Page 16 of The White Dragon Revealed

“Yes, it is destroying its brethren,” Simi explained.

“What?” That was not what he expected to hear. “Nevermind! Have the Claw retreat! I will deal with this!”

“Yes, my king.” Simi crossed one arm over his chest before he was immediately on his com speaking to the Claw.

Valerius did not race past Simi through the doors to get to the dungeon. No, there was a better, faster way. He turned and ran towards the open balcony. He leapt up onto the railing and launched himself into the air, shifting as he tumbled towards the ground. He extended their wings and glided around the curve of the castle to the front where there was an entrance into the dungeon.

People immediately looked up and pointed. Even though seeing him leaving High Reach was a common occurrence, him landing in the courtyard at the lowest level was not. He folded his wings tight to his body just before he shifted back to human form. He took off at a run down the wide stone steps that led to a steel door, six inches thick, that was guarded by half a dozen Claw at the front and over three dozen inside. Although those inside should be evacuating.

I smell burning metal!Raziel growled and pressed close to the front of his chest. The Black Dragon Spirit wanted out again.

As do I. We cannot shift inside the dungeon. Too small. Remember that, Raziel.

The Black Dragon Spirit clawed the ground, but it said,Then I will give you my strength and my fire.

Thank you, my friend.

The two Claw in their red and black uniforms did not see him as they were turned towards the door that had held steady against enraged Werewolves, wild Tiger Shifters, even a massive Griffin Shifter whose beak had ripped open plate armor like it was tinfoil. But the door was shuddering now on its massive hinges. The Claw had their weapons drawn and were aiming at the door as stone dust rained down.

“Step back!” Valerius ordered.

The two Claw jumped into the air like frightened kittens. In fact, both of them were Tiger Shifters from what he remembered. This would have amused him if not for the fact that Mei’s “gift” was destroying his dungeon.

And her other soldiers, which makes no sense unless their destruction is necessary in order to accomplish her plan.

We will melt them all to slag!Raziel sounded excited.

“Get well behind me,” Valerius ordered the Claw.

They dashed behind him just as a large dent appeared in the center of the door. Valerius bared his teeth. There was another crash and the hinges snapped. Valerius gripped the side of the door, his fingers curling around the edges and he pulled.

Shifters were naturally stronger than humans by about a factor often depending on the type of Shifter, but to rip a door of this size and weight off its hinges would be near impossible even for the strongest Shifter. But the Dragon Spirits could share strength with their human form and that was what Raziel did for them.

The veins on Valerius’ neck bulged as the door groaned then pulled from the threshold like a tooth from a socket. He threw it behind him with a cry. The Claw skittered back farther even though it had not come close to hitting them.

Valerius spun back towards the entry into the dungeon. The dungeon was made up of three one-hundred feet by one-hundred feet rooms interconnected by choke points. The rooms had rows of cells that were made up of a thick nearly indestructible plastic that allowed the guards to see the prisoners from every angle. There was no privacy. And these clear walls allowed Valerius now to see the insane amount of destruction.

The cells were melted, plastic pooling on the floor in superheated lakes. The bunks had been torn from their brackets and were crushed. They looked like strange sculptures. The ceramic toilets were shattered and most were pulverized into dust.

Mei’s soldiers lay on the ground in charred and smoking heaps. They were missing limbs. Heads had been twisted off and crushed. Torsos were broken open and the insides snapped and sizzled with electricity. Fluids streamed everywhere. It looked like a battlefield.

No, a slaughter…

But the battle was not over.

There was a seething mass of robots ahead of him at the first chokepoint. Someone had taken a stand there and was still fighting. Bright red laser blasts broke through the mass of soldiers, slagging their middles, and nearly hit Valerius. He dodged out of the way at the last moment. That explained why the door had been failing. The high whine of more lasers going off had Valerius crouching down, but those lasers were aimed towards the choke point.

“What are you doing? STOP!” Mei’s voice rose above the whine.

The Red Dragon Queen stood at the base of the stairs. She had on only a short, red silk shift. Her hair was tangled and her face still hadthe bleariness of sleep imprinted upon it. Mei had clearly been in bed while her robots waged havok. Valerius’ eyebrows rose when he caught sight of Chione behind her.

He looked at his Councillor meaningfully. He had ordered her to bring Mei to the throne room, not here. But she had. His temper had his nostrils flaring. But then Chione pointed at the sophisticated looking tablet in Mei’s hands. It wasn’t exactly a tablet, it was a hologram that was hovering over Mei’s right hand while her left one dashed over the hologram.

The robots had all turned towards her for a bare moment, but then a boomerang came out of the choke point and took off more heads and limbs. That had the robots’ attention again and they went back to attacking this unseen foe.

Valerius stormed over to the Red Dragon Queen. “Turn them off!”

“I cannot!” Mei cried, her voice tight as her fingers flew over the hologram. “Nothing I do works!”

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