Gold Dragon

by Lindsay Buroker

  The two gold dragons came into view again, flying over the cliffs above the island. They were much closer now, their powerful muscles rippling under their gleaming scales as they pumped their wings.

  Rysha held her breath, feeling vulnerable and out in the open. Dorfindral hummed on her hip, seeming to cry, “Fight!” into her mind.

  “Soon,” she whispered.

  Four silver dragons came into view, following the golds, and two bronze dragons came after them. Trip had been right. Eight total.

  One of the bronze dragons dipped a wing and peered down toward them. Had he seen through the camouflage? Since Rysha couldn’t sense magic, she had to trust that it was there.

  The bronze straightened his path and continued after the others. The dragons disappeared over the cliffs, still heading toward the capital. Alarm gongs sounded in the distance. The city was alert. Rysha hoped it was ready.

  The thrumming under Shulina Arya’s feet increased, and Rysha felt the reverberations through her body. One end of the platform tilted upward, then dropped back down. It wobbled like a top for a few seconds, and Rysha worried that meant it wouldn’t lift off. But then all sides rose at once. As incredible as it seemed without the help of balloons of any kind, the platform inched upward.

  The enemy dragons have engaged your people, Shulina Arya said.

  Tolemek ran down the ladder from the tower he’d been on and, without glancing her way, raced to a pile of materials, grabbed what he needed, and ran to the next tower. Trip climbed out of the engine area and also sprinted for the materials pile.

  Rysha realized there was little she could do since she hadn’t seen the most recent blueprints and didn’t have any experience assembling rocket launchers. A part of her wanted to stay and protect Trip while he finished working, but she could check back on him later. The city needed her sword and Shulina Arya’s fangs and magic.

  “Trip,” Rysha yelled, “if you don’t need us, we’re going to join the battle.”

  Good, he told her. He was running toward a tower with heavy-looking materials floating in the air behind him, but he paused to look at her, to meet her eyes. Be careful. I love you.

  Rysha’s heart lifted. He’d implied before that he felt that way, but he had never said the words.

  I love you too, Trip. Rysha patted Shulina Arya’s scales to let her know she was ready to take off. You be careful too, she added. I’d be most distraught if you died before I convinced my family that they like you and approve of you.

  You’re going to convince them of that? Trip climbed the ladder to the bare tower, nothing but the base of a rocket launcher installed there so far. I thought I had to make them a coffee maker.

  That will certainly help, especially right now, since I don’t think they’ve yet hired back any of the servants.

  They had servants to make the coffee?

  Of course, Trip. Noblemen and women don’t make their own beverages.

  He snorted. Major Kaika as queen is going to be downright scandalous, isn’t it?

  I have no doubt of that. Rysha imagined Kaika getting up from some function at the castle and heading into the kitchen to refill her own beverage as the servants gaped in flustered distress.

  As Shulina Arya flew over the cliffs and toward the harbor, Rysha wondered if Kaika would be in one of the fliers, taking her chapaharii sword into the air for battle again. It was hard to imagine her not wanting to fight, but with her hair not grown back from her last encounter with a dragon, she might not be as eager as usual.

  Ah, excellent, Shulina Arya said, beating her wings hard as the battle came into view. There are plenty of dragons still left for us.

  They were all left. The fight had barely begun. Fliers were still taking off from the bluff.

  It looks like you can take your pick of worthy opponents. Rysha took a deep breath and drew Dorfindral. I’m ready.

  The weapons platform rose ponderously, and Trip grimaced, watching the engines and propellers with his senses as his hands worked to ratchet down the base of one of the rocket launchers. A small stack of rockets gleamed in the sun, resting in the cradle he’d built into the top of the tower for them. He could sense the dragon-blood-derived acid inside, along with an explosive charge, but barely. His head throbbed from the proximity to the tainted ore, which was incorporated all throughout the platform, and most heavily concentrated in the rocket casings.

  “In theory, you should pop magical barriers,” he muttered to the weapons. “We’re about to find out if that’s true.”

