Over the next second I circulate energy to heal my badly burnt eyes and the sight of a giant mushroom cloud hanging over a haze of smoke that covers the Capital city fades into my vision. Then the helicopter is hit by a savage shock wave and we're sent tumbling, flipping through the air even a hundred miles away.
Slowly, we manage to get control of the situation, pulling the sticks and working the pedals by our feet until the helicopter is mostly hovering in place, watching the fading fireball that appears to be a nuclear explosion over Washington DC.
"You didn't"
"They started it"
"You know they're not going to take this lying down right?"
"The various zone leaders are currently rounding up Federal leaders and Bureaucrats to be charged with Treason against the citizens of the country. Over 300 strikes like the one on the safe house happened today, almost all failed. Alpha Petros had over a thousand agents led by the DEA raid the pack. The Blue Moon wolves and the local National Guard stood with him to end things without too many casualties, and the leaders will be standing public trial."
"Do you think we'll be seen as the good guys? There's millions of people in that city"
"Everyone but government employees was evacuated to Boston and New York City 2 weeks ago for security concerns. The government feared uprising or an invading force from a portal destroying the government apparatus. So they evacuated the city and set up loads of security after the army turned down their initial attack plans."
Following Karl's memory of where the nearest Witch enclave was, we not so gently crash landed the helicopter a few miles south of our current location.
A quick run later, we were at a mansion in the woods, where a young woman met us in the yard with a broom and a grim look.
"Go away. I know the council agreed to declare war, but we didn't agree to that!"
"Listen, Miss, we just need to use your transmission circle and we'll be gone in an instant." Karl reassures her. She ushers us inside, obviously intent to see us gone before anyone realizes we were here.
The resident witches' responses to the bombing of Washington, DC are a mixed bag. Half are celebrating what they believe will be a quick and early end to the war the Government declared on them, their home having been raided mere hours earlier, while the rest are glaring at us and muttering about war crimes and genocide. I can't say I don't understand, after all, I did just help him toss a bunch of federal agents out of a plane so he could cast the magical equivalent of a nuke on the Capital.
The witches usher us through the circle, already working a spell to have the ground absorb the wreck of the helicopter and hide our presence here. They really don't want people to know they're involved with us it seems.
Don't blame them. At all.
Unexpectedly, we're not sent to the Safe House, but to another witch house near Seattle. The first American city to fall to off planet forces. The city now occupied by what have been dubbed dragon riders.
"Tell me we're not doing that again. I know for certain there is no way to evacuate the city, there's millions of people inside the occupied zone."
The room is full of not only witches, but soldiers, a few mages and a party of what looks to be Dryads.
One of the Dryad ladies comes over to greet us with a friendly smile "Hello, good to meet you, my name is Chrysanna. You must be Karl and Katrina?" The gold streaked through her hair doesn't shimmer like I expected in the light, it's got a satin texture like soft leaves.
"That we are" I smile back, her happiness is infectious.
"Just in time. We're planning an offensive to retake the city, and need Karl's expertise in making magical ammunition. Regular isn't cutting it, and their mages have shot down the last 3 attempts to fire high yield missiles through the portal"
They've got a whole battle plan drawn out, from tanks in the hills, to 4 groups of armored vehicles hopefully with Karl's magical ammunition pushing towards the dragon pens, hoping to either clear them or drive them back through the portal.
Once the dragons are suppressed the witches will follow up with a curse to break down the barrier their mages have cast and allow conventional weapons a chance to shine, beginning with the Army forces initiating an artillery barrage of the camp surrounding the portal, while ground troops from the National Guard move in to take care of their police forces and secure the city.
Me and Karl are to take central point, going for infiltration and an attempt to close the portal if possible. Rumors are it's stable and non resetting though, so it may only be possible to secure the area until the next wave of attack or bury our end in enough material they can't get out.
The first stage of the plan is to enchant as much ammunition as possible, so we're led to the ammunition bunker and Karl immediately starts enchanting cases. I notice that he's not doing one at a time like he explained before, but almost 2 dozen at once.
"Breakthrough increased your ability to multitask?"
"Yeah, I can do 20 at once comfortably, though the time is about the same per cast. The enchantment is stronger now than when we first met too. These babies should punch through most magical barriers without too much issue."
At 3 sets per minute, with finding his new targets and the occasional breather, we're done enchanting rifle and machine gun ammunition in half an hour.
"That should do it. As time is of the essence, we'll leave the artillery ammunition alone this time. We've got enough enchanted light arms rounds to last a full day's firefight, which should be enough to take the city, or at least bring things to a stalemate at the portal."
We're all lined up for the beginning of the blitz. This plan of Mage and Wolf in the middle with armored companies on the flanks feels a bit lopsided to me, especially now that they've got enchanted machine guns, but Karl seems assured, and we've only got 1 dragon pen as a target, not 3 like the forces on the wings.
We're headed in one minute earlier than the others, the plan being to call attention to the destruction, then distract it away with advancing vehicles and hopefully put their defense into disarray.
Still sounds like I'm the bait.
Now the security forces have caught sight of us. Karl has cast every buff and shield he can on me, and I feel like I'm flying at the rate I'm moving. Foregoing the saber that I couldn't bring with me on our trip to DC, I plunge into the enemy group claws first, lower arms covered in a thin film of my own energy, my claws are rending limbs and mangling armor with ease.
This blood smells fruity, and as a helmet flies off a defeated enemy I realize the Dragon Riders are a form of elf, possibly with dragon blood, as I see scales growing on some.
Karl is using arcane explosions to demolish portions of the defensive wall they've created and level the surrounding buildings. Shouts are coming from everywhere, along with a siren, followed by the mass roar of the beasts in the pen a few dozen yards ahead of us.
They lack any forelimbs, only one set of legs and wings. So these dragon riders should properly be Drake riders I guess? Just doesn't have the same ring to it.
"Karl, I'm going to leap ahead into the pen and get at those drakes before anyone gets them saddled and ariborne. Cover me."
That he does, with a fresh barrier to replace my flickering one and a buff that makes me feel lighter on my feet, he puts his all into covering fire.
Mass explosions ring, and a gas covers the area where we're standing. Smoke grenade I think.
I hear the flapping of wings in the distance, the defensive forces must be rallying to come to this pen and put us down. But I'm over the wall with a running leap and the defenders nearest us are still trying to get their act together.
My claws rend the life from the nearest drake covering both myself and its rider in dark black viscera and screams of terror ring out around me.
If I slow down I'm in so much trouble.
3 steps drops 3 more riders and I'm headed for another drake when the air shimmers with magic and my guts feel like they're twisting inside me, trying to adapt to this change in environment.
It's suddenly very dark, but it's not blood in my eyes, so I look up to see the source.
Dragon. An actual giant dragon that blocks out the sky.