The Last Dragons, A father's anger
#5 of The last dragons
Here is part five, done before the end of the week, like I promised. As always, comments are appreciated. I hope you enjoy it.
Continued from 'new life, old threat'...
Jason stood still in his borrowed camouflage fatigues, watching the mountain before him. He marveled that no one had suspected this place to be a dragon's home before. The rock formation that crowned this mountain looked like a dragon's head in a certain light. Still, he could understand it. He and Juno were the last surviving members of the last family of dragon hunters. No one else would have been looking. He smiled to himself, thinking that this would be easier than he thought. He started to take a step forward towards the entrance into the mountain, but Juno held an arm in his path.
"Wait a moment Jason." He said and Jason stared at him, anger starting to build within him at his reluctant brother. "Can't you feel that?"
"Feel what?" Jason asked, looking at his brother strangely, his anger fading slightly at the strange question. Juno was standing with his feet planted on two rocks and appeared to be concentrating hard. Jason knew that his brother, because of the focus that he gained through his martial arts career, had sharper senses than he. Jason reached out and touched the stone at his brother's feet. It took him a moment but he finally felt he rhythmic tremors that caused the rocks to tremble slightly. Though he had never encountered the like of this before, the magic instincts that his family's oath granted him told him exactly what it was. "Dragon."
"Exactly. It would be suicide to go on into that cave up there with a dragon just waiting for us." Juno said, and stared up at the cave, as if measuring the distance to it. "I wouldn't doubt that they have magic set up that would signal them to the approach of intruders."
"You're right." Jason stated and then turned around to the captain wearing Marine insignia who was standing near them. "Captain, send some men up the hill towards the mountain top, we need to draw out the guards of cave." The captain nodded and motioned a squad of soldiers forward. They moved quickly up the slope, weapons shouldered. They had barely gone fifteen yards when there came a roar from the mountain top and a huge, dark shape shot from the cave into the mountain side. It resolved itself into a dragon with many-hued blue scales. Before the brothers could react, the marine officer shouted for his troops to open fire. The chatter of automatic weapons filled the air and the dragon sparked as rounds shattered against its scales, doing no perceivable damage. The dragon dove and a jet of bright flame shot from its jaws, immolating the advancing squad and carrying down the meadow towards the main body. Several more soldiers were ignited before the brothers brought their power to bear.
Suddenly, the dragon roared in pain as its wings pinched together as if held in a fist. It fell from the sky and hit the meadow with an earth shaking impact. The marines charged towards it, raining shots down upon it. But the dragon wasn't dead. Far from it in fact. Gouts of fire ignited the soldiers that approached and the dragon ran across the ground, its teeth plucking one of the marines in its jaws and biting down with a sickening crunching sound. Blood sprayed the earth and the dragon threw the dead soldier into a group of his comrades. The marines ran back from the dragon and rounds continued to skip off of its scales.
Jason raced forward, ducking the ricocheting fragments of bullets, his hands glowing as a bright sword appeared in his hands, crafted entirely from magic energy. Before the dragon could react, he sliced across its flank and smiled as the dragon roared in terrible pain. He reveled in the deep red blood that sprayed across his face and chest as he sliced once more, opening more of the dragon's hide. It collapsed and screeched loudly, but Jason was oblivious. Its blood dripped onto the ground at his feet and he could taste it on his tongue. The flavor of it drove him mad with delight and he wanted more. The dragon had ceased trying to fight but its chest still rose and fell. Jason prepared to strike it again, but he found his arms trapped by the same spell that had knocked the dragon from the air.
"Jason!" Juno shouted, breaking through his brother's blood haze. "It isn't a threat anymore. Let it be."
"Alright." He said, the bloody haze lifting. He wiped at the blood on his face with a sleeve and continued to speak. "I'm alright. Marines, form up, lets go."
"No way doctor." The Captain said, looking at them with very deep rage in his eyes. "I just lost a platoon of good men in matter of moments. We are going no further until you level with us. What the hell was that thing and what are we looking for here?"
"What do you think it was captain?" Jason sneered, looking at the man with a smile of utter contempt on his face. "That was a dragon and we are looking to capture one of them alive so we can steal its power and supply the military with magic. Now, if you don't get going right now, I will melt all your bones while you stand there and then find someone who will."
The captain blinked and seemed about to argue, but Jason's eyes flared with power suddenly and the officer moved off and smartly formed up his company. But the soldiers stayed as far as possible away from the wounded dragon that had effortlessly killed dozens of their comrades. The soldiers knew that their weapons were useless against the massive beast. Jason led the way forward, oblivious to the soldier's distress; to him, they were a means to an end. It didn't matter how many of them died as long as they got a captive dragon. Juno could hear the marines arguing over the sanity of advancing into a dragon's den while he followed his brother. The soldiers were particularly concerned that all they had to defend themselves with were two men who wielded enormous power and didn't seem to have reservations about sacrificing them. Juno started to turn around and silence them, but he didn't, knowing that they had every right to complain. He wasn't so sure about the wisdom of it himself.
