Beckett swallowed hard, probably to keep from retching, holding his gaze on the woman’s face and doing his best not to let Nils see how much it troubled him.

  “There’s a trash can over there. Don’t vomit all over my floor.”

  The major rushed over to the garbage can in the corner and emptied his breakfast inside it. Then he stood, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and returned to his seat.

  “In the two days since my chimeras have defeated the dragons over the capital, I have begun to gather the remaining military forces back to the city,” Nils said. “Are you up to assuming command?”

  “Of course, sir,” Beckett said. “Anything you want.”

  “Good, because I want you to prepare for this city’s defense. You and your army engineers will turn this city into a death trap for any opposing force attempting to enter the capital.”

  “Are you anticipating that the rebels will come here to fight?”

  “Once I’m finished with the next part of my plans, yes.” Nils shuffled over to the map. “Durham is out there somewhere, but you can’t find her.”

  Nils quieted Beckett’s protest with a stern look. “Yes, I am aware that she is protected by a strong magical field that prevents my creatures from tracking her, and that even the chimeras are unable to locate her.”

  Nils turned back to the map.

  “But she’s out there somewhere, safe and sound in her hideout, much like I am here in the capital. We’ve both created a place where we can be temporarily safe, and that means the war for control of this country could wage for far longer than is acceptable.”

  Nils spun around to face the major again. “Did you hear me, Major? I said it’s unacceptable. There are things that must happen in a certain way and within a certain timetable if our side is to prevail. We must force Durham out of hiding.”

  “How do you plan to do that, sir?”

  “Durham must be convinced that it’s in her best interest to abandon her hideout, even if that means leaving her protectors and protections behind.” He pointed to Beckett. “We must be ready before she does that. When her friends attempt to rescue her, they’ll be forced to face your fortifications and traps. I’ll release the chimeras to attack those cities that are loyal to her. She’ll have to use her dragons, but our numbers are greater and we can outlast her.”

  Nils laughed; heavy and bottomless, it poured from his depths.

  “And that’s when I’ll offer her a way out.”

  “Sir?” Beckett replied.

  “Do you have the video equipment I asked you to bring along?”

  “Yes, sir. It is set up outside the conference room as you requested.”

  “Excellent, then come and I’ll show you what I mean to do. You can run the camera for me.”

  Nils and Beckett left the conference room and walked over to where the camera and lights were set up. Nils said, “Turn the camera on me and watch how I lure Durham out to her final defeat at my hands.”

  Beckett’s hands trembled as he powered up the camera and directed it at Kane. Nils drew a deep breath then leveled his malevolent smile at the camera.

  “This message is for Winnie Durham, leader of those rebel forces calling themselves the Dusters. I have released the chimeras to do as they please for as long as they want. They will destroy every rebel-held city. They will hunt your dragons until there is nothing left for your so-called army to defend. They will leave this country and the world to follow as one big, ill-gotten memory.”

  Nils paused and waited for that to sink in. Then he continued.

  “There is, however, an alternative. I will agree to call the chimeras back to the capital on one condition. You, Winnie Durham, must meet me one-on-one. The two of us shall end this as only we can. It’s that simple: Defeat me and win. You can have this failing world to do with as you wish.

  “Your choice, Winnie. What will it be? Fight me and give your friends a chance, or hide in your stronghold until there’s nothing left to save? The choice is yours. Courage or cowardice: either way, I’ll be waiting in the capital.”

  Nils made a chopping motion and Beckett killed the recording.

  “I assume you want an immediate broadcast?”

  “Yes,” Nils said. “It will probably take a few days for the message to reach her if the rebel hideout is as remote as I think it might be. The chimeras will have even more time to tear the rebel cities apart.”

  “Do you think she’ll come? You’re offering her a suicide mission.”

  “Her friends might try to dissuade her, but I expect that Durham will come around in the end. Soon we’ll have them all exactly where we want them. Now get to work, Major,” Nils said, shuffling away. “You’ve much to accomplish if you would like for your wife to avoid the fate of Marla Couch.”

  Nils snapped and the two children led their mother from the room behind him, leaving Beckett alone with his thoughts and a message for Winnie Durham.

  Chapter 21

  “You can’t go,” Victor said. “It’s out of the question.”

  “He’s right, Winnie,” Danny added. “You’d be playing right into his hands. You can’t afford to fight him, not alone and not on his terms. He won’t play fair.”

  Maria shook her head. “That’s an understatement. In all my time as his secretary, I never once saw him follow through on a promise in the expected way. Kane always managed to twist his words to mean something else, something that worked to his advantage. He’ll do the same thing here.”

  “Look at what he’s doing to people,” Winnie said. “Everywhere.”

  The command team sat at the round table staring at the viewing wall. The windows all displayed similar scenes: rebel troops and dragons battling Kane’s chimeras.

  The creatures could be killed. It took overwhelming conventional firepower, and attacks from the strongest chanters. Bullets and armor-piercing shells both bounced off the chimeras’ armored hides more often than they pierced them.

  Fortunately, Fae magic seemed to weaken their defenses, allowing rebel soldiers to empty their weapons into the creatures until they were dead.

