Dragon Wings: The Clean War - Chapter VI
Eirian came to as though coming out of a deep sleep after a nightmare; disoriented and fearful. As his memory caught up with his consciousness, he understood the fear. Their flight across Andorra and Spain had proved uneventful, and they had bid their escort farewell as they angled out over the Mediterranean. They had made a sharp about-face and headed inland over France. They had flown high and fast, hoping to escape detection or, at the very least, identification. This had worked for quite some distance, but they had unwittingly flown too close to the capital. With only a rudimentary knowledge of the country, and one hasty cram session on geography the night before, they had misjudged just how far they had come. Paris, not surprisingly, was heavily guarded, but so too was much of the country in its immediate vicinity, and there was nowhere for the tiring dragons to hide. So, instead, they had attempted to fight.
The battle had not been short, despite the long flight they had already made. Grymus was fierce and clever, Eirian fast and devastatingly accurate with his fire. At least one of the French dragons would never fly again, his wing burned through, and they had been more cautious in attacking Eirian again. Still, with exhaustion dragging at them, and vastly outnumbered, they had succumbed. Chris had been crowded until he practically dropped out of the sky. Eirian had been ensnared in a light weight, yet clingy, netting. He had tried to fly, to twist out of it, but had possibly only made it worse. Spiralling uncontrollably towards the ground with Jared screaming in his mind was the last thing that Eirian could remember.
***
Jared looked at the Commander-in-Charge of the airfield where they had been brought. He had thought he was going to die, crushed in a fall from great heights, and that Eirian would break his neck on impact. Instead, the French dragons had got under them at the last moment, halting their dive, and then carried the unconscious dragon to this tilled strip of land they were calling an airfield. The Commander was looking at him with a chilling glare. He began to speak rapidly to his prisoner in French, his tone if not his words completely understandable. He was angry at their audacity, and pleased to have been the one to capture these great enemies to his country. Jared snorted at the ridiculousness of the situation.
“You know I don’t have a clue what you’re saying, right? By all means, go on gloating, but it isn’t having any impact on me. Just so you know.”
The man smiled. It was a cold, nasty smile. “It is a failing of your people. You think all the world should speak your heathen, bastard language. You assume the world will accommodate for you.”
“And here you are doing just that.” Jared purred the words silkily, wondering why he was baiting his captor.
“What is your mission?” The other man snarled, such hatred in his eyes that Jared felt fear stir deep within him. There was no compassion in this man; he would do whatever it took to get the information he wanted, probably only to kill him when he got it.
“Mission?” Jared feigned confusion. “We were just checking out the beaches down south.”
A sneer curled the corner of the Commander’s lip. “Laugh now, American,” he spit the hated word out, “for it won’t be long before you are begging me for mercy.”
They were interrupted by the sharp, screeching cry of a dragon, and Eirian’s voice exploded into Jared’s head. Jared! Where are you?
I’m fine, my mate. Do you know how Grymus fares? There was a few long moments of silence.
He is here and he is well. He says Steve is being questioned.
Yes. Me too. Sit tight and don’t get into trouble. Jared directed his attention back to the Commander, who was watching him with interest.
“That is a magnificent beast you ride.” He commented. “What do you think would happen to him if we were forced to...get rough with you?”
Jared gave him a vicious smile. “He would tear this place apart getting to me.”
“Hmmm. I suppose he could try...but we have many dragons here, all of whom would be under orders to stop him at any cost.”
Stiffening at the implication, Jared growled, “You monster!”
“There is no need for it to come to that. All you need to do is tell me what your mission is.”
“Go to hell!” Jared told him. “And you can go fuck yourself first.”
Furious, the Commander glared at the two guards in the room. “Bring him.” He stormed out of the room.
As Jared was brought out in the first grasp of the two men, he caught sight of Steve, likewise being manhandled from another room. Despite Eirian’s assurance, he was relieved to see the blond man in no worse condition than himself. They were led out of the buildings to where the dragons were being held in the fields outside. There was nothing, really, to keep them there, except the presence of their mates and the threat of nine other dragons to give chase should they try to leave. At seeing Jared as a captive, Eirian launched to his feet and roared his anger. Grymus did the same at the sight of Steve. The other dragons watched them warily but did nothing to stop them moving forward. It was obvious why when Jared and Steve heard the unmistakable click of guns being cocked beside them.
“Enough of this. Tell me why you are here or I shall have one of my men shoot you in the knee. It is excruciating, so I am told.”
And that, it would later be recorded, was what pushed Eirian too far. He drew himself up, his whole body puffing out at the depth of the breath he took, and he roared again. The other dragons drew back, horrified or possibly terrified, before they flattened themselves against the ground. This was further followed by all but a handful of the French soldiers lowering their weapons.
Jared understood what had happened. He had heard Eirian in his head, though it was the other dragons to whom his words had been directed. Stand down! Have your riders put their guns down, or I shall incinerate the lot of them! If these men come to harm, you and yours will die this day. Eirian, his sweet and gentle dragon, had found his royalty.
