Bait and Fire
986 Words
The house was quiet.
Too quiet.
Louise stood near the kitchen counter, arms folded, thinking deeply.
Ken leaned against the wall, watching her.
“This is getting out of hand,” Ken muttered.
Louise sighed.
“I know…”
“First the visions, then the powers, now a dragon showing up in school—”
Before she could finish—
ROOOAAARRR!!!
A thunderous sound shook the entire house.
BOOM!
The front door exploded inward.
Wood shattered.
Walls cracked.
Three massive dragons crashed into the compound, their wings slamming against the walls as they forced their way in.
Dust filled the air.
Ken stepped back.
“What the—?!”
Louise’s eyes widened.
“Get back!”
Armored soldiers jumped off the dragons, landing heavily on the ground.
More troops stormed in from outside, surrounding the house completely.
Others rushed inside, tearing through rooms.
“Search everywhere!”
“Find the girl!”
Furniture was thrown aside.
Drawers ripped open.
Glass shattered.
The house was being destroyed.
Then—
A calm, cold voice echoed through the chaos.
“Hello… Louise.”
Louise froze.
Slowly… she turned.
Standing at the doorway, stepping over broken wood like it meant nothing…
Was Nyxara Voss.
Elegant.
Deadly.
Smiling faintly.
“Long time,” she said softly.
“Did you miss me?”
Louise’s voice dropped.
“…Voss.”
“What are you doing here?”
Nyxara didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she walked slowly around the house, her fingers brushing across surfaces, her eyes scanning everything.
Like a hunter studying a cage.
“Lord Fedrah wants the princess dead,” she finally said.
She stopped and turned.
“And you’ve been hiding her here… for sixteen years.”
Ken stepped forward slightly.
“That’s not why you’re here.”
Nyxara smiled.
“Smart.”
She tilted her head.
“You must have heard what happened at the school today.”
Louise frowned.
“What happened?”
Nyxara’s smile widened slightly.
“Oh… it was quite a show.”
She began walking again.
“A dragon appeared in the middle of a school field.”
“Your precious princess was there.”
“With her little friends.”
Ken and Louise exchanged looks.
“She escaped,” Nyxara continued. “On the dragon.”
Louise whispered,
“Pyra…”
Nyxara turned sharply.
“But that’s not the interesting part.”
She walked closer to them.
“We’ve already collaborated with your… government.”
Ken’s eyes narrowed.
“What do you mean?”
Nyxara chuckled softly.
“They want her.”
“For experiments.”
“For power.”
“For control.”
Ken said quickly,
“They won’t kill her.”
“They’ll just test her.”
Nyxara laughed.
A cold, chilling laugh.
“And that’s where we come in.”
Silence.
Louise’s heart dropped.
Nyxara’s voice became deadly calm.
“When they capture her…”
“We go in…”
“And we kill her.”
Her eyes darkened.
“And anyone who gets in our way.”
She stepped closer.
“Including you two.”
Ken clenched his fists.
Louise stood frozen.
Nyxara turned sharply.
“Guards.”
Two soldiers grabbed Ken.
Two grabbed Louise.
“Round them up.”
Ken struggled.
“Let go of me!”
Louise shouted,
“You won’t get away with this!”
Nyxara didn’t even look at them.
“We use them as bait.”
She walked toward the door.
“If we can’t get to her…”
She paused.
“We bring her to us.”
---
Outside – The City
Everywhere.
Screens.
Billboards.
Phones.
TV stations.
Radio broadcasts.
Pyra’s face was everywhere.
“WANTED”
“DANGEROUS ASSET”
“REPORT IMMEDIATELY”
People gathered around screens whispering.
“That’s her…”
“The girl with fire…”
“She’s dangerous…”
Radios echoed across streets:
“If you see this individual, report immediately to the nearest police station.”
“She is considered highly dangerous.”
“A potential threat to public safety.”
“She is not to be approached.”
The entire city was now hunting Pyra.
---
CIA Headquarters
The atmosphere inside the command room was tense.
Screens flashed rapidly.
Maps updated.
Signals scanned.
Commander Valerie Stone marched into the room.
“Sir.”
Dr. Adrian Keller turned sharply.
“Well?”
Valerie hesitated slightly.
“…We lost her.”
Silence.
Keller’s face hardened.
“How do you lose an asset like that?!”
Valerie stood firm.
“Her dragon.”
Keller blinked.
“…What about the dragon?”
Valerie spoke clearly.
“It camouflaged them.”
Silence filled the room.
Keller slowly leaned back.
“…It what?”
“It made them invisible.”
Keller’s eyes widened.
Then slowly…
A smile crept onto his face.
“That’s…”
He whispered.
“…amazing.”
He turned to the screens.
“A dragon… with camouflage ability…”
He looked fascinated.
“Do you understand what this means?”
Valerie stayed silent.
Keller stepped forward.
“What else can it do?”
“What else can she do?”
His voice grew excited.
“This is bigger than we thought.”
He turned sharply.
“I want the best technicians.”
“Thermal scanners.”
“Psychic trackers.”
“Elemental detection systems.”
“Anything that can trace fire, telekinesis, or abnormal energy.”
He slammed his hand on the table.
“We are NOT losing her.”
He pointed at the screen showing Pyra.
“We get the girl.”
“We get the dragon.”
His voice dropped, intense.
“And we change the world.”
Valerie nodded.
“Yes, sir.”
She turned and walked out.
Outside—
Soldiers reloaded weapons.
Helicopters lifted again.
New equipment was deployed.
The hunt had just become more serious.
And somewhere in the sky…
Pyra was flying.
Unaware…
That her home had fallen.
And her family…
Had just become bait.
- Writer
