“I want you to protect one another. That’s a good thing. But you can’t do it at the expense of the mission. Killing the dragon has to be your top priority. You need to learn to react with logic and not emotion. If you react emotionally, you’ll try to save your friends, even though logically it may be the worst mistake you can make. I know this is hard…” Dr. B’s voice dropped and his gaze swept over the group, meeting each Slayer’s eyes. “Don’t sacrifice the lives of two people—let alone your whole team—to try to save one person.” His gaze landed on Jesse again. “You’re our most experienced flyer. You can’t let anything or anyone distract you.”
Jesse nodded, somber.
Dirk was immune to guilt trips, though. He only smiled at Dr. B. “But you have to admit—shooting the target while falling was a sweet move.”
“All right—yes.” A smile tugged at the corner of Dr. B’s mouth. “That was quite well done.”
Dr. B turned to Tori and his voice softened. “You’ve come a long way from the start of camp. However, your frequent deaths lead me to believe you’re still not ready to become A-team’s captain.”
Ever since Dr. B discovered Tori could fly, he insisted that one day she would be A-team’s leader. Tori never wanted the job. It was bad enough that she occasionally got her team members killed in practice. She didn’t want to be the one responsible for their lives when it came to a real battle. She nodded. “That’s probably for the best.”
While Dr. B addressed Team Magnus and gave them specific feedback on their fight, Tori turned to Dirk. She gave him a look that said, See, you have nothing to worry about. You’re A-team’s captain and always will be.
Dirk’s extra Slayer power was the ability to see what the dragon saw. No one was quite sure how the links worked, but Dirk had a connection with one of Overdrake’s dragon eggs. A part of Dirk’s mind always saw what the unborn dragon saw—which was darkness at night and a reddish light during the day.
That particular talent didn’t do much good in a fight, and yet Dirk was such a good Slayer, Dr. B had made him A-team’s captain four years ago.
“I think you should already be captain,” Dirk said in mock seriousness. “A-team might need their captain to die a martyr’s death in order to rally them into action.”
Tori smacked him.
Dirk laughed and put his gun on a peg in his locker. “You always fly too close to the dragon and stay there too long. Are you purposely getting yourself killed so you don’t have to be captain or do you have a risk-taking side I don’t know about?”
Tori placed her wooden sword on the floor of her locker and shut the door. “I figure it’s better to see how well I can maneuver in here than in a real attack. This is the place to push my limits, to make mistakes.”
Dirk shook his head. “When it comes to dragons, there isn’t a place to make mistakes.”
He was right about that—at least while Theo and Dr. B ran the controls. “You’re so wise,” she purred at him. “Which is why you’ll always be A-team’s captain. Well, that and the fact that I don’t want to deal with Lilly any more than I have to.”
“Coward,” Dirk whispered.
Neither of them said more after that because Dr. B had finished with his assessment of Team Magnus and turned to give A-team its critique. Most of his comments were directed at Tori. She needed to utilize the other Slayers’ abilities to optimize her strategy. She needed to make sure she was always covered. And she needed to rely less on her sight and more on her instincts. Her Slayer senses picked up things her conscious mind didn’t.
Dr. B must have seen her discouragement because he ended his assessment with, “Overall, you’re doing very well. Better than I expected. It just takes time.”
That was the problem, though. None of them knew how much time they had before Overdrake began attacking cities with his dragons and
Jesse nodded, somber.
Dirk was immune to guilt trips, though. He only smiled at Dr. B. “But you have to admit—shooting the target while falling was a sweet move.”
“All right—yes.” A smile tugged at the corner of Dr. B’s mouth. “That was quite well done.”
Dr. B turned to Tori and his voice softened. “You’ve come a long way from the start of camp. However, your frequent deaths lead me to believe you’re still not ready to become A-team’s captain.”
Ever since Dr. B discovered Tori could fly, he insisted that one day she would be A-team’s leader. Tori never wanted the job. It was bad enough that she occasionally got her team members killed in practice. She didn’t want to be the one responsible for their lives when it came to a real battle. She nodded. “That’s probably for the best.”
While Dr. B addressed Team Magnus and gave them specific feedback on their fight, Tori turned to Dirk. She gave him a look that said, See, you have nothing to worry about. You’re A-team’s captain and always will be.
Dirk’s extra Slayer power was the ability to see what the dragon saw. No one was quite sure how the links worked, but Dirk had a connection with one of Overdrake’s dragon eggs. A part of Dirk’s mind always saw what the unborn dragon saw—which was darkness at night and a reddish light during the day.
That particular talent didn’t do much good in a fight, and yet Dirk was such a good Slayer, Dr. B had made him A-team’s captain four years ago.
“I think you should already be captain,” Dirk said in mock seriousness. “A-team might need their captain to die a martyr’s death in order to rally them into action.”
Tori smacked him.
Dirk laughed and put his gun on a peg in his locker. “You always fly too close to the dragon and stay there too long. Are you purposely getting yourself killed so you don’t have to be captain or do you have a risk-taking side I don’t know about?”
Tori placed her wooden sword on the floor of her locker and shut the door. “I figure it’s better to see how well I can maneuver in here than in a real attack. This is the place to push my limits, to make mistakes.”
Dirk shook his head. “When it comes to dragons, there isn’t a place to make mistakes.”
He was right about that—at least while Theo and Dr. B ran the controls. “You’re so wise,” she purred at him. “Which is why you’ll always be A-team’s captain. Well, that and the fact that I don’t want to deal with Lilly any more than I have to.”
“Coward,” Dirk whispered.
Neither of them said more after that because Dr. B had finished with his assessment of Team Magnus and turned to give A-team its critique. Most of his comments were directed at Tori. She needed to utilize the other Slayers’ abilities to optimize her strategy. She needed to make sure she was always covered. And she needed to rely less on her sight and more on her instincts. Her Slayer senses picked up things her conscious mind didn’t.
Dr. B must have seen her discouragement because he ended his assessment with, “Overall, you’re doing very well. Better than I expected. It just takes time.”
That was the problem, though. None of them knew how much time they had before Overdrake began attacking cities with his dragons and
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