Elucard and the rest of his Anti-Rogue Ops squad stood at attention before the harekin dragon riders. Each ARO member no longer donned their traditional Red Rabbit battle gear, but were now dressed in special midnight blue and black gear. Winglike strips of cloth were attached from their elbows to their waist and their pants were baggier than they were used to. The fabric that the extra cloth was made from was a light silk-like material. Ribbed pockets lined the cloth to make gliding in the air possible. Their leather breastplates had wider armslots to make room for the flying squirrel-like webbing. Their once long red cloaks were replaced by shorter navy blue cloaks that fell no further than the small of their backs.

This was to prevent drag when gaining speed for their descent. Finally, each ARO and SMO member was equipped with small parachutes strapped to their backs.

Mave pointed out each feature of the new wingsuits that equipped Elucard’s squad.

“Your duty will be to jump from our drakes and navigate yourselves through any air obstacles and into an enemy stronghold,” explained Mave.

She waited for her students to nod before finishing, “From there, we expect your infiltration and sabotage training to kick in. Tactical Black Operations one-oh-one, folks.”

Essie eyed her companions. Each had a mix of doubt and nervousness written upon their faces. “So, let me get this straight; you want us to jump from a perfectly good drake, drop hundreds of feet into the air, and land—alive—on the ground?”

“That’s the gist of it, mate,” answered Quinn. He tossed a grenade up into the air and caught it casually like a ball.

“Okay, just wanted to be sure,” squeaked the medic.

“You’ll do fine, Es!” reassured Kyzo, “This is still training and I, for one, am excited about this!”

Elucard placed a shaky hand on his apprentice’s shoulder. Just three days ago he had gotten over his fear of flying, now he would be dealing with falling. Heights were never a problem when he was training as a Black Rabbit. The Lost Dawns clock tower was not a small structure and he could dance blindfolded on its ledge. However, Mave was right, falling from such a dizzying height dwarfed any clock tower feat he had under his belt.

“Mave, might we be getting to practice skydiving, at all?” asked Elucard.

“We like to call it ‘devil jumping’ and yes, dear Elucard, we don’t plan to throw you to the sky wolves without proper training.”

“There are sky wolves too?” Kyzo whispered his question to Timber.

The kanis chuckled at the naivety of her younger peer. “It’s just an expression, Kyzo.”

Mave clapped her hands. “Alright buckos, get with your riding partner, let’s get this show on the road!” She turned to Essie and pointed to Quinn. “You are riding with my brother. I trust his flying more than any other, besides myself. I would like our medic to survive the jump.”

***

Tumbling waves rolled through the ocean, splitting upon impact against the hulls of the Cypress Alliance armada. Far above in the sky, a large flight of drakes flew in several Vic formations resembling a wedge. Pairs of two broke off in a sideways bank and practiced combat drills overhead.

To the rear of the dragon fleet, Mave’s squad flew in a Finger Four formation, Mave taking the lead, Quinn to her left, and Corso and Bruce trailing in a slant to her right.

Elucard relaxed his grip on the saddle strap. He had been flying for nearly two weeks now and his air legs had just been settling in. Dives, spins, and rolls no longer made his stomach jump out of his throat and he gained a friendly understanding between him and Mave’s drake, Maisy.

“Remember, Elucard,” the harekin shouted behind her, “fold in for speed, wide and out to slow down. Lean in the direction you want to turn and parachute early when you want to land.”

Elucard rapped her shoulder in understandment.

Mave patted Maisy’s neck and slid out a blue flag from a quiver of other different pennants. The material glimmered and reflected in the sunlight.

Mave began to count. “Three.”

Elucard looked over his shoulder to the other devil jumpers and gave a thumbs up.

“Two,” she continued. “From here to the Sea Sprinter. Any farther and you’ll be shark bait!”

“Onto a moving ship?” said Elucard, with the faintest shiver in his voice. “But that’s like trying to fall into a bucket from…”

“The back of a dragon from fourteen thousand feet? Exactly!” Mave smiled.

Elucard nodded, forgetting to pat her shoulder. His thoughts raced as he tried desperately to keep them in check. He went over her instructions, over and over again. Fold in. Wide and out. Lean in to turn. Open his chute early.

Got it!

Mave waved her flag signaling to the other riders to prepare to drop their passengers. Maisy breathed a stream of smoke that trailed below her in a straight cloud.

“One! Go, go, go!”

Elucard sucked in lungs full of air and leaped off the side of the dragon. He floated motionless for mere moments before tumbling into a slow flip. Twisting his body so that he could position his head to look forward. He straightened himself out, folded in his arms, and took off like a lightning bolt.

Elucard squinted his eyes as the sharp wind blew in his face. His heart pounded fast and faster as he coursed through the sky.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Elucard growled as his speed picked up and thoughts and fears rushed through his mind, colliding into each other with a spectacular explosion called adrenaline.

I am one with the wind. I am a falcon diving through the sky. I am no longer a Black Rabbit and I am no longer a Watcher… for now, I am a devil jumper!!!

One by one the ARO members filed behind Elucard as they made their way to the Sea Sprinter. Elucard stretched out his arms, lessening his speed and gliding more naturally through the air. He leaned sideways, heading closer to the ocean surface with his squad following suit. The salty breeze pelted his skin and flowed through his nostrils. His reflection rippled across the churning waves as he followed them towards the Sea

Sprinter.

Cries of glee erupted from the line behind him. A wide smile broke his nervous demeanor. This was like no rush of excitement he ever had before. The thrill of the hunt, the urgency of a stealth mission, the blood pumping energy of a duel. Nothing. None of it compared to devil jumping. Had he been born a harekin, no mortal man or divine god could keep him from the skies!

With the quarter deck fast approaching, Elucard tucked in his knees and deployed his parachute. A black fabric popped from his backpack and billowed in the wind, catching itself in the fall, and slowly brought Elucard onto the deck of the Sea Sprinter.

Elucard turned back to find his soldiers neatly landing on the quarter deck beside him.

“Amazing!” Kyzo cheered and hooted in excitement.

Timber let out a long howl.

Essie kissed the planks of the ship. “Sweet, sweet ground.”

“Come on, Es, you have to admit that was unbelievable,” Elisa chuckled.

“It was something, alright.” Elucard hid his real emotions from the rest of his men, but training was training, he had to make sure that they could perform under pressure. He began rolling up his chute and stuffed it back in the pouch. “Sure we can do it now, but we will really be tested when we do it in combat.”

He turned to all the devil jumpers. “Are you all prepared for that?”

Each nodded.

“We’ll find out,” said Elucard.