  Are you steering this platform, Captain? Tolemek asked into his mind.

  Not yet.

  The weapons platform had to clear the cliffs before it could head south toward the city. Trip hoped it would move laterally faster than it was lifting, or the battle would be over by the time they reached the harbor.

  There’s a wheel and levers in the wheelhouse that will let a mundane person steer it, Trip added.

  As strange as it seemed, this whole structure would ideally be controlled by those without dragon blood, those who wouldn’t be repulsed by the tainted ore. With that in mind, he had designed it for mundane hands.

  That wasn’t my question. I want to know if you’re going to keep us from running into that cliff over there.

  I’ll handle it. Trip didn’t think they were close enough to worry about it yet. Just keep installing weapons, please.

  Tolemek grunted. You sound like Zirkander. Except he doesn’t say please.

  I’m low enough ranking that I’m used to asking politely for things.

  It’s a good policy to maintain. Are we testing these rockets before we sail into the middle of the battle and start firing them? I know you said they would be drawn to dragons, but have you figured out how to make sure they go after the right dragons?

  By asking our allies to make sure they’re farther away from us than the enemy dragons.

  That’s it?

  I couldn’t think of any other way to select targets based on their alliances or temperament. In the future, if the weapons platform proves effective, we won’t need our allies in the air.

  Good luck telling Ravenwood’s female that. She seems bloodthirsty.

  She just enjoys pitting herself against others in noble battle. Something that Trip could understand. He lamented that he would be stuck on the platform during the fight instead of in his flier.

  Uh huh. Looks like company is coming.

  Trip lifted his head. They had cleared the cliffs and could turn south toward the city now, but a dragon was heading their way. One of the silvers. Had it been sent to investigate the platform? Or destroy it? The dragons must have guessed it represented a threat.

  I guess we’ll get a chance to test the weapons, Trip replied. But not this one. The launcher isn’t operational yet.

  He envisioned himself grabbing one of the rockets and throwing it like a spear.

  Towers Two, Five, Nine, Ten, and Twelve should have working launchers, Tolemek said from his spot on Tower Six. I made sure one on each side of the weapons platform was operational.

  Good idea.

  Trip jumped up, thinking he would have to run to the closest working launcher, but he saw that Tower Two already had a rocket loaded in it. He could detonate it remotely with his power.

  He eyed the dragon’s approach, its silver form growing larger as it flew over the suburbs along the coast north of the city. When Trip had been making his calculations, he’d decided the ideal range for the weapons would be less than eight hundred yards so the dragons wouldn’t have much time to react. The rockets would launch like bullets, but he could still envision the magical creatures twisting quickly enough to grab them out of the air with their talons, then throwing them away before they could explode.

  “Three… two… one… now,” he whispered and pulled the launch lever with his mind.

  He sensed a click, as the ignition system activated, but the rocket didn’t fire.

  Cursing, Trip leaped from his tower
and ran across the deck. He magically elevated himself to Tower Two as the dragon swooped in close. The silver came right at him, talons extended, and Trip sensed it drawing upon its power.

  Azarwrath? he asked as he wrapped a barrier around himself. He knelt behind the malfunctioning launcher, in part for cover but mostly because he had to fix it.

  He realized right away that his barrier was thin and weak, barely extending beyond his body. He groaned—it was because he knelt on the tainted iron. Even the small bit threaded through the top of the tower was enough to disrupt his abilities.

  Lending my power, the soulblade said as the silver hurled a mental attack.

  Something like a hurricane battered Trip’s mental defenses as the dragon came in. Fortunately, its attack was weaker than Trip expected. Maybe the tainted iron affected it, even though the dragon wasn’t touching the platform.

  It screeched, and its talons slashed as it neared Trip, trying to snatch him up like a falcon snatching a mouse from a field. Those talons clashed against his barrier and bumped off, but the blow sent a jolt through him.

