Chapter Four

Madison

“I fucking hate taxi missions,” I said to the empty cockpit as I descended toward the landing zone, my attention otherwise wholly focused on piloting.

It had to be. Not only was I the sole pilot, but I was back in a UH-60 Blackhawk, a type of bird I hadn’t flown in nearly two years, not since transferring to the Longbow. The controls were familiar yet different. But it was a helicopter, and I knew how to pilot one of those.

In the end, I set the bird down with barely a bump. Which, considering it was nearly pitch black outside, was a respectable feat.

Not that my cargo knew any better.

I glanced back over my shoulder at the passengers. All seven of them were looking at the cockpit floor. Dejected. Defeated.

It was tough to blame them.

Taking a breath, I started shutting down the systems. I didn’t like it, but my orders had been strict. The meeting would not happen if my helo was still operational. Considering the crucial nature of my “bullshit taxi mission,” I followed every instruction perfectly.

Hate the mission or not, it was my first time back in the air since the incident. I wasn’t about to bitch or whine to anyone who could hear. I was airborne! It felt great.

The whine of the engine faded as I shut it all down, and the rotor blades slowly spun to a stop.

“All right. You’re safe to exit now,” I called.

None of them moved.

Apparently, I had to play doorman, too. Unbuckling myself, I slid from the cockpit, undogging the side door and opening it.

“Last stop. Everybody off,” I said, gesturing to the open platform.

The dull roar of the surf pounding against the shore was audible to all now, as was the saltwater in the air.

I shuffled the passengers out as fast as I could, eager to get going. Saltwater was hell on the mechanics.

When the last of the seven was off, I closed the door and returned to the cockpit.

Out of the darkness, two giant winged forms appeared, looming over the women. I couldn’t hear them, but by their reactions, it was easy to imagine the screams of terror as they backpedaled away from the monsters.

I instinctively reached for the controls, though it didn’t matter. I’d arrived unarmed. Probably for this exact reason. Though I’d been briefed on what to expect, there was a difference between hearing it and seeing them. They were so close.

The women were herded away into the darkness, where I assumed more dragons waited.

It was done. I’d delivered the tribute the dragons had demanded in exchange for a ceasefire between us. Looking at my gloved hands, I waited for the blood I knew was on them to begin to seep through.

I didn’t like what I’d done, what I’d been a part of. I liked it even less, knowing I’d been chosen because my superiors figured I was in league with the dragons.

But peace was huge. It meant no more dead Jills. I could live with that. Besides, all the women were volunteers. They knew what it meant, and they’d gone anyway.

That was bravery.

Taking a deep breath, I let it go and began the power-up sequence. The engines whined to life.

My heart leaped into my throat as, across the open space, the two visible dragons both whipped their heads around to stare directly at me.

“Uh-oh,” I muttered, all the hairs on my neck standing up at once.

On the ground, I was a sitting duck. Couldn’t evade, couldn’t do anything. Being in the air wouldn’t change things either. The UH-60 Black Hawk was a fantastic platform, capable of a great many different types of missions.

What it was not capable of was outrunning the dragons. If they wanted to kill me out of spite, I couldn’t stop them.

“We’re at peace now,” I whispered to myself. “We’re at peace. They won’t hurt you. The mission is done. They were just startled by the sound. That’s all. Just keep the engines warming up. Nice and easy. You can do it. Just take off. All is fine. You can … oh, shit. ”

One of the dragons was coming toward me. I watched it coming, begging the engines to get up to speed faster so the rotors would begin to spin. The asshole was probably just trying to intimidate me, but it was working.

I was fucking terrified.

The beast lifted a paw at me and shook its big head, pointing with one huge talon at the ground.

I just ignored it. I nearly had flight power. Then I could get out of there. Leave the dragons behind.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

My screams filled the cockpit as someone knocked on the glass next to me. It was a man. Tall, muscled, with long brown hair flickering wildly as the rotors began to spin up. He was one of them, and I had no doubt about that. The dragons could shift, and that one had just done so.

I slid open a part of the window to speak to him as he continued to tap.

“Where are you going?” he called before I could speak.

“Home,” I said angrily. “You have your ‘prizes.’ I’m done here. Now, back away, and tell your partner there not to interfere.”

The man shook his head. “I count seven women.”

I nodded my head slowly. “Great. We use the same number system. Yes, all seven of them are there. You got ‘em.”

“Our agreement,” the dragon-man said loudly, “was for eight .”

I shrugged. “Not my problem, buster. I just did what I was told to do.”

Feeding some more power to the rotors, I prepared to lift off.

As I did, the giant red dragon that had been watching came forward. He lifted a claw and casually lowered the tip into the whirling blades. Metal shrieked, and the entire frame shook like mad as they were sheared free, spinning off into the night.

The dragon-man at my cockpit door cursed and shouted at his partner but then swiftly turned his attention back to me. There was a giant smile on his face.

“There, it’s settled now. You’re coming with us. Tribute number eight.”