The Elder Wyrm. To date, I had seen three ancient dragons, and though only one had been in his true form, all had been impressive and awe-inspiring in different ways. Certainly, the meeting with Ouroboros had been terrifying and memorable, as it was hard to imagine anything bigger than the ancient rogue.
There weren’t words to describe the complete, utter terror of the Elder Wyrm.
She towered over us, over everything, rising to an impossible height and casting all in her shadow. She was probably more than one hundred feet from nose to tail, with curved black talons half as long as a man and jaws that could swallow a hatchling whole. Her scales were the color of old blood, gnarled and thick with age, and her wings were tattered. She loomed before us, a mountain come to life, green eyes glowing with hatred and fury, before she let out a roar that vibrated my bones and made my ears ring.
“Fall back!” Ward cried over the shouts and curses of men and dragons, scrambling to get away. “Soldiers, spread out and sweep around to flank—!”
“No!” I yelled, interrupting him. “If you do that, she’ll pick you off one by one. Stay together! All dragons, protect the humans when she breathes—”
The Elder Wyrm unleashed a hellstorm of dragonfire, a roaring wall of flame that rushed toward us like an explosion. I yanked Garret to the ground and curled my wings around his body, feeling the inferno shriek around us. It burned hotter than anything I’d ever felt, a maelstrom of heat and fury that singed even my protective scales. I heard cries of pain and terror from both human and dragon, but I couldn’t see anything beyond the howling flames.
When the firestorm finally stopped, I peeked up and blinked in surprise. Nearly all the hatchlings and dragonells had moved to protect the soldiers in some way. Riley stood in front of Tristan, wings spread wide to guard the soldier, who crouched behind him looking stunned that he was still alive. Jade had coiled herself around several of the humans, including Lieutenant Ward, her long body protecting them all from the flames. I smelled burned hair and clothes, as none the soldiers had escaped that inferno unscathed, but it was better than our whole human force being incinerated in one breath.
The Elder Wyrm snarled in fury and stalked forward, her thunderous footsteps shaking the ground. We scrambled to our feet and fell back as the soldiers opened fire, filling the air with the howl of assault rifles. The Elder Wyrm didn’t even flinch as she walked into the bullet storm, the shots sparking off her horns and thick chest plates, doing nothing. One of the men either panicked or tried to find a better position, breaking rank and darting around toward her side, even as Ward yelled for him to stop. The Elder Wyrm’s head shot down, huge jaws closing over the human in one bite, and the soldier vanished instantly.
“Dammit, we’re dead if she gets close to us,” Riley snarled as the Elder Wyrm raised her head, the unfortunate human sliding down her long throat. She seemed to smile at us across the rocky ground, knowing there was little we could do to stop her. “And your guns aren’t going to do a damn thing against her, not unless…”
He jerked up as Tristan straightened at that exact moment. “The Dragonkiller,” the soldier gasped, and turned to Ward. “Sir, where’s the prototype? Do we still have it?”
With an ominous rumble, the Elder Wyrm started forward again, stalking us across the yard. We scrambled away like mice fleeing the cat.
“I know where it is,” Riley gasped, looking at Tristan. “I can take you there, but we’ll have to move fast. And someone will need to keep the Elder Wyrm off our backs.”
“Leave that to me,” Jade said. The Eastern dragon’s voice was weary but determined as she raised her head and watched the approaching Wyrm. “I can at least slow her down.”
“No!” I snapped, leaping forward. “Jade, if you fight her, you’re going to die. No grand sacrifices, I forbid it!” I glanced at the Elder Wyrm as she prowled forward, patient and calculating. She was in no hurry, knowing we couldn’t fight her, and was content to stretch the terror out as long as she could. “We’ll keep her distracted,” I told everyone. “If we work together, we might survive this. Jade…” I turned to the Eastern dragon. “Can you pull down a thunderstorm, make it hard for her to see fast-moving targets in the rain?”
