Artemis broke through the clouds, taking a deep breath; the air felt cold and crisp with a million stars around them. The Planet Zelora could be seen in the distance.
Artemis looked over his shoulder, marveling at the many varied colors of dragons— red, blue, yellow, orange, green, violet, and orchid. All the colors of the rainbow and the riders just as different.
Zelora was small for a planet and one that had never given Trexotera an issue, but when they stole Azure’s eggs and Sapphron’s sperm to clone their dragons, the battle had begun. Today would be a day of reckoning, one that Alistair Tempest wouldn’t soon forget.
Drayce came alongside Artemis and said, “Are you ready for this day? You're not distracted because of Thistle being home without you, are you?
Artemis looked at his friend, checking to see if that was sarcasm in his voice, realizing that his dear friend was genuine and worried about his feelings leaving his wife the first time.
Alistair said, “I have to admit that it was difficult to leave her, but I know there are enough people, servants, and dragon handlers there that she’s safe. Besides, I've given her strict orders to make more of the Grokiorica salve. She'll be fine. I guess, I'm worried that I may lose my life during this battle and she'll be alone.”
“Don't worry about that. With our family she would never be alone, she would be cared for just as Rosary and Willow. But that's not going to happen. I know that you're on the front line and it puts you more in danger. Would you be more comfortable if I moved you to a different position so that the risk isn’t as high for you now that you have a wife?”
Alistair furrowed his eyebrows at Drayce. “Are you kidding me? You must be kidding me, right? Have you ever seen me back down in a battle and move to the back lines? There is no way.” Artemis grimly shook his head. “This is our battle. This isn't just your battle or a Quinn battle— it is a battle for Trexotera, and I plan on doing my part in this battle as I always have. In the front with Onyx.”
Drayce raised his hands the air in a mock display of surrender. “Don't shoot me. I'm just the messenger. I’m looking out for you, wanting to be sure, giving you the option. What men decide for their households and wives is purely up to them. It is my job as commander to do everything I can to assist my warlords in meeting their military service and duties to their families. If you want to stay in the front with Onyx, I am more than happy to keep you there. We ought to be there in just a couple minutes. We’ll go with the formation, just as we had planned.”
Artemis nodded his head. “Yes, commander.” Lunging forward with his dragon, putting distance between them and the troops, he zeroed in on Zelora. Zelora was close enough now that Artemis could see land and water formations on the planet.
At the high rate of speed, it didn’t take long until they were almost on top of the Tempest property. The castle became visible, and Artemis squeezed Onyx with his knees, commanding the beast. “Fly downward.”
The huge black dragon dipped its head, forcing Artemis to grip the dragon tightly with his knees. With a scant look over his shoulder, there were hundreds of warlords and dragons, all tilting forward just as their leader, coming in for The Battle of the Bloodthirsty.
He could only imagine what Alistair and his family were thinking. All the soldiers on the ground now with their cloned dragons from Trexotera, looking up into the sky at the throng of colorful beasts and their warlords, intent on doing battle and destroying the citizens of Zelora. It had to be a fearsome sight, one that would strike fear into the hearts of every man, woman, and child.
Directing the large beast with his knees and hands, the need for a dragon quirt wasn't necessary. Artemis had the ability to communicate with his dragon in a way that many couldn’t do. He leaned forward and whispered into the large, scaly ear of the dragon, “You got this, boy! You got this. You know what to do. Let's take them out.”
They charged straight for the castle, not hesitating or swerving as hundreds of soldiers manned the turrets.
“Fire.”
Onyx roared and the fire breathed in a straight stream before them, burning and searing everything in sight.
The men fell to the ground amidst screams and shouts, with pitiful pleas for mercy as hundreds of fire-breathing dragons descended upon them from Trexotera.
Circling the castle, Artemis surveyed the land and looked for any clues on where their laboratory was or where they housed the beasts. He continued to fly around the barns and out sheds, peering through the windows, hoping to catch a glimpse of the interiors, looking for clues.
Just as he was about to give up, thinking they kept their laboratory with the eggs and hatchlings within the confines of the castle, he spotted a white building along the back of the property, protected by forest on one side and warlords to the front. Inside were hundreds, if not thousands of small, immature dragons. They were large enough to ride, most of them, but not large enough for battle.
The downside of this shed was that the other lab—wherever that would be—was where they kept the eggs and the new hatchlings, but this was just what the Quinn family had hoped Artemis would find in his flight over the lands. Capturing the younglings would be a boon, no doubt.
Leaning forward he shouted to his trusted dragon, “Let’s kill them, boy.”
