War of Dragons (26 page)

All clear, sir. Just two in this house,
the dragon reported
. Both are dead.

Matok nodded, a little disappointed.
To the other house!

He met the flight leader outside the building, blood dripping from his teeth.
One started to transform, sir,
he announced.
He didn't get very far. There were just two others.

Matok nodded in acknowledgment. Just five in the two buildings. Hardly an impressive victory, but a victory nonetheless.

Excellent work. This may seem like an easy task, but it could easily have gone wrong. They may have looked old and feeble, but had they transformed it would have been very different.
Matok paused, wondering if his men believed these words any more than he did.
Come, our next target will be more challenging. A village, not just a couple of houses. We will be joining up with two other groups. Let's go!

***

Across the border, Kessick's troops were waiting for the sun to rise above the hill that stood behind them. "Men, it is time!" Colonel Kessick roared. "This is the first time that I have had to sit out the actual fighting in one of these operations and I admit, I am envious of you." He pointed to the east. "As soon as the sun appears above that hill, you will be able to leave to fly straight into our enemies' territory—not sneaking in hoping the border patrol doesn't see you, but openly, daring them to challenge you. You will meet the Red Dragons in the open skies above their great cities and you will defeat them!"

The men roared their approval of this bold statement.

"This will be a truly unforgettable day. The Red Dragons are about to be struck a mighty blow, one from which they cannot recover. When you take Obud and your comrades in the north and south take Newcastle and Black Rock, they will have lost over half of their cities and the strongest three at that. Their capital is a weak city, far from our borders and full of lazy cowards that depend on these three cities to keep them safe from us. Well today, we will strip away that protection and then there will be nothing to prevent Furnace from falling. Some might think that they will only be defeated when we take their capital, but I say the war starts and ends today!" Kessick waited till the cheers died down before continuing. "Look!" he shouted, pointing to the east. "The sun rises! Transform and head to Obud! It is yours for the taking!"

***

Matok's campaign was continuing with the same success as he enjoyed earlier.

"Another victory, Squadron Leader!" the flight leader clapped Matok on the back. "We didn't lose a single dragon!"

The village had fallen and Matok, as the only squadron leader among the three groups that had joined to attack the village, had nominally taken charge of the assault. Twenty Red Dragons were lying dead throughout the village, over half of which never even begun their transformation. Matok and the three flight leaders had transformed to take stock of the situation.

"The honour shall be shared by all," Matok stated grandly. "My report will commend you all most highly. How many prisoners do we have?"

His flight leader coughed apologetically. "Less than we had hoped, sir. Some of the men were a little too enthusiastic and a couple of those slain were probably too young to transform and could have been captured. I understand there are just four."

Matok sighed. "Better than nothing, I suppose. Have them bound and ready for transport. We will leave in a few minutes. Just two dragons should be enough to carry them. Did we sustain any injuries at all?"

"Some minor injuries, Squadron Leader," one of the other flight leaders answered, "but nothing that will stop anyone from flying. A handful of the Reds managed to transform, but we stopped them from grouping together and picked them off one by one."

"One managed to get off the ground," the other flight leader added, "but didn't get very far. One of my men was waiting for him."

Matok nodded, trying to suppress a smile. The attack could have gone better if they'd managed to kill more of them before they transformed, but this was more satisfying. With twenty-one dragons he'd taken four prisoners and killed twenty Red Dragons, not counting the five they'd killed earlier. He hadn't been keen on Perak's methods, but they certainly achieved outstanding results. He turned to his own flight leader. "Have the men sweep the village again for survivors and then we will head to the meeting point."

His flight leader nodded. "Very good, Squadron Leader."

Matok watched him hurry away, the other two flight leaders following him. An efficient fellow, but Matok could be dammed if he could remember his name. The moment for asking had passed; it would just be embarrassing to ask now. He looked up at the sky, searching for signs of life. They were not on the route to Obud, but he half expected to see some of their forces pass by soon. The sun had been up for an hour; the invasion should now be fully underway….

***

"Perak, I've just come straight from the frontline. They've begun the assault on the city!"

Perak, who had been deep in conversation with Eric, glared at Pan. Of course they had; his job was to come here as soon as that happened. They were deep in Red Dragon territory, about half an hour's flight from Obud at a temporary command centre that Perak was setting up at a farm they had captured.

"Yes, thank you. Have you any useful information to give me?"

Pan nodded, missing the slight entirely. "The journey there was surprisingly good and we didn't meet any resistance before we reached the city. However, they were in the air long before we arrived. There were quite a few more of them than we expected and they flew out to us to meet the attack head on. Not enough to defeat us, of course, but I think this battle could be a lot closer than we expected."

Than
you
expected
, Perak thought, having expected strong resistance. Kanesh had come to see him about this on two occasions to voice his concerns on the matter and it was at Kanesh's suggestion that Pan was reporting back to him now. Of course, Perak's own sources provided him with enough information to have come to the same conclusion, so Kanesh needn't have bothered. Kanesh had also suggested that they move the prisoners further away if the attack wasn't going well, advice that Perak had no intention of following.

"Very good. Ready for another flight, Pan?" Perak asked as he left the tent, followed by Eric.

"Er, yes, but where are we going? The plan was for us to stay in this location for the rest of the day. I must say, your men have put up this camp quickly. I didn't expect to see so many of them here so soon."

Perak ignored him, just nodding to Eric as they passed before beginning his transformation. Eric had already transformed and shrieked loudly, calling three times. Perak had promoted Eric to wing commander, as he displayed all of the leadership qualities that Pan lacked and commanded the respect of all of his peers as well as the men that reported to him. All over the camp the men began transforming, responding to the signal. Pan, looking a little bewildered, began to transform as well. By the time he finished Perak and Eric were in the air.

