Nick almost floors the vehicle to its maximum speed, as they try to make up for lost time. Levine has already moved the drone over the school and reports that it's devoid of life. Angela still feels uneasy, wearing magical body armor and nothing more than a couple of alchemical grenades, and Drenar’s hunting dagger in a pinch. She's hoping that they will be in and out, and that SAF will get to the site ASAP. Everyone else is similarly geared up, and Drenar has one additional item that he's refused to give up–that gleaming broadsword he'd made use of in the mine.
Nick had not been happy. But Drenar insists that he has a level of finesse on who gets injured with the blade flat, or other.
Angela speaks up. She's had enough of Nick trying to dissuade them. “Drenar is one of the best damn martial fighters I've seen, Nick, between him and Julia. He gets to keep his arms. We also can hulk out and tear the school apart as dragons, but that might be veering to the overkill side. But we’re not bringing firearms into the school. Period.”
“Villainous bunkers of twisted science are fair game?” Nick asks dryly. “I’m also keeping my bolt pistol, I will not be going in under-armed. The rest, I stash in my portable armory.”
“I can live with that compromise.”
“Fine. Let’s hope we can be in and out before anyone makes a big bang.” That pretty much ended the discussion.
Big bang. Heh. Samarina definitely likes that notion. But it doesn't stay quiet for long.
“The hell you mean the garrison is diverted?” Nick shouts into the radio towards Levine.
“You heard me. Thirty seconds ago, I got an alert. Talons soldiers just launched a smash-and-grab at one of the mage shops by the promenade, right before dinnertime. They made a hell of a spectacle, but no one was seriously hurt. They weren't in uniforms, but we got a camera ID on one of their local talents.”
“It's a diversion!” Nick shouts. “How much of the SAF garrison by the promenade was dispatched?!”
“Their responding force is tasked with this. And I know what it means.”
“It means there's going to be a full assault force on the school in a really short period of time. Damn it. King didn't waste any time, did he?” Nick taps the steering wheel at a steady clip--its rare to see him anxious.
“I hope it's him, and not this Valosterla we just met. She seems like a real piece of work, from the audio side,” Levine growls. “We need to upgrade to shielded data retention, pronto. I've already made the requisition order, that trick of his isn't going to work twice. His tech must have a range limit, because it didn't wipe the drone. I've never known anyone who has access to the underlying magitech for Veil wipe procedures.”
“I’ve got some shielded packing bags I’ll use, it should be enough for now until we get the data to a proper lab. I'm tired of being one-upped by these guys, Levine. Which is why we are breaking traffic rules to get there first,” Nick says even as the speedometer climbs up to the point that Angela is glad she's working with sanctioned law enforcement.
Because at this speed, she'd earn more than a traffic ticket and a certain death warrant from her mother.
“James, keep an eye on their feeds the second they go in. The cameras can spot mana signatures, and Julia is almost Awakened, if she can see mana with her vision now.”
“Correction, am,” she grunts as she arches her back a bit and grimaces. “I am going through the process. This is absolutely the worst timing and I am in pain. I'd rather eat glass than endure this.”
True to her word, she's got claws emerging from her fingernails that are pure black, and her dark hair now has plumes of seafoam and black feathers. “Uh, we should abort–” Drenar starts to say.
“Drenar, we have to do this now! If they get those records before we do, everyone we know is dead! Val strikes me as the kind of person who murders everyone, just to drive home the point!” He doesn't take much offense at her deep-throated growl, because her Awakening is going faster than his ever did. “I'll be fine. No one's gonna be more dangerous or scary than me tonight. You've got my word on that.” Angela puts a hand on her shoulder reassuringly.
“Julia, we trust you. You say you can do this? Alright, let's say you can. But the second you feel like you can't, you find a shady spot, fast.”
“Great. Another dynamic to worry about. Julia, I think it goes without saying, don't trash the place?” Nick asks softly.
“Who, me? That's adorable Nick, you worried about me. I hit a big bitch of a dragon with a giant magical boom stick while riding another flying dragon, and holding on for dear life. This'll be easy!” She manages to grin, even with her being in pain, and a few feathers emerge from her cheeks. “Well, almost as easy. Man this itches, how do you guys put up with that?” she directs to Angela and Drenar.
“It gets easier. I barely noticed any pain when transforming the last time.” It's still slightly disturbing when her body morphs and transforms, and her acute hearing can detect all those weird creaks, cracks, and squishy sounds as the body moves in ways it's really not supposed to.
“Nick, by the way, the Barrett rifle is mine now. I even named it! Matilda is my bestie!” Julia breaks her train of thought again with all things gun-related.
Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
“Hey, teens with guns is not a theme I want to set, even with your incredible discipline with such a deadly and precise firearm!” Nick protests, then looks like he has a moment of intrigue. “And…do you also name your weapons?”
“Yep! Who doesn't? Ow, by the way, dragon teeth are sharp.” She rubs her jaw where she's likely having a bad time. “I also get to name your first kid. Who's the lucky lady?” Nick goes stone-faced at this reminder and Julia leans in, grinning. “Aw, you're mad at me for landing about eight or nine hits on the big bad dragon?”
