Page 98 of Cast By Flames (Dragon's Breath)
Orion’s anxiety tore at Aidan’s heart. He had begun showing signs of seer abilities, and it terrified him that the young child might know even more than he was revealing, or perhaps he’d learn more as the war progressed. As a father and pendragon, he wished he could shield Orion from everything. All he could hope for was that their meticulous planning and strategizing helped them win without too many losses. All their children deserved a bright future without fear.
Chapter 28
Bailey
I fingered the knife, testing its weight before flinging it at my target. The tip of the blade struck the black circle in the center. I turned to look at Jana, one of the slayers on my team from back in North Carolina.
“Your turn,” I said, raising my beer bottle with a smug grin.
I hadn’t kept up with my knife-throwing skills much since my return. There’d been too many other things to do. Even for dragon hunting, I’d only done the bare minimum, using a couple of battles with the Kandoran to also quell my killing urges.
Jana always loved to practice during our off time. A few C-130s had flown in this morning with a fresh shipment of food and supplies, kindly including a crate filled with beer. The New American Coalition didn’t like to manufacture many non-vital things, but a few alcohol types made the cut. Most people who risked their lives often preferred to have some way to help them relax.
She tossed her knife, and it landed next to mine. “Looks like another tie.”
“Not bad for someone out of practice,” I said, tossing my ponytail over my shoulder.
“My turn.” Conrad strutted to the target board and pulled the blades.
While he’d chosen to come with me, Rayna had passed on it. She and Rosalie had gotten a bottle of wine and planned to hang out and relax. Of course, neither were close with the coalition slayers, so I understood.
“Let’s see what you got now that you’re a full slayer,” I said, lifting a brow. “This wasn’t your best skill before.”
Conrad scowled at me. “I wasn’t that damn bad.”
“Yeah, you could hit the board…in the corners, I guess.”
“Girl, you playin’!”
He was awful before, but I still insisted he stand at the same distance as me this time. If he wanted to prove himself, he’d do it like the rest of us. Tossing a blade from twenty-five feet and getting it to stick in a board wasn’t easy from that far away. The additional strength and agility we got as dragon slayers made a difference.
“Good luck,” I said.
Conrad flung a blade, quickly followed by another. They landed at the edge of the center circle, on the left and right sides, respectively. Had he done it that way on purpose? There was no way to know for sure since he’d likely swear it was intentional.
“Good job.” I nodded, impressed. “There is hope for you yet.”
“Ha! I’ll be better than you before long,” he said with a swagger as he went to grab the blades.
“You wish,” I called.
Brody, my former battle partner in North Carolina, took the knives from him. “My turn…and I want to challenge him for this round.”
He pointed at David. He was one of the guys who’d trained with my father in Tulsa. The slayer had come down a few days ago after hearing about a large group of us gathering before the war. Apparently, there was a sorcerer up there who was like Javier and could see current events. As I recalled, my father had mentioned him a time or two.
Magic users from all over were arriving to help. It touched me that so many were willing to jump into the fight without being asked, and most had the luxury of living farther from the threat. Of course, the war would reach them eventually if we lost.
Tomorrow morning, Chinook helicopters from the coalition would transport fighters and sorcerers to their designated positions along the front lines if they were stationed farther than an hour's walk. Slayers would be dispersed in pairs about six miles apart between the Texas border and Oklahoma City near the bunkers Ruari had overseen constructing.
David’s partner from Tulsa was already set up on the western side of Edmond as one of the few pairs that would defend the line along pure dragon territory. At least my father had taught them to control themselves, so they’d only attack the enemy, not our allies.
A lump formed in my throat.
I forced back thoughts of Wayne before despair overcame me as it often did when I thought of him. There would be time after the war to mourn his loss properly and see him buried. For now, I had to honor him by helping win the battles to come.
David stepped forward to take one of the knives. To be fair, we all used the same set, so no one had an unfair advantage. The slayer from Tulsa was muscular and at least half a foot taller than me, with shaggy blond hair and tan skin. He had a scar along his left cheek that ran down to his jaw that hadn’t been there five years ago when I last saw him. For a slayer to retain a scar, the injury had to be very bad. I wondered how he got it, but I didn’t ask.
“You’re on, man,” he said to Brody.