“Yes.” The Asian dragon gave a solemn nod. “This I can do. Give me but a moment.”
With a streak of pale green, the Eastern dragon shot skyward. The Elder Wyrm watched her go, and a chilling smile stretched her huge muzzle—probably she thought Jade was fleeing, abandoning us to our fate. That was fine; it would give us the few seconds we needed to pull this off.
“Garret.” I lowered my wings, and the soldier swung onto my back without hesitation. “Keep moving,” I told everyone. “Keep flying. We don’t have to fight her, we’re just keeping her distracted until Tristan can fire the gun. Watch her head—she’s quicker than she looks. We might be able to stop her yet.”
“You heard her,” Ward snapped at the rest of the soldiers. “St. Anthony, get going. We’ll keep her distracted long enough for you to take the shot.”
The Elder Wyrm’s massive shadow fell over us as she lunged forward with a roar. Everyone scattered. The soldiers flung themselves atop dragons taking to the air. With a howl, I launched myself right at the Elder Wyrm’s gaping jaws, breathing a gout of fire into her face, hoping to surprise her at least. She wasn’t surprised or fooled in the slightest. Her huge maw came at me through the flames, and I veered away, barely avoiding the snapping jaws. Garret fired several rounds at her head as we soared by, the bullets sparking off her horns and scales, and she turned on us with an annoyed growl.
I banked sharply, flying higher, avoiding the snapping jaws a second time. It was like flying around a large scaly mountain, one that was trying to crush you and was shockingly fast at the same time. I didn’t have to worry only about her head; her talons, tail, even her wings were weapons that she used to try to swat us from the air. I saw a hatchling and rider veer away to avoid her claws only to be caught by the Elder Wyrm’s long lashing tail, which smashed them from the air and into the side of the mountain.
With a flash and a crack of thunder, the skies opened up, and the rain came down in sheets. The hatchlings and riders vanished in a haze of mist and rain, and the Elder Wyrm became a blurry red shadow moving through the storm. She was so huge that it was impossible not to see her even in the haze. But the dragons buzzing around her were at least a little harder to catch as they swooped and soared through the rain.
As I circled around, the Elder Wyrm’s piercing green eyes locked on me, and I saw the rage in them as the massive dragon spun, jaws opening to snap me from the air. As she did, she turned her body away from the eastern cliff, presenting her side to the sniper waiting in the trees.
The shot boomed through the air, the retort cracking like a whip over the storm, making my eardrums ring. The Elder Wyrm jerked, throwing her up head and staggering back a few steps. Desperately, I looked to her side as I flew past, hoping to see a gaping hole where the Dragonkiller had punched through.
My heart sank. A few of her scales were dented, and a couple of them looked cracked, but other than that, she didn’t have a scratch on her. Shaking her head, the Elder Wyrm snarled angrily and turned, searching for whatever had hit her. Our best shot, our best weapon, had only pissed her off even more.
“No good,” Garret panted behind me. “Not even the prototype can get through her scales. Either she needs to be closer, or Tristan has to find some kind of opening in her armor. And even then, he’ll need to hit something vital if we’re going to have any chance of killing her.”
With a hiss, the Elder Wyrm snatched a dragon from the air and shook it vigorously before slamming it and its hapless rider to the earth at her feet. I cringed. Sooner or later, she was going to tire of swatting insects and go hunting for the one thing that had any hope of hurting her. We were running out of options, and the Elder Wyrm seemed invincible.
A tiny shout came through the storm, and I turned, blinking water from my eyes. At the edge of the trees, a skinny figure stood alone in the rain, waving his hands over his head, like he was trying to flag us down. Garret followed my gaze and straightened in surprise.
“That’s Wes,” he muttered.