“I find it improbable that you hit her with that many rounds while in a dragon rodeo in mid-air, and didn't shatter your shoulder from the recoil,” he adds in a beat of humor. “You might be waiting a while on that promise of mine.”
“That's okay, we can fix that! I know a couple of people who could help!”
“Fates, if Julia breeds, our world is doomed,” James groans over the radio. “Do me a favor, Nick? Don't doom the world.”
“Oh, not me. This itty-bitty dragon isn't quite my style,” Julia says with a smile and glances in her direction briefly. Ah great, even Julia thinks we're a thing? “Weeeell?”
Oh no. She knows. Which is awful, because I’ve never breathed a word of it to her. Drenar has also put two and two together, and doing that thing he does with rubbing the bridge of his nose, and Nick is looking like he might be having heartburn of the worst kind, based on his expression.
“Nick and I are–um–well, just friends Julia. Having little baby dragons is just not a thing I am quite mentally prepared for, in any capacity at this junction of time. With anyone.” She doesn’t mean to growl out those last two words, but she wants everyone focused on important matters.
“Holy hell, you deflected something fierce Angie. Okay, this explains a lot,” Drenar sighs and runs his fingers through his hair. “Look, if you think I’m blind and I haven’t noticed–”
“Okay teenagers, we can bag the drama for now. We can talk about what we think is going on later. Perhaps when we aren’t running head-first into probable danger against bloodthirsty mercenaries. Or more worrisome, the giant murderous Hellkite that’s bigger than any dragon I’ve ever seen. Julia seriously, you grin any wider, and you’re gonna scare even me,” Nick offers in a scathing rebuke. Julia giggles and even the pain of transformation can’t take away this moment from her.
“Oh, no. I’m just gonna leave this out there, you two would make adorable-looking babies! How does that work? Amaranth didn’t spell out how traits get distributed and what hatchlings from off-species parents would look like–grah–friggin tuuth,” she groans when her mouth structure starts changing, and she winces before putting a hand to her emerging snout.
“When your body structure changes, speak from the throat. It helps,” Drenar instructs her. “Let’s talk about stuff later. We have a job to do first.” She nods softly. It’s another tense moment before they’re in range of the school. It no longer feels welcoming anymore, when she looks at the twinkling stars above. Now it’s just a looming dread, with what's been implied to have been sanctioned within, and below it.
“Nick, I see you coming into range. Park on the north side, by the loading bay. There's a camera rolling by the door, but the kitchen exit doesn't have good coverage, and they just padlock it because someone keeps busting the main lock,” James relays. They leave the truck away from the school, and quickly pick up pace. There's no telling how much time they have.
“We’re making our approach, keep us apprised of anyone driving this direction. Get me an estimate on when the garrison can send a squad. I need an intelligence recovery team with possible armaments against heavily armed and armored foes. The Talons had a full crew of twelve pop up out of nowhere at the cabin, and between myself and Julia, only two took any significant injuries.”
“Only two?” Drenar echoes.
“Tougher guys. Their armor saved them from autobow rounds. But their knees aren’t so well armored,” Julia adds savagely. She’s mostly got the hang of speech already. “Regen potions can fix that kind of injury, but it’s a nightmare pulling a bolt out of your leg like that.”
“Gross. I really don't want to get hit by those again,” he grimaces. “I was already shot once. It kinda hurt.”
“Nick and I have been injured before. Keep yourself out of the line of fire when you don’t have armor or barriers,” Levine says firmly. “I'll keep pinging the garrison. So far they've said they are at capacity dealing with the chase.” Angela looks up grimly, the two-story building no longer seems comforting, it's an alien presence now, hostile even.
They'd use their school as a giant lab experiment. How many of the staff are in on the secret? Are her teachers Talons sleeper agents, and if so, for how long? Three years since Crosomer was dug up is far too long, and they could have been laying out precursor work before she even set foot here. She tightens her fist, and resolves to do something about this, even if she has to burn this place to the ground to prevent further experiments. She's got a lockpick out before Nick gets out a compact set of bolt cutters, and she jiggles the lock open within fifteen seconds. He's mildly impressed.
“Has…Angela become our team rogue?” Drenar asks with a beat of amusement. She smiles politely.
“Hey, it's a practical skill. Do you know how many times my mom has locked us out of the house by mistake when they go globetrotting? Too many.”
“Yeah, I'd really like to know what it is they do, too,” James says icily over the radio. “Add it to my bingo card, our parents are mages and work clandestine lives so they don't ever have to tell us, in some misguided attempt to control our lives even more.”
“Put me down for that too. Mom is gonna flip when she hears she has a dragon for a daughter,” she adds wryly. “See, James? We can agree on some things.”
“Just not many. The coast is clear, move in.” They strip the lock and chain, and Nick covers their back while everyone darts inside. The connecting hallway next to the kitchen loading bay is dark except for a few night lights that give off a pale amount of illumination. It's more than enough for her improved night vision, another boon of being a dragon now. And her sense of smell, while still mildly overwhelming, is pretty useful at picking out scents in terms of intensity and distance. Nick quickly takes point with a backup bolt pistol, but she knows he has his portable armory.
He's never without a backup plan. She just hopes that Plan A goes smoothly.
With who they’re up against, It’s doubtful they’ll have much breathing room before things get perilous again.