The small army got into the entrance of the cave without any more trouble and advanced slowly inward, the two brothers in the lead, their magic at the ready. They had gone most of the way down a passage and saw a large cavern at the end before the bad situation changed drastically for the worse. All at once, an ear splitting roar filled the cave and a scarlet dragon burst from around a corner of the tunnel, its mouth open. Juno had a sudden impression of a light at the end of a long, dark tunnel and had the presence of mind to raise a magic shield before him. A gout of flames leapt from the mouth of the dragon and reflected off the shield, slamming into the ceiling. Juno could feel the extreme heat of the fire even through his shield and he knew that his magic wasn't powerful enough to withstand it very much longer. He concentrated hard on maintaining the shield and, though he didn't see it, he felt his brother's spell slam into the dragon.
The dragon cried out as the magic invaded its body and the flames stopped coming. It fell back from the cave and then lay still in the middle of the chamber beyond as its legs ceased supporting it. Juno noticed that the stones above his head were actually glowing red hot with the after heat of the flames. After Juno dropped his shield, the hunters noticed that the dragon was still trying desperately to reach a pile of what looked like stones that sat in a depression near the other end of the cavern. It struggled against Jason's spell with a desperation that Juno found curious. The brothers walked into the chamber cautiously with the surviving marines following. One of the marines played his light over the pile of stones and the brothers realized exactly what the dragon had been trying to protect.
"Dragon eggs!!" Jason said, hurrying over to examine them. "Can you believe it?"
"No, I can't." Juno replied, walking over with his brother. They had never expected the dragons to have reproduced. Juno marveled at the varying colors that the eggs possessed, but something about them bothered him in the back of his head. "What are you doing?"
"These are exactly what we need." Jason stated, his hands stroking the surface of the single golden egg. "Helpless reservoirs of magic energy. Can't you feel the raw power contained within them? All we need to do is get them back to the lab and use our magic to suck the power from them and we will be able to create an army of dragon hunters."
"This is a bad idea." Juno stated and then shook his head as his brother continued to examine the eggs. "This isn't right. The dragons inside these eggs have done nothing."
"Yet, Juno, yet." Jason stated and then looked over at his brother once more. "Our oath was to hunt down all dragons. That includes their offspring. Besides, the dragon in the clearing isn't going to live without help and their mother is paralyzed. Do you really believe that these...children...will live without their parent's help?" Juno did not answer, instead, he looked at the eggs once more, then back to the scarlet dragon that was now quivering with rage and grief. Something about them still seemed odd to him, but he couldn't place just what it was.
Juno walked away for a moment to think while the marines lifted the eggs carefully and carried them out of the cavern, ignoring the dragon mother's pleading that they leave them be. Juno watched the last egg, this one silver, be carried past him. The dragon in the meadow had been blue and yet, none of the eggs carried that hue. Their mother had been red and gold, and a moment later, Juno knew the answer to the thing that was bothering him about the eggs. There was another dragon out there, the real father of these eggs. He smiled grimly as he left the cavern. The blue dragon had been a guardian alright, but he wasn't the parent of the eggs. Somehow, he knew that his student was the true father and he took comfort in the knowledge that no matter what happened, the lad would stop at nothing to get his children back; then the nightmare of the ancient oath that bound him would be over...
***
My love's mental cry had been like a knife through my heart and I had dropped what I had been doing and flown out into the mountains, headed for our nest. I wondered why Skye hadn't given me a similar warning, but something in my instincts told me that something was terribly wrong. The acrid scent of spent gunpowder in the air over the mountain confirmed that feeling and I circled the mountain. When I burst into the air above the meadow, I spied something bright blue in the meadow grass, like a shard of the sky above had been torn from where it rested. I dove in an instant and landed hard on the ground, not bothering to slow down. My body absorbed the impact with ease and I raced to my fallen friend's side.
"Skye!!" I cried when I neared him and his head moved weakly in response in the dirt. I could see now that something had carved a pair of deep gashes in his side and hundreds of small scuffs marked his scales. I pressed a hand to the gashes, resealing the flesh and healing the wound quickly. However, nothing could easily replace the blood he had lost. "What happened?"
"I...I failed you." Skye stated, his voice weak. "Soldiers came and I tried to fight them, but some of them had magic and I was overcome. I am sorry."
