made, I need you at my side.’
Lynx gulped. ‘I understand that, but I’m a Predgarian and I-’
‘I know,’ Fox cut him off. ‘Predgarians protect, I got the memo. I’m just sayin’, it’s not always possible.’
Lynx nodded. ‘It’s been covered in my training.’
‘Good, so here’s the plan. The rogue’s scared of fire, just so happens, you and me are pretty good at throwing it around. We drive him away from the fighting, with a bit of luck we won’t have to do anything permanent to him and the Unicians can finish the job once the Sarpiens have all gone home.’
Lynx grinned at him. Fox had a way of talking that reminded him an awful lot of Hawk.
‘Sure, I can definitely do that.’
* * *
Dingo strode down the long corridor leading to the reception and main hall. His helmet firmly in place upon his head, he glanced at the young Avian hurrying to keep pace with him.
‘Starling.’
‘Yes, Sir?’
The brown warrior was back to calling him that, but Dingo wasn’t going to say anything about it now.
He shoved open the door to the reception, his eyes scanning the large room with its presently empty desk, several doors and corridors leading off in different directions.
‘I want you to head out the main entrance, they’ll probably be warriors there in the event the Sarpiens get brave enough and attack the temple directly.’
‘Right. What do you want me to do when I get there?’
‘Just hold the line.’ Dingo paused a moment to watch him leave, making sure the young man did as he was asked.
When the Avian was through the door, Dingo turned, shaking his head. Starling had no clue he’d just been shunted off to where the fighting would be lightest. In fact, temple guard duty meant that with a bit of luck, the kid wouldn’t be doing any fighting at all.
Starling was too young for something like this, especially if he was right and there was a Dakkonin captain in the building with murder on her mind.
Dingo blew out a breath and headed down the corridor leading to the back end of the temple, where the dorms were located.
‘Dingo?’
He paused at the familiar voice and turned.
‘I thought I saw you through the door,’ Grey Wolf added, shouldering his long-necked laser rifle.
‘Wolf, what are you doing here?’
‘I thought I’d check the area after hearing Falcon’s message, just in case the Sarpiens had finally grown tired of waiting and meant to attack us here.’
‘Message? I must’ve missed it, what was it?’
‘She put it on the open frequency. She said the Sarpiens aren’t here on a raid but to attack us specifically.’
Dingo frowned within his helmet. ‘That’s not likely, is it?’
‘I don’t know, but I know she wouldn’t have said it without reason. She must know something or have seen something for her to make it such a broad message. The Sarpiens would’ve heard as well.’
‘Hm,’ Dingo allowed. ‘Fine, well I need your help. I was up in my hopper not long ago, I hope I’m wrong but I’m sure I saw Silver Locust heading in this direction.’
Dingo paused for Wolf’s reply.
The big warrior nodded. ‘Then she’ll be heading for the Unicians no doubt. Let’s go.’
Dingo led the way down the passage but glanced at his old friend when he heard Wolf’s sigh. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘I’m worried. The end of Falcon’s message made it sound like she’d been attacked.’
‘You said it was an open transmission, right? It’ll be fine, someone would’ve been nearby when it happened.’
‘I hope so. Jackal won’t let up if he thinks he can take her out.’
Dingo thought about that as he placed his hand on the doorknob in front of him. Unsheathing his sword, he opened it slowly, his eyes darting about. ‘Empty,’ he muttered over his shoulder and stepped through into the beginning of the dorms.
‘Do you know which section the Unicians were housed in?’ Wolf asked.
‘No idea.’
‘Lovely.’
‘Hey, at least Locust won’t know either.’
�
�True,’ Wolf agreed.
Dingo paused at the first intersection. ‘Wolf, what’s with Silver Falcon and the Red Jackal?’
‘What do you mean?’ Wolf asked after a long moment.
‘Don’t give me that innocent tone,’ Dingo complained. ‘Yesterday Jackal showed up at the nightclub in South Sector and Falcon came out looking spooked. Then later when she comes back bleeding the first thing Golden Lion asks is if she was ambushed by Jackal. There’s got to be a reason it’s the first thing he’d think of.’
Wolf growled in his throat. ‘I wish you were wrong. Jackal’s been trying to capture Falcon ever since she joined us. She’s very good, Dingo, and there’s not much that scares the woman.’
‘She’s probably not helping matters by attacking Sarpiens so often,’ Dingo pointed out.
‘You think that’s her doing?’ Wolf asked. ‘Jackal’s got his Sarpiens harassing her. I think he’s hoping she’ll make a mistake.’
Dingo sighed. ‘Damn…sorry, Wolf. I really got that wrong, didn’t I?’
‘It’s okay. I just hope Falcon never finds out what Martial Eagle’s done to her.’
‘What? Martial Eagle?’
‘Why do you think all the units think she’s a troublemaker who starts fights with Sarpiens?’
‘Oh Light! And Falcon’s got no idea what’s being said about her?’
‘Not as far as I know, and I’d prefer to keep it that way.’
Dingo thought back to his conversation with Lion the day before concerning the area commander. ‘Listen, we’ll make this right. The Silver Falcon’s a good warrior and deserves better than that. I’ll tell Grey Owl what you’ve said. We’ll make sure the other units know what’s really happening with Falcon, I promise.’
Dingo paused as the sounds of scuffling began further up the corridor. He looked to his friend. ‘You think you can take her out from a distance with that?’ he asked, nodding at the laser rifle.
‘I can try. The last time I fought a silver I didn’t come off so well.’
Dingo snorted and jogged up towards the next intersection. ‘Wasn’t Falcon, was it?’
He began to tighten his focus, readying a Power attack, his eyes taking in the two white warriors down the corridor and with her back to him, a silver warrior with the transparent, gossamer wings of an Insecta.
