Obsidian Embers Page 8

  Cara led the five men to within just a few feet of the heavy transparent wall. "This is The Sapphire," she said quietly, as the enormous creature crept very close. "Like all three of them, he carries fifty-five percent dragon genes. But in this case, there is also thirty percent human genes and fifteen percent falcon."

  The men in her group all seemed to talk at once. "Wait – wait – you're saying – this dragon is part – human?"

  The Sapphire raised his head to look at them, and they all fell silent and stepped back a pace as Cara answered their question. "Yes. They are all part human. Gene splicing. Cut right into their DNA in the laboratory as part of the cloning process."

  "But they don't look human," one of them said softly.

  "No. But it's there. Just not in the parts you see."

  "So – who contributed the human genes?"

  "It was three different men. Military men. A number of them volunteered, but only three were chosen. No one was ever told who they were. Their names will never be known to anyone, but they will live on in these truly magnificent creatures."

  "And you also said – falcon genes?" whispered one of the men.

  "Yes. Dinosaurs, of which the original dragons are a type, did eventually evolve into birds, so they're actually close relatives. Falcons are birds that can be trained to work with humans. They added both intelligence and a predatory nature that could be controlled."

  "That color," said another man. "It’s so bright, it looks artificial. Like – jewel plating, or something."

  "No, I assure you, it's quite real. The sapphire armor was incorporated into their genetic makeup, too. And though it is quite stunning, it's there to protect them. And to camouflage them. You'd be surprised at how well a shining object can hide in the sun's light or over water when the entire surface is sparkling like a jewel."

  The dragon curved his head and, as he always did, gazed steadily at Cara. "Those eyes," said one of the men, clearly fascinated. "Those eyes – they look – "

  "Human," Cara said. "Yes. They do. That's where it is most apparent." He was right – The Sapphire did have very large and intensely blue eyes with white around them, just like a human being.

  "We've found that the Fleet Dragons cloned from The Sapphire are bright, but easily distracted. They tend to flock together and are not entirely as independent as the other two types of dragons, which can be good or bad. They are a little more animal-like due to having slightly less human DNA.

  "Does he have a name?" one man asked. "What do you call him?"

  "He doesn't have a name. He is The Sapphire. That's all the name he needs."

  CHAPTER THREE

  The Sapphire turned away from them and moved to face the other direction. He raised his wings slightly and pointed his long slender head up in the direction of the sky, rocking back and forth and sliding his long, slim feathered tail across the floor from one side to the other.

  With the dragon's head pointed up, the jeweled collar around his neck slid down on the feathers and was clearly visible.

  The men continued to watch the creature's every move. "Do they stay in these caves all the time?"

  "Didn't you say they never leave this place?"

  "He doesn't look too happy."

  She smiled patiently. "It's true that they will never leave this base. But we quickly learned that the dragons had to be allowed to fly at least once a week, or they would descend into something like madness.”

  "They would attempt to fly inside the cave, again and again, crying out and injuring themselves. They would refuse to eat the meat brought to them. They had to be allowed out periodically to hunt their own food and fly in the open for at least a little while."

  "I'm betting that collar is what lets you control him."

  Cara took a deep breath. "Yes. The collar functions to bring him back and keep him from straying too far, and from drinking seawater."

  All of them frowned at that. "Seawater? What kind of animal drinks seawater?"

  Cara went on as though she hadn't heard. "The controllers can keep the dragon flying in big circles until it's had enough exercise, and then bring it back. Quite simple, really."

  "Is that how you control the fighters, too? The Fleet Dragons?" one of the men said. "With – shock collars? Like you'd use on a dog?"

  Cara smiled patiently. "No. We went one better with the Fleet Dragons. When they are very young, just a week or so out of the egg, they receive implants along the spinal column. Implants have the same effect, but cannot be lost. And they cannot be removed without killing the creature."

  "You didn't use implants on these three?"

  She shook her head. "We didn't want to take the risk. Once we realized that spinal implants could be done, these three were so large that there was really no way to work on them. And no need to. They will never be used in battle. Their sole job is to stay here and provide us with clones. Nothing else."

  All five of them were silent. The Sapphire went on rocking back and forth with his nose pointed straight up. She always found it difficult to leave him. He was such a beautiful creature, who seemed so lonely while living a life he had never asked for.

  Cara said nothing to the men in the group about how, whenever she felt alone, or could not sleep, she would sometimes come down here to sit with The Sapphire and just quietly enjoy his presence. The other two dragons felt animal-like, hostile and dangerous, but she always found The Sapphire to be a peaceful and beautiful creature.

  But she pulled her thoughts away from him for now. She had a job to do.

  "Please follow me, gentlemen," Cara said, and led the five of them to the front of the next cave.

  "This is The Obsidian," she said. "He is fifty-five percent dragon and forty-five percent human."

  "No falcon genes?" All of the men stood tall in an effort to see The Obsidian, who was curled up far in the back of the cave.

  "No other genes of any kind. Just dragon and human. We believe that these are the most intelligent of the dragons, but they are also what some call 'sharp and hot.' Almost too clever. Too independent. But they are such fearless fighters that it's been worth it to use them."

  "He looks like he's made of glass."

  "In a sense, he is," Cara said. "Obsidian, of course, is volcanic glass. Very strong, very sharp. Their wings have a distinctive sound as they cut through the air. And Obsidians – 'Glassies' – are, of course, very hard to see at night."