"No, old friend, you have not failed me. We did not know that magic still existed in humans." I stated and my friend's eyes closed in exhaustion. His chest still rose and fell but he was not moving otherwise. I knew the effort that it must have caused him to stay awake long enough to see me. Leaving my friend for the moment, I raced up to the cave and down to the nest. I found my mate laying in an awkward position, magic sheathing her body as she lay, great dragon tears falling from her eyes into a growing puddle on the stone. "Pyre, are you alright?!"
"Gone!! Gone." She managed between sobs and I removed the magic that covered her, robbing her of her strength. "They took the eggs. They are all gone!" I wrapped my arms around her as grief began to rise in me. I hadn't even had a chance to see my children before they had been stolen from me. Sorrow enveloped me and I felt tears coming into my eyes.
"Who did this?" I asked and my mate spoke once more.
"Juno. He and another stole our eggs. They bore the mark of the dragon hunters." She sobbed and something white hot thrust aside my grief and burned its way into prominence in my mind. I had always had a bad temper, but I had learned to control it through years of martial arts training. But this was beyond anger. It was an ancient rage, fueled by more than my anger at my master's betrayal. It was an anger that had smoldered in the blood of every dragon and every one of their descendants for millennia. It stemmed from the memory of the great betrayal that started the ancient war. The anger was so hot that I could feel it surging through every part of my body and a curl of smoke came from my mouth with every breath.
"Stay here and rest my love, I must go hunting." I stated, stepping away from my mate for a moment then I closed my eyes and concentrated hard. Magic surged within me and I reached out with my mind. I could sense every one of the dragons, and even the dragon touched. But I concentrated still harder, for I wasn't looking for them. I blocked out all the other presences and concentrated still harder. There, in a place a few hours away, were eight tiny presences, eight that felt so familiar. Their thoughts were ancient and slow. Their minds were not aware of the lives they had yet to lead. I knew in that instant that I had found my children. A smile made my lip curl and I walked out of the cave. Skye was still breathing down in the meadow and I suspected that he would be perfectly alright eventually. A plan formed in my head and I called my brother and parents mentally, telling them to come here with all the speed they could.
Once they were on their way, I went back and lay with my mate, gently rocking her until she fell asleep. I smiled at her sleeping form and then looked up as heavy footsteps fell on the stone of the cave. I looked up to see three dragons entering the cave, one silver, another white and the third a combination of the first two. My brother looked at me with concern and spoke.
"What is it Argil, what is wrong with Scarlon and Skye?" He asked and I spoke.
"Soldiers came, led by Master Juno and his brother. They stole my children, and wounded Skye and Scarlon. I know where they are and I am going after them." I explained, standing up.
"What do you need from us?" My brother asked and I looked at my love once more.
"I need you to tend my mate and Skye while I go after those who harmed them, then gather the dragons and come when I call." I stated and he nodded to me.
"Don't worry, I will take care of her." My mother said, walking over to stand next to my mate. "Go after your kids."
My brother and father went out into the meadow once more and carried Skye back into the mountain cave with their magic. Once this was done, I left the cave once more and took to the skies, not bothering to hide myself any longer. I didn't care who saw me now. I was driven with thousands of years of a terrible, festering anger, my body seething with its strength. I grinned to myself as my presence in the sky caused several fender benders on the roads as people stopped suddenly. If the situation hadn't been so dire, I might have enjoyed the reactions of the humans below me.
I flew on and on, guided by magic to the place where my children had been taken. When I got near to it, I found that it was actually quite small, not what I expected from what I had sensed. A single, three story building in the middle of the foothills, surrounded by a chain link fence with razor wire on top and patrolled by soldiers in Marine battle garb. Most of what I had felt, it seemed, was underground. Several insect like helicopters hovered above the facility and I could see from where I flew that they carried explosive missiles suitable to take out tanks. While it was likely that they wouldn't kill me, they would certainly injure me. I had no wish to test the strength of my scaly hide against them, not now when lives were at stake. Floating high over the facility, I puzzled over how best to sneak into it and then it came to me. It was so simple. I grinned and dove towards the earth, invisibility sheathing me as I shot earthward...
***
"Excuse me Dr. Hanes, but the security feed you requested is ready." The young marine runner said and Jason looked up from the egg he had been examining.
"Let me see it then." Jason asked and the marine handed him a small video screen with a live security feed on it. Juno saw the young marine staring at the nearest egg with a keen interest. He wondered what the soldier was thinking. Jason, however, was oblivious once more, staring at the video screen. His attention was drawn to a young man in marine fatigues walking through the corridors with purpose. At first, he could see nothing wrong with the figure, then the man looked up slightly at one of the cameras and Jason realized that the face beneath the helmet was not quite human. It held too much power behind it. Jason called to his brother and handed him the screen. "It seems that we have company."
"Hmm, never seen him before in my life." Juno lied, and Jason watched his brother carefully.