“What is he doing out here?” I wondered, banking sharply and winging toward the hacker. Wes never got this close to the battle, being content to stay as far away as possible from guns, bullets and things that could kill him. A giant demigod of an Elder dragon certainly qualified. “Wes, what do you think you’re doing?” I snapped, landing a few feet away. “Don’t tell me you suddenly got the urge to be a hero.”
“Bloody…hell…finally,” Wes gasped. “I’ve been trying to get somebody’s attention for the past five minutes, and not be noticed by the giant lizard of death over there.” He doubled over, panting. “And no, I certainly do not have any suicidal urge to be a hero, thank you very much. I wouldn’t even be here if you wankers weren’t all about to die.”
I was about to ask what he thought he could do about it when I spotted the black case clutched in one skinny hand, and my stomach dropped. “Wes, is that…?”
“Yeah, it is. Here.” He stepped forward and shoved the case at Garret. “I kept an extra one, for an emergency,” he said as Garret pushed back the lid, revealing a familiar device that set my heart to pounding. “Don’t know how you’ll get close enough to use it,” Wes went on, “but if you can, that’s nasty enough to ruin even the Elder Wyrm’s day.”
“We can get there,” Garret muttered, and looked up at me, eyes hard with determination. “Ember?”
I nodded. “Yeah,” I said breathlessly. “I’ll get us in. How much time do we have?”
“The timer is set for thirty seconds,” Wes answered. “So don’t bloody push the button until you’re sure you can stick it to the right spot.”
Garret gave a brisk nod. “Give us two minutes,” he told the hacker, tossing the empty case to the ground, “and then signal Ward to sound the retreat. We don’t want anyone else caught in the blast when it goes off. Ready, Ember?”
I opened my wings in reply and launched us into the air. Wes’s outline got smaller and smaller as I climbed steadily through the rain and turned toward the huge red blur that was the Elder Wyrm.
“Where are we going, Garret?” I asked, beginning the dive toward our enormous enemy. Garret bent low over my neck, his gaze on the massive red form below us. The Elder Wyrm was still pursuing the smaller dragons that darted around her, swatting or snatching them from the air. A vivid green hatchling and its rider tried swerving out of the way, but those huge jaws whipped around and closed on them both with the snapping of bones.
“Around to her left,” Garret muttered, and I heard the warning beep as he started the countdown, the bomb flaring to life in his hands. “Fly low, get behind her foreleg.”
I realized what he was aiming for and took a quick breath. “All right, here we go!”
We dropped fast, dodging a huge wingtip as the Elder Wyrm spun around. I saw my reflection pass through her blazing green eyes, and she roared, lunging at us with a maw like a black hole.
I twisted desperately, barely clearing those jaws as they snapped shut, making my insides shriek in fear. “Hang on!” I cried to Garret, spiraling away, trying to get behind her again. She followed, and I darted up as fast as I could, avoiding her fangs by a hairbreadth, feeling hot breath blast my scales.
“Fifteen seconds, Ember!” Garret warned.
Dammit, we weren’t going to make it. I spun and angled my body into a final dive, knowing I might be flying straight down the Elder Wyrm’s throat. As the enormous head rose to meet me, there was a streak of blue from the side, and Cobalt flew right into the Elder Wyrm’s face. The dragon flinched, shaking her head, and we soared past her snapping jaws even as she snarled in fury and flung Cobalt away. I banked up, flew past her chest plates, and soared alongside her ribs as Garret reached out and pressed the device to her scales, right behind her foreleg.
“Go!” he yelled, and I swerved away, not daring to see how much time we had left. But as I swooped low to the ground, I had a split-second glimpse of something big and red coming at me before it hit me with the force of a wrecking ball. I smashed into the rocky ground and rolled, the world spinning around me, before coming to a painful stop.
My entire body blazed with pain. Gasping, I raised my head. Garret was lying next to me, tangled in one shredded wing, looking as bruised and dazed as I felt. Blood streamed down his face from a gash on his temple, and one eye was swollen shut as he looked back across the yard.
