White Dragon: Cadets of Longshadow Academy, #2

By MK Mancos

As the conflict with the Etrantics heats up, the Cadets of Longshadow will have to face their greatest fears...

 

Sent to the blizzard-ravaged peaks of a remote mountain base known as the Reaches, Clary Enchio and Dane Foster are charged with finding the enemy base being built in the wilderness. When a former cadet, who accused Clary of cheating, is reassigned to the Reaches, her nightmares are only beginning and future in the Dragon Corps uncertain. Discovery of a traitor in their midst turns the nightmares to treason. 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mystic Kat Press
• Release date: Jun 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223322702

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Winter came early to the Oronici Mountains. Snow drifts piled deep and controlled blasts were used to clear passes and prevent dangerous avalanches.

Wind whistled through the trees and sang along the jagged peaks. No denying the view was spectacular as the snow came down in a steady veil of white. Eddies swirled and spun on air currents. In the distance, dragons followed the updrafts as they performed their patrols.

Hard to believe such a serene picture hid the horrors of war only a few miles upriver.

Clary Enchio rubbed her leather-clad arms and stomped the snow off her boots as she came in from the overlook that gave those living within the mountain base a strategic view of the valley below.

The Etrantics continued to run raids up and down the island nation of Jerrico, ravaging cities with bombing raids and sending soldiers into towns to grab a foothold in the country. They had entrenched in cities as far south as Diamel, and as far north as the country of Careel.

Their parasitic infestation spread like a disease, infecting every aspect of Jerricon society.

Clary hated them with all the passion of a zealot. If not for the invasion of the Etrantic scum and subsequent war, she would have been well on her way to becoming a jet pilot.

Well, if that black mark on her record didn’t come to light.

She’d worked so hard to overcome the stigma and divorce herself from the unfair assessment of the Board of Regents.

Anger moved through her when she thought back to last spring and the embarrassment and outrage she’d been forced to endure when both her name and integrity had been questioned and found lacking.

There hadn’t been any other choice but to double down and work harder on outside assignments in order to improve her academic standing. Correspondence courses had been her saving grace.

They had pulled her out of a very dark place.

Then came the war.

As with the other top two levels of Longshadow Academy, she was swept up in forced conscription into the army. After the Etrantics set off their EMF disruptor weapon and took out the power grids, dragons and their human bonded were at a premium. The ability for a rider to speak mind-to-mind with their dragon had served as quick information relays and secured a couple of early victories before the engineers were able to get part of the grid working.

Unfortunately, the power grid only worked in a spotty capacity at best. Most of the bases and camps had reverted to the old steam-powered utilities to run their generators.

And the conscription continued. The courses she’d been taking by mail had been suspended until further notice.

Rider Enchio, please report to the command office. Rider Enchio, report to the command office.

The overhead announcement crackled and popped as the electricity in the mountain base dimmed before coming back on full strength.

Clary changed direction as she crossed the observation deck to head for the lifts. The command office was two levels down and deeper into the base. All the little twists, turns, and the occasional slope were carved out of the rock. Amazing how the entire hollowed-out structure hadn’t fallen down long before now.

Upkeep had been maintained throughout the years since the Civil War. Newer and more modern fixtures and conveniences had replaced those that were operational during that time.

Steam engines and appliances were converted to electric. The irony was that technicians were busy using the blueprints from the time when Gerron Stark had lived and created miraculous contraptions for the glory of Jerrico, to refit all the old steam equipment.

Oh, yes, they had gone from the war with the Vasi straight into a Civil War when the country attempted to split back seventy-some- odd-years before.

Clary reached the office and opened the outer door. Sitting behind the reception desk was a clerk with the name Hetric stitched on her uniform. Her dark hair was pulled straight back from her round face, and her dark eyes were sharp with disapproval.

Rider Enchio reporting as requested.

Commander Bask is waiting in his office. Hetric jerked her head toward a closed door. Knock before you enter.

Bask wasn’t the base commander, but the one in charge of the students. He’d been brought in as a graduate of Longshadow and a rider of some distinction. He’d also been the commander of the Honor Guard.

A knife of regret pierced her heart. She had been on target for the Honor Guard before the incident. That dream had been snatched away from her.

Clary rapped a bent knuckle against the door.

Enter!

The voice was deep and sharp as a whip crack.

Clary’s shoulders went back instinctually. Stories abounded about Bask. None of them encouraging for the outcome of this particular meeting.

She opened the door and stepped into the hollowed-out cave that functioned as the nexus for all the activities assigned to the Longshadow contingent.

Her gaze swept the room and immediately went to her patrol partner, Dane Foster. Relief came in a rush to soothe the suppressed fear she’d felt at being summoned via the loudspeaker.

Bask gestured to the empty chair across from his desk beside Dane. Have a seat. There’s something I want to discuss with your team.

That didn’t sound promising. Her mind raced, trying to remember if there had been any unusual incidents during their patrols and came up empty.

Clary sat straight, with her spine stiff and shoulders back—an image of the perfect soldier.

You can relax.

Hard to do when she didn’t know what was about to happen or why she and Dane had been called. If she wanted into the pilot program when the war ended and things went back to normal, she had to perform at the highest and most honorable level.

The black mark on her record had only made her work that much harder.

Anger surged when she thought about the betrayal and unfairness of that situation. Her entire school career had been geared toward her goal of becoming a member of the Honor Guard. In one fell swoop, she’d been sent to the bottom of the academic list and had to fight her way back to the top.

It hadn’t even been her fault.

But she’d paid the price.

Bask’s bright-amber gaze moved from her to Dane. "We—the command staff—are sending the two of you on