Page 37 of Drakhana's Treasure
Its still the most awesome raw power that I have ever seen. Possibly more than even the elders have ever seen. As much as I fear for her, I know we need her.
It all comes down to believing in her, too. Do I believe that her power is some kind of disability? Is it erratic and dangerous to herself and others? There is a lot to support this as truth. If this is really how it is, she should be sent home.
The other option is that I believe Kirralee is an extremely powerful individual, one who has been sent to save our race. She may be young, her powers taking her by surprise but she would never harm anyone.
I choose to believe that she is a goddess, brought to light our future. That means she has to fight right in the front lines.
Just as I finish collecting the papers Dylan and Luke come in. Both have grim faces.
“What’s happened?”
“A small group of fire dragons came through the outskirts of the city, headed for our desert lines. Ice dragons hit them. It was a decent fight, but only three of them made it through.” Dylan’s face is grave.
“Shit.” I put my head in my hand. “No more dragons coming in. How many have we got in the desert?”
“Five hundred, give or take.” Luke answers.
“How many in the city?” My mind is spinning with calculations.
“About seven hundred.” Dylan says. “Everyone’s well placed for now.”
I look up, stroking my chin thoughtfully.
“So, we know there are roughly two thousand ice dragons in Vegas, unless they have deliberately maneuvered to make their numbers appear higher. They could easily have done that, but we have to work from the higher number. Are they headed to the desert?”
“Not all of them.” Dylan pulls out his phone and shows me a map. “They move between the city and a small outpost here in the desert. It appears they are setting up this flat plain here for the battle.”
“They are taunting us.” I whispered. “They are drawing us to that location.”
“I’m afraid so, old friend.” Luke puts a hand on my arm.
“Do we have intel on the spot? Geographical or historical info?”
“No.” Dylan shakes his head. “There isn’t anything special about it.”
I narrow my eyes as I look over the map. They may have simply chosen it because there is a rough line of hills around it, technically giving them the high ground if we are caught in the center. Maybe they plan to fill it with water or ice.
It doesn’t matter. We have a secret weapon.
With a deep breath I begin to allocate positions for the recruits. Zelena, Kane and Bailey will stay on business. Plenty like Haywin who need to be on tech systems or weapons detail. We want to try and keep the younger ones out of trouble while making good use of them at the same time.
I take a deep breath and try to mention Kirralee as casually as I can.
“This one.” I place her file on a new stack. “She’s going to the front lines.”
“Are you mad?” Luke exclaims. “She’s a fucking disaster wherever she goes. You can’t be serious.”
“But I am. She has some very interesting talents.” I look up and give them both a good hard stare, daring them to challenge me.
“I’ll obey, Rastus.” Dylan says softly, “but I don’t agree.”
“Just make sure she’s on the front.” I say firmly. I’m hiding my anxiety by the barest whisper. She could get hurt. She could die.
She could also save us all. If her powers bloom on the battlefield then we have won, simple as that.
If she doesn’t reach her power… If something goes wrong, then she’s dead.
And so are we.
