“It’s time to win back the Redwood Dragons’ home base.”
Noah’s words hung in the air, and even the stoic dragons had trouble not raising their eyebrows in surprise.
“Are you crazy?” Myles finally asked. “I mean, don’t get me wrong—I want to win our home back, too. But we can’t focus on that until we’ve got the dragon ruby. Otherwise, any success we might have in getting our cabins back would be temporary.”
Izzy watched as Noah sat up a little straighter. Despite his messy hair and wrinkled clothes, he made an imposing figure in that moment. The air of authority that surrounded him was so thick that she felt like she could reach out and touch it.
“I’m not crazy,” Noah said. “Think about it. We’re overlooking a major source of power in this war. We dragons have been collecting powerful ancient artifacts for years. These artifacts all hold a great deal of power. Sure, each one individually is nothing compared to even one single dragon stone. But if we get back the redwoods base, we can unlock the vaults with those artifacts and arm hundreds of our wizard soldiers with an extra boost in power. That might be enough to push us over the edge, so that we are more powerful than Saul and his dragon ruby.”
Everyone continued to stare at Noah as though he’d suddenly sprouted a third head. Everyone except for Izzy. She was quickly realizing that a mission to the Redwood Dragons’ Base would allow her to stay away from Saul. Whether or not Noah’s idea was crazy, it was a way for Izzy to go somewhere, anywhere, other than straight toward the enemy she feared the most. She should have cared more about winning the war than avoiding Saul, but her fear was too great right now to allow her to think clearly. She could see her chance slipping away as the doubt on everyone else’s faces increased, and she spoke up without taking time to really consider what she was saying.
“I think it’s a great idea. In fact, I’ll go with Noah.”
All eyes in the room swung toward her now, and she did her best to appear calm. She hardly ever spoke up in strategy meetings. Medicine was her forte, not battle-planning. But surely, Noah wasn’t a complete idiot. He was second-in-command of the dragon shifter crew, after all. If he thought going to the redwoods now was a good idea, then Izzy would trust him. Her only other choice was to go along with the rest of the crew and head out to Saul. She realized that everyone was waiting for her to further explain why she was siding with Noah, so she forced herself to stammer out a few words.
“It’s just that we need all the help we can get,” Izzy said, and then, in a sudden burst of inspiration, she continued, “And, besides, with everyone focused on the imminent clash between the two armies who have the dragon stones, it’s unlikely that there will be many guards at the redwoods. It’s the perfect time to get that base back. We don’t need many people. We can take them by surprise.”
“She’s right,” Noah said, perking up even more now that he had support. “I’d guess I could almost get the place back myself. Saul doesn’t know the extent of powerful artifacts hidden there, so he probably isn’t being too careful about guarding the place right now. He’s much more interested in the dragon stones that our army is transporting.”
Izzy held her breath as she watched the faces in the room slowly change from incredulity, to thoughtfulness, to acceptance. Peter was the first to speak.
“There is some truth in what Noah is saying,” Peter said. Izzy resisted the urge to point out that she was the one who’d brought up the point about the redwoods being lightly guarded. Now wasn’t the time to fight over credit for a good idea. It was time to keep her fingers crossed that she would be chosen to go with Noah to the redwoods. She saw Peter glance at Knox, who was leaning back in his chair, pondering. Since the redwoods base belonged to Knox, he would be the one to make the final call on whether or not to go fight for it at this time. Falcon Cross had promised to help the dragons win back their home, but everyone had thought that a battle for the redwoods would have to wait until after the dragon ruby was recovered.
Come on, Izzy pleaded silently with Knox. Send me to the redwoods with Noah. I’ve been through enough shit with Saul. Just give me this one small chance to do something other than come face to face with that monster again.
“I can’t deny that I love the idea of winning back the Redwoods Base,” Knox said. “And what Noah and Izzy are saying does make a lot of sense.”
Izzy silently thanked Knox for including her in the praise. At least the dragons knew how to give credit where credit was due. But Knox was still hesitating, and for several awful seconds, Izzy thought he was going to deny the request to fight for the redwoods. Her heart pounded in her chest as Knox began speaking again.
“It’s just that we can’t spare a lot of soldiers right now, and we have no idea what the situation at the Redwoods Base actually looks like. We haven’t had any scouts look at the place for quite some time, since we’ve been so busy with everything else. We can speculate that the place would be easily taken, but no one really knows.”
Knox gave Noah a pointed look, and Izzy got the feeling that the two men were practically capable of reading each other’s minds. Noah stuck his chin out defiantly at whatever message he saw in his leader’s eyes.
“It’s worth a shot,” Noah said. “If I’m right, and the place is so sparsely guarded that I can take it back by myself, then we’d be idiots to ignore this chance. We can win our home back, and get our powerful artifacts back. I can’t think of any idea that has better potential to swing the war in our favor right now.”
Izzy felt her heart drop a little when Noah talked about going by himself. The wizards abhorred solo missions, and always tried to work at least in pairs. But the dragons were different. They often preferred to work alone. Since this mission covered dragon territory, Knox might actually send Noah off on his own. Izzy frantically tried to think of something to say to convince Knox that she was needed on this mission as well, but, thankfully, Peter stepped in before she could.
“My advice would be to send two scouts out together,” Peter said. “Noah can take a wizard along—perhaps Izzy would be willing to go since she also spoke up on behalf of the mission.”
