Page 70 of Legion

“Are we ready?” I asked. Around me, the team of humans were quick to respond. I knew the Elder Wyrm was listening somewhere as every Talon command center around the world prepared to go to war. The Night of Fang and Fire had finally come. Tonight, among many others, the Western chapterhouse of the Order of St. George was going to fall. By any means necessary.

Then let’s begin.I took a deep, steadying breath and commanded, “Send in Alpha flight one.”

“Sir.” Immediately, one of the senior humans glanced at me, brow furrowed. “Just the one flight, sir?” he asked, as if I didn’t know what I was doing. “We have five flights and the Omega protocol on standby. Shouldn’t we send them all at once? We’re sure to overwhelm the base, and we’ll take fewer casualties ourselves.”

“No.” I narrowed my eyes at the human. “You don’t know this chapterhouse or who resides there. And, lest anyone has forgotten, this is St. George. They know how to kill dragons, and how to defend themselves from dragons. Before we throw everything we have at them, I want to know what kind of firepower they’ve got and how to deal with it. So, this is the last time I will repeat myself—send in Alpha flight one. Hold the rest in reserve until I say otherwise.”

“Yes, sir.”

I crossed my arms, watching the screens, waiting for what the night would reveal.

The match has been set into motion, St. George. Let the games begin.

GARRET

Three minutes till midnight.

Outside, the air was still. A sickly white moon hung in the sky behind a few wispy clouds, unable to pierce the darkness blanketing the chapterhouse. I stood at a window on the upper floor of the barracks, watching the sky for dragons. Behind me, the rest of my team—four of St. George’s best—sat or lay quietly on cots while I kept watch. Fifty yards away, the armory sat huddled in shadow, silent and dark. My gaze went to the spots where the snipers were hiding, Tristan among them. I wondered if he would survive this night...if any of us would survive. We’d prepared as best we could, but who knew what kind of numbers Talon would throw at us?

“All squads, this is Anvil Six,” came Martin’s voice over the radio. The lieutenant was in the armory with the rest of the squadron. “What’s it look like out there?”

“Anvil, this is Longshot Six,” came Tristan’s voice, cool and unruffled. “Nothing on our end. The sky is clear.”

“Anvil, Storm Six,” said the commander of the machine gun squad. “Same here, just sitting on our asses waiting, sir.” A few chuckles echoed that statement, and I smiled faintly.

“Anvil, Scorpion Six,” I said into my headset. “Nothing here, either. We’ve got a clear line of sight to your position and everything is quiet.”

“All right,” Martin replied. “You know the drill, gentlemen. Keep your eyes open and radio the second you see anything, lizard or otherwise.”

“Sir,” we all answered, and the line went quiet.

I glanced at my team. They seemed calm, cavalier, even, but that was to be expected. We’d all done something like this before. Never on our own turf, of course, but we all had experience in staging ambushes and waiting for the battle to start. Worrying and dwelling on the upcoming fight was useless; there was nothing we could do until go time.

Ember, I thought as my watch flipped to 11:59 and a blanket of clouds crawled across the moon.I wish I could have seen you one more time. Wherever you are right now, stay safe.

“We got movement!”

I jerked up. Tristan’s voice crackled over the radio, tense and chillingly eager. “Hostiles inbound. About two clicks away, from the west side of the fence. Ugly gray bastards like Scorpion said. Ten targets, maybe more.” A heartbeat of a pause, and Tristan added, “Damn, they really are exactly the same. Looks like the party is about to start, sir.”

“Copy that, Longshot,” Martin replied. “You may fire when ready.”

I held my breath, waiting. Outside, the night was still. I couldn’t see anything in the darkness but the armory in front of me.

Then a shot rang out, the report crystal clear in the silence. A half second later, Tristan’s voice echoed smugly over the radio.

“Lima down, Anvil Six, lima down.”

A cheer went up, my own team joining in. “Quiet,” I warned, glancing back at them. That was just the first casualty. We couldn’t celebrate yet.

Two more shots echoed, ringing over the buildings. “Shit,” hissed another sniper, one I didn’t recognize. “Dodgy bastards. Anvil Six, they’re coming in fast.”

“Storm,” Martin snapped. “Get ready. When you see the targets, light them up.”

A chilling scream rang out, making my blood run cold, as several dark, winged shapes appeared through the clouds. Eyes glowing silver against the black, they dropped from the sky with shrieking battle cries and swooped toward the armory.

DANTE

“We’re taking fire!”

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