The beast reared his head, his golden eyes taking on an orange hue and with a shriek, he dove straight for the men guarding the doors. The dragon’s chest expanded as he drew in as much air as he could hold, and then with a loud roar, he breathed a line of intense fire, which became a wall of fire destroying all the men and their weapons, including the doors of the barn. With the front of the whole building now incinerated and destroyed, the frightened younglings inside stared up at the formidable dragon and his warlord, their small bodies shaking in fear.
Artemis lunged forward to enter the barn, only to hear a series of shots behind him, darting behind the charred beam near the front of the now partially destroyed building, he looked across the field to see three Zelorian soldiers coming straight for him. Peering around the beam, he aimed at the men charging toward him, exterminating them.
The snapping of a twig alerted him to activity behind him, and he swiveled, shooting at another man running toward him. Onyx screeched and breathed fire on the remaining handful of men that were doing their best to hide behind a stall door.
A low growl caught Artemis’s attention just in time to find two soldiers with swords drawn and with outstretched arms they were coming toward him with great intent to destroy him; their eyes narrowed and teeth grit with determination. Drawing his sword, with a growl of his own, he swiped it in a backhand manner in a horizontal direction from left to right and took their heads clean off, their bodies falling to the ground.
Battle of the Bloodthirsty.
He stared at the pools of blood growing in size around their convulsing bodies, blood spurting from their severed necks. Guilt washed over him, and he quickly turned away before he’d vomit. Artemis scanned the horizon, along with every bush and tree nearby to assure that the coast was clear before running toward his dragon. They needed to get the hell out of there, but not before they captured as many dragons as they could, flying them to Trexotera where they’d be safe
Now that danger was no longer imminent, the angry golden eyes of Onyx softened, becoming a calm black once again, and the beautiful beast stilled amidst them, and with a series of squawks and whistles, interspersed with loud cries, his dragon communicated with his species. The smaller beasts appeared to be listening intently, and stood silently, focusing on the large black dragon. Artemis felt honored to be part of the discussion held with the young dragons who no longer shook with fear and had become energized, flapping their wings and stomping their feet on the dirt floor.
“Are you ready, Onyx?” Artemis wasn’t sure how his beast would communicate, but it hadn’t stopped them before.
With another series of pops and whistles from within his throat and a loud caw, the dragon rose from the barn, and the young dragons followed behind him. All of them taking flight and keeping a tight formation that from Artemis’s vantage point seemed to resemble a large canvas floating as one piece of equipment in the sky.
Artemis didn’t wait for the other warlords; he knew what the plan had been.
Get the dragons, fly them out of there as quickly as possible.
Commander Drayce would be sending warlords to flank them, keeping them safe on their journey back to Trexotera.
Once they broke through the clouds and he could see Wish Thornheart to his left along with her dragon Orchid, she was a great shot, and her protective nature would be instrumental in keeping the young dragons out of harm’s way. To his right was Commander Cloven with his dragon, Indigo. The stern face of the younger Quinn son would stop any warlord from Zelora that would even entertain the thought of interfering with the capture of these dragons.
Artemis chuckled to himself that Drayce would send Wish and Cloven together to be his guards. Those two had an interesting relationship, to say the least. He’d watched Cloven bring money to Wish every Friday, and could hear the bickering and fighting that occurred between the two of them. They were like fire and gasoline.
And just yesterday, Artemis had heard the unmistakable sound of a heavy hand meeting the plump flesh of a deserving ass. It was a spanking that was hard and quick, and he had no doubt that the sarcastic, barbed tongue of Miss Wish had gone too far and Cloven had taken liberty, administering an old-fashioned spanking. Their hushed whispers and talk could barely be heard after the reckoning, but when they exited Miss Thornheart’s cabin, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes twinkling, along with a mischievous smile, bespoke of their reconciliation after the discipline. Cloven had affectionately patted her ass, walking away.
Artemis knew that Cloven had gone too far with belting Wish, and yet understood the protectiveness he felt toward his beast; it was something that Artemis knew firsthand. He felt that way about Onyx and luckily no one had dared to push limits with him, or they would’ve found some unpleasant consequences as well.
He wondered if the day would come that Cloven and Wish would become a couple, finally acquiescing to each other and melding all that chemistry into something lovely. For all he knew, they may have already come together.
A war chant broke out, and looking behind him, the rest of the dragons and warlords had caught up with them. Their victory song filled the air.
Yes, today they’d won, and brought back some of the dragons. Now to find the eggs and hatchlings as well as the chemicals they used to promote quick growth. Then Trexotera truly would victorious.