Vanek
Heat rippled through the room in waves so thick they were visible to the naked eye. The far wall shimmered as if he were in the desert, turning the drab gray paint into an oasis if he would just let it.
There was no time to focus on that, however, as a giant beast of a man came charging at him. Ash-blond hair bounced wildly as wild electric-blue eyes bore down on him. The man’s size or striking features weren’t the most distracting thing about him—that title went to the giant flaming greatsword he held in both hands. The sword wasn’t on fire, it was fire. A weapon made entirely of flame.
With a mighty bellow the orange-red weapon swept toward his head at blinding speed. Vanek eyed the trajectory of the blade and when the time was right he slipped his head to the side, shoulders dipping low. A great mane of midnight-black hair bobbed and moved after him with a slight delay, but his motion had been carried out with that in mind. The long strands of hair slipped just under the blade, not bearing even a singe as it cleaved the air with a whoosh.
Vanek pivoted, clasping his own hands together and a second, nearly identical sword sprang into existence as he called upon the fire that was his innate power. His was a more refined version, and flames licked and curled in specific patterns, etchings on the blade that gave it meaning to him. He spun, bringing his blade down hard as his foe tried to hit him with a backhand blow.
Muscles bunched in his forearms as sparks sizzled and spat, arcing out over the rough concrete floor, adding yet more burn marks to a surface already covered liberally in them.
“No!” he shouted. “Too strong. You must control the blade, and not let it control you. Like this.”
Putting action to word he lifted his blade, allowing his foe free movement of his own. In a swift action he stepped back and pivoted on his foot, came around, and before his foe could react, tapped him lightly on the rear. Dark cloth sizzled and flashed into ash, prompting a yelp from his opponent as the blade tapped skin.
“Seriously?” Kallore roared, turning to meet him, his bare ass now hanging out of his pants. “Where is your maturity?”
Vanek shrugged. “I’m a centuries-old dragon, true. But I’ve only been awake for a few weeks now. What do you want from me?”
Kallore rolled his eyes and came at him again. Although Vanek might be the master swordsman, his pupil learned quickly. The mighty greatsword followed the gaze of the blue eyes of his opponent, darting this way and that, driving him back on the defensive. He blocked every stroke, sending them aside at the very last minute, but never missing one. It was an impressive display from both sides.
Eventually, however, Vanek had had enough. He turned aside a slash, flicked his wrist around and over, and spun Kallore’s sword-arm out to the side. Vanek’s arm came up and the tip of his blade came to a stop less than an inch from Kallore’s throat. He waited for the acknowledgment of defeat before dismissing his sword, the mighty weapon simply evaporating into thin air, as if by magic.
It wasn’t, though. It was real fire. Vanek, like Kallore, was a red dragon. Fire was their innate ability, the power that they could call upon at will, shaping and forging it to their command. While it came naturally to them, it still took time and practice when learning to command it as they were with blades. Kallore was a master with the fire-whip, but swordplay was new to him.
“So when are you heading back to Barton City?” Kallore too had relinquished his control of the fire sword, and now headed over to the side of the carpool building, grabbing a pair of towels.
He snagged the one tossed his way out of midair. “Thanks.” Toweling off his face, he thought over the question.
Barton City was his new home. After being awakened from his long sleep he’d spent several weeks being brought up to speed on the modern world and the threat humanity faced. It was a danger so vast that they’d taken the crazy step of waking him and some of his kind to fight for them. Then he’d been sent from Fort Stark, a military base where his friend and fellow dragon Kallore resided, to Barton City to find a mate.
“Soon,” he said. “I wanted to give Corde and Kylie some time to themselves. Newly mated pairs are so annoying to be around, as I’m sure everyone has told you.”
Corde was the third of their trio, the first three dragons to be awakened in the military effort.
Kallore grinned, likely thinking of his own mate, a military officer who commanded Fort Stark. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Uh-huh.” He wiped more sweat from his face. “But trust me, I’m eager to get back and look for my own mate. Seeing the two of you the way you are is both nauseating and amazing all at the same time. I want it, but I’m not looking forward to everyone hating me for how mushy I get around my mate.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it, Vanek.”
“Why not?”
“Because everyone already hates you.”
