The knights of juno, prelude to war, part three
#3 of The knights of juno, prelude to war
This is the last part of the prologue. The next time I post something of this storyline, it will be under a different story series. For those of you who are curious, the answer is yes, I do speak french.
Enjoy.
Continued from part two...
The morning after the funeral, the ashes were separated by magic and each body packed into its own cocoon of magic. One rider and dragon pair of the second flight would be taking them back to the dragon mountain while the rest hunted down the ones who had tortured them. Once that dragon and rider had departed, the rest started to pack up the camp. But, just when the last of the supplies were being loaded back onto the dragon's saddles, Mikael suddenly stopped what he was doing. The knight looked around him and willed his sword into being. They were being watched, he was sure of it. Argil looked at the knight and then nodded, becoming invisible. The dragon had felt it too.
A gust of wind swept dirt everywhere as the dragon lifted off, and the other knights and dragons in the clearing got ready to fight. Moments later, there was a commotion in the woods at the edge of the clearing and then a struggling man dressed in strange camouflage fatigues was lifted into the air, held in the grasp of the invisible dragon. The man screamed in French for the dragon to let him go, but moments later, his voice was cut off as his clothing suddenly contracted in the grip of the dragon. The man struggled violently and it was clear that the dragon intended to kill him slowly. Mikael spoke with his mind. 'Argil. Don't.' He said and the contracting stopped. The man was dropped in the middle of the knights and two of them hauled him upright.
"Leave me alone!!" The man cried in accented English and Mikael spoke in reply.
"Tell us why you were spying on us and maybe we will." The knight replied, the glowing blade of his sword against the man's neck.
"I was sent here by the Ordre de la Chimèra." He said, and the knights looked at him without understanding. "I came to help."
"What is the Ordre de la Chimèra?" Mikael asked and it was not the man that answered him, but Argil.
"Roughly translated, it means the Order of the Dragon." The dragon stated becoming visible once more as it settled in front of the man, its great white and silver head lowering so it was eye to eye with the man. "It's French. Si vous ètes un ami, montrez-nous votre marque."
"Oui, Oui." The man said and tried to reach his shirt but the knights held him fast. At a look from Argil, the knights released the man and he pulled up his shirt to reveal an enchanted tattoo on his chest that was of a bright red dragon breathing flame. It was so life like that it looked like it was about to leap off his skin. Tattooed around it were the words 'Le chemin à la paix se trouve par l'oeil du dragon'.
"Release him, he is a friend." The dragon commanded and the knights reluctantly let him go. "Those words mean 'The path to peace lies through the dragon's eye.' My apologies for the rough treatment. How can you help us?"
"The order knows who did this and where they can be found." He said, straightening his olive green military beret. The beret had a stylized dragon insignia in it and it fit perfectly with the rest of the uniform. Mikeal nodded and asked the question that every knight had on their minds.
"Who are the order?" Mikael asked and Argil spoke up once more.
"The order was an ancient group of warriors who aided us against the humans in the war that nearly claimed the entire dragon race." He stated. "I had thought that they had been whipped out entirely but it seems that some have survived. That tattoo was only given to its members."
"Oui, there were few of us left. But we have flourished since you returned." The man said. "My name is Pierre and when we heard of this group, my friends and I came looking for them. But we were too late to stop them. There were nearly a thousand of them, far too many for us to fight. And many were magic users."
"Who killed my men?" Mikael asked and Pierre looked at him appraisingly.
"You must be Lord Mikael." He said and the knight commander nodded. The man then turned back to Argil and Mikael got the impression that the man had judged the dragon to be in charge. "The people who killed your brethren call themselves The Light of Truth. They are a highly religious group who believe that it is their duty to restore mankind as the rulers of the world. And they know the only way they can do that is to kill off the Knights of Juno. Their headquarters is not far from here, a few valleys over. They are waiting for you with some sort of high tech military hardware that they stole from a research lab on the island of Tiree in Scotland."
"How do you know that?" Mikael asked and the Frenchman smiled.
"We have a man inside." He said. "Our operative reports that the technology they set up is some sort of advanced anti aircraft system. He tells me that it utilizes high powered lasers to shoot down aircraft. They have adapted the programming to take down dragons."
"It doesn't matter what technology they have." Argil stated fiercely, his clawed hands making deep gouges in the earth as he clenched them into fists. "They will all die for this."
"Don't worry." Pierre said, looking up at the dragon. "Our man knows how to disable the system long enough for you to get within its minimum range."
