Autumn

"What in the name of the Creator?" Autumn gasped, slowly regaining her feet and summoning her sword. She wasn't wasting the moment's reprieve someone had bought her.

"Who used the grenade?" Buck demanded, looking over his young warriors in training.

The one Autumn had given the illusion to raised his hand.

"What was that, Recruit Michaels?" Buck asked.

"Well, Sergeant," Michaels said, "I uh, I thought maybe... if a gun wouldn't do anything, well we have a few grenades for training so I thought, if I could get it close enough she said she needed it, uh him, to notice us so I thought maybe the bunny could get over there? Since it's a tiny barrier wrapped in an illusion. Right? So I handed the bunny the grenade, pulled the pin, and told it to go to the dragon. And it did. It kind of ate the grenade and hopped right on in there."

"Huh." Autumn looked up at the dragon, which was now watching them all intently. But not attacking. Yet.

"Um, isn't the bunny programmed to return after its circle though?" Tanaka asked.

Autumn nodded. "Yeah, that's what it's supposed to do."

"I hoped it would try to circle the dragon, so I guessed that it'd explode before it got back to me," Michaels said.

"Don't use words like ‘hope’ and ‘guess’ with reference to explosives," Buck said. "Ever. Again."

"Yes, Sergeant. I mean no, Sergeant. I won't, Sergeant."

"But good work anyway, Recruit Michaels," Buck grumbled.

The dragon tilted his head and lowered it towards the ground. They had proven themselves capable of hurting him and thus made themselves somewhat interesting.

"Champion," the dragon growled.

"I am," she said, bowing low. "This humble Champion is known as Autumn, formerly of the Willow Queen's Enclave, and student of Lord Winter."

"I know your prestige, Champion. It matters not."

Autumn shrugged. It was worth a try. There weren't many beings willing to face down Lord Winter's wrath. But Winter wasn't here.

The dragon turned his head, golden eyes locking onto each young warrior and their teacher one by one. Making sure Autumn knew how many lives he held in his claws.

"These humans are under your protection, Champion?" the dragon asked.

"They are," Autumn said, ignoring some soft protests from the recruits and mumbled profanity from Buck.

She'd set the Barrier, and she was a Champion. They were under her protection just by virtue of her presence. If she denied them, the dragon could do whatever he wanted to them. Up to and including simply smashing everyone there into paste.

"Very well," the dragon intoned. He lifted one foreleg in clear, unmistakable threat. "Then on the lives of these your charges, I demand your surrender in the name of my master."

Master? What in the Infernal? Dragons didn't have masters! They were freaking dragons!

"I-" Autumn opened her mouth to concede and surrender because she couldn't fight a dragon, not alone. Not without doing more damage to the Enclave than the recruits could survive, anyway.

"Like Hell she surrenders!" Buck shouted, shoving forward.

"Excuse me?" The dragon blinked, honestly shocked that a tiny, mundane and mostly unarmed human would dare speak to him in such a tone.

"We are soldiers in the American Armed Forces,” Buck declared, “and we do not surrender little girls to giant lizards or anyone else, you hear me?"

The dragon growled, "Champion, does this man speak for you?"

Autumn started to deny it, only to have Tanaka press her hand over Autumn’s mouth.

"Your master has some business with her he can come and talk face to face," Buck continued.

"And what, pray tell, is to stop me simply slaughtering you all and taking the girl?" the dragon asked, head tilted and tail flicking. Oh, good, he was amused not offended. They might live a few more moments.

"We got more bunnies," Buck declared, "and more bombs where that one came from!"

Autumn knew that for an exaggeration, if not an outright lie. The bunny could not be reformed for several more minutes, and she doubted they had enough of those explosives to even scratch the dragon’s scales.

"Hm, so I see." The dragon’s wings flared, the closest he could come to a shrug. "Well enough. Set your defenses, if you have any. Ready your weapons. If you have any.” He turned his gaze back to Autumn. “My master will have you, Mistwalker."

Autumn felt her heart plummet to her feet.

He knew.

How?

How could anyone know?