War of Dragons (51 page)

***

They are almost here,
Jude announced as he landed on the balcony at the front of the Palace.
The battle will commence any moment now.

Noah nodded his scaly head. Jude's scouts had been providing him on updates on the Blues' progress over the last hour and their arrival was expected. The commanders were all with him, along with Lord Oscar Redwood, Lord Lucius Greytower, Lord Jamie Blackash and the twins, who Gerald had asked to be kept with the commanders, presumably to keep them safe. Despite the fact that none of them in the room were likely to join the battle, all had transformed into dragons and were watching from a large hall on the second floor of the palace.

Any change to their formations?
Noah asked.

No,
Jude replied.
They are still in three groups, with the first a long way ahead of the other two. The first are clearly tasked with clearing the way for the second, who are carrying huge metal objects, for destroying the buildings. The third are presumably there to attack on the ground. They're going to try the same approach they used so successfully in Obud and Black Rock.

Well, they'll have to contend with our army first,
Lord Oscar replied smugly.
They won't find it so easy to clear the air over this city.

No, sir,
Jude replied.
They have sufficient numbers to defeat your army. They can clear the air.

I told you we shouldn't divide our forces,
Prince Henry complained.
We should have made one big stand here and now.

No, your Majesty,
Jude replied.
They have the numbers to eliminate your entire city defence, just in that first wave.

There are really that many of them?
Lord Oscar asked incredulously.
If so then we are lost.
Lord Oscar, along with Lord Greytower, Lord Blackash and the twins, had not been told anything about the plan, which had been kept as secret as possible to avoid the possibility that the spy would steal them and leak them to the enemy.

Far from it,
Noah replied,
and none of this is a surprise that we are not prepared for. Thank you, Captain. You are dismissed.

Jude flew away quickly, heading south.

Where does he think he's going?
Prince Henry asked.
The Blues are coming from the south-east.

We've been over the plan,
Noah replied patiently.
Jude has an important task to perform. He will lead the other attack.

I thought he was just your head scout,
Lord Jeremy said.
Is he up to this task?

He is very able,
Noah replied.
Concentrate on the battle in front of us, commanders, it is here that your attention is required.

Precious little we can do from here,
Lord Daniel grumbled,
we should be leading up there.

Noah said nothing, although agreed with him entirely. Up above, they could just see the advancing Blue Dragons flying in battle formation.

How many are there?
Gasped Daisy.
There must be hundreds of thousands! Did we really fly over this many dragons?

Kessick's forces were a sight to behold; the three hundred plus units of twelve hundred flying in nine columns, the 'v' shaped squads of seven repeated countless times. The city defences in the air were considerable, but were dwarfed by this juggernaut rolling towards them.

Our troops will be utterly destroyed,
Lord Blackash said despondently.
They don't have a chance.

Not without taking many of those Blues with them,
Lord Greytower responded grimly.

Your troops will do fine,
Noah replied confidently.
They just need to follow the plan.

The Blue Dragon Army were just moments from reaching the city and having been silent so far, suddenly filled the air with their piercing screams. If the terrifying sounds unnerved the Red Dragons flying over the city, they showed no signs of it and took this as a cue to fly out to meet the enemy.

At least fifty thousand Red Dragons had been circling the skies above Furnace. A formidable force, but they looked small compared to the approaching army. Yet they charged towards the Blues bravely and without hesitation and the clash of the two forces was sickeningly loud. Almost immediately dragons began to fall from the sky, a rain of blue and red.

Where are your damn Golden Dragons?
Lord Jeremy asked angrily.
We're going to get massacred.

Noah paused wearily.
You know where they are, Lord Jeremy. They have no part to play here.

High in the air, the fighting was continuing with neither side holding back. The Blues forces fought without reserve, attacking relentlessly but without caution and dying by the hundred at the claws of the larger more powerful Red Dragons. But eventually their superior numbers were beginning to show as the Blue Dragon Army surrounded the Reds to attack from all sides and the battle began to turn.

Suddenly a loud cry was let out and the Red Dragons, moving as one, dropped into a dive and headed back to the city. The Blue Dragons were caught by surprise and didn't react immediately, letting forth loud angry screams when they realised that their quarry was escaping them. They dived after the Red Dragons, but they had given them too much of a head start. The Red Dragons plummeted towards the city, their foes in pursuit some hundred or so metres behind.

Come on,
Arthur muttered.
They can make it.

The room was silent, watching the dramatic events unfold. The Red Dragons would reach the city first, but the Blue Dragons would be right behind them and few would be able to get into buildings fast enough to avoid being attacked from behind and above. All throughout the city, large doors opened, targets for the landing dragons to aim for, through which they would be safe. The Red Dragons fell into lines, heading towards pre-arranged destinations. Fast-approaching behind them and growing louder as they approached the city, the Blue Dragons' harsh screams reverberated through every building in the city, with thousands of inhabitants watching anxiously as to whether their brave defenders would escape the onslaught.

Will they get away?
Daisy asked anxiously.

Be quiet, child,
Prince Henry replied.
We can't see the future.

Noah knew what question she was really asking.
Your brother is not amongst those dragons, Daisy. He is quite safe, for the moment.

The Red Dragons flew over the city walls and the foremost began flooding into the large buildings. But they were too many coming in too quickly and many had to turn at the last moment to avoid crashing and landed in the open streets, away from the protection of the fortified buildings. All the Dragons landed within a minute, but over half were out in the open.

They'll be killed!
Daisy cried, forgetting herself.

