by Amelia Jade
Miranda looked back and forth at all of them. Daxxton silently urged her to accept the offer.
The house shook again, and this time he could hear the roar of flames as part of the building caught on fire.
Vogel came hurtling down the hallway, the last of the princess’s security team. “They’re just circling the house, blasting it with their breath weapons,” he said. “The ground teams have gone for cover, as ordered, and are not engaging,” he reported to Daxxton. “Alert teams have been notified. Five minutes out.”
Daxxton swore as Miranda turned, her eyes darkening. She’d been about to accept the offer.
“There,” she said. “That settles it. Five minutes.” She swept her gaze over her team. “You know what you have to do.”
She turned and began walking down the hallway from which Vogel had just come.
“Where are you going?” Daxxton called, even as his legs carried him after her.
Behind him, he heard Nolan whisper something to Harriet and give her a kiss, while other footsteps in the rubble told him Dak and Zoltan didn’t pause either.
“To show these fuckers that Tanith is done being bullied,” she snarled. “This ends here and now.”
The house shuddered once more, threatening to spill them over. But Dak just laughed, his voice a challenge to the forces that made the entire foundation of the massive building sway.
“Fuck it,” Vogel said in a quieter voice. “I never signed up for this, but the hell if these shit stains are going to bully us anymore.”
Daxxton looked around as the others nodded and agreed with the sentiment. He’d never felt anything like it before.
That’s because you’re an Aurum Dragon of Cadia. You’ve always been the big man on campus. These shifters have been looked down upon their entire lives, treated as lesser by many. This is their chance to show the world they’re just as powerful as any other on the planet.
The doors to outside approached, and he could see in the afternoon light that the property was burning.
The knowledge that someone had come to his doorstep, and attacked his homeland without so much as a warning, ignited something in Daxxton.
A fire of purest gold flared to life within him, and his strides lengthened.
In a moment he was alongside Miranda.
“My lady,” he said, his voice taking on a strange tone, one he’d only heard rarely, and that he was positive she hadn’t.
“Yes,” Miranda replied, not pausing.
The hallway began to glow golden yellow as he practically pulsed with light, the mirrors and paintings that still hung reflecting the light back upon them.
“I will fight with you. They have come for you. But you are here, in my homeland, and you are under my protection. It is only right that I lead the way.”
Miranda looked at him, and he wondered what she saw. It had been centuries since he’d let his power truly run free.
“Very well,” she said, her voice solemn as they approached the doors to outside. “Lead us.”
And so he, Daxxton Ryker, Aurum Dragon, Wing Commander of Top Scale Academy and Guardian of Cadia, went to war.
The doors flew apart at his touch, shattering outward as barely-contained power in his fingertips was transferred to them. Huge chunks of wood and panes of glass went flying, the sheer force of his being blowing them out in a hurricane of destruction that would have flayed alive anyone in its path.
He strode forward, no longer hampered by the walls, the golden fires within him exploding outward and upward. He swept his arms high and the power of his dragon took him along for the ride as a blast of force threw him into the sky. In the blink of an eye, faster than any shifter on the planet, he went from human to dragon.
He simply hurled one large blue dragon aside as he blasted through it, his dragon unfurling its wings. The shredded corpse of his victim tumbled to the ground, torn apart by his touch alone.
All across the sky the dragons of Iron Scales’ A Company took note.
The Aurum Dragon was among them. This was his home, and those who had come here were going to pay.
Daxxton swooped downward upon a hapless Fire Dragon. His breath weapon was unlike anything any of these dragons had seen.
An incandescent cone of fire blasted forth, wrapped up in a blue-white corona of electrical energy that bore into one side of the enemy dragon and simply continued out the other side unimpeded.
The limp corpse plummeted to the ground, crushing one of the many statues on the grounds beneath it as it landed, lifeless.
Fire and ice slammed into him as the others recovered, but he was immune to their attacks.
