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He was a good, strong man. A natural leader. A successful “professional” as modern humans would say.
Why didn’t he have someone special?
“I don’t know,” he mused.
At first, she thought he was answering her unspoken question.
But then he continued, “I just see things. Watching them from down here, riding them, I can see where the weak points are. I can see each of their strengths and weaknesses.”
Tell me, Heba insisted.
She was always curious about military strategy. Her Papa had taught her well.
Sin perked his ears as well, clearly interested in this conversation.
“Wolfe, Rui and Red aren’t here yet, but from my observations before, I would say that Wolfe’s offense is always defense,” Ben explained.
“He guards too closely when he should attack sometimes. Rui isn’t a warrior dragon, so she needs to be trained in case she has to see battle. She’s the smallest of all the dragons, more comfortable in water. Red is still learning his newly recovered wings. He’s not completely balanced, though he makes up for it in ferocity.”
“I don’t know Divina,” he continued, “but from Ere’s descriptions, she being a feather dragon, she’s probably not going to see any action in a fight. I don’t know how Sai would fare on land, being a sea dragon, but he fought in the War of the Gods, so I know he can handle himself.”
And the dragons here?Heba asked.
“Zai is best for stealth missions,” Ben said.
“He’s quick and fierce, but he always holds back a bit. It’s like he doesn’t like to kill.”
The liger huffed beside them, as if in agreement.
“Kai is an experienced warrior dragon, having also fought in the War of the Gods. He has those wings only as weapon and shield. He can’t fly with them. No matter how effective he is on the ground, he will always be vulnerable to aerial attacks.”
What about Shai?Heba wanted to know.
Ben nodded.
“It seems that despite the millennia Shai has been trapped in the Celestial Realm, doing the JE’s bidding, he didn’t actually spend much time, cumulatively, on earth fighting battles. So, while he’s clearly an experienced warrior, a natural leader, he’s still getting used to his dragon form, still learning his powers. Especially now that he’s free. I fully expect him to be one of the best fighters once he’s ready.”
“And then there’s Ere,” Ben said with a sigh of exasperation.
“It’s hard to believe he used to be a warrior sky dragon during his first incarnation. He certainly doesn’t act like it now. His current form is the largest, with the most fire power out of all of them, but he still acts like it’s all a game. When he has incentive—when Sorin is in danger, for example—he goes all out. He does great when they’re fighting together, but alone, he’s half-assed.”
“Honestly, Sorin is the most disciplined and measured of all of them. But as impressive as the phoenix is, he’s no match against the brute strength of dragons.”
He seems to be handling himself quite well, Heba noted, just as the fire bird let loose a spray of flames at Ere’s unguarded back.
Heba could hear the black dragon’s surprised yelp from all the way down here.
“That’s because he’s focused and well-trained,” Ben said.
“But if Zai, Shai or Ere really went at him, if they were equally well-trained, he wouldn’t be able to defeat them. Maybe outrun them, given the phoenix’s speed, but I’ve seen Ere fly faster. He just doesn’t want to most of the time.”
Ben got up then, stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled shrilly.
The massive black dragon, with the tip of his tail still flaming, made a sharp turn and flew toward them, tongue lolling like a happy puppy.
Hmm. Ben was right, Heba thought. Ere didn’t seem to take the training runs very seriously.
As Ere drew closer, he turned again, as if he was rushing the cliff but changed his mind at the last moment. Ben took a few steps back and ran toward the edge. He leapt off, making Heba gasp and rush after him.