  Dragons were able to defeat the chimeras only when they worked in tandem with each other, or with human troops and chanters on the ground.

  But it took time to assemble the necessary blend of troops, chanters, and dragons. During that delay, the chimeras laid waste to whatever they touched.

  Powerful tentacles broke buildings apart like they were cracking eggs, spilling any hapless inhabitants that weren’t left cowering inside their offices or homes.

  Tired and exhausted from using Excalibur to direct the dragons in different regions from one fight to the next, Winnie looked like a ghost in front of the viewing wall, refusing every request for her to rest or sit down.

  She didn’t dare lower her guard, lest she fall asleep and miss the opportunity to save a few more people from Kane’s monstrosities. She couldn’t maintain this pace, but the alternative was unacceptable.

  “How many dragons are left?” Elaine had just seen another one fall victim to a pair of chimeras on the outskirts of Chicago.

  Winnie focused on her link and got a headcount. “Maybe one hundred fifty.”

  Danny sighed. “We’re down by half.”

  “We need another way to divert Kane’s attention,” Maria said. “If we can get him off the offensive and reacting to us for once, then we can take the fight back to him.”

  “We need more chanters,” Garraldi said.

  “That means liberating another camp.” Victor turned to Maria. “Can we afford to thin the front lines for that?”

  “I don’t think we have a choice. Garraldi’s right, and we’re bound to find some more chanter elites. Elaine could use them to bolster our defenses.”

  Elaine nodded. “Morgan and I have come up with a partial solution based on what we learned when taking the first camp.”

  “I’m not sure it’s fully tested yet,” Morgan said. “Are you sure we should get their hopes up?”

  “What have you two been working on?” Winnie was exhausted and having trouble following the conversation.

  Elaine cleared her throat. “After the last operation, Morgan commented that we needed a magical rail system that could bring the shipping containers to and from Promise Point without the dragons. We think we know how.”

  “I don’t pretend to understand magic,” Morgan cut in, “but I was riding one of the lift discs down to the storerooms when I thought about how they work. I asked Elaine and she said it was sort of like a magical rubber band that pulled the discs up and down the tubes. So I started to wonder if there wasn’t a way to attach a similar magical band over a long distance, from here to the shipping containers.”

  Morgan turned to Elaine.

  Elaine said, “We were working on a system with the elites, connecting large objects to form a sort of assembly line. Morgan came to us with her idea, then we adapted the method to her plan. We’ve proven that it works over short distances. So in theory, it should work from anywhere.”

  Winnie smiled. “And the containers would float back on their own once they were loaded?”

  Elaine nodded. Not long ago she was ravaged by arthritis; now the woman was glowing, with raw magic radiating from her every pore. “We’d still need the dragons to tow the containers to wherever we need them, but once on location, we could summon them to come back to Promise Point along the path taken to get there.”

  “So we have the resources to transport another camp full of prisoners back here to the Point without needing the dragons,” Morgan said. “They could be returned to the battle lines immediately following the raid.”

  Winnie looked around. The command group seemed to agree. Even Seelie, hovering off to one side, nodded when Winnie glanced her way.

  “Alright,” Winnie said. “Which camp and when?”

  “The closest to the Point is on the shore of Lake Superior,” Danny said. “So, close to Chicago. If we attacked there, we wouldn’t have to pull the dragons off the lines for long.”

  “It’s centrally located,” Victor added. “How soon could we go? Morgan, how long until we have everything in place?”

  Morgan shrugged. “I could say we’re ready now, but there will always be mix-ups that throw a wrench in the works. I think Elaine and Tris could have the final containers charmed for return transport in a day or so.”

  Tris nodded. “That’s about right. Maybe sooner, if the operation had to go tonight.”

  “Tonight,” Garraldi said. “That means no time for prep.”

  “Hopefully, we won’t need them too much,” Winnie said. “With the dragons there, they’ll most likely stand around and offer security for escaping prisoners. The dragons will do most of the fighting.”

  “We’ve heard unconfirmed reports that chimeras are at the camps, too,” Maria said. “We’ll have a quick reaction force of Dusters and elites ready to fight so the dragons don’t get overwhelmed.”

  “Frannie and Parnell will send some of their team to work with you, Maria,” Elaine said.

  Winnie clapped, one time, hard. “Then it’s decided. We go tonight.”

  The command team dispersed, off to do too much work in too little time.

  The offensive felt fantastic. It had been too long. And she wasn’t alone. The mood in the command center was already brighter than it had been in a while.

  Winnie shifted Excalibur as she stood. She wore the blade everywhere now; she couldn’t afford to risk the dragons getting out of control.

  “This is risky, Win,” Danny said, surprising her from behind. He put a hand on her shoulder. “Kane has to be expecting something like this.”

  “Yes, but he doesn’t know where it will be or what we’ll bring to the fight. He can try to spread his military and monsters all over, but it’s pin the tail on the donkey. I’m sick of the blindfold.”

  “Maybe I’ll see you for dinner before we leave?”

  Winnie nodded and Danny turned to go. She wasn’t sure if they’d see each other again before the operation or not. They still shared a bed, but even the good stuff felt strained between them.