The ground trembled as the bleary form of the Elder Wyrm lurched toward us through the rain.
“One,” Garret whispered, and turned away.
The Elder Wyrm’s side exploded. There was a split-second flash, and then a shock wave of heat and energy ripped through the air as a burst of fire, blood and smoke sent the Elder Wyrm staggering sideways. She screamed, a horrific, piercing wail that stabbed through my eardrums and made me want to bury my head in the dirt, and then the ground shook as she collapsed, sending tremors and a billow of dust into the air.
In the few heartbeats of silence that followed, as the smoke began to clear and the dust began to settle, I started to breathe again, to believe that it was actually over.
And then, the Elder Wyrm moved, shifted and, unbelievably, got back to her feet.
No way. Numb, I stared at the mass of dark red scales, unable to move, as the Elder Wyrm clawed herself upright, panting. Blood streamed down her side, running in rivulets to the ground as she turned, revealing the mangled, bloody mess where the bomb had exploded. Her scales had been blown away, leaving a gaping hole behind, and glimmers of bone peeked through burned, angry flesh.
But she was still alive. Impossibly, she was on her feet. And as pissed as hell. Her gaze, livid and terrifying, found me across the yard a moment before she gave a furious, screaming roar and lurched forward. She limped across the ground, leaving behind a trail of red, a demon of rage and destruction come to crush me once and for all.
“Tristan,” I heard Garret mutter, even as I braced myself to die. “Do it, now.”
The shot boomed over the yard, as sharp and distinct as cannon fire, the retort echoing off the cliffs. From my position on the ground, I saw something hit the Elder Wyrm in the side…and pass right through in a spray of blood.
The Elder Wyrm staggered to a halt a few yards away. For a moment, we stared at each other, unmoving, her burning green gaze locked with mine. I gazed at her, frozen, wondering if she would just shake off the injury and continue. If she was truly immortal, after all.
With a rumble of a landslide, the Elder Wyrm finally collapsed. Her massive head struck the ground a few feet from mine, slitted green eyes rolling up toward the sky. Blood pooled from her side and spread over the rocky ground in a grim flood as the Elder Wyrm shuddered, gasping for breath as her life bled away.
I pushed myself to my feet and, though my ribs felt like they would explode out of my body, forced myself back to human form. Taking a few steps forward, I came to a stop at the head of the Elder Wyrm, feeling the gravity of the moment press down on me as I watched the passing of the oldest dragon in the world. Her jaws moved, a small, incredulous voice emerging from within.
“Daughter,” it whispered. “What…have you done?”
I swallowed hard. “What I had to,” I whispered. “I’ve put a stop to your plans to rule the world, to declare war on humanity. They don’t deserve it. Dragons and humans can learn to live together. Look at what we’ve done today, with the Order of St. George. We just had to find that common ground.”
The Elder Wyrm gave a weak, raspy chuckle. “Foolish,” she whispered. “You…you are just like me. Not only in blood. We are one and the same. I once thought to change the world, to make a difference for our kind. You will see… in time. If you live as long as I, you will come to know mankind’s true colors. And you will have to make a decision, as I did.”
A shudder went through her, and she made a strangled noise and gazed up at the sky. “How?” she whispered. “How can this…be? I should have been immortal. I was supposed to live…forever.”
Then the brilliant light faded from her eyes, her body stilled and the whole earth seemed to shiver as the Elder Wyrm, the founder of Talon and the oldest dragon in existence, finally moved no more.
I took a deep, cleansing breath, feeling something hot run down my cheeks to mix with the rain. Overhead, the clouds parted, the storm faded away and the morning sun shone over the battlefield, glittered off scales and armor and the massive body of the Elder Wyrm in the center of it all.
