Drakhana's Claim Read online

“Thank you for accommodating us, Logan,” she says as she steps closer to me.

  “You’re also injured,” I reply, indicating the blood on her side.

  “It’s just a scratch.”

  “Looks more like a scratch to me. You should let me take a look.”

  She steps away from my ministrations. “I’d rather see my men tended to first.”

  A muscle along my jaw tightens. I shouldn’t be saying what’s on my mind, but I can’t help myself. Seeing the injuries triggers something in me.

  “You know this could have been prevented right?” I ask.

  “What are you saying?” she asks back, instant venom in her tone.

  “How many dead, Ivy?”

  “That’s General to you.”

  “How many dead?”

  She lifts a chin. “You know the number of this squad. How many didn’t land?”

  “You know that this fight didn’t have to happen. There are other ways to beat the fire clan.”

  “I beg to differ.” She bares her teeth in a smile that’s not a smile. “What do you know about combat? You ran away.”

  “I made a choice.” My voice rises. “I didn’t need to see any more of the dragons I care for dead.”

  “They died for a cause.”

  “They don’t have to die at all.”

  We’re at each other’s throat. Our voices are loud and we don’t care. Right now, there is right and there is wrong. It just depends one your perspective who holds the distinction.

  “You are leading out people to the slaughter,” I accuse.

  “And what are you doing while I protect what is more precious to us?” she throws back in my face.

  Like a rubber band snaps, we turn to face away from each other. Then we walk in different directions before an all-out brawl happens in the middle of the factory floor.

  Three

  Ivy

  How dare he? How. Dare. He? I can’t believe that Logan has the gall to lecture me about what I do or don’t do for this strike force. He, of all dragons, should know that I always put my men first. Above all else!

  “Ou! Ou! Ouch!” Basil pushes my hand away with a hiss.

  “Oh!” I cover my mouth in mortification. “I’m so sorry.”

  “No disrespect, General, but I think you’re doing more damage than helping,” he says in the gentlest rebuke possible.

  I drop the cotton swab with disinfectant onto the pan for discarded medical supplies and pinch the bridge of my nose. “I don’t understand why he has to get all high and mighty about what we do?”

  Basil picks up a new swab, dips it into the disinfectant, and begins cleaning his own wound. “Of all people, I think he has the right to criticize what we do.”

  “He’s nothing but a glorified pencil pusher.” I point in the direction where I believe Logan is.

  “He’s still one of us.”

  “Oh no, you don’t. He turned his back on all of us a long time ago. He doesn’t get to talk about what we do.” I clutch my hands together to keep them from shaking with anger.

  “Can you blame him?” Basil looks me in the eye.

  I know what he’s trying to say without him even having to speak a single word. “Max died an honorable death. We should all be so lucky.”

  “I don’t think Logan sees it that way. To him, he lost a beloved best friend. They were hatchlings together.”

  “He knew what he was signing up for when he joined the strike force,” I counter, unwilling to yield my position, even to a trusted confidant. “We face death on a daily basis. To expect something otherwise is folly.”

  “That doesn’t discount the pain of losing someone important.”

  I can’t ignore the anguish in Basil’s eyes. “I feel their loss as much as you do, but that doesn’t mean I’ll quit fighting because of my grief. We have too much to lose if I do that.”

  “There I’m in agreement with you, but we can’t think of Logan as other just because he decided to choose another life. You can’t deny the good he’s been doing for the clan.”

  Crossing my arms, I say, “Are you saying we yield control of Verglas?”

  “You know that’s not what I mean.”

  “Now more than ever, we need to remain vigilant. We will we go if we lose our ancestral home? All our history is there.”

  Basil reaches for my knee and squeezes it in an uncharacteristic show of affection from someone who’s usually so tightly wound. “That’s why we aren’t abandoning the fight. All the men here today understand that. They have families to protect as well.”

  “I still can’t believe why Logan would turn his back on all of that. On all of us. It’s like he doesn’t care.”

  We both look toward where Logan walks. He’s holding a tray full of medical supplies. He brings it to the medic that’s currently stitching up one of the younger recruits.

  “I think you underestimate him, General,” Basil says. “Logan cares more than any of us. I think that’s why it pains him to see anyone hurt.”

  I hear the truth in his words. During our training days, Logan had always been on the side of the underdog. He’d help anyone and everyone who asked of it.

  He always volunteered during sparring sessions. I suspect it was because he wanted to save others from being beaten by me. I never saw Logan be cruel or say an unkind word to anyone.

  In the end, it’s that gentle nature that got him. I remember the night Max died. We were on patrol duty, investigating a report that one of the outer villages was being harassed by bandits.

  We were in the middle of a surveillance mission when a bolt came out of nowhere. The target had been Logan. Max pushed him out of the way.

  Normally, a bolt wouldn’t be fatal to a dragon. Even our underbelly is tough to pierce. It just so happens that the bolt hit Max in that one spot that’s most vulnerable. It’s a small gap in the scales. We call it nature’s dragon extermination point.