  Trip snatched one of the rockets from the cradle as the dragon flew away, banking to come around and attack him again. He hefted the weapon to his shoulder and hurled it toward the creature’s chest with all of his physical and mental power.

  The dragon tried to dodge, but it was too close. Trip sensed its barrier popping and the rocket continuing through. Even though he hadn’t thrown it with the power of one of the launchers, it was designed to explode on impact, and it did.

  Trip funneled more power into his barrier as it blew, yellow fire engulfing the dragon, and a wave of energy flowing in all directions. It hammered Trip’s defenses, and he dropped to one knee, gritting his teeth and struggling to keep up his magical protection. He imagined the tainted ore under his knee mocking him, and for a second, he was back in Bhodian’s barge, defenseless as his powers flagged.

  The dragon thumped to the deck, screeching in pain. A gunshot fired, and Trip shook his head, thrusting the memories from his mind. He jumped to his feet in time to see the silver also recovering, running and flapping its wings as it headed for the side.

  Tolemek fired again, using a pistol loaded with his acid bullets. The dragon’s defenses were down after the beating it had taken, and acid already coated its scales, oozing between them and biting into flesh. The bullet smacked it in the backside. The dragon didn’t stick around to take more abuse. It leaped over the railing and flew away.

  Trip jumped down from the tower and ran to the side of the platform to see where it went. Had they hurt it badly enough to put it out of commission? Or was it merely inconvenienced and on its way to attack someone else?

  The dragon flew toward the harbor, then dove abruptly. At first, Trip thought it was after a flier or ship down in the water, but it plunged below the surface. He sensed its pain, its attempt to get rid of the acid burning through its scales. They might not have killed it, but Trip hoped its discomfort meant it wouldn’t be able to return to the battle.

  “If I’d known you were simply going to throw the rockets like hook balls,” Tolemek said, coming up beside him, “I wouldn’t have bothered installing the launchers.”

  “The launcher didn’t work.” Trip jerked his thumb toward the tower.

  “Ah, this is why I wanted time to test everything.”

  “Me too.”

  Trip ran back to the tower, hoping he could quickly find and fix the problem. The weapons platform was almost to the harbor now, and he could hear the pounding of machine guns, the cries of men and dragons, and the thrum of propeller blades. Again, he wished he was in his flier, but he had to accept that he’d chosen this fate for himself and that once he got his platform fully operational, it had the potential to be far more helpful to his country than Trip alone.

  He just hoped he could train others to operate it, because between the dragon’s attack and the power-sucking attribute of the ore, his head ached so badly he thought he would throw up. And the battle had just begun.

  Some of the fliers are heading this way, Tolemek told him. He’d climbed one of the other towers and had a good view of the battle. With a gold dragon chasing them.

  This way? Why?

  Maybe they think we have a working rocket launcher to use.

  Trip groaned. Would any of the others work or did they all have the same problem?

  He peeked up from his work. He was about to find out.

  25

  “They’re aiming for our sword wielders again,” came Zirkander’s voice over the communication crystal. “Fly crazy. Keep them confused.”

  Rysha listened as she and Shulina Arya chased after a gold dragon pursuing several of the fliers. It was pure luck that she wore the uniform that still had the crystal buttoned in the pocket.

  “Don’t we always fly crazy, sir?” Captain Duck drawled. “That’s in the rules, isn’t it?”

  “Get crazier. You’re the one with a gold dragon trying to polish your butt with her breath.”

  “Her? Do we know it’s a her?”

  “Don’t get excited, Duck,” Leftie said. “She doesn’t look like she’s into big ears.”

  Rysha couldn’t believe the pilots could trade jokes when they were being chased by a dragon. A few of the fliers looped away, flying upside down and twisting to come back in and fire at the big gold. But their bullets bounced uselessly off the dragon’s shields.

  Rysha silently urged Shulina Arya to fly faster, to get her there so she and Dorfindral could do something about those shields. She already crouched, ready to lash out as soon as she could.

