Marcus pulled himself back into the pilot seat, arms trembling. With hesitation, he eased the Firestorm forward. Ahead and to the right, the forest was ablaze, thick smoke bellowed from the growing flames, disappearing into the night sky. Overhead, a silhouette darted, downwards toward the hilltop like a stone tossed from afar.

  "I'm breaking off, I think I saw something move deeper into the forest." Arminius radioed. "Keep moving forward, stick to our planned route."

  The Hastatus pivoted to its left after recovering from the impact and ascended the grassy slope, disappearing into the tree line.

  Layne looked over his shoulder and nodded, the left side of his face near his eye bruised.

  "The heat is causing attenuation; it is difficult to sense what is beyond the crest of the hill." Fenicks spoke over the intercom. "Advance with caution."

  As the upright ascended the slope, pieces of twisted and burning metal with attached strands of ignited fabric, danced in a stiff wind that came into view to the right of the machine.

  "It looks like an airship impacted here." Fenicks said. "I am detecting engine signatures still present on the ground, watch out for potential secondary explosions."

  The looming sense that something was watching Marcus lingered in his gut. It was close.

  He advanced slowly. The airship impacted directly on the only path forward. Through a field of crushed metal girders and twisted scaffolding, the Firestorm marched.

  A golden glint caught Marcus's eye, off to the left. In the very bottom left of the viewport was the golden whelpling from the river shallows. It was wrestling with something. Marcus pivoted and as it came into full view. On the other side, the girl with fire-red hair was tugging at a part of the wreckage. Then he noticed, they were trying to pull someone pinned under a sheet of metal.

  "Layne, help them." Marcus blurted as he maneuvered the Firestorm closer.

  Layne reached overhead and flicked a few switches, then snatched up the controls. The Firestorm pivoted at the hips to lean down, and right hand swept forward to reach with an extended index finger. He tilted the palm upwards to place the finger beneath the scrap and clasped it with the thumb. With care, Layne raised it enough to unpin the victim.

  The two on the ground pulled a girl from beneath the metal. After the stranger was dislodged, the whelpling spun in place and screeched, charging several paces toward the forest before sliding to a stop in the mud. The girl continued to pull the stranger away from the wreck.

  Overwhelmed by a sense of being witnessed, Marcus turned his attention to the top right of the viewport, to see the shadows shifting. Then two massive green orbs spaced far apart, appeared from within the darkness.

  "Get us righted." Marcus spoke with a dry tongue.

  Layne reached up and flicked several switches. The Firestorm returned to its standing position.

  On the ground, the whelpling trembled while letting out another wail.

  "Fenicks." A baritone voice boomed over the screech of scorching metal and timber. "How many moons has it been since we last met?"

  "Alert: Threat level exceeds current combat capacity." Fenicks spoke over the intercom. "Recommend full retreat immediately."

  From the shadows, a black-scaled dragon emerged. Its beak was narrow, almost axe-like. The beast was just as big, if not bigger than the golden dragon Marcus spotted in the riverbed.

  "We have unfinished business, you and me." The dragon's deep timbered voice caused the flames to dance as he spoke. "I've not forgotten what happened last time. And I know for a fact your dear pilot is long-dead. Humans live not on the same scale as we greater beings."

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Marcus flipped a few switches and triggered the external speaker. "Run away, get out of here."

  His voice snapped the trembling whelpling into action, who skittered toward the red-headed girl and crouched down.

  At the same time, the pupils of the dragon clenched like a cat. "What is the meaning of this?"

  The girl struggled and flopped the stranger onto the dragonling's back.

  The black dragon smacked its open four-fingered hand into the ground. "No one is going anywhere."

  "Layne." Marcus shifted to first and revved the engine.

  Layne pushed a few buttons beneath the monitors. From inside the wrist armor, two short blades shot out and were placed into the Firestorm's hands.

  "Variable blades deployed." Fenicks said from Layne's console.

