"Make
them sit beside the staircase," Draycos whispered to Jack. "It will
give some protection from fire through the windows."
"I should be out there," Jack muttered as he herded the Parprins
to the side of the stairway. "I should be out helping them."
"You cannot," Draycos told him firmly. "You have no weapon. You
can only stay here and guard the civilians."
"But those are supposed to be my comrades out there," Jack
insisted. "You're the one who's always talking about duty. How can I
just sit here while they're getting shot at?"
"You cannot help them," Draycos repeated, flicking his tongue out
once through the gap in Jack's shirt. The smell of Parprin wasn't one
he had tasted before, and he made a mental note of its texture. "But I
can. And I will."
Jack exhaled in a huff. "Okay," he said. "Be careful." He helped
the Parprins down with their backs against the stairway wall; and as he
did so, he lifted his left hand over the top of the railing.
Draycos was out of the sleeve in an instant, leaping onto the
stairs. With his scales tingling, his battle senses fully alert, he
headed up.
CHAPTER 12
The second floor was much like the first: wide spaces, tables with
merchandise, no cover near the windows. Draycos didn't pause, but
continued up the next stairway to the third floor.
There he found what he was looking for. This floor, instead of
being devoted to merchandise, had been divided by low partitions into
an orderly maze of small office-like areas. Even better, the windows
were partially covered by thick, decorative drapes. Keeping to the
cover of the partitions, he made his way to one of the side windows and
looked cautiously out.
The side of the next building was perhaps ten feet away, an easy
leap for a K'da warrior. He scanned all the windows, but there was no
one in sight. Apparently, the attackers were concentrating on the
street side, where the Edgemen were pinned down.
Still, they hadn't completely neglected their defense of this
side. Between the two buildings a steady trickle of popcorn bombs was
raining down.
It was an interesting defensive method, one which the K'da and
Shontine had never used. The popcorn bombs were propelled outward from
a central launcher somewhere on top of the building. As each bomb
cleared the edge of the roof, it sprouted a small parachute, which
stopped its outward motion and turned it instead to fall straight down.
The parachute then popped off, sending the bomb falling at normal speed
toward the street below.
For a few seconds Draycos watched the bombs, studying their
pattern. With the proper timing, it should be cub's play to get though
it.
The rooftop was a little ways above his position as he looked out
the window, and he couldn't see if there was anyone up there tending
the popcorn machine. Still, the Edge manual had said such devices ran
automatically, so it had probably been left on its own. He would have
to risk it.
He looked down, and felt his jaws crack open in a tight smile.
Whatever else the popcorn bombs were supposed to do, they were also
having an unintended but useful side effect. Just as the gunfire from
the windows was creating a hazy smoke screen around the tops of the
buildings, so too the bombs were creating a smoky mist of their own at
ground level.
Which meant that, when he made his move, neither the attackers nor
the defenders would see a thing.
He pushed open the window and backed up to midway across the room.
There he crouched low, watching the bombs fall past the window. He
could feel the blood pounding through his body, pouring oxygen and
nutrients into his muscles in preparation for the effort ahead. Out of
the edge of his eye he could see the golden color in his scales turn to
black as some of the extra blood flow trickled into them.
The K'da warrior was ready.
Across the room, the pattern of falling bombs reached the proper
point. Digging his claws into the carpet, he charged.
A quick sprint took him back to the window. He jumped up to
them sit beside the staircase," Draycos whispered to Jack. "It will
give some protection from fire through the windows."
"I should be out there," Jack muttered as he herded the Parprins
to the side of the stairway. "I should be out helping them."
"You cannot," Draycos told him firmly. "You have no weapon. You
can only stay here and guard the civilians."
"But those are supposed to be my comrades out there," Jack
insisted. "You're the one who's always talking about duty. How can I
just sit here while they're getting shot at?"
"You cannot help them," Draycos repeated, flicking his tongue out
once through the gap in Jack's shirt. The smell of Parprin wasn't one
he had tasted before, and he made a mental note of its texture. "But I
can. And I will."
Jack exhaled in a huff. "Okay," he said. "Be careful." He helped
the Parprins down with their backs against the stairway wall; and as he
did so, he lifted his left hand over the top of the railing.
Draycos was out of the sleeve in an instant, leaping onto the
stairs. With his scales tingling, his battle senses fully alert, he
headed up.
CHAPTER 12
The second floor was much like the first: wide spaces, tables with
merchandise, no cover near the windows. Draycos didn't pause, but
continued up the next stairway to the third floor.
There he found what he was looking for. This floor, instead of
being devoted to merchandise, had been divided by low partitions into
an orderly maze of small office-like areas. Even better, the windows
were partially covered by thick, decorative drapes. Keeping to the
cover of the partitions, he made his way to one of the side windows and
looked cautiously out.
The side of the next building was perhaps ten feet away, an easy
leap for a K'da warrior. He scanned all the windows, but there was no
one in sight. Apparently, the attackers were concentrating on the
street side, where the Edgemen were pinned down.
Still, they hadn't completely neglected their defense of this
side. Between the two buildings a steady trickle of popcorn bombs was
raining down.
It was an interesting defensive method, one which the K'da and
Shontine had never used. The popcorn bombs were propelled outward from
a central launcher somewhere on top of the building. As each bomb
cleared the edge of the roof, it sprouted a small parachute, which
stopped its outward motion and turned it instead to fall straight down.
The parachute then popped off, sending the bomb falling at normal speed
toward the street below.
For a few seconds Draycos watched the bombs, studying their
pattern. With the proper timing, it should be cub's play to get though
it.
The rooftop was a little ways above his position as he looked out
the window, and he couldn't see if there was anyone up there tending
the popcorn machine. Still, the Edge manual had said such devices ran
automatically, so it had probably been left on its own. He would have
to risk it.
He looked down, and felt his jaws crack open in a tight smile.
Whatever else the popcorn bombs were supposed to do, they were also
having an unintended but useful side effect. Just as the gunfire from
the windows was creating a hazy smoke screen around the tops of the
buildings, so too the bombs were creating a smoky mist of their own at
ground level.
Which meant that, when he made his move, neither the attackers nor
the defenders would see a thing.
He pushed open the window and backed up to midway across the room.
There he crouched low, watching the bombs fall past the window. He
could feel the blood pounding through his body, pouring oxygen and
nutrients into his muscles in preparation for the effort ahead. Out of
the edge of his eye he could see the golden color in his scales turn to
black as some of the extra blood flow trickled into them.
The K'da warrior was ready.
Across the room, the pattern of falling bombs reached the proper
point. Digging his claws into the carpet, he charged.
A quick sprint took him back to the window. He jumped up to
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