Creatures of God

Dropping Point

"Look! Up in the sky!"

There was a shouting nearby, and everyone on the battlefield looked up. The fighting stalled, if only for the moment; as if time stood still, as if the temperature had changed, and the opposing combatants could sense a shifting of the wind. It was like standing in the eye of a hurricane, the center of a storm. Apprehension filled the air. Something was happening in the unlit heavens, something ominous. They could all hear and feel it -- a rushing of the wind above them.

"Over there!"

They saw it, in the sky -- the hazy outline of an unknown mass, approaching.

"What is it?"

Far within the battling throng, Mimi looked hard to the darkened skies, toward the flying bulk.

What is that, headed this way?

At first, the observers could not make out the anomalous form drifting toward them; something swirling, whipping; like a swarm or foraging flock. The mass seemed to change shape as it moved. Flapping and fluttering, its details slowly came into focus.

People? No, wait... animals! Flying animals!

Large quarries of birds and winged reptiles. It was a squadron of animals flying toward the campus field.

"It's Elliot!" one person yelled and jumped in jubilation.

Is that true? Mimi thought. Where?

The HP officer gave a sigh of relief. Despite the inherent danger, she was consoled to hear that Elliot was nearby, and safe. He had wanted to be present for the battle, but Mimi had not found him yet with her watchful eyes.

"He's riding a dragon! He's brought help!"

Anderson's care and treatment of animals had come back to pay dividends.

What's he doing on a dragon?

Mimi smiled at the ingenuity. She hadn't understood Alessandro's interest in having Elliot present for this conflict. Elliot was hardly experienced or battle-tested. In fact, his presence was more problematic than helpful. Both Alessandro and Mimi would have had to keep him out of harm's way. But now, she understood.

Mimi gushed with imagination. She couldn't believe Elliot was riding-in with an aerial force, like a cavalry coming to the rescue. He was probably hanging on for dear life, terrified of the terrible height, she thought. She could see him retching and hurling. She smirked at the thought and strained for confirmation, but could not find him anywhere among the soaring birds and flying lizards. She scanned further until finally -- curiously -- she found him leading the aerial assault.

"Elliot?" Mimi questioned. She wrinkled her forehead and lost her smile.

He was not riding on one of the animals. He, himself, was flying.

What the — ? Mimi thought.

The realization hit her.

"No... !" she said under breath.

Elliot had changed.

Like Alessandro.

Transfigured.

Elliot had turned into a vampire.

"Attack now!"

At Elliot's command, a brown hawk swooped in and snatched one of Gevaudan's soldiers at the nape of their neck. The massive bird with white spotted-wings held tightly as the Canine wriggled and wormed, unable to pull itself free. Flapping powerfully, the mighty bird yanked the mongrel up, off the ground. Dipping and rolling, it struggled to control its flight with the squirming dog below. Finally, the hawk gained a sense of its inertia and headed for a nearby grove of trees. Targeting the bough of a thick oak tree, it tossed the feisty canine headlong.

Raarrrkkkk!!

Another flying creature entered the bitter conflict, this time a blue and grey tarragon -- with a peculiar, metal-plated wing. She sped in like a missile, stretched out in full extension, head to tail. Unfurling her wings, she caught air, swerving and changing direction. She flew over the stunned combatants and let loose a terrible shriek, calling out, as if to announce herself. She followed it up with a blast of flames – fire-breathing that scorched a hapless line of mongrels.

"I didn't know he was a dragon master... "

Farther away off campus, Captain Samuel and his junior officer observed from behind a concrete cover.

"Elliot?" The Captain stated. He squinted his right eye. "No, Officer, I don't think that he is."

"How is he doing this, then? Dragons don't -- "

"I know," Samuel cut him off.

Fire-breathing beasts did not normally involve themselves in matters of other-species conflict. Surely, this was a first.

"Elliot's a monster now," Samuel said under his breath. "Just like the boy."

"Take cover!" someone else yelled.

A group of Humans dispersed.

Dragons were not known human allies. They usually kept themselves separate and isolated, hidden in troves or underworld subterrane. Rarely did they ever leave their secret caves. When they did, they commonly terrorized humans, particularly for their shiny metals and sparkling gemstones. Prehistoric magpies, as they were. Today, however, the flying reptiles left the Humans alone.

"They're not attacking us! Hurray! Hurrah for Elliot!"

Elliot was cheered, no longer the pathology toad.

Instead, he was bigger and stronger now, powerful in a way he'd never been before. His large black wings enabled him to fly with uncanny grace and control. Beyond the physical, Elliot displayed a different persona as well, a different bravado. As the apparent leader of the flying squadron, he commanded with a poised demeanor and a newfound confidence. He singled out the mongrel soldiers.

"Remove the insurgents!" Elliot ordered. "Take them away!"

The heard voice was foreign and electronic.

Elliot spoke through a strange device strapped around his neck and chest; a voice box facilitating communication to his team of flying creatures; a remote translator, interacting with receivers worn by the members of his squadron. Gehru's audio box had come to life.

"It's a translator, Sir!" the second officer declared. He looked at Captain Samuel. "That's how he's doing this, how he's directing them!"

Samuel's eyes narrowed. "Yeah... "

He watched the flying action a moment longer.

"... maybe," he said quietly.

On the field, a fierce black and purple bird flew in and sank its talons into the shoulders of a mongrel trying to escape. The raven-like bird started to fly away, but felt a slashing at its legs -- retaliation from its Canine freight below. For a split-second, the bird lost its grip, but reasserted itself with another sharp stabbing. Re-establishing control, it gave a commanding shriek and cry. It retook to the air, overwhelming its prey with a dizzying change in altitude.

At the same time, in a different part of the scene, a lagarous creature came drifting-in on membranous wing, propelling itself with a powerful tail. It spied a Canine from the ongoing conflict, and with lightning reflex, snatched the leaping dog in its mouth. The lizard raised itself mid-air, readjusting its hold on the Canine's neck. Twisting and turning, it rolled with the dog's weight and resistance. Eventually, the fighting slowed to an asphyxious state, and the reptile began its passage to a distant dispatch.

"Don't let any of them escape!" Elliot ordered.

The sequence repeated itself; mongrels scrambling in every direction; retreating, yet still being preyed upon by the flying animals above.

Beyond the borders of Renderton, members of Gevaudan's army were brought to a dropping point and released into a dark, dead water. Splash, splash! The Canines fell amid the frigid black waves, their entry provoking the interest of the local flying fish. Soon the mongrels were swarmed by hundreds of the silver-finned creatures. The fish jumped in and out of the waters, flashing their sharp teeth, excited at their unexpected dinner.