“What are you doing?” The commander was screaming at his men. Jared realised he was screaming in French and it was only through Eirian that he understood the words. “Are you all afraid of this enemy lizard? Do as you are commanded!”
One of the women stepped forward, possibly one of the higher ranking officers. “We cannot. Our dragons are unable to defy this Royal. And their terror over losing us means we, by our very nature, must do what we can to calm them. These men must be released.”
“You cannot?” The man was furious. “Then those of us unhampered by this weakness will do so. Take aim!” He ordered one of the men still holding his weapon at the ready. At the soldier’s first move, every rider lifted their weapon towards those non-riders. “This is treason!”
“No.” The same woman spoke. “This is survival, and protecting you from your own lack of understanding. Our dragons cannot stand against him, and he will destroy this whole airfield unchecked if you harm his rider in any way. He would kill us all, including you, and destroy our dragons’ minds by keeping them from protecting us, all because of one man.” Her head tilted slightly, clearly listening to her mate, and flicking her gaze to Steve amended, “Two men.”
The commander seemed set to argue, but Jared stepped in. “She is speaking the truth. You are not a rider, so you don’t understand just how strong the bond between dragon and rider is. Listen to your own people. They know what they are talking about. Let us go, or suffer the consequences.”
“Sir? They are two dragons. Are they worth the loss of nine of our own, plus all other personnel and the airfield itself?”
By this point the man was nearly scarlet with his rage, but he gritted out, “Leave, but do not think it will be so easy for you in future.”
Eirian grumbled, tendrils of smoke leaking out of his muzzle. It was a trick he had learned as a child, but it looked menacing as all hell, especially coupled with the emerald glare he was directing at the commander. Jared and Steve quickly strode to their dragons and pulled themselves aboard. Jared heard Eirian address the French dragons again. I do not take this power lightly. If we meet in true battle, I will not use it against you, but for now, you are forbidden to follow us. Not a one of you is to take to the air before the sun rises tomorrow. He turned away from them and regarded the airfield contemplatively. Another moment and Jared felt the dragon below him gather himself. With great accuracy, he sent a fire ball into one of the buildings. The communications room, he explained to Jared. With that, the two copper dragons launched themselves into the air, winging towards home. On the ground, men and women scrambled; some to fight the blaze, others towards their dragons. Only one man stood still, watching the enemy dragons disappear with black hatred in his heart.
***
They had lost precious time with their capture, and both of them were suffering from exhaustion, but there was no safe place for them to stop and rest. In the end, Jared and Steve had to force them down, taking what shelter they could amongst a thick copse of trees. The land round about appeared mostly uninhabited, and to push any further could mean a lack of resources at a critical moment. They settled down, and Grymus was as far from Eirian as the tree line allowed. For his part, Eirian was curled as small as he could make himself. Jared felt his mate’s distress and stroked at him soothingly.
“What the hell, Jared?” Steve yelled. It was all the more shocking for coming from the normally sedate man. Grymus was glaring at them, clearly fuelling this little outburst. “How could you have kept that to yourself? I thought we were a team!”
Feeling Eirian draw himself in tighter, Jared lost his temper. “You know, a thank you wouldn’t be out of line here! He just saved us, and instead you’re acting like he betrayed you!”
“You lied to us!” Steve hissed. “All this time you pretended that you didn’t know why the other dragons disliked him, and...”
“We didn’t know!” Jared shouted, drawing the other man up short. Then quieter, he explained, “We didn’t know. The Queen recognised what he was, and she told us that day in the garden, but we weren’t really sure, not until...”
“Not until our lives were at stake.” Steve, too, had quieted. He gave a deep sigh. “You’re right. We should be thanking him. It’s just...”
“A shock? Yeah, we know.” Jared winced. “He doesn’t want it, never wanted to use it, but it is what he is. Just be grateful that it is someone like Eirian that has it and not one of the more overbearing dragons.”
Steve was nodding, but Grymus gave a derisive snort. “Oh, shut up.” He told the grumpy dragon. “Would you prefer to be back there? With Jared, or myself, injured, or in pain, or even dead?” Grymus rumbled. “Yes, that’s exactly where it was heading, and you know it. Stop being so stubborn.” Turning his head away, Grymus appeared to be defying his mate, but after a moment his tail flickered out and placed a darting caress on Eirian’s hide. Eirian lifted his snout and made a softly purring sound at the other dragon. Grymus rolled his eyes and blew a puff of smoke at him. Jared could feel Eirian’s relief and happiness; it made him smile.
“Listen,” Jared spoke up, “you two need to rest. We don’t have long and I have a feeling you will need all your strength for the last leg of this little road trip.” Both dragons looked at him, then settled down and closed their eyes. For now, they would grab this tiny slice of peace.
Chapter VII: http://lady-krystal-79.livejournal.com/38632.html