Around him the others took to the skies. Zoltan and Miranda’s Blast Dragons swirled upward, taking on any challengers even as Vogel, Dak, and Nolan came hot on their heels.
The element of surprise was over, and though he still glowed with a golden fire like the phoenix of legend, Daxxton knew his friends would be in for a tough fight. Even as he watched, Dak took a cloud of toxic gas to the face from a large Fume Dragon.
He would need to fight at his finest if they were to survive until his friends arrived.
Inhaling again, he sent balls of icy fire raining down upon his foes like he was one of the gods of the sky. The mixture of dragon weapons was unique to his kind, and the Iron Scales didn’t know what to do. The fireballs, instead of simply exploding like normal, spread out. The Frostfire aspect of them acted like oil, adhering the Dragonfire to his opponents.
More beams of lightning-wrapped fire bored holes through wings, but they were ready for him now, and he grunted as he felt the sonic energy of Blastfire slam into his rear leg.
The Iron Scales had a good mix of dragons.
Still, he was Daxxton Ryker, and they were not.
Another dragon went down, half its head burned away by his attack.
That was three down. Six to go.
Three and six is only nine…
Daxxton frowned as he ducked under an incoming Electro Dragon and raked his claws across the underside of a Frost Dragon before he flapped his wings hard, gaining ground.
This was A Company. He recognized Arrent Crommer, the giant red dragon that Miranda was dueling with.
But Arrent was supposed to be the tenth dragon of A Company.
If they only had nine…
A roar sounded from behind him.
Daxxton whirled about in the air at the challenge, his eyes going wide.
From the far side of the house, a silver glow caught his attention.
“Corbin,” he hissed with surprise.
The legendary leader of the Iron Scales, Corbin Provaley, was on the field of battle. And much to his surprise, Corbin was no ordinary dragon.
He was a Silver Dragon. One of the Old Bloods. Older, more powerful, and larger than normal dragons. This was a foe to be wary of.
Daxxton snarled at the unexpected turn of events, but he didn’t back down, even as the gigantic dragon took to the skies with another roar.
Now here was a fight, the likes of which he hadn’t had in many centuries. This would test him to his limits, but Daxxton never hesitated.
After all, Silver Dragons weren’t the only ones of the Old Blood.
Daxxton inhaled.
***
Miranda
She watched in horror as the Silver Dragon rose to challenge Daxxton. It was nearly the same size as he was, a good twenty feet bigger even than Zoltan, one of the biggest dragons she’d ever seen.
She’d always known that the Old Bloods were big, but to see one challenge Daxxton now, she wanted desperately to go to his aid.
A blast of fire cut across her vision, and she knew she would be unable to help him. The red Fire Dragon in front of her now could only be one person.
Arrent Crommer was nobody to take lightly, and now that Daxxton was preoccupied, she had to lead her dwindling team to victory, somehow.
Dak was down, having managed to escape into the safety of the still-sta
nding parts of the house, where the other dragons couldn’t find him.
But the numbers were beginning to tell, even as Zoltan took down another Frost Dragon.
That was four down, but it was just her, Zoltan, Vogel, and Nolan against the five remaining dragons, who she was positive were the most powerful in the Iron Scales’ A Company.
Miranda hit one of Arrent’s wings with her Blastfire, and the big Fire Dragon ducked out of the way, trying to gain some distance as he regained control.
She twisted her body aside as he shot a cone of fire at her. The attack singed her underside, scales twisting and popping free as the heat singed them. Miranda roared in pain, but the sudden glow that infused the sky distracted her.
Her head whipped around to see Daxxton unleash the full spectrum of his breath against the Silver Dragon who could only be Corbin, the leader of the Iron Scales.
The glow built and built at his mouth, until it shot forward. Three streams of energy twisted around each other as his entire body seemed to glow with golden light. Dragonfire, Frostfire, and Electrofire, a stream of each stretched forth, spinning around each other like a helix, until the attack impacted upon the Silver Dragon in a display of power she’d never even realized was possible.
