In Part 4 (Ch. 26-36), Emilie finally told everyone just what she was, and what that meant for the future of the town. More specifically, she let them know that there was a threat of extreme violence hanging over her head. To prepare, she’s been added to the high school’s combat training, while everyone else also gets ready for a fight.
It’s been a while now—I lost count of the dominoes games—but nothing’s entered my range, despite Murphy’s reports that the fighting is ongoing. Martha’s published (in the Mymoir) tactics do state that her army should be over-reliant on her, but she had to know we’d try something like this. Robertson says it’s likely difficult to convince her army to put their all into a fight against people who look like them. It’s probably not her usual army setup, either, since they had to walk across the whole country, and they won’t have the motivation of fighting for their homes. Blacksburg defenders probably have the morale to make up for their lower numbers.
Suddenly, Murphy taps me on the shoulder and moves in to whisper. “Orange dragon spotted.” My eyes go wide and I lose track of my immediate surroundings, instead looking at heat in the wider area and preparing for what’s ahead.
Dragons fly fast enough that simply spotting one means it can arrive within a few minutes. I don’t know how much a building filled with people will stand out to an orange dragon—to me, it’s like a giant beacon—but I do know we have a bunch of people in here with transformation and telekinesis spells to help even if Brice tries to collapse the building. However, he might still manage to make an opening, in which case he needs to be kept out. And keeping him out is my job.
The magic immunity of Dragons means that to keep Brice occupied, someone has to be physically attacking him. As a mass dragon, however, weaponry is all but useless. That means someone has to be transformed into a meaningfully large size, and wands for that are rare. Roanoke isn’t so reckless as to hold dragon-mimicry contests, so we don’t have any non-true dragons in the area. The best we have is Jess’s bear spell and a Wizard who combined that with another spell to make the user into an extra-large bear. Even the usual toughness and strength spells won’t help against a Dragon. I don’t know who will be the extra-large bear, but I’m glad that at least I won’t be alone. Bears can’t fly, which I’m told is the main reason I’m to be helping at all. I’m pretty sure the “injuries aren’t permanent” rule is another reason, though.
While I was gathering my thoughts, it seems that Murphy and others keeping tabs on the fight got their message to the DF people in here. We’ve practiced this: reinforcement people are spread around the building, and a large area devoid of people is being opened for me in the middle of the stadium floor. I leave my non-feather belongings with my group and make my way to the edge of the emptiness. No sense making a target of myself prior to Brice opening the roof, but I need to be ready to go very quickly after he does that.
I don’t have long to stand there before what is very clearly another Dragon enters my range, immediately heading towards and loudly landing on our vine-covered shelter. I’ve thankfully never sensed another Dragon before—or seen one in person before last December, for that matter—but this is so similar to my own form that it’s abundantly obvious. That and it’s huge. A few moments of intense silence pass and—well that’s a thing. Heat magic takes a few seconds to a few minutes to have a visible effect, but mass is apparently nearly instant. I was looking at a ceiling, and now I’m peering up at a vine-covered but perfectly circular hole. Today is hot and sunny but the bright orange dragon isn’t even slightly concealed by the dark vines between us and him. That hole is definitely big enough for one of us to fly through, so I need to make sure the one that does so is me.
I don’t believe for a second that Brice will be fooled by the illusion of a people-filled stadium floor and make use of the time he’s spending clearing vines (by claws) to shift. And the moment I finish changing, he makes it known to everyone that he knows I’m here. «Found you!»
He’s not quite done yet with the vines, but they’re not braced by anything on the way out. Instead of waiting, I leap for the hole, flapping once for the additional force needed to shove the remaining vines aside and tackle Brice off the roof! «No one hides in their dragon form!»
«A girl this time?» he responds while – AAA! That’s not the first time I’ve had my wings torn, as I’ve spent some time sparring with Nic’s roc, but it doesn’t get any less painful with experience! «This is too easy!»
I don’t waste time and make sure he’s grounded, too. «I’m not the kind of girl that just waits for death!»
The fall took long enough, but luckily it wasn’t lethal. For either of us, less luckily. That didn’t stop me from hearing—and feeling—several loud crunches, thankfully not all from me.
