Victory and the Dragon Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Victory and the Dragon

  The Redwood Dragons, Book 10

  By Sloane Meyers

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Similarities to actual people or events are entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2017 by Sloane Meyers. All rights reserved.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Thank You For Reading!

  More Books by Sloane Meyers

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  Izzy had never been so short on both sleep and caffeine, but her utter exhaustion didn’t stop her from bounding to her feet the moment the red-alert sirens went off. The sirens filled her with dread and energy all at once, and she sprinted from her office toward the command central room, not even bothering to put on the shoes she’d kicked off under her desk. In stocking feet, she ran, her heart pounding in time with the whirring of the alarms. She had known this moment would come soon. Had expected it. And yet, the fact that she had known it was coming did not lessen the fear she felt.

  The dragon stones were in trouble. That was the only reason the red-alert sirens would be sounded. It was three o’clock in the afternoon, and the sun was shining brightly outside, but everything felt dark to Izzy. She darted around the panicked faces that filled the hallways of Falcon Cross Military Headquarters, and took the stairs in lieu of the elevator. The elevators would be stopping on every floor right now, picking up anxious wizards who were trying to get to the main entrance to hear what was going on. Izzy didn’t have time for their wide-eyed gawking. She needed to get to command central.

  A few minutes later, huffing and puffing from her dash up several flights of stairs, Izzy burst into the room where many of the VIPs of Falcon Cross were already gathered. Knox, the leader of the Redwood Dragons dragon shifter clan, had already arrived, along with Grayson and Myles, two of his dragons. MacKenzie, better known as Mac, had already taken her place in a seat near the head of the table. She was the lead commander of the wizard army in Falcon Cross. Several more important wizards and dragon shifters filtered into the room, most of them talking in excited tones and already scrolling through the screens on their tablets, trying to see if there was an update on why the sirens had gone off. Izzy hadn’t bothered to bring her military-issued tablet to this meeting. There was no point. There would be no information sent across the main computer network—that much she knew. With all of the hacking and spying issues Falcon Cross had dealt with, electronic communications were being kept to an absolute minimum.

  Izzy quietly took her seat, trying to steady her breathing amidst the hubbub and chaos around her. No one seemed to notice her, which was just fine with her. She wanted a moment to collect her thoughts without needing to respond to questions. But she didn’t have very much time to breathe before the last two VIPs stepped into the room. Noah, the second-in-command of the dragon shifter clan, came bolting into the room. His hair was a mess and his clothes were wrinkled. He was still rubbing sleep from his eyes, and Izzy had to bite back her laughter. Looks like she wasn’t the only one feeling the pain of too little sleep. She’d been tempted to catch a nap at her desk herself quite a few times in the last few weeks. Noah took the only empty chair, which was next to Izzy. He plopped down hard with a grunt, and didn’t bother to greet her or anyone else. Izzy didn’t mind. In fact, she appreciated his silence. Nothing annoyed her more in tense situations than unnecessary small talk.

  After Noah came Peter, the head wizard in Falcon Cross. Peter, as always, looked immaculately put-together. His long wizard robes and high wizard hat were perfectly straight and clean, and not a hair was out of place on his long white beard or hair. Izzy sometimes wondered if he knew a magic spell for replacing energy that he wasn’t sharing with them. Peter never seemed tired, no matter how bad things got in this goddamn war.

  Peter shut the door firmly behind him, and silence fell over the room as the talking ceased and the alarms were blocked out. There were no siren bells or flashing red lights in this room, and the door had been designed to be completely soundproof. The head wizards had wanted a room where they could speak freely without fear of eavesdroppers, and so the only alarm that could be heard in here was the alarm signifying a breach of the city’s magic shield.

  “What’s the news?” Knox asked, the first to speak up. His face was set in a tense line, and he drummed his fingers impatiently on the table. Knox had three of his clan members out on the battlefield with the dragon stones, and Izzy could see the worry etched into his expression. He remained calm enough, but his face could not completely hide his concern. Izzy chanced a sideways glance at Noah, who had similar worry lines crossing his face.

  “All our men are safe, at least for the moment,” Peter said. “Let’s call roll and then we’ll discuss the situation further.”

  Beside her, Izzy heard Noah give a slight groan. The dragon shifters had little patience for the formalities of the wizarding world. The dragons were the type to act first and think later, but wizards always wanted everything in order. Izzy had worked on several missions that combined the talents of dragons and wizards, and she had seen firsthand the annoyance the dragons felt toward the wizards’ overly-structured ways. Izzy herself was a wizard, though, and admittedly favored a structured approach. She wasn’t originally from Falcon Cross, but she did appreciate the orderly way the Falcon Cross leadership conducted their affairs.

  “Isabelle Torres?” The sound of Peter’s voice calling her name broke into Izzy’s thoughts.