Vanek rolled his eyes. “Just wait until I tell Colonel Mara how you walked around base with your ass hanging out for all the women to see. I’m sure she’ll be thrilled by that story.”
Kallore looked at his own backside, which was currently devoid of all protective material thanks to Vanek’s love-tap with the sword. “She wouldn’t buy that story. Elin knows me better than to think I’d enjoy walking around with my ass out.”
A new voice entered the conversation as someone came into the motor pool building. “You better not be planning on walking across the base like that.”
Vanek grinned as his friend wilted in defeat. “Maybe.”
Colonel Elin Mara came up and stood next to her mate, stoically taking a kiss on the forehead. She refused to return the affection while on duty, but had long since learned that Kallore was going to show it whether she liked it or not.
“Why are you two in here?” she asked, pointing around the massive warehouse-like building.
“The base gyms are too small, and, um, fragile, for us to spar there,” Vanek said. “And if we do it outside, it’s too distracting. In here we have space and a place that won’t disintegrate around us, or set off fire alarms either. It’s good.”
Colonel Mara nodded, her expression changing slightly. Both Vanek and Kallore picked up on it, exchanging concerned looks with each other.
“What is it?” Kallore asked.
Mara turned to face Vanek instead. “I just got off the phone with the Central Defense Command.”
Vanek shrugged. He knew the CDC were their ultimate bosses. If they were getting involved, it likely wasn’t a good sign. He wondered what today’s bad news was all about.
Colonel Mara took a deep breath in, and he braced himself. Whatever it was, it was not good, that was for sure.
“Word has come down from high. Like, really high. I’m thinking possibly the top.”
Vanek arched an eyebrow but otherwise remained silent.
“They aren’t happy about the funds that are being allocated toward you. It’s not a tiny sum, and the more dragons we awaken, the more that grows. Ever since it started there’s been a section of generals advocating to take the money and spend it on guns and soldiers.” Mara winced in apology, but continued ahead. “That segment is growing in popularity given that despite beating them twice, none of the Outsiders you’ve actually fought have been killed.”
Vanek frowned. The Outsiders were just that. Beings from another realm or planet that sought to invade, to kill humanity. They were the boogeymen, the things that went bump in the night. They were what Vanek and the dragons had been awakened to fight.
“So just because we haven’t killed them, they want to…what? Throw us away?”
Colonel Mara looked away, unable to meet the hard look in his eyes.
“Not yet,” she said. “They’ve given you two weeks.”
“Two weeks to what?” he asked, his voice rigid.
Elin sighed. “Two weeks to kill an Outsider. To prove that you’re worth the money they’re spending on you. Otherwise, they’re going to put you back under.”
Vanek snarled, the sound so explosive and angry that Kallore instinctually moved to put himself between his mate and the angry dragon.
“Are you kidding me?” he growled. “We don’t even know where it disappeared to after Corde beat it badly.”
“Well, you need to find it, Vanek.” She crossed her arms. “Just like you need to find a mate too. We can’t wake up any more dragons until you do.”
He frowned. “I thought the program was going to be cancelled in two weeks?”
Mara gave him a hard look of her own. “I didn’t make the orders. I’m just following them. You need to remember that, Vanek. I don’t agree with them. I think dragons are the answer. And my orders say that if you don’t kill one in two weeks, the program gets shut down. It says nothing about halting the process of waking up more dragons if you find a mate. We just don’t want too many unmated dragons around at once. Got it?”
Vanek nodded angrily. He understood. It wasn’t her choice, and she was showing that by trying to move ahead, since her orders didn’t specifically prohibit her from doing so. Unfortunately…
“Finding a mate doesn’t just happen,” he said. “I can’t snap my fingers and make her appear out of thin air. Trust me, I would if I could. I want the happiness that you and Kallore have.”
He could see now what was truly bothering her. If he didn’t kill an Outsider and soon, then all the dragons would be put back to sleep. Including Kallore, her mate. Her love.
“I’ll do what I can,” he promised. “For you. I’ll leave for Barton City now. Corde will just have to understand.”
Elin smiled sadly. “Do it for you, Vanek. We all need the dragons to come back. Humanity needs you. Don’t let us down.”
No pressure, Vanek.