  The second Max fell out of the sky, a squadron of fire clan dragons descended upon us. It was one trap after another. We barely made it out of that one whole too.

  Logan insisted on carrying Max by himself all the way back to Star Peak where the Floe Fortress sits. No matter how many times we asked to help him, he insisted that he could do it on his own. He wouldn’t speak to anyone after that.

  A week after we buried Max, Logan announced that he would leave for LA. That was the last time I saw him. Yes, he’d come back to Star Peak, but I’d always be away on a mission when he did. It was as if he intentionally picked times when I was away.

  This is the first time I’ve seen him in so long. I had been ready to thank him for his help. Instead, he throws my mistakes in my face. I’d rather that he slapped me and spit in my face.

  “Logan’s too sensitive for his own good,” I say under my breath, eyebrows practically stitched together.

  “A little sensitivity won’t hurt anyone, General.”

  “Are you implying something?” I raise an eyebrow at him.

  Suddenly, Basil seems too busy tending to his wound. I roll my eyes. If I wasn’t fond of him, I’d hit him in the back of the head to knock some sense into him.

  One of the medics approaches me, “Princess, can I take a look at your injury?”

  “That’s General to you,” I say.

  He nods, a flush running across his cheeks. “Yes, General. Come this way, please.”

  I follow him to one of the empty cots and lie down. I insisted on having all my men taken care off first before anyone looked at my wound. I will survive even without medical attention. Some of my men will not unless they are seen right away.

  I raise my right arm over my head to give the medic better access to my wound. It’s a gash about a foot long. It’s still bleeding a little, but it’s by far not the worst injury I’ve won in battle. I hardly even feel it.

  That’s until the antiseptic makes contact with the wound. The corrosive material burns into me. I grit my teeth and hiss much the same way Basil did
earlier. I really should apologize to him for not being gentle enough. He fought hard tonight.

  One of the dragons who hadn’t sustained any injuries approaches my bedside. He bows before he drops to one knee. His father is also a general who took great pride in the knowledge that his son was picked to be a part of Strike Force Alpha. The elite of the elite.

  I just wish that Logan saw that. Being a strike force dragon is a privilege, not the death sentence he believes it to be. Why does he have to get in the way of that with his ideas.

  “Are all the men settled?” I ask, keeping my face blank.

  “Yes, General,” he says in a young voice that he’s deepening for effect. He wants to impress me with his toughness.

  I acknowledge that with, “Good. Now, I want you to fly back to Star Peak and give them a recounting of what happened tonight. Then I want you to see what the state of our home is. This way I can decide what we are to do next. Report back to me as soon as you are able.”

  “Understood, General.” He stands and thumbs a fist against the ice dragon emblem on the left side of his chest. Then he walks away.

  Once he reaches the main floor right below the open rook deck, he calls upon his dragon and transforms into a creature with obsidian ice scales. He’d made a great spy dragon since he can blend into the shadows. I make a note of training him for that role in the future.

  That’s taking into consideration that we still had a future. The abilities that I saw tonight from the fire clan tells me that they are gearing up for a big fight. One to end all fights.

  My gaze travels to Logan. Now, if only he wouldn’t get in the way of that.

  Four

  Logan

  After a few hours of sleep, I convene an early board meeting. Witnessing those injured dragons redoubles my mission to end the fighting. I want to prove to the ice clan, Ivy most of all, that there are other ways of protecting ourselves from attack.

  I meet with my four human advisers first. They don’t mind coming in early. They are used to my way of doing things. As long as they meet my expectations, they don’t get any push back from me.

  “Thank you for coming in, gentlemen,” I say, presiding over the meeting. My assistant sits behind me, meticulously taking notes. I always like a second send of eyes just so I’m sure I see and hear everything. Even the things that go unsaid are observed and noted.

  Everyone has coffees in front of them. At the center of the table is a selection of bagels and doughnuts. Usually, we don’t know how long the meetings go, which is why I like to keep my members fed and hydrated.

  “Let’s begin with investments.” I face the man sitting closest to me on my left side. “What do you have for me, Bradley?”

  He opens a portfolio and says, “First and foremost, we finally broke ground on the Star Peak Tower project. After some delays in the city zoning commission, we’re finally on track.”

  “Will the delay hinder our deadline?” I ask, because not meeting deadlines means money leaking out instead of coming in.

  He shakes his head. “I’ve spoken to our contractor and builders and they believe that they will have the tower done well within the deadline that we set.”

  “I guess they really want that completion bonus.”

  “You’re quite generous with them, sir.”

  I know that in order to make money I need to spend money. But I also know that I have to be wise about where I spend that money so that I get the most yield out of my investments. I’ve diversified the portfolio enough that I have several income revenue streams.

  “What about the Dragon Casino and Resort in Macau?” I ask, knowing that’s our first foothold in Asia.

  Bradly looks at the next page on his list. “We’ve actually started making a profit there since our grand opening two months ago. That’s the fastest return on investment so far, sir.”

  “Good.”