Perak, where are we going?
Pan asked, struggling to catch up.

Obud,
Perak replied.
These men are itching for a fight, and I don't mean to disappoint them. Eric, you have your troops; you may go to them.

Yes, sir. Thank you, sir,
Eric replied, quickly flying away to join the dragons he commanded.

What are you going to do?
Pan asked.
You can't mean to fight yourself? You're far too senior.

I will do as I must,
Perak replied calmly.
This battle may fail without our help and I do not intend for my work to go to waste. Come, lead the way.
Pan may have been a little irritating, but he was an excellent fighter. Having him beside him would make this a lot more interesting, as whatever Tarek and Kessick planned to do, Perak intended to fight.

***

Over the city of Obud, Colonel Nabegar, the dragon in charge of the initial attack, was watching his Blue Dragons anxiously, directing them from above. The first wave of attackers had been completely eliminated and the second wave was now fully engaged. His second-in-command, a wing commander called Joket, flew up to join him.

That's the last of the Purples,
Joket declared.
We're approaching the point where we have the same number as they do, but without the home advantage.

Colonel Nabegar was thinking the same thing. Obud was littered with the dead from both sides and the Red forces were down to half their original number, but he had lost even more.

The Purples were our weakest forces,
he countered.
They were never intended to survive. They've served their purpose and weakened the Red Dragons.
The Purples were the offspring of their slaves; Blue Dragons, but frequently displaying the red hair that betrayed their heritage. Although he didn't care for their loss, he had hoped they would survive longer than this.
We still have about a third more than them and these are now our strongest forces. They'll destroy the Reds; it'll just take a little longer than we hoped.
His words lacked any conviction. The Reds were larger and stronger than them and were strengthened by their Dragonstones. Normally, they were faster than the Reds, but the Dragonstones allowed the Reds to fly faster as well. There was a real danger that they would gain the upper hand. The battle had been raging for ages now and both sides were getting tired, but the Blues more so, having had to fly so far to get there.

The bombers will be due soon,
Joket reminded him.
They can't attack until the air is clear. Even if our men do prevail, they may do so too late for the bombers.

Colonel Nabegar ignored him, keenly watching the battle. More and more dragons dropped from the air and whatever he said, he also knew that any moment now he would have to give the command to retreat, which would be a failure that he would never live down.

Look!
Joket said suddenly.
High above the city!

The Colonel looked up and saw a sight that lifted his spirit: tens of thousands of new arrivals had appeared from nowhere and were preparing to join the battle. It could only be Perak's forces, although what they were doing here was anyone's guess, as Zygar had given him strict instructions to stay and guard his prisoners. Diving from above, the Reds were yet to notice this new and game-changing threat.

That's Colonel Perak!
Nabegar roared.
He's actually leading the charge, the crazy fool!

Perak spearheaded the attack, his dragons striking the Red Dragons' forces hard and sending thousands to their deaths with the first contact. Although the overall numbers hadn't changed that significantly with the new arrivals, the Reds knew it was the end for them. They were already tired, but Perak's men were fresh and eager to join the fight. They attacked with a furious vigour and despite only being equal to about a quarter of the size of Nabegar's existing forces, it was enough to give them the advantage. The Red Dragons slowly retreated, circling continuously lower until they all tried to seek the safety of their buildings. Perak's dragons were relentless, killing many before they had a chance to hide. As soon as the last Red Dragon disappeared, a triumphant chorus was emitted by the hundreds of thousands in the air. The battle for the air had been won!

Perak's troops ascended rapidly, fleeing from the many bolts that were being sent their way from the numerous defensive towers in the city. On the way up he met a familiar dragon.

Is that you, Perak?
Tarek called out as he recognised him flying above the city.
I didn't expect to see you here.

Nor I you. You should be thankful that I am here, however. I've cleared the air for your dragons. Where are they, by the way?

Not too far behind. I flew ahead to ensure that the air attack had been successful. I had some concerns regarding the progress of the assault, but it looks like you and Nabegar have done an excellent job. Just keep the Reds from retaking the skies and my dragons will have no problems in destroying their buildings.

Of course, you need not tell me the importance of dominating the skies,
Perak replied coolly.
Are you going to return to your dragons?

No,
Tarek replied.
Technically, I am not leading them. I'm just here as an observer, although if the skies hadn't been cleared, I'd have been telling them to turn around. I'll just wait for them to arrive and watch the destruction. Zygar might prefer me not to be here, but I've been waiting for this moment for a long time and I'm not going to miss my dragons perform. That reminds me, should you be here either?

Of course not,
Perak replied,
but if I hadn't arrived the battle would have been lost. I doubt Zygar will care about my interpretation of his orders. I see your dragons arriving.

Tarek turned around to watch his dragons approach. Even Perak marvelled at the disciplined coordination of the groups of dragons carrying their heavy burdens. Their progress was slow, labouring to carry the huge metal lumps, but they flew steadily and strongly.

Watch this, Perak,
Tarek said proudly.
See how accurate they have become.

Perak had seen them fly before, but even so, he was impressed by Tarek's dragons. The first group had moved into position above the city and began to drop the first metal bomb. They carefully guided it as it fell, making minor corrections to line it up with the target. Then all the dragons peeled away before the bomb struck the building with an almighty crash. When the dust cleared, there was a pile of rubble where an impressive building had once stood.

One less Dragonstone,
Tarek declared triumphantly, gazing down at the city.