  Winnie walked over to the viewing wall. The bulk of the fighting had died. The country was settling in for another round of nervous waiting.

  Nothing required her immediate attention.

  She closed her eyes.

  The silence lasted a second.

  “You should go lie down,” Seelie said from over her shoulder.

  “I can’t, Seelie. I have to stay here. That’s my job.”

  “They can manage for a few hours without you. You need a nap if you’re going tonight.”

  Winnie muffled a yawn.

  “See, I told you.” Seelie laughed. “Your body will shut down on you if you’re not careful.”

  Weariness wrapped her like a heavy, warm cloak.

  She closed her eyes, imagined her bed, and mumbled, “It would be nice to get a little sleep.”

  “It’s settled,” Seelie announced to the room. “Winnie’s going to bed. No one is going to disturb her for at least two hours?” She waited for the smiles and nods to make their way around the room, then she tugged on Winnie’s sleeve, pulling her toward the corridor. “Come on, Winnie, let’s get you to bed.”

  Winnie was finished fighting it. Dead on her feet.

  Seelie pulled her out of the command center and down the corridor.

  The night’s raid would come soon enough.

  Chapter 22

  Winnie tightened the harness straps around the dragon’s chest and neck. She double-checked the buckles until she was finally satisfied that she and Danny would stay put when the massive creature took off for the raid.

  The other chanter dragon handlers were almost finished with their work, too. It wasn’t easy preparing the dragons, even with Excalibur. They were restless, and turned the wind into tornados around them.

  She looked for Danny. It was well after dark. He should have been here an hour ago. He seemed to have less and less time for her lately, and no time for the things that she thought were important. But now really wasn’t the time.

  Seelie hovered nearby. She hadn’t left Winnie’s side since taking her to bed.

  “Seelie, could you go and see what’s keeping Danny? He was supposed to be here.”

  “I heard that he’s helping prepare the Duster reaction force for the raid.”

  “Well, go tell him that I’m almost ready to leave, and that he can ride in the containers with them.”

  “He won’t like that,” Seelie said.

  “That’s the point. Danny needs to understand his priorities.”

  Seelie flew off with the message while Winnie went to inspect the other dragons. Her thoughts drifted back to Kane and his message.

  He was right in some ways. Things were coming to a head between them. It was inevitable. At some point in this war, they would have to face off.

  But when?

  Maybe if she provided enough of a distraction, he’d fail to realize that she was in the capital. No one else needed to die. Innocent civilians—men, women, and children—were dying unimaginable deaths. The chimeras were worse than the dragons: the devil walking her planet.

  Tonight’s raid was supposed to draw Kane’s attention away from the attacks on the cities, put him on a more defensive posture.

  Maria stepped onto the plateau where the dragons were being prepped. Winnie looked up.

  Maria said, “Danny sent me to tell you that he’s riding in with his Dusters.”

  “I wish he’d told me an hour ago. I just sent Seelie to find him.”

  “There’ve been morale issues among some of the Dusters after seeing what the chimeras can do. He’s trying to do the right thing, stay by their sides, prove that their leaders are willing to risk it right alongside them.”

  “If you say so.”

  “Is everything alright?” Maria asked.

  Winnie looked away, blinked to regain her composure. The Dusters couldn’t see their leader crying. “I’m fine,” she lied. “There’s a lot riding on this raid. I want to make sure that everything’s perfect.”

  “I was going to ride with Garraldi but I can ride with you … if you want to talk.”

  "Thanks, but no,” Winnie said. “I’ll have the dragon for company. Ride with Garraldi. We all know he’s afraid of heights.”

  Maria laughed. “He still doesn’t think that anyone knows. The man is a marshmallow.”

  Winnie smiled, despite her somber mood. “He’s one of the good ones, Maria. You two are great together.”

  “You and Danny, too. Do you know how many people look to you two as a positive example of a chanter and middling relationship?”

  “I don’t know if that’s the best model. There are plenty of paths better than our rocky road. You and Garraldi, Victor and Morgan, anybody and anybody … ”

  “Maybe when we get back, you and Danny should talk?”

  “Maybe,” Winnie said, not meaning it.

  Maria pointed across to the cavern entrance. “There’s Seelie. And she’s holding something. Probably a peace offering from Danny.”

  “That must be it.” Winnie checked her watch.

  “See you on the other side, boss,” Maria said, then waved and left the room.

  Seelie flitted over to Winnie carrying a small folded piece of paper. She handed it to Winnie. “Danny sent this to you.”

  “I heard he’s not coming.” Winnie shoved the note in her pocket.

  “If Danny’s not riding with you, then I am,” Seelie said, following Winnie.

  Winnie shook her head. “Stay here, Seelie.”

  “I’m not without protections of my own, Winnie. I can take care of myself.”

  “Suit yourself,” Winnie shrugged. “Make sure your straps are tight. Dragons fly a lot faster than you do.”

  Winnie pulled herself onto the dragon’s back and buckled the straps tightly around her waist and legs. She glanced behind her—Seelie was wrapping herself in the human-sized straps.

  “Ready, Seelie?”