Seconds behind them came the Blue Dragons, their cruel screams sounding almost gleeful, their intended victims immobile and at their mercy. Suddenly, a bell sounded and several thousand bolts were released from the powerful crossbows fixed in the defensive towers. Barely a second later a second volley was launched and then a third. Thousands of Blue Dragons dropped from the sky, too slow to react to the new threat.

The fools!
Prince Henry said gleefully.
How did they not see that coming?

They did,
Lord Robert replied grimly.
Look up at the skies; not many followed them to the ground.

Sure enough, high above the city, the vast majority of the Blue Army were circling, shrieking triumphantly.

But I don't understand,
Prince Henry replied.
We just saw thousands killed.

A tiny part of their force,
Noah replied.
They know about our city defences.

Still, overall, a successful first part of the day, wouldn't you agree?
Prince Henry boasted.
And without requiring anything from your lot, Noah.

Noah nodded politely, turning to face out of the window again.

Still, looks like quite a lot of ours lying out there as well,
Lord Robert pointed out, looking at the casualties lying in the streets.

Many more of theirs,
Prince Henry replied indignantly.
You'd expect it to be the other way around with the size of their army.

They can afford those losses,
Lord Daniel pointed out.
We can't and now they have control of the skies. If his lot, as you call them, if they fail, then we're completely helpless down here.

***

They’ve taken the skies!
Eric exclaimed excitedly to Perak.
The way is clear for the bombing.

I can hear as well,
Perak snapped. It was unlike Eric to show any emotion and doing so irritated Perak.
Have you sent out communications to watch for the Golden Dragons?

Yes, General,
Eric replied.
I've had no sightings yet.

Perak paused, a little surprised at this. Could he have been mistaken in what he thought he had seen? Surely his men should have seen another by now. He watched the action ahead, where the second wave were approaching the city just ahead of the final wave of ground fighters. The bombers were approaching the city from the south-west, flying over the lake to keep away from the volcanoes and the defences that were built into them. In addition to the massive metal slugs, many carried smaller, but still heavy, rocks and boulders. This was the moment he had been waiting for; just as with Obud, if Tarek's bombers were successful then the battle was as good as over.

Suddenly Perak spotted movement high in the clouds above the bombers, far above the range that a Blue or Red Dragon would normally fly. Immediately, he screeched a frantic warning to the dragons approaching the city but he was far too far away to be heard. Tarek's troops were oblivious to the danger, and at least fifty gold specks began to rapidly descend towards them.

Sound the alert!
Perak screeched at Eric.
They're under attack!

Eric looked at him in confusion, not having spotted the Golden Dragons, but it was too late anyway. The specks had become streaks of gold, now moving impossibly fast as they approached their unsuspecting victims. When the Gold Dragons finally struck their targets, it was like watching falcons hitting pigeons, with the Blues slowed down by their heavy loads and unable to dodge even had they noticed the attackers. Each of the Golden Dragons targeted those Blue Dragons that were carrying the bombs, selecting just one of the eight carriers each time, but this was enough. The killed dragons dropped immediately, going from being a pair of wings to shoulder the burden to dead weight, which with the weight of the bomb was far more than the remaining seven could carry.

The metal weights began to drop away from the rest of the group, slowly picking up speed as they fell far away from their intended targets. The Golden Dragons, however, pulled out of their dives astonishingly quickly and continued their rapid assault on the remaining bombers, who were still headed towards Furnace. The Blues were like sitting ducks, unable to dodge or defend against the furious attacks, and within ten seconds, each weight was dropping from the sky, the bombers sacrificing their mission to allow them to defend themselves.

No!
Perak screamed in fury.
Kill them! Kill them all!

None of the Blue Dragons could hear him from where he was watching, but they didn't need to be told. The air filled with the angry screams of the hundreds of thousands of Blue Dragons who were flying over Furnace and had just seen their plans ruined. Fast as they are, fifty Golden Dragons would be unable to evade or fight the half a million angry Blue Dragons that had surrounded them. As Kessick's dragons closed in on them, they disengaged from the bombers and dived away from the Blues, although their destination was far from obvious. They were far too far away from the city to be able to reach it without being caught and there were no obvious refuges that they could head for, having nothing but the lake beneath them. Being out of range of the city defences, all of Tarek's troops followed them without hesitation, screaming triumphantly as they prepared to exact revenge on their apparently cornered quarry.

***

The same scene was being watched by the Red Dragon commanders and their Golden Dragon allies.

They'll be caught!
Daisy cried.

Wait for it,
Noah replied calmly.

The Golden Dragons dived swiftly, the Blues a short way behind them. They plunged towards the far shore of the lake that lay between two of the volcanoes surrounding Furnace and just at the last moment pulled out of the dive before dropping into the water.

Where did they go?
Arthur asked in amazement.
They're not resurfacing.

They won't need to yet,
Noah replied.
They'll be swimming from that lake into the river, then upriver to the city border. The Blues won't catch them.

Some sort of water dragon?
Lord Robert asked. Noah nodded, still watching the Blues circling above the lake. They had realised that their prey had escaped them and their screams reached a deafening volume.
Clever,
Lord Robert remarked.
Looks like they took out all of those bombs as well.

The big ones only,
Lord Jeremy cautioned, backing away from the window.
Looks like we're in for some trouble.

High above the city, the remainder of Tarek's forces were moving into position above their targets and without warning, began to release their deadly cargo. Thousands of rocks dropped towards the city, and Furnace's inhabitants braced themselves for the impact. The shower of rocks seemed to take an age to fall, but when they finally landed, the sound of smashing and crashing was terrible. Screams were heard throughout the city and the commanders rushed to the window to assess the damage.