  "It's all we got." Layne shouted while poising the arms to strike, bent and knife-tips pointed at the monster.

  "A frontal assault is not advised—" Fenicks spoke over the intercom.

  Marcus dropped the clutch, and the Firestorm bounded toward the black dragon.

  The beast's neck craned, and head recoiled upward. Then it leaned forward and opened its gaping maw, revealing two sets of hooked teeth and a forked tongue. With hesitation the monster coiled its long tail around its body for a strike.

  But it was too late to attack.

  With a thunderous crash, the Firestorm smashed into the black dragon. Twin dagger blades bounced off the beast's scales, launching a shower of sparks across the landscape, screeching so wild it threatened to extinguish the flames of the wreckage.

  The impact drove the dragon up onto its two hind legs, with its two forelegs resting on the upright's shoulders.

  "What a foolish tactic." The dragon scoffed. "I had hoped to relive the great battles from my youth. The only potential from such movement would have been my downfall from utter disappointment."

  The Firestorm drew back its left arm to strike at the monster's belly. But the dragon leaned down to bear its weight on the limb before it could strike. It then raised its other arm to strike overhead.

  Layne maneuvered and swiped with the machine's free arm quickly. More sparks flew, the blade glancing off the creature's armored forearm.

  The dragon recoiled for a moment before raising its hand to strike, leathery wings splayed.

  A shot rang out from the forest.

  The dragon tumbled to the ground. It scrambled to its feet and roared, unscathed.

  From between tall trees, the Hastatus emerged with rifle trained on the black dragon.

  "I see you've been having fun without me." Arminius radioed. "And I see you're back for another whipping, Sarasen." His voice carried both over the radio and over his external speaker.

  The black dragon, Sarasen, roared while retreating and coiling his tail around his body. "Why am I not surprised? I could smell Myrmidon stench from here."

  Arminius scoffed. "If you really could, you'd know what's going to happen next."

  Sarasen craned his neck around his own body. Then the tip of his tail quivered. The dragon sized up the Firestorm and then after splaying its wings, darted into the sky while about-facing, then disappeared beyond the trees in the forest.

  The Hastatus's rifle tracked the dragon as it fled.

  "Target opening distance, bearing 072." Fenicks said over the intercom. "Threat level reducing."

  "Phew." Arminius radioed. "That could have turned nasty."

  The Hastatus turned to square off with the Firestorm, to look at the girl near the wreckage.

  "There's a fine line between courage and stupidity, make sure you remember that." Arminius radioed.

  Layne pressed a few buttons on his console. and the blades retreated under the Firestorm's wrists.

  "Got it." Marcus said as he turned the machine to look at the girl near the wreckage.

  Sitting on the back of the whelpling, she stared up at the Firestorm with squinted eyes and a scrunched face. Laid in front of her on the dragonling's back was the stranger, a blonde girl, still unconscious.

  "A response has been deployed from the fort on the island." Fenicks said. "It will arrive soon. Recommend continuing on route immediately to evade."

  The whelpling splayed its wings and then leaped into the air, flying off into the distance, opposite the direction which Sarasen retreated.

  "We should get out of here, let's keep moving." Marcus radioed. He hoped those coming could help any other survivors.

  The Hastatus holstered its rifle over its right shoulder.

  "A sound plan." Arminius said. "Keep close to the blaze, use the smoke as cover."

  The two departed into the burning tree line, following the line of fire expanding from the crash site. They passed through the growing ring, and entered the forest, onto a wide dirt road. The trees on the flank were about as high as the Firestorm.

  "Arrival at next waypoint immanent." Fenicks spoke over the intercom.

  The place where they would meet with the baggage train was the middle of a 'T' intersection. One of the paths would lead them on a direct path toward Kourion City.

  As the Firestorm closed, a green box appeared in the viewport, around a dimly lit metal structure about as high as the Firestorm's knee.

  "Unexpected obstruction detected." Fenicks said.

  "What is that?" Marcus squinted.