One of my men screamed. I whirled to see a dragon swoop in from behind, grab the soldier by the armor and carry him off. He kicked and flailed for a moment before pointing the muzzle of his gun back at his captor and opening fire. The dragon jerked in the air, shuddering, then plummeted forty feet to the ground. Both bodies struck the earth with a hollow thump and didn’t get up again.

“Scorpion!” Martin’s voice crackled in my ear. “The hostiles are about to break through the walls. What’s your status? Did the strike not work?”

“Yes, sir, it did!” I raised my weapon and fired as two dragons came swooping in, then quickly ducked as one barely missed me. I felt the tips of its claws scrape my helmet as it soared past. “But there are reinforcements. We’re trying to get to the armory now.”

“God, how many of these things are there?” An explosion sounded somewhere close, and Martin cursed. “All right, get to the east wall, Scorpion. The bastards are nearly through.”

“On our way.”

I motioned to the rest my team, of which only two were left, and we headed to the east wall. Dragons streaked through the air or bounded at us from the ground, weaving through flames, rubble and smoke. I reacted on instinct, firing at any dragon that got close while trying to stay out of range of its claws and breath. One of my teammates got caught in a line of dragonfire and reeled away, blazing like a torch.

The eastern side of the armory was crawling with dragons, tearing at the walls or digging at the roof. I fired into the swarming mass, taking several down, before a section of the hoard broke away and rushed me with piercing shrieks.

“More dragons incoming!” someone shouted, but I couldn’t take my attention from the flood closing on me. I shot down three scaly bodies as they drew close, but one vessel lunged at me with a hiss, jaws gaping, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to kill it in time.

And then a small crimson dragon dropped from the sky with a snarl, crushing the clone to the earth. Spreading her wings, she raised her head and roared a challenge as a swarm of brightly colored dragons soared overhead with ringing battle cries and dropped into the fray.

Whirling around, the red dragon shot me a fierce, defiant grin, eyes flashing green in the darkness. “Hey, soldier boy. The cavalry’s finally here.”

Chapter 49: DANTE

DANTE

“Something’s happened, sir.”