  I listen to a few more reports on properties that we own and are now making profits like hotels, malls, even houses we’re flipping in key locations around the country. Then Bradly shifts into properties that he’d like to acquire that he thinks have potential.

  “Send me the prospectus on those and I’ll look them over,” I tell him. Then I face the man on my right. “What about stocks?”

  “Our blue chips are doing well, sir,” he says. “Despite the market downturn, which we expected, the stocks that we bought are actually performing well.”

  I nod and give him instructions on which stocks to sell and which new ones to buy. I received a tip from one of my dragon heads of business about companies that are about to become publicly traded. That’s always a good place to start when purchasing stocks.

  After I ask for bank statements in connection to our bank interests, I face the final man in the room. “What about special projects?”

  “Sir, we’re nearing the final editing stage of the film we’re hoping to release during the summer,” he says. “Would you like to be at an initial viewing of that?”

  “Yes.” I nod. I always want to see what the final product will be so that incase I want changes made they can be done before anything goes to market. “What about the network I want to buy?”

  “Our lawyers are working on it. The other side is just playing hard ball.”

  “That’s par for the course, but I want this done.”

  “Yes, sir. Also, I need you to sign off on the final plans for the music festival that’s to be held in the fall. We need your okay before we can start selling tickets.”

  “Give the plans to Harvey,” I indicate my assistant behind me, “and I’ll take a look at it within the day.”

  I convene the meeting feeling great about our position in the market. An hour later, I’m sitting down with the five dragon heads of business that I trust implicitly with the interests of the ice clan. It took some maneuvering, but they are finally in key places that prove beneficial to us.

  Three of them are heavy hitters in the financial game and the other two are in government. One is even on his way to become governor of the state. Right now, the ice clan can get whatever they want. We own enough land in the area to actually bend the will of the humans toward our goals.

  I brief them on my encounter with Ivy last night. All five of them agree with me that victory can be found in business not bloodshed. We are fast moving towards halting all fighting. There’s no need for anyone else to die.

  “If only Ivy would stop being so stubborn and see it our way,” I say to those gathered in the room with me.

  “Ivy only knows fighting,” one of the older dragons says. “You know that I used to be that way before you convinced me otherwise.”

  “I think she’s a tougher nut to crack than you, Marlon,” I say and chuckles reverberate around the room.

  “You also have to remember that she’s a princess. Her duty is to protecting her people.”

  “And that’s not what we’re doing?” I challenge the second dragon who spoke.

  “We are chipping away, yes,” he concedes. “But it’s like you’re asking a speckled dragon to lose his spots.”

  “You should have seen the state of Strike Force Alpha last night.” I shake my head in disappointment. “They barely made it here as it is. I’m beginning to question Ivy’s leadership capabilities.”

  “Those are fighting words,” a third dragon says.

  “I’m ready and willing to fight her on this every step of the way until she sees reason. We don’t need to go to war anymore. We don’t need to bury another comrade.”

  They all agree with me.

  After all my meetings have adjourned, I finish all the work that I need to accomplish for the day early. I leave Harvey with last minute instructions before I leave. I want to make sure that my attention isn’t needed elsewhere for the rest of the day.

  Once Harvey assures me that all is on the up and up, I get in my car and drive back to the factory where the dragons are currently billeted. As much as I want to transfer them to more comfortabl
e lodgings, many of them are still too injured to travel. The medics advised me against moving them too soon.

  I park my Aston Martin outside and walk in with my head held high. One of the medics meets me at the door. I accompany him as we look into each and every dragon.

  I have fought with these men at one time or another. Only one or two of them are new to me. The medic describes their injuries to me and tells me what they have done in terms of medical care.

  There’s a lot of stitches. There are a couple reset bones. And there’s one who needed emergency surgery. He’s the one who dropped to the ground first.

  “We have him sedated right now,” the medic says. “He’ll need to be asleep most of the time to make sure that his wounds heal correctly.”

  Tomas. That’s the name of the severely injured dragon. He’s the oldest in Ivy’s squad. He’s seen multiple wars and has fought hard in each and every one of them.

  He was already fighting since I was still a whelp in my mother’s arms. I squat and place my hand on his shoulder. I barely keep in my anger when I speaks.

  “Rest easy, Tomas,” I say against his ear. “If I have my way, you will never have to fight ever again. No more of this needless bloodshed.”

  The old way of fighting in hand to hand combat needs to stop. In this modern age, there’s no need for barbarism anymore. Dragons like Tomas don’t have to cling on to life only to live to fight another day.

  Then and there I make a vow to convince the ice clan to end the fighting. The best ally to have in this mission is Ivy. If I get her on my side, I know that I will have won.

  Five

  Ivy

  While at the factory, I manage to convince the custodian to lead me to a conference room. I need to make a call into my parents and report in. I want to be sure that they are safe.

  I fire up the computer and plug it into the screen so that we could video conference. Once I’m sure that everything is in working order, I open a web browser and type in the secure IP address that connects me to my parents. When I’m in the private server of the ice clan, I place a call to my father.