Chapter 89 - "not to a hundred, but to one!"

Then, abruptly, it stopped. Slowly, both air and blood began to leak past Ksstha's slackening jaws, and I dragged in a weak, shuddering breath. Vision began to reluctantly return, but there wasn't much to see; Ksstha lying limply atop me, three more bodies atop him. There had been a sound, just as I was losing consciousness; a sound like. . . like. . . .

The others hesitated in their attacks on Ksstha, began to get off of us. Ksstha himself slid free as I rolled to my feet, and fell limply to the ground beside me, his eyes open but empty.

. . . . his eyes red ruin from their weapons . . . .

I knew that sound; it was the earsplitting, supersonic crack that military ordinance makes as it passes by, far too close for comfort. Shakily I searched, and quickly found what I was looking for. The hole was small, only about a half-inch in diameter, located a little to the rear of Ksstha's left eye. It would have been almost unnoticeable, save that all around the hole the scales were gone, blasted away by the projectile's trailing shockwave.

. . . . he cried out in a voice so filled with despair that I hear it even now . . . .

I didn't want to, but I had to see. Gently, I lifted Ksstha's head and turned it, saw how much of the other side of his skull was missing, blown out by the combination of detonating warhead and hydrostatic shock. I swallowed hard.

. . . . and fell dead, leaving me alone. With them. . . .

Now there were other sounds; an astonished and angry hissing rising from at least a dozen throats, and voices. Voices of men.

"Back off, back off, BACK OFF!"

"Get away from him! Get away from him NOW!"

"Oh, you wanna play, do ya? Well, c'mon, baby, I'm right here! Let's dance! Let's PARTY!"

Ice clutching at my heart, I looked up to see the draconic bodies around us grudgingly part. Into the gap stormed Luce and the rest of the squad, all of them armed to the teeth and looking for a fight. Quickly they formed a perimeter around Ksstha and myself, facing outward, their weapons ready and pointing at the other dragons, Stefan and Lady Dithra included. Luce glanced back, quickly assessing the damage done to the body I held in my arms. "Outstanding shot, Wolfman," he remarked, then looked up at me. "You all right?"

No. . . . NO!

It was all going to hell. Every member of Ahnkar's mob of elders who could do so was on their feet. Eyes fixed on the humans and hissing like enraged tea kettles, at least a dozen dragons were crouching, preparing to attack. Dithra looked about herself in growing alarm, then cast me a despairing look. "Hasai!"

I tried to shout, to bellow the crowd back into submission, but all I could manage at the moment was a weak croak. Desperate, I summoned the sphere. It materialized next to me with its usual quiet snap; I grabbed it and stuffed it between my jaws. Connection was made, and I roared.

Those dragons closest to me, Ahnkar, Dithra, and Stefan included, fell over from the force of the mental shout. All the dragons, from the front rank to the rear, grabbed at their heads in pain. Even the humans, oblivious as they usually were to such things, blinked and gave me a puzzled look.

The elders looked back up, their eyes going wide with apprehension when they saw me standing before them, wrapped in a sizzling silver-white glow, the sphere of the Lung clenched in my jaws. Most quickly dropped back into the posture of submission. A few hesitated, glancing back and forth between me and Luce's team. I quickly picked them out. I asked, pointing at one with a saber-like talon. Her eyes went wide and she quickly bowed. The talon swung to others.

Soon, all the elders were back down and I swung my glare to the humans. Wolfman was off to my right, the massive Barret sniper rifle cradled in his arms. I hissed to the unhearing human I hooked my talons around the weapon and ripped it out of his grasp, and it was all poor Wolfman could do to keep the shoulder strap from tearing his arm off.

I took the Barret and held it high, brandishing it at the other dragons.

I paused, my eyes looking out across my audience.

With a tired gesture I tossed Wolfman back his weapon.

A collective sigh rippled its way through the assembled ranks of the elders. Slowly, painfully they collected themselves and began to trickle away into the battered forest, eventually leaving me alone with the squad, Dithra, Stefan . . . and the dead.

I reached up and removed the sphere from my jaws, then looked upon what had once been a pretty little forest clearing, looked upon the occasional crumpled form littering the blasted earth, my gaze returning at last to the one lying at my feet. "I so very much wish I hadn't had to do that," I sighed at last.

There was no reply, not from the squad, not from Stefan or Dithra. Eventually I gave another sigh and sent the sphere to its home, then turned and slowly trudged back down the hill to the cabin.