“Anvil, Scorpion Six,” I said into my headset. “Nothing here, either. We’ve got a clear line of sight to your position and everything is quiet.”

“All right,” Martin replied. “You know the drill, gentlemen. Keep your eyes open and radio the second you see anything, lizard or otherwise.”

“Sir,” we all answered, and the line went quiet.

I glanced at my team. They seemed calm, cavalier, even, but that was to be expected. We’d all done something like this before. Never on our own turf, of course, but we all had experience in staging ambushes and waiting for the battle to start. Worrying and dwelling on the upcoming fight was useless; there was nothing we could do until go time.

Ember, I thought as my watch flipped to 11:59 and a blanket of clouds crawled across the moon. I wish I could have seen you one more time. Wherever you are right now, stay safe.

“We got movement!”

I jerked up. Tristan’s voice crackled over the radio, tense and chillingly eager. “Hostiles inbound. About two clicks away, from the west side of the fence. Ugly gray bastards like Scorpion said. Ten targets, maybe more.” A heartbeat of a pause, and Tristan added, “Damn, they really are exactly the same. Looks like the party is about to start, sir.”

“Copy that, Longshot,” Martin replied. “You may fire when ready.”

I held my breath, waiting. Outside, the night was still. I couldn’t see anything in the darkness but the armory in front of me.

Then a shot rang out, the report crystal clear in the silence. A half second later, Tristan’s voice echoed smugly over the radio.

“Lima down, Anvil Six, lima down.”

A cheer went up, my own team joining in. “Quiet,” I warned, glancing back at them. That was just the first casualty. We couldn’t celebrate yet.

Two more shots echoed, ringing over the buildings. “Shit,” hissed another sniper, one I didn’t recognize. “Dodgy bastards. Anvil Six, they’re coming in fast.”

“Storm,” Martin snapped. “Get ready. When you see the targets, light them up.”

A chilling scream rang out, making my blood run cold, as several dark, winged shapes appeared through the clouds. Eyes glowing silver against the black, they dropped from the sky with shrieking battle cries and swooped toward the armory.

Chapter 43: DANTE

DANTE

“We’re taking fire!”

On the screens, lights flared, illuminating the darkness. The distinctive white streaks of gunfire.

“They’ve got machine gunners on the roofs,” someone called out, as if he hadn’t expected anything like that. I considered firing him on the spot. It was St. George; how could he not expect they would be ready for an attack made by dragons? This was precisely why I wanted to send in the first wave, to gauge their defenses and fortifications and test what kind of surprises they had waiting. None of this was unexpected.