Izzy tried not to look too eager as she nodded her assent in Peter’s direction.
“If Noah can indeed take the place back by himself, then all the better that he has the additional help of a wizard,” Peter continued. “And given the current instability in this war, I’d rather have at least two people out there who can report back. If one soldier is…indisposed somehow…at least there’s one more chance at us knowing what’s going on.”
A shiver went down Izzy’s back at Peter’s words. His meaning was clear. He half-expected that a scouting expedition to the redwoods might end in someone’s death. He hoped that if he sent two soldiers, at least one of them would survive to report back.
“I don’t need help,” Noah insisted. “An extra person will only slow me down.”
Izzy didn’t look at Noah. She didn’t want to see whatever scowl might be on his face right now. She half-felt that she deserved whatever anger he was feeling. He didn’t know it, of course, but her motivation to go on the mission was from fear, not from noble intentions. Izzy suspected that Noah would react with disgust if she admitted her angst. To her relief, she saw Knox frowning at Noah.
“I have no doubt you can do things on your own, buddy, but in this case I think taking a wizard with you is a good idea. You might find magical help useful, especially when it comes to opening the vaults. Bree cast some pretty strong protective spells over each vault. It wouldn’t hurt to have someone along who knows how to cancel the spells, just in case.”
Izzy dared to look at Noah. She saw his angry scowl slowly relax into acceptance at Knox’s words, and he shrugged.
“Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you if things go slower than you’d like.”
Knox merely smiled. Then he turned to look at Izzy. “Izzy, if you’re willing to go with Noah, I think you’d make a great partner for him on this mission. Bree can brief you on the spells she cast, to be sure you know how to cancel them if necessary.”
Izzy nodded enthusiastically, no longer able to completely hide her excitement. Not only was she going to go on a mission that did not involve direct contact with Saul, she was also going to get to spend one-on-one time with Bree. Bree was Knox’s lifemate, but, more importantly in Izzy’s mind, she was the wizard who had bravely defied the high wizard council to bring to everyone’s attention the importance of finding the dragon stones. Bree’s actions had united the wizards and dragon shifters, and she was hailed as a hero by wizards and shifters alike.
“Well, that’s settled, then,” Peter said, impatience in his tone. Izzy knew the old wizard would be eager to move on to planning how to send the rest of the Falcon Cross army out to the army that was currently transporting the dragon stones. Noah picked up on Peter’s impatience and quickly smoothed over the rough moment.
“Yes, all settled,” Noah said. “Izzy and I will work out the details of our scouting mission after this meeting.”
Peter nodded, and then turned back to discussing plans for the Falcon Cross armies. Izzy had trouble paying attention, and barely heard as the old wizard discussed the best flight path to lead Saul away from Falcon Cross while still staying close enough that the army leaving Falcon Cross could quickly catch up with the army in the field. The most likely scenario was that Saul’s army would catch up with the dragon stone army in about four days. Izzy swallowed hard. That also meant that, if she and Noah were going to take back the Redwoods Base Camp in time for it to do any good, they would have to hurry. There wouldn’t be a lot of time for planning. No wonder Noah was so concerned about an extra person slowing him down.
When the meeting adjourned, Izzy stayed in her seat next to Noah while the rest of the VIPs filtered out of the room. The red-alert sirens had stopped now, but the general feeling of unrest still hung heavy in the air. Izzy knew that, out in the many hallways and offices of military headquarters, hundreds of soldiers would already be preparing to take flight. The automatic response to a red-alert siren was to prepare to head straight to battle. Odds were good that the vast majority of the soldiers still in Falcon Cross would be flying out to join the dragon stone army this very night.
Izzy looked expectantly over at Noah. She had a feeling that he already knew how he wanted to conduct this mission, so she would let him take the lead on planning. Unfortunately, she was a little too right about his knowing how he wanted to conduct the mission. He stood up, turning to face her with his arms crossed. He towered above her, and she couldn’t help but feel intimidated. He was already taller than the average man, and with her sitting down, he looked like a giant. An angry giant.
“Listen,” he said, his voice low and tense. “This is how things are going to go. I’m in charge of this mission. You do what I say, and you do it right away. I don’t want you slowing things down on me. We have one shot at this, and if we blow it because of you, so help me god I will personally make sure you never work in this army again.”
Izzy felt anger rising in her chest. She stood, too, and crossed her arms just like his. She still wasn’t nearly as tall as him, but at least she felt a little less beneath him.
“Don’t you dare threaten me,” she said. “I’m a good soldier, and, besides, I stood up for you. Everyone thought your idea was crazy, but I took your side in that meeting. You should be thanking me, not threatening me.”
Noah snorted in laughter, then turned to walk toward the door. “Nice try, Izzy. I know you only stood up for me because you want any excuse not to go on the mission to Saul’s army. You’re not taking my side. You’re afraid, and you’re avoiding the things you’re scared of.”
Izzy’s jaw dropped slightly. How did he know? Had she been that obvious? Had he seen the fear in her eyes? She’d tried so hard to hide it. Shame and guilt washed over her anew as Noah grabbed the door handle to exit the room.
“Be ready to leave tomorrow at six a.m., sharp,” he said over his shoulder. And then, he turned, pausing before he left to scrutinize her up and down. He smiled as if he could read her mind, and could see the questions forming about how he had known her true motivations. Then he spoke four words that chilled her anew.
“Dragons can smell fear.”