The Silver Dragon roared as scales flew everywhere, the sheer force of the blow throwing the massive creature around in the air.
But even as Miranda watched, her eyes went wide as the Silver Dragon glowed golden, and then spat the exact same stream of energy back at Daxxton.
He was already moving she saw, much to her relief, but the power still left a jagged line down his left side from middle to rear, golden scales and blood evaporating under the attack’s touch.
Daxxton roared and swooped forward, slamming into the Silver Dragon.
No, not Silver Dragon, she thought, remembering the other name Corbin’s kind went by.
Echo Dragon.
She hadn’t believed it, but after witnessing what had just happened, she realized it had to be true.
The Silver Dragons had a natural breath of Quicksilver, a liquid that seared and froze its victim all at the same time. But any time it was hit by another dragon’s breath weapon, it could use a one-time blast of that same weapon.
Her attention was ripped back to her own battle however, as razor-sharp talons raked down her back.
Arrent had used her momentary lapse in concentration to maneuver behind her. She spun with a quickness that drew screams from abused muscles and hit him right in the face with the full force of her tail.
The Fire Dragon roared as she followed that up with a powerful hit of Blastfire that further weakened the red dragon.
But it wasn’t enough, and he dove in pursuit of her as she tried to pull away.
Around them, his team was gaining the upper hand on hers. Vogel narrowly escaped a blast of Frostfire and another of Dragonfire, but he ran headlong into the Electrofire that the third dragon unleashed at him, and his wing crumpled under him.
Nolan was doing a bit better, and Zoltan was wearing his opponent down. But the numbers were against them, and it was showing.
A second dragon hurtled in at Zoltan, and suddenly the Blast Dragon was in big trouble, doing his best just to survive.
This was it, she realized. If Daxxton couldn’t finish Corbin quickly, it was all over. They were dead.
“Fuck you!” she roared at Arrent, sending three quick bursts of Blastfire at him, forcing the bigger dragon to duck and dodge around them.
But he kept coming, closing in on her. His mouth opened and she prepared for the pain that would come as his fire struck home.
But it never happened.
The wrath of the gods themselves suddenly rained down upon the remaining members of A Company.
Five more dragons dropped from the skies, unleashing their breath weapons at the already weakened attackers.
Green fumes knocked a Frost Dragon from the sky as the shifter screamed, the toxic gas finding its lungs.
Even as she watched, a blast of Frostfire slammed into one of Arrent’s wings, throwing the big red’s attack on her aside.
He whirled in mid-air and Miranda seized on his surprise. Her wings snapped up and out, halting her progress and spinning her around at the same time.
The big red dragon kept coming at her, but she was ready. When they collided she wrapped her talons and wings around his head and neck, raking him repeatedly even as her three-inch long teeth ripped chunks of scale and flesh from his neck.
They fell from the air together, but she didn’t care. She had him, and he wasn’t getting away.
Arrent roared and screamed, but it was too late.
The newcomers turned the tide and A Company dragons dropped from the sky quickly, overwhelmed as Daxxton’s team arrived to swiftly end the battle.
Miranda saw the ground coming up quickly and pushed herself off of Arrent, her abused wings halting her fall, though they screamed in protest.
Her foe, however, didn’t have time, and he slammed into one of the ruined wings of the house. She didn’t think the fall would have been fatal on its own, but the giant wood spike sticking up through his torso indicated otherwise.
Her attention was immediately riveted to the battle ongoing on the far side of the Nova Estates building.
Daxxton and Corbin circled, each of them hurt, but neither out of the fight yet.
Scales rained from the sky as they blasted each other with their breath weapons and raked each other with their talons as they closed.
“Daxxton,” she said, landing near to Nolan, whose opponent had surrendered rather than be killed.
“Look at him go,” Nolan said. “I didn’t think anyone could stand up to the Old Bloods.”
Vogel landed next to them with a snort. “I didn’t realize there were any Old Bloods still actively involved in our world.”