  The fliers that didn’t loop back to attack flew straight to the north, toward the hulking weapons platform that had come into view, the noises of its engines and propellers audible for miles around. Whoever was leading that squadron—Zirkander? Tranq?—was heading for it. Rysha hoped Trip had something waiting if they succeeded in leading the dragon within the platform’s range.

  Surrender your foul blades, the gold chasing the fliers commanded. We will let you live if you do not threaten us further, but know that we have claimed this land for our own.

  We’ve almost caught up to her, Shulina Arya told Rysha. Be ready.

  Rysha was ready, but all she could see so far was dragon butt and dragon tail. Shulina Arya shifted slightly, beating her wings furiously to try to draw even with the enemy. But the gold wasn’t even paying attention to them. It flew at top speed, attempting to catch one of the fliers—was that Colonel Grady in the back?

  The gold breathed fire at it as the pilot corkscrewed away, dipping low and out of the fire’s path.

  Another gold dragon flew in from the side, almost ramming into the enemy. For a moment, Rysha was confused as gold dragons seemed to be everywhere.

  It is I, the god Bhrava Saruth, cried the newcomer.

  He snapped at the enemy, only to have his fangs deflected by magic, but two riders were astride his back, and one leaped up. Major Kaika. She rode behind Sardelle, who sat with her soulblade raised aloft. A fireball leaped from Jaxi’s tip and slammed into the dragon’s barrier. But it wasn’t until Bhrava Saruth twisted in the air, tilting his back toward the enemy so Kaika could slash with her chapaharii blade that her defenses dropped.

  The female shrieked a protest and whipped her head toward them, snapping at Bhrava Saruth. Shulina Arya ducked as the tail lashed through the air toward her head. Rysha jumped up, slashing as the tip streaked past.

  It had to be the least fatal place to strike a dragon, but she felt faint satisfaction as Dorfindral slashed through the tip of the tail, lopping off six inches. A screech of pain assaulted her ear drums.

  Brace yourself, Shulina Arya warned as she rolled sideways.

  Something slammed into them with the weight of a tree trunk toppled in a storm. Even though Shulina Arya’s defenses had to have been up, a jolt of pain rattled every bone in Rysha’s body. She dropped to her belly on Shulina Arya’s back, barely keeping her grip on D
orfindral.

  You dare maim my mate? A furious cry thundered in her head, making her gasp with pain.

  It was only then that Rysha realized the second enemy gold dragon had joined in.

  She forced herself to sit up as Shulina Arya turned to face him. The gold female was injured but still in the fight, battling Bhrava Saruth and also giving chase to the fliers. They were flying over Trip’s platform now. Rysha hoped he could help, because Shulina Arya had decided to face this new threat.

  I dare defend my new homeland, Shulina Arya cried, flying straight toward his head. You are not welcome here.

  The male tilted and dipped, evading her blunt attack. You think you are truly welcome? These humans only wish to use you, as they used our kind a thousand years ago. They know they are weak and defenseless without us, so they befriend any dragon weak-minded enough to allow it.

  Shulina Arya growled and banked, flying toward him again. Rysha crouched, hoping she would get close enough for her to use Dorfindral.

  A half-dozen voices came out of the communication crystal in her pocket, shouting words like, “…got me” and “…too damaged to fly.”

  “Land on the platform if you have to.” That was Zirkander.

  Shulina Arya flew close, this time anticipating when the male dove away from her. She followed, opening her maw and spraying fire at him. His shielding deflected the flames, as expected. He banked sharply, evading her again.

  Why are you running, coward? Shulina Arya demanded.

  Rysha feared it was because he was buying time, keeping Shulina Arya busy so his allies could attack the city at will.

  She peered down and around, looking for the rest of the dragons. Her heart sank because she saw she was right. Two silvers and a bronze were attacking the castle and destroying the artillery weapons on the army fort’s walls. The other two silvers had joined the gold female and battled against Bhrava Saruth and the fliers.

  The female hurled fire at those fliers every chance she got. Rysha feared none of the aircraft were getting close enough for the sword wielders in the back seats to do any damage.