Kallore
He awoke before his alarm, a sense of unease washing over him.
Rising swiftly he dressed, trying to keep the anger down at being interrupted from the pleasant dream he’d been having. In it he was back downtown with Elin. Only this time he’d done things right from the very start, and she kissed him back fully and with abandon. It had been a very happy dream, and it now clashed with the slithering darkness he now felt descending over the base.
Whatever was wrong, he needed to fix it. And soon. His first instinct was to ensure that Elin was safe. With her secure he could move against whatever it was that was causing the sensation. Emerging into the hallway, he took off at a jog for the room they conducted all of their classes in. By some feat of engineering and random luck, the cell he’d initially called home was actually closer to the room than the quarters he’d been assigned a week or so into his training.
He dodged past a man in uniform heading the same way with a quick wave of apology over his shoulder, not slowing. The door to the classroom was closed, and the lights were off. That didn’t mean Elin wasn’t in there however. She was known to do such tricks like that, just to ensure he knew she would always arrive first. But something told him that this time she wasn’t there. Just to ensure he wasn’t mistaken he stepped inside, his eyes scanning the room, not bothering to turn the light on. It wasn’t necessary for him; he could see it easily.
Elin wasn’t there.
It was still early, he told himself. She could be on her way there right then. All he would have to do was walk the shortest path between the room and her quarters, and he was bound to run into her. The sense of unease strengthened in him. Kallore spun at the same time the lights flicked on.
“Hello, Kallore.”
The tall man spoke his name like it was a label, not a part of who he was. Kallore realized with a start it was the same officer he’d passed in the hallway on his way here. How had he not noticed the man wasn’t a base regular?!
“Who are you?” Kallore knew all the personnel on the base. This wasn’t one of them.
“My name is Colonel Cutprice, not that it matters to you.”
“You’re right,” he said cheerfully. “It doesn’t matter to me. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere I need to be.”
He made to brush by the officer, the urge to find Elin rising within him. The urgency was more notable now. Whatever was going on, it had to do with her, and she needed him there, not stuck with this dickless wonder.
“Sit down.” The words cracked out like a gunshot.
Kallore spun in place, giving the man a stare, his eyes filling with ancient anger.
“Talk to me like that again,” he said softly, “and it will be the final thing you do.”
Cutprice smiled, seemingly unfazed by the threat. “You will sit down. I am in charge until the general gets here tomorrow. You and everyone else are now under my command.”
He almost crushed the man’s skull then and there, but the presence of additional armed men in the hallway outside gave him pause. Glancing at Cutprice, he leaned forward and stuck his head out the doorway. A dozen men armed with tasers and other gear were arrayed, ready to stop him.
“What is the meaning of this?” he snarled, whirling on Cutprice. “Where is Elin?”
“She is in her quarters, pending new orders.” The colonel was gloating.
In one stride Kallore closed the distance between the two of them, hoisting Cutprice up by his uniform. As tall as the officer was, his feet still dangled uselessly in the air when he was forced to look Kallore in the eye. The dragon shifter was a veritable giant, and the thin officer would do well to respect his power.
“Put the colonel down!”
He turned slowly, eyes beginning to glow as he assessed the threat. Some of the soldiers stutter-stepped as they filed into the room, but most of them kept on coming, either not seeing the flames dancing in his eyes, or not realizing they were very, very real.
“Do you really want to do this, boys?” he asked, his voice filling the hallway with its soft roar as he looked at the lead man on the left.
The leader hesitated, his throat bobbing up and down as he swallowed nervously. “No, but if you don’t put the colonel down, I will be forced to.”
“I respect that. Which is why you won’t suffer.”
Before any of the men could react, Kallore tossed Cutprice at the spokesperson. The two collided with a thud before they flew backward, taking out three more men. The dragon didn’t stay around to watch, however; he lunged to the right. His arm snapped up, a head snapped back, and another soldier was down. Fingers filled with supernatural strength snatched the limp body up even as he spun, bringing the soldier into a guard position, using his body to protect him as tasers flew.
Kallore then pushed, and more soldiers went down in a heap as the taser-filled body collided with them.
He jerked as something hit him square in the back, staggering him slightly, more from surprise than anything. A moment later there was a clatter as the mashed-up pieces of metal and plastic fell to the floor. Kallore turned to see the last remaining soldier on his feet staring at him in horror as the thick, sandy-brown-colored dragonbone armor receded into his skin.
“Your weapons cannot harm me,” he snarled, reaching down to grab the taser ends and yanking the weapon from the soldier’s hand. Then he strode forward while the man’s eyes widened in fear before rolling back into his skull as a fist knocked him blissfully unconscious.
Kallore regarded his handiwork, surveying the damage to the thirteen men. They would all live, though some would have broken limbs and bruises.
A groan sounded from the officer. Kallore quirked his eyebrows in the man’s direction. Perhaps he was stronger than he looked.
“You will leave the base,” he snarled, leaning over the officer, letting smoke filter from his nose as he summoned his flames, letting them fill his eyes completely. “Do you understand?”
Defiance reared its ugly head, but when Kallore revealed what his right hand contained, it died swiftly. “Very well. But it won’t last. The general will be here tomorrow.”
“It doesn’t matter. I will handle this general of yours as well,” he spat.
Cutprice laughed. “That won’t keep Elin from being sent away. More will come.”
The temperature in the room skyrocketed as Kallore came dangerously close to unleashing his fury upon the human. He stared him down, his flames ready if he should need them. It would be easy, so very easy to simply lash out and reduce Cutprice to little more than cinders.
No. That won’t do a thing to help Elin. You need to go to her. Now.
“You will leave,” he said, letting his fire diminish. “Take your men, and get off the base.”
“And what about the general?”
His expression could have been molded from steel at that point. “I will handle him.” Taking one last look at the bodies, he fixed Cutprice with another look. “I trust that you can handle the cleanup?”
Anger at being so casually dismissed passed over the colonel’s face, but in the end he caved. “Yes.”
“Good. You just saved your life.”
Kallore left the room, ignoring the look of two of the regulars that had responded to the noise. “Just got a little angry over some bad news, boys. Nothing to see here. Best get back to work.”
They just nodded, peering around him trying to get a glimpse inside the room. He left them behind.
The uneasiness that had been knotting his stomach had eased, but not left entirely. Whatever it was that was going on, it had to do with Cutprice and the others. Kallore had never heard of them before, which meant he needed to find Elin. She would know what was going on.
Hopefully she would find a way to trust him again.