  “Here,” she said. It always sounded strange to her when her full name was used. No one had actually called her Isabelle except her mother, who had long since passed away. To the entire world, she was now “Izzy,” but, still, the roll call was done with full and proper names. Izzy bit back a wry smile. Perhaps the wizards were just a tad too uptight, after all.

  Roll call was quickly completed, and Peter wasted no time in explaining the situation at hand.

  “Saul has managed to locate our troops who are traveling with the dragon stones. This is unfortunate, since they were less than two days from making it safely to Falcon Cross. Now, all bets are off. Our commanders in the field have notified me that they are being followed by a large army. Scouts have been sent to survey the danger, and they believe that Saul is bringing up the rear of the army. This also means it is likely that the dragon ruby is with the pursuing army.”

  Peter paused for a moment to let this news sink in. Izzy could feel the mood in the room grow even darker. Saul, their evil nemesis, had captured the dragon ruby several weeks ago, and everyone in Falcon Cross had been holding their breath, knowing that he might use the powers of the ruby to launch a deadly attack at any moment. So far, things had been quiet, and hopes had been high that the other three dragon stones—an emerald, a sapphire, and an amethyst—would m
ake it safely to Falcon Cross before Saul realized they were being transported. Now, those hopes were dashed. The other three stones were out in the open with a small army, not safely behind the magic shields of Falcon Cross, protected by the entire, huge wizard army.

  “Any chance our men could still beat Saul to Falcon Cross?” Noah asked. Izzy looked over at him as he spoke, noting that the stubble on his face and neck was thick. He hadn’t shaved in several days, from the looks of it. His shimmering green eyes were tired, but intense. The dragons always seemed able to think clearly, even when exhausted. Izzy envied them that. The more tired she became, the more her logical reasoning skills seemed to disappear. And, to add insult to injury, she was pretty sure she didn’t look nearly as sexy when tired as Noah did right now. She’d spent a good deal of time around the man, in various official meetings, but she had never been quite so close to him. She was startled to realize that he looked even better up close than he did from far away. Her cheeks grew warm at the thought, and she forced herself to look away from him, and back toward Peter, who was stroking his beard as he slowly answered Noah’s question.

  “It doesn’t look likely,” Peter said. “Saul’s army is moving much faster than ours. I’m not sure how, since it’s so big, and our army isn’t exactly slow. I suspect he’s using some sort of dark magic to speed things up.”

  Another groan from Noah. This time, Izzy shared his frustration. Saul was infamous for using dark magic to gain an advantage in the war. Even though dark magic eventually destroyed the soul of whoever used it—resulting in death—it took a long time for that destruction to occur. Dark wizards could cause a great deal of damage before their evil ways did them in.

  “Our men have to change course, then,” Knox said. His words were followed by silence. Everyone in the room knew that he spoke the truth, but no one could quite bring themselves to agree out loud. If the dragon ruby was as powerful as they believed it to be, then even with the dragon stones, the Falcon Cross Wizards and Redwood Dragons would be obliterated on an open field in a fight against Saul. They needed the safety and reinforcements that the city of Falcon Cross provided.

  “But, our soldiers,” Mac finally said, weakly.

  Peter shook his head. “We all have people we care about out there in that army, but we cannot risk the entire city of Falcon Cross. There are women and children here. If there isn’t time for the army to make it safely back behind the magic shields before Saul catches up with them, then they’ll just have to change course.”

  Izzy felt her stomach doing nervous flip-flops. For the Falcon Cross army to reenter the city, the magic shields would have to be temporarily disabled. The army was far too large to get back in otherwise. But, of course, lowering the magic shields when Saul was nearby would be ludicrous. That would allow the entire dark army into the city.

  Izzy looked around at the frowning faces in the room. This situation was not a surprise to anyone. Open battle had always been a possibility, but no one had ever admitted it to themselves. The prospect of losing so many people they loved, or, worse, losing the war, hung heavy in the room.

  “We all should go,” Mac said quietly. “We might not be able to get our dragon stone army back into Falcon Cross, but we can get our army in here out to them before Saul gets here.”

  “But that leaves the entire city of Falcon Cross virtually unprotected,” Myles protested.

  Mac shrugged. “It’s our only chance. If our army out in the field is defeated and the other dragon stones are taken, then it won’t matter whether we have soldiers watching Falcon Cross or not. Saul will have won the war. Leaving to help the dragon stone army is the only thing we can do.”

  Izzy felt her stomach turning even more. The prospect of meeting Saul again made her physically ill. She was the only VIP in Falcon Cross who had actually met and spoken directly with Saul, and the experience had scarred her deeply. Izzy had been a prisoner of Saul’s when her wizard clan had been attacked by his dark wizards. She’d only had a brief encounter with Saul before being transferred to another outpost under one of Saul’s minions, but that brief encounter had been more than enough for Izzy to know that she never wanted to see Saul’s face again.