The bear is now present and within my range, but it’s on the other side of the building. It’s on its way, though; I just have to stall, which is reassuring because Brice was definitely faster to stand up than I was. I can see metal and stone barricades popping out of the building and sidewalk as I struggle to my feet—only for my legs to give out as Brice jumps on top of me.
«Where do you think you’re going?»
I give an approximation of a grunt. «Nowhere, I guess.»
«You never answered us. Why did you think you could fight us? Did you think you could win?»
I think. Even in all my time preparing, did I think I could beat Brice or Martha? … No. I really didn’t. That’s what the bear is for. «No. But what you’re doing: it isn’t right! I’m not abandoning my friends and family to go destroy someplace else! I’m sure we’re Dragons for a reason, and that can’t be it!»
I hear Brice snort in amusement. «A reason? We know the reason, and it hasn’t ever changed! You have all the information you could ever want, and you’ve avoided it! Why—» And at last he’s cut off by the tackle of an enormous black bear, relieving the weight on my chest and finally letting me breathe.
I take a good few seconds just to lie there and breathe, not assisted by the pain from my torn wings and probably a few broken ribs. Then I try to stand again, but the pain makes it clear that my left shoulder and hips are in no condition to support my weight. I’m not shifting this close to another full-size dragon, so instead I position myself so that my back is towards the wrestling duo, then rotate my head enough that I can watch. In however long it’s been, the bear has not only managed to stay on top, but also inflicted sufficient injury that I’m glad this form doesn’t have a digestive system. I close my eyes, opting to watch with heat sense instead.
What? I – I’m still breathing, but my chest hurts more and it doesn’t feel like I’m getting any air and changing positions and breathing pattern isn’t helping and— «Hint for you: it’s the material itself that matters, not where it is.» What does that mean? He’s orange, which means he can make more or less of things. But I can’t breathe. But air is pretty easy for me to work with – oh. He’s removing the air from my lungs!
How do I—? I can’t move; I can’t leave his range! This will only end when he’s dead! I’m not waiting to suffocate, but there’s nothing I can do to help the bear. Is there… a spell? Uh, this one has warnings, but I don’t have time! It’ll have to do. I read and set the parameters I need, then cast. «Frederick’s Icy Tomb!»
I gasp. That—That—That was not what I expected. I mean, yes, I expected it to knock him out or kill him, but not that way! The inside of his head is frozen solid! I can breathe now, but – again, I’m grateful for the lack of a digestive system. I – I just—! He made me do that! Why!? Why did he make me do that!?
I go back and read the warnings. «This spell will end the target’s life. This spell has an extreme cost and will fail if less than half of your entropy remains.» Failure of a Star spell means that part of me explodes, so I’m glad the only other magic I used today was for shifting and keeping myself cool. But – I – I killed him. That was supposed to be other people’s job! I just had to live! Why—?
I try to stand, and my joints remind me why I couldn’t just flee. Well… With my eyes open, I still can’t see anyone actively threatening me, so I’ll just have to hope Martha doesn’t come within range prior to my being a lizarkin again. I shift, welcoming the fade out of pain before righting myself and looking towards the bear and Brice. And then bracing myself because Brice’s injuries are still obvious and the damage went both ways.
Since Aspect-transformed people don’t stay that way when they die, the bear has to still be alive. Still—I think back to the injury caused just by removing a single feather. I think this bear will stay a bear for a long time, if he can manage it. While his chest is still whole, it doesn’t look like he’ll be walking again in the near future. On the plus side, the spell for the form is probably self-targeting, which means this bear is Dynamic and can use a flight wand. And a telekinesis wand, because those arms aren’t in good shape, either. But, uh… Jess’s spells will end if she falls asleep, so… “Mr. Bear?” I call.
He responds by weakly moving. Those wounds are open and probably hurt a whole lot more than my broken bones did. I’m not going to touch them, but he needs help. I move close enough that I’m sure he can hear me, then reassure him, “I’ll be right back! I’m getting help!” Then I rush back into the stadium.