A lump caught in my throat. I watched as the rogues and soldiers of St. George began clustering around us, cheers and shouts of triumph rising into the air. I closed my eyes, as a swirl of emotions rushed to the surface. Relief that it was done, that we’d made it. Anger at what we’d had to sacrifice to win. And a deep, bone-numbing grief for everyone we’d lost. For friends and allies who gave their lives for our victory, and for a sibling who couldn’t be saved, but who had come through in the end, as he had always done.
“Ember.”
I turned. Garret stood behind me, blood trickling down his face, his combat vest torn and shredded. He held out an arm, and I stepped into him, pressing my face to his chest as he hugged me tight. And for a moment, we just stood there, numb with relief, dazed with the realization.
It’s finally over.
There was a blast of wind, and Riley landed close, breathing hard. With a ripple of energy, he Shifted back to human form and staggered toward us.
“Hell,” he whispered, gazing up at the massive corpse. His voice was laced with both amazement and unrestrained glee as he shook his head. “We did it. We actually fucking did it. The Elder Wyrm is gone.” Laughing, he turned and threw his arms around us, pulling us all into a manic group hug. “Talon is dead,” he whispered fiercely. “The organization will be nothing without the Elder Wyrm. After all these centuries, we can finally start to breathe again.”
No, I thought as Riley pulled back, the rogue too elated to be embarrassed. We weren’t done yet. The Elder Wyrm and her army might be gone, taking with them her plans to rule the world, but the work was far from over. With the death of its leader, Talon would be in shambles, the Order was a mess and the future of both was uncertain. Neither organization would just go away; Talon was too big, its reach too extensive for it to simply vanish. Despite the Elder Wyrm’s plans, it was still the only place where dragons could exist without fear. And I realized what had to happen, what that would mean for all of us.
Talon had to continue. Too many dragons depended on the organization to keep them safe—maybe not from the Order, but from the rest of the world. We weren’t quite ready to reveal our existence, and the world wasn’t ready for us even if we were. Talon and the Order both had to change, that much was certain. But with the Patriarch, the Elder Wyrm and the heir of Talon all dead, who would step up to take their places?
I swallowed hard. Well, Dante, I thought as Garret slipped his arms around my waist from behind. Looks like you got your wish, in the end. I’ll be going home, after all. I took a deep breath and swiped a hand over my eyes. I just wish you were here with me.
“Hey,” Garret murmured in my ear, and I peeked back at him, feeling a tear slide down my cheek. He gave a sad smile and brushed a fingertip over my skin. “Don’t think about it, dragon girl,” he whispered, drawing me closer. “There’ll be time to mourn everyone soon enough. We won, and we’re alive. Savor this victory, for what it’s worth.”
I smiled shakily and looked back at the cheering, celebrating soldiers and dragons. Soldiers grinned and slapped each other on the back, while hatchlings bounced around each other and the humans, uncaring that they were once their greatest enemies. Wes had ventured close and gave a yelp of surprise as Nettle pounced on him in ecstatic glee, knocking him on his back. His cursing demands for her to get off were lost in the chaos around him, until a soldier pulled him upright and gave him a hearty slap on the arm, making him wince.
A pale-haired girl walked around the body of the Elder Wyrm, coming to a halt at the edge of the crowd. Mist watched the celebrations with an amused detachment, a faint smile on her lips, though her blue gaze scanned the area, searching for something.
Breaking away from Ward, Riley turned around, strode across the yard and, without hesitation, pulled her into a deep kiss. Mist’s eyes went huge, her body stiffening. Most of the hatchlings stopped what they were doing to stare and, after a moment, began cheering Riley instead. When he finally pulled back, Mist’s eyes were still wide as she stared up at him, and for a moment, we all held our breath, wondering if she would slap the rogue or shove him away. Riley offered a tiny, crooked grin, and Mist’s jaw tightened, right before she grabbed the back of his head and pulled him down again.
I smiled and leaned into Garret, feeling his arms tighten around me, the solid thump of his heart echoing mine.
The Elder Wyrm was dead.
Time for a new beginning.