I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye but stood my ground. “I won’t let you stop me this time.”
Nexita took a step closer. “So you think, because you killed Pomavar, that you’re all tough now?” She laughed cruelly. “He was the better engineer, but he couldn’t match me for magic. If you harm even one hair on my father’s head, I will end you.”
“If you don’t get that gun away from Ri’s head, you’ll lose more than just your arm,” Kyra snarled from above us. She landed on the edge of the hole in the roof and aimed an arrow at Nexita.
Rennu’s hand darted out and pushed a button on his desk. I noticed, for the first time, that he had an entire control panel sitting in front of him and a radio by his side.
A panel in the wall opened up and a gun turret extended on a mechanical arm, turning until it pointed at Kyra. Rennu smirked. “One wrong move and that will automatically shoot your friend. Think carefully about your next words.”
I froze and waited for Janera to enter. She could be the one to turn the tide on this stand-off.
Wood cracked below us, the sound of another door being kicked in. “Surrender, you crooked—oh, hang on!” Janera called as metal clashed against metal. The distinctive whirr of gears and creaking joints drifted up the stairs. The robot butler must have combat skills after all.
I rolled my eyes. “I told you not to go to the front door!”
“Then—oof—why did you point—ugh!” Janera shouted back, grunting with effort in between blows.
I sighed. I must have mixed up my hand signals outside. It sounded like she was going to be busy for a while. I’d just have to deal without her.
“Let’s talk this through,” I said, lowering my rifle a little. “Our forces are already in the city and it’s only a matter of time until we take control. I’m giving you the chance to surrender, without being harmed. Or I can call in an airstrike to level this whole block.”
Rennu raised his eyebrows. “Surrender? I haven’t even called in my reinforcements yet.” He flicked a switch on his control panel.
I lifted the rifle again and braced myself, but for a long moment, it seemed like nothing happened.
Rennu pointed to the window behind him with a view of the city skyline. A rocket flew, sparkling with the dark red energy of blood magic, and struck an airship in the middle of the battle. The envelope burst into flames and the entire ship began to plummet.
I gasped. I couldn’t see well enough from this distance, but that must have been one of ours.
“You didn’t think I sent all of my new creations back to the mainland, did you?” Rennu leaned back in his chair and folded his hands together. “It won’t be long before they take out your little airstrike team. Perhaps you’d like to surrender to me instead and save your friends?”
A radio crackled from downstairs. “Amena says they’re in trouble!” Janera called.
The temple. I should have expected them to have more defenses there. My stomach clenched at the thought of Amena and Vilqa in danger. They’d faced the bionic witches before, but who knew how many Rennu had under his control?
But I steeled myself. We still had a chance, and who knew when we’d have another one? We had to fight now, even if it meant losing everything.
I stared him down. “No deal.”
He waved his hand. “Nexita, kill your sister.”
I dropped to the floor, dodging the bullet where my head had been a moment ago, and struck at Nexita’s shins with the butt of my rifle. She stumbled but kept her feet. I jumped back up, cracking my head against her right wrist. She lost her grip on the pistol and it clattered to the floor. I kicked it out of reach.
Nexita swung her mechanical arm and knocked the rifle from my hands. She’d win in a fist fight.
Sparks showered down on us. I sprang back and looked up. Kyra had shot the gun turret.
I started to smile but saw Rennu reaching for his control panel again. “Look out!”
Kyra dodged back from the opening in the roof just as another mechanical arm shot out of the wall and reached for her.
Nexita punched me in the gut with her metal fist, driving the wind out of my lungs. I doubled over.
“Better keep your eyes on me,” Nexita said as I gasped for breath.
I grasped around for the nearest object on the floor. My hand closed on a metal bar, a piece of the broken turret. I swung for her legs again.
This time she jumped out of the way, but it gave me the space I needed to stand. My stomach heaved with the movement. I was going to throw up.
Nexita saw me hesitate and bent to grab her pistol. I