"Good." Mikael stated and then offered the man his hand. "I am sorry I was so hard on you. I assume you have a plan."
"Indeed." He said, turning to point off towards the Light's camp. "The rest of my men are waiting just below that far ridge, waiting for me to return. If you knights will consent to fighting on the ground for now, we can get you in close enough to destroy key targets and allow your dragons to strike."
"Argil?" Mikael asked the huge dragon nodded. "Alright Pierre, lead on..."
***
Forty minutes later, with the dragons flying high above, cloaked with invisibility, Mikael and the other knights halted below the ridge line with Pierre. The man signaled with his hand and fifteen armed men dressed in identical uniforms as Pierre came out of the trees, headed for the knights. Pierre took a highly advanced rifle from one and then embraced him. He asked a question hurriedly in French and the man replied in the same language. The man then gestured to Mikael and his companions, asking a question of his own. Pierre smiled and spoke a single word.
"Chevaliers." He stated and the other soldier nodded. Pierre turned back and spoke to the knights at last. "Everything is ready. Come on."
The Chimèra soldiers led the way up the slope and then ducked down beneath the edge of the ridge. Spread out below them, hidden from satellites by electromagnetic jamming towers, was a huge camp of soldiers. All around its perimeter were nearly a dozen dish shaped turrets with huge focusing mirrors in their centers which spun slowly. Those were part of the anti dragon defense the order had set up. Magic devices glittered here and there among the tents and Mikael pointed to one in the center of the camp.
"A Merlin generator." He said and Pierre looked at him with a puzzled expression. "A magic device that generates a magic field that prevents magical forms of detecting the invisible from working. That explains why we couldn't scry into this area. I didn't think they would have had the ability to build one."
"Well, we can take it out if you want." Pierre said and Mikael shook his head.
"As soon as we get the anti dragon network down, Argil can handle it." He commented and then looked around. He spotted one man dressed in robes standing beneath a canopy and knew instantly that he was looking at the leader of this organization. "I have to get to that one, right there."
"Take it easy, mon ami." Pierre said, laying a hand on Mikael's shoulder. "We will get you in." With that, the man nodded to a soldier who carried a radio set on his back. He tapped his headset and spoke quietly into it. The rotating dishes slowed down a moment later and then stopped completely. The camp's soldiers were instantly on guard, rushing to the camp's hardened perimeter. But, before the soldiers and knights waiting on the ridge could move, there came a familiar whine from above them and Mikael spoke.
"Tell your men to stay down and cover your ears, this will be loud." He said and Pierre complied. The knights already had their hands clasped to either side of their heads. A heartbeat later, seven brilliant lances of light shot down from the sky above them, each spearing a laser dish. For a brief instant, the dishes didn't seem to have been effected, but then seven thunderous explosions sounded, so loud they stripped the needles from the trees around the impact sites. When the explosions cleared, the dishes were gone. Seven more lances speared the remaining dishes and two of the three jamming towers and before the explosions could happen, another volley got the remaining tower, the Merlin generator, and five bunkers were magic users had taken shelter. Fourteen more explosions shattered the valley and all at once, the sky was filled with multicolored dragons, each breathing a long stream of fire down onto the bunkers. At Mikael's signal, the Chimèra soldiers rose to their feet and charged into the camp.
"What the hell was that?" Shouted Pierre as they ran down the slope towards the perimeter.
"Rail gun rounds." Mikael replied, summoning his sword and putting on a burst of speed. A magic user who was miraculously unharmed in the wake of the explosions raised his hands to summon magic that kill the charging soldiers, but it was far too late a response. Mikael waved a hand at him and a bolt of lightning shot from his hands, taking the magic user in the chest and wreathing him in electricity. Before the mage could recover, Mikael's sword punched through his chest. The marauding dragons came around for another pass and the combination of Chimèra commandos shooting at them, Knights tearing into them with blades and magic, and dragons above proved too much for most of the Light of Truth's followers. About two hundred men who still could fled into the trees, scattering quickly. Only fifty of the remaining survivors in camp remained, surrounding a central bunker. Mikael knew that whatever was inside was important enough to warrant them sacrificing themselves for it.