"Well, lets give him a proper reception then." Jason said, looking at the screen. "Call the guards."
***
As I was searching for a way down to the lowest floor of the facility, an alarm klaxon sounded and I knew that my deception had been discovered. I sped up, running down the corridor. My instincts caused me to skid to a stop just short of a corridor junction and I listened hard. I could hear guards talking around the corner and the distinct click of a safety being removed from a weapon. I smiled, straightened up and ran around the corner of the corridor. The marine guards aiming down the corridor started to sight on me, but my disguise worked all to well, and they relaxed their weapons. I had knocked a guard out with magic and stolen his uniform and gear. It was working better than I had hoped. Nobody had questioned where I was going. At least, until now.
"They are coming!!" I shouted, "They are right behind me."
The guards at the makeshift checkpoint sighted on behind me with their rifles and I vaulted the overturned table they had been using as cover. While most of their attention was down the hallway, I took a moment and got ready to keep going. However, the checkpoint commander spoke to me.
"Who is right behind you?" He asked and he was about to continue when I shifted my hand into the semi-human form and slashed suddenly with newly formed claws, opening one of the other marines up from behind, his bullet proof vest doing nothing against dragon claws. Within moments, before any of them could get a shot off, the soldiers were dead, all except the sergeant in charge.
"Where is the way down into the lowest level?" I asked, my claws against the Marine's throat. His eyes were wide and I didn't blame him. I must have looked like a monster to him.
"What the hell are you?!" he answered, his hands frantically trying to break the grip of my other hand, but he had about as much success as he would have to try and break a mountain down with his fists.
"I am the father of the eggs that your comrades took from a mountain. I want them back and I want them now." I said, shifting fully into the semi-human form. His eyes grew even wider and he looked like he would resist, but smoke curled from my mouth and he thought better of it.
"Down the hall, take the first left, then the second right and keep right on going. It will be past the fourth check point." He said, far too scared to lie. I smiled and thanked him, then put him to sleep using magic.
Following the instructions of the marine, I carried on down the corridor and took the turns he advised. I fought my way through three more checkpoints without stopping and finally, I was next to the elevator. The elevator doors were heavy steel, but I could also sense the power of magic within them.
"You will find, my dragon friend, that those doors are quite impenetrable." Came a mocking voice and I looked up to see an intercom panel in the wall, just below a security camera that was trained on me. "It seems that you will have to negotiate with me if you ever want your eggs back." The burning anger filled me once more and I cocked an arm back before punching the door with all my strength. Despite the enchantments, the door bowed inward slightly. I punched it again and another crater appeared in the doors. Another hit and the doors groaned, but something else was happening as well. Cracks had formed in the walls that the doors were attached to. I slammed a fist into them once more and the walls gave way, the doors falling back into the shaft. I looked up at the security camera and raised a fist with all the fingers down except for one. An angry grunt came from the intercom and I smiled to myself as it clicked off. Combat boots on the floor behind me made me turn around. Dozens of soldiers stood behind me, their weapons up and ready.
"Put your hands up." One of them said and I did not answer. Instead, I smiled and took a step back, dropping into the elevator shaft. The wind whistled past me for a good fifteen seconds, and I realized just how far down the elevator went. I was soon so far down that I couldn't even see the top of the shaft anymore. What I could see was the immobile elevator below me and I braced to land. Moments later, I hit the elevator roof, my knees bending and absorbing the impact. A hollow clang sounded up the shaft and I found myself smiling when I saw that the roof had bowed in. I could not see a hatch in the roof, but I shrugged. That didn't make a difference. I walked to the center of the bowed in portion and punched it, my claws bared. The sound of rending steel echoed up the shaft as I cut my way through the roof, dropping into the elevator.
The doors of the elevator car and those of the shaft behind them didn't last very long. One powerful punch striking the doors tore them from their moorings and flung them into the hallway behind. The moment the doors opened, automatic fire poured through the hole. I ignored it and stepped through. Another squad of marines stood down the corridor and fired at me. Each manned a belt fed machine gun, but the heavier rounds did no more good than the smaller ones had. I waved a hand in their direction as if I was shooing away a bothersome insect and all fire stopped. The marines had been thrown back into the wall by the force of my magic. I ignored them as I continued my march down the corridor. I was being guided by my instincts, and I paused outside the doors to what seemed to be a random laboratory. I cocked my fist back to punch the door, but the door opened before I could strike it. I strode inside and my eyes were instantly drawn to the eight eggs held within a strange device against the wall. And before them, stood Juno and a man that looked a lot like him. Both were unarmed, but I could sense powerful magic within them both and they had a strange tattoo on their arms, a mark that fueled the anger within me...
To be continued...
Alright that is done. Again, hope you enjoyed it and I hope you will comment on it.