  Izzy looked down at her hands, which were folded in her lap. She hoped that the shame washing over her was not evident in her face right now, but she couldn’t be sure. Lately, she’d been experiencing such a constant mixture of emotions that she found it difficult to maintain a poker face. How could she admit to this group that she was scared, though?

  She had been on so many missions, and had managed to keep a brave front up throughout it all. But the truth was that she was no soldier. She was a doctor, which was why they sent her on missions in the first place. In times like these, it was always helpful to have a trained medical professional around. But she had taken on the part of soldier and played it well, to convince them all that she was capable of playing with the big dogs, and of being in the VIP meetings. Now, she could feel her façade beginning to crumble. If she did get sent out to the battlefield, there was a good possibility that she would meet Saul again. She hated herself for the dread and anguish that filled her at this thought, but she couldn’t keep from biting her lip, hard, wishing that she was anywhere but here. She wished her own clan had never been invaded, and that she had never been caught up in this war. She had felt so proud over the last several months to be part of the Falcon Cross elite—the dragons and wizards standing alone against the threat of the evil trying to take over the world. But in this moment right now, she felt small and panicked. She should never have acted like she was brave enough for the big leagues. Right now, she was terrified, and there was no way out of this except to admit to being a total coward.

  Beside her, she felt Noah shift in his seat. She glanced over at him again, wishing that she could be half as brave as he was—as all the dragon shifters were. Right now, Noah was stroking his chin thoughtfully, as though he were contemplating his next move in a simple game of chess. There was no fear in his deep green eyes, and his handsome face betrayed no emotion. He was in complete control of whatever emotions he might feel, and, in that moment, Izzy both admired and loathed him for that. He opened his mouth to speak, and Izzy waited for him to proclaim bravely that he was ready to rush into battle against Saul. But he didn’t say what she thought he would, and, for the first time since she’d walked into this room, Izzy felt hopeful that there might actually be a way to avoid facing Saul. Noah’s words gave her the chance for which she was so desperately grasping.

  Chapter Two

  “It’s time to win back the Redwood Dragons’ home base.”

  Noah’s words hung in the air, and even the stoic dragons had trouble not raising their eyebrows in surprise.

  “Are you crazy?” Myles finally asked. “I mean, don’t get me wrong—I want to win our home back, too. But we can’t focus on that until we’ve got the dragon ruby. Otherwise, any success we might have in getting our cabins back would be temporary.”

  Izzy watched as Noah sat up a little straighter. Despite his messy hair and wrinkled clothes, he made an imposing figure in that moment. The air of authority that surrounded him was so thick that she felt like she could reach out and touch it.

  “I’m not crazy,” Noah said. “Think about it. We’re overlooking a major source of power in this war. We dragons have been collecting powerful ancient artifacts for years. These artifacts all hold a great deal of power. Sure, each one individually is nothing compared to even one single dragon stone. But if we get back the redwoods base, we can unlock the vaults with those artifacts and arm hundreds of our wizard soldiers with an extra boost in power. That might be enough to push us over the edge, so that we are more powerful than Saul and his dragon ruby.”

  Everyone continued to stare at Noah as though he’d suddenly sprouted a third head. Everyone except for Izzy. She was quickly realizing that a mission to the Redwood Dragons’ Base would allow her to stay away from Saul. Whether or not Noah’s idea was c
razy, it was a way for Izzy to go somewhere, anywhere, other than straight toward the enemy she feared the most. She should have cared more about winning the war than avoiding Saul, but her fear was too great right now to allow her to think clearly. She could see her chance slipping away as the doubt on everyone else’s faces increased, and she spoke up without taking time to really consider what she was saying.

  “I think it’s a great idea. In fact, I’ll go with Noah.”

  All eyes in the room swung toward her now, and she did her best to appear calm. She hardly ever spoke up in strategy meetings. Medicine was her forte, not battle-planning. But surely, Noah wasn’t a complete idiot. He was second-in-command of the dragon shifter crew, after all. If he thought going to the redwoods now was a good idea, then Izzy would trust him. Her only other choice was to go along with the rest of the crew and head out to Saul. She realized that everyone was waiting for her to further explain why she was siding with Noah, so she forced herself to stammer out a few words.

  “It’s just that we need all the help we can get,” Izzy said, and then, in a sudden burst of inspiration, she continued, “And, besides, with everyone focused on the imminent clash between the two armies who have the dragon stones, it’s unlikely that there will be many guards at the redwoods. It’s the perfect time to get that base back. We don’t need many people. We can take them by surprise.”

  “She’s right,” Noah said, perking up even more now that he had support. “I’d guess I could almost get the place back myself. Saul doesn’t know the extent of powerful artifacts hidden there, so he probably isn’t being too careful about guarding the place right now. He’s much more interested in the dragon stones that our army is transporting.”

  Izzy held her breath as she watched the faces in the room slowly change from incredulity, to thoughtfulness, to acceptance. Peter was the first to speak.