"Pierre, keep your men back!" Mikael shouted as one of the commandos was gunned down by a concentrated volley of fire from the bunker's defenders. A shimmering magic dome suddenly appeared above the bunker and Mikael spoke with his mind. 'Argil a powerful magic user is inside that bunker, stay away, we will deal with them.' He heard the dragon reply and then scooped up the fallen commando's rifle. The moment he lifted the rifle to his shoulder and worked the bolt, his marine training came back to him. Taking cover next to Pierre, he sighted on the nearest soldiers and opened fire. His bullets found their targets with an incredible ease and he quickly sniped ten soldiers before he had to duck back down to avoid the enemy's fire. "Pierre, have your men prepare to throw grenades. Knights, magic on my signal."
When all the soldiers were ready, Mikael popped up from cover, one hand sweeping a gust of powerful wind into the enemy, the other firing from the hip, quickly emptying the clip. Grenades soared into the air and magic surged into the enemy. The double strike of magic and explosives was enough to wipe out the defenders of the central bunker and Mikael raced forward towards the door, discarding his rifle as he went. When he reached it, he could feel the magic in it and he could sense the soldiers behind it, waiting for the door to be breached. He was about to call for more explosives when a clawed hand landed on his shoulder. He turned to find Argil standing there, the rail gun in his other hand glowing with the residual energy of the weapon's discharge.
"Please, allow me." The dragon said, pushing the knight back and lowering his head so it was facing the door. He opened his jaws, sucked in a deep breath and exhaled a bright cone of flame. When the light of the flames was gone, so was the door and the soldiers waiting in ambush. Mikael smiled and rushed into the bunker, headed for its center room. He found the leader of the Light sitting at a control console before a TV screen and Mikael willed his sword into being, stabbing its point deep into the man's chest. It wasn't a fatal wound, but it was close. The man in the robe gasped in pain, then slammed his hand down onto a button on the console.
"You're too late blasphemer." He said, a trail of blood trickling from his mouth. "Our message has been sent and you can't stop it." Mikael pulled the sword from the man and kicked him so he fell on the ground. Then, with the other knights and the commandos with him, he watched the TV screen. The leader of the Light of Truth was on the screen and he was peaking in a loud voice to who ever was watching.
"People of the Earth, I bring a message from the Almighty God." He said and Mikael shook his head. Religious fanaticism was something he would never understand. "The Dragons that walk the world are the spawn of the Devil. They seek nothing more than to the annihilation of the Human race. You men will be their slaves, your women their play things. Your children will be devoured by them before your eyes. Any human that stands with them is a demon in disguise. We are the Light of Truth, the chosen of God, and it is our sacred charge to defeat these foul agents of Hell. All who would prevent the Judgement Day that they herald must stand with us now. I call to all true humans, stand up now, take up arms and fight with us. For Humanity, for truth and most of all, For God, stand with us now!!"
The message ended and Mikael shook his head, hauling the wounded leader to his feat and dragging him from the bunker. When the leader was out under the daylight, Mikael shoved him forward so he knelt before Argil.
"You don't seriously expect people to listen to you do you?" the knight asked and the leader spat at his feet.
"The people will see you as you truly are, and you will be drowned beneath the ocean of humanity that will rise to fight you." He said. "Your hatchlings will die beneath the waves..."
"Shut him up would you?" Mikael asked and Argil swooped down, biting the leader hard, cutting off his mad triad. "Lets go home. Pierre, will you be in touch?"
"Of course." He said. "My organization and others like us will contact you immediately after you get back. No matter what happens, we will stand with you."
The knight nodded and clasped the man's forearm. It was nice to have allies. Then, the knights mounted their dragons and soared into the sky, headed home at last...
***
Argil and Mikael stood at the top of the Dragon mountain once more, looking out at the countryside. The message of the Light of Truth had been broadcast all over the world, but there had been no great outcry of support. Instead, most of the world had ignored the message but about a fifth of the population reacted differently. About five percent of the world declared openly that they would support the dragons. The other fifteen percent placed itself firmly in the Light of Truth's camp. Already, word was spreading of vast camps of armed soldiers massing in Europe, Africa and Asia. Fifteen percent did not seem like much, but when you are talking fifteen percent of six billion people, it came to quite a sum.
"So," Began Mikael, looking out towards an ominous storm that boiled on the horizon. "It is to be war once again."
"Yes." Argil said, staring into the falling rain. "But this time, we do not fight alone."
"This is true." The knight replied. "But still, I tried so hard to prevent this. It isn't fair that it happened anyway."
"I know. I did too." The dragon stated. "But, if this is the only way we can have peace, then so be it. Let the conflict come..."
Note: continued here http://www.sofurry.com/?pid=44736