Daxxton unleashed another one of his triple-fire weapons. This one rendered the rear leg of Corbin useless, but even as he roared in pain, the Echo Dragon fired back.
But Daxxton was ready, and he sent his own breath weapon forward again. The two beams of energy met in the air with a crackle of unhinged power that battled back and forth as they circled upward.
She watched in awe as the streams of power fought for supremacy. The Silver Dragon seemed to be winning, but even as his breath closed in on Daxxton, the Aurum Dragon began to pulse with an inner light, like she’d seen within him as they first left the house.
The light grew, and grew, until it became almost too bright to look at.
But Miranda had to see, and though her eyes watered, she stared at the power on display.
The Silver Dragon tried to answer, but it just couldn’t match Daxxton. The golden light became a fire, and she watched in shocked awe as golden flames unlike anything she’d seen before burst from Daxxton, turning him into something…else.
“A Phoenix,” Nolan whispered in awe from next to her.
The golden flames seemed to give Daxxton power, and even as she watched he pushed the stream of energy coming from his mouth back toward the Silver Dragon. Corbin fought against it, but even she could see he was out of his element.
The golden flames began to pour from Daxxton’s mouth and replaced the triple-stream of Fire, Ice, and Lightning.
Then it hit the Silver Dragon, and Miranda was forced to look away as the Echo Dragon simply erupted in flame so hot it disintegrated in mid-air.
When her vision returned the light was leaving Daxxton and he was circling toward the ground.
No sign of his foe remained.
Chapter Thirteen
Daxxton
He sagged wearily as his feet touched ground, his entire body drained of energy.
It had been many centuries, and a much younger Daxxton, the last time he’d had to expend so much energy in a fight.
The others circled around him chattering excitedly about what they’d seen. He finished shifting back and gathered his breath, then just shook his head
.
“Don’t you get it?” he asked, dejected at their enthusiasm.
“Get what? That you just kicked some major ass?” Nolan exclaimed and the others, even his instructors from Top Scale, chimed in.
“Not that,” he all but snarled.
Miranda stepped forward, pushing the others back. He could see in her eyes that she had an inkling of what was going on in his mind. It shouldn’t have surprised him that she was the first to pick up on it, but it did. Daxxton made a mental note to apologize to her for that later. She continued to impress him, which meant he was underestimating her still, and that needed to stop.
“I’m sorry,” she said, reaching up and putting her arms around him.
He held her tight. “Thank you.”
“I don’t get it,” Dak said, holding himself up on Zander, his one leg useless for the time being until it healed.
“Well you should,” Miranda said, wheeling on her security man. “Yes, he just showed off his true capabilities, and they were amazing. Nobody is arguing that. But he did so to kill off not just one of our own, but one of the few remaining Old Bloods. That should be cause for sadness, not rejoicing.”
The mood around them sobered. Daxxton knew he needed to do something. They couldn’t fall into melancholy just then. He needed them for more than that. This wasn’t over.
“It should also be a cause for anger,” he said, straightening, feeling a rush of energy surge through him as he realized at last what had to happen. He didn’t want to do it, but it was past that now. He had no choice.
“Anger at what?” Blaine, his senior instructor and one of his closest friends, asked.
“At the people that let this happen,” he said firmly. “Think about it. These men just flew into Cadia. Ten dragons. Waltzed right in over the border. There was nothing that could be done about it even if we had spotted them. But the Guardian program has been scaled so far back that we didn’t even have eyes in place to see them come. That is what we should be angry about.”
He turned slowly, eyeing each of the shifters in turn. “If we had even just seen them come in, the alarm could have been raised. We would have been alerted, and we could have met them with our full strength, and dealt with this peacefully. Nobody would have had to die today. Instead,” he shot a finger at one of the survivors, sitting grumpily against a pile of stone that used to be a statue, “many of your friends died today. Many of our kind. We’re already few enough in this world.”
