A chime sounded, and a green outline appeared around each of the symbols. The feather and trident icons went dark before any of us could react.
“The other teams are picking their allies,” Hagar said. “Quick, who should we choose?”
“Tochi was friendly,” Clem said. “Let’s pick the Institute.”
“No,” I said quickly. “The dragons. If they’re our allies, they won’t be able to attack us, right?”
“Yes!” Abi shouted. “That’s brilliant!”
His serpent lashed out and touched the scale.
The rest of us followed his lead, and a loud gong rang in the silo. The fiery symbol faded away, leaving a simple outline in its place. The silo rumbled and slowly turned clockwise. As it rotated, an arch appeared in the wall.
And the dragons poured through it.
A tall, blue-scaled young man came at Eric first. His claws trailed ribbons of crackling lightning, and he opened his jaws to unleash a blast of forked electricity that should have torn Eric apart.
But my friend had spent an entire summer training with a battle company and worked harder in our martial arts classes than anyone I’d ever met. His training, along with naturally sharp reflexes, saved Eric’s life. He dodged the lightning blast, twisted around the dragon’s claws, and unleashed a flurry of brutal, fire-wreathed punches that left smoking burns across his foe’s face and chest.
The dragons clearly hadn’t gotten the message that we were allies, because the rest of them came at us like a pack of rabid hounds.
A young woman with white scales threw herself at Clem, who somersaulted away from the attack and responded with a sweeping kick. A blast of jinsei ripped through the air in front of Clem and flung her attacker into the far side of the silo.
Abi bore the brunt of an attack from a black-scaled dragon whose fists leaked green acid. The dragon pounded against Abi’s defensive techniques, splattering the ground around him with sizzling corrosive droplets, but he couldn’t find a way past my friend’s shield.
Hagar didn’t wait for her foe, a dragon with red scales and fire around his fists, to reach her. Her bloodweaver technique sent ropes of blood aspects out to snatch him from the air by the throat. The dragon flailed, but couldn’t free himself from the crimson noose. His eyes bugged as Hagar squeezed.
I, on the other hand, was in a lot more trouble. Trulissinangoth streaked toward me like a golden comet. Her breath washed over me in an avalanche of fire that burned holes in my robes and sent me stumbling backward, half blinded. She followed up with a punch that would have fractured my ribs if it hadn’t slammed into one of my talismans. The defensive scrivenings I’d painstakingly etched into the vessel burst with a flash of light, and the dragon howled in pain and staggered back, cradling her wounded hand.
“Wait!” I shouted. I put the little jinsei still in my core behind the words, and my thunderous voice froze everyone in place. They were all strong fighters, but my core was of a higher level than any of theirs. I had authority here, whether they wanted to accept it or not, and for that moment their attention was mine.
“We’re supposed to be allies in this challenge,” I told Trulissinangoth. “Attacking us won’t help you win.”
“If you’re dead,” the dragons’ leader said with a smirk, “we automatically win. The rest of the humans won’t even try to beat us.”
“Are you so sure about that?” I questioned her. “I don’t know about you, but I find the rules to these challenges pretty obscure. What if killing your allies causes you to automatically lose?”
Trulissinangoth clearly did not like that suggestion. She also, just as clearly, couldn’t be sure I was wrong. She barked a command in a language I didn’t understand and raised one hand in a fist at shoulder height.
The other dragons stepped back from their opponents, claws raised into defensive postures. Though the dragons had caught us by surprise, their attack hadn’t gone as well as they would have liked. My team had held their own against a superior force and had even done some damage. Eric’s opponent was left with burn wounds, while Hagar’s rubbed at the bruised circle around his throat.
“I am not sure you’re right about this,” Trulissinangoth said quietly. “But, I’m also not sure you are wrong. The Flame moves in mysterious ways. It would be most unfortunate if we disqualified ourselves by attacking our allies. Even ones as pathetic as you.”
“Then we have a truce,” I said. “We won’t attack one another until we’re given no choice.”
“Agreed,” the dragon said. “I don’t like the way this has worked out, but I will accept your truce. For now.”
The fire in her eyes told me that the minute she thought she could get away with it without losing the challenge, the dragon would rip my heart out of my chest and flame broil it in front of me.
I had to figure out how we’d beat them.
Soon.
The Ring
THE SILO CONTINUED to rotate while the teams eyed each other. Hagar had a truly murderous glint in her eye, and a thin trickle of blood had leaked from the corner of her mouth down to her chin. I had no doubt she would have killed the red dragon youngling if I hadn’t called a truce.
“Door,” Eric said.
The silo had stopped moving, and another arch appeared, this one larger than the one the dragons had come through. On the far side, I saw a stretch of stone floor and a curved wall.
“After you,” Trulissinangoth said. “Humans are still in charge of the Grand Design. For the moment.”
“I’ll show you the way,” I said. If she wanted to be sarcastic, I could be twice as surly. “Just like my people have for the past few thousand years.”
That drew growls from the rest of the dragons, and I