  "He looks smaller than the other one, though."

  Cara frowned. The Obsidian was curled up like a cat far in the back of the cave and not moving. "Well, he's just hard to see all the way in the back. But he's the same size as the other two, I assure you."

  "Yes – but – I can see the face. The skin is smoother. The face is – more human-like than the other one."

  Cara just shook her head. "He may seem smoother because of the glassy appearance. The face is no different. I'm sure it's just because he's lying down and far in the back of the cave."

  Of course that's all it was. How could he look any different? These men just were not accustomed to seeing dragons. Cara deliberately looked away from The Obsidian and led them to the third of the caves.

  "This is The Diamond," she said, and stopped a few yards away from the transparent wall. The dragon was very close to it and looking very agitated, rocking from side to side, raising his wings, and lowering his head with his mouth open as if meaning to roar. "Fifty-five percent dragon, forty percent human, and five percent falcon."

  "He looks angry," whispered one of the men, apparently remembering what Cara had told them before they'd come in here about keeping a low voice.

  She nodded. "The Diamond clones – the Shinies – are the most powerful. They are nearly invulnerable, but they have a very fierce and independent nature. In a clear sky, close by the sun, they are nearly invisible, as well as on a snowy surface."

  Suddenly they all jumped back as The Diamond Dragon arched his neck and did roar at them, with his huge mouth open and
his rows of teeth bared. The transparent wall wavered and shook.

  The men all stood in shocked silence until he finally closed his mouth and stalked away, apparently to go sulk near the back of his cave. "I thought you said they breathed fire?" one man finally said.

  "They do have that ability," Cara said. "That's why we had to dissect one of the white ones when we observed them doing precisely that. We had to understand how any living creature could actually breathe fire.

  "It turns out that dragon's fire is created from pure magnesium. That makes it blinding white and extremely hot – somewhere around five thousand degrees Fahrenheit."

  "That's why you can't let them drink seawater," said one man, nodding. "Because of the magnesium."

  "That's right," Cara said. "Seawater contains magnesium chloride. A dragon's system breaks it down into pure form for use in creating fire. All they have to do is drink from the ocean."

  "Is that why there's no danger of these three dragons breathing fire?"

  "That's right. Only purest distilled water for them. No seawater, no fire."

  Cara led the five men back to the center of the cavern again, watching how they could not resist turning to look at the creature one more time. "Now you've seen our dragons, gentlemen. The original models – the white ones we first discovered – are simply called Lizards. They remain in their own cave with collars to control them and keep them from straying, or from challenging and fighting with any of the other dragons.

  "The ones you see in here are known individually by their names, but together they are the Three Jewels. They are our originals, the most valuable of all. The rest of them are all clones of these three and are called the Fleet Dragons. They are being conditioned for use as fighting weapons and are commonly known as Birdies, Glassies, and Shinies."

  She paused, taking a deep breath, and then made herself look each one of the men in the eye. "All of you are here because you were drone pilots in your former lives. You piloted full-size aircraft remotely, either from a station on the ground or from the secondary cockpit of another plane. Now you will learn to pilot another kind of craft. A dragon."

  #

  Cara led the group of five men out of the great cavern and into another long corridor running under the ground. "This will be the last stop on our tour today, gentlemen. We're going to the other cave complex. It's the one where the Fleet Dragons are kept – the ones you will be piloting."

  This next cavern was even larger than the first, but most of it was given over to three enormous caves with the same transparent fronts as the caves of the Three Jewels.

  "The Glassies – the Obsidians – are outside right now, being flown," Cara said. "So the Shinies and the Birdies are here, inside their own caves."

  "Don't they ever mix?"

  "Never," Cara said. "They must be housed and trained separately because the different types see each other as competitors. One vicious fight between a Glassy and a Shiny, resulting in the loss of both dragons, was all it took to prove that to us."

  She led them all to the stairs and up to a viewing platform behind a huge window. The sun shone blindingly bright over the snowy landscape and the distant ocean. "If you look closely – give your eyes a moment to adjust to the brightness – I think you'll see them."

  And they did. Some thirty-two Glassies, black and gleaming, flew both independently and in formation over the white land and white-capped sea. Cara watched all five of the men, feeling just a little smug at their stunned reactions.

  "All this – all those dragons – are piloted from the ground?"

  "Through those implants?"

  "Yes. They are. And responding perfectly, as you can see."

  "I'm noticing," said one man, "that some seem larger than others. Is that true, or is it just the perspective?"

  Cara glanced out of the window again. "No, you are correct," she said. "You will see some smaller ones among each group. It takes about three years from hatching until they are trained and big enough to fly and fight. By contrast, the Lizards need only about a year to reach full maturity." "Three years," said one of the men. "You mentioned losing a couple to a fight. Have any others been lost?"

  "Yes. They have." Cara's voice was firm. "I must remind you that these are animals. Not people. With that in mind, you should know that two years ago, one of the cloned dragons – a Shiny – died in a training accident. Its pilot misjudged its capabilities and it became exhausted, falling onto the rocks near a small island far out in the ocean.

  "But no humans died in that accident. All we had to do was clone another dragon, and let it live and grow. No billions of dollars spent and – far better – no pilots killed."

  She turned to face all of the men and looked each one in the eye as she spoke. "They are animals. Much as I do love them, these dragons are animals. They are not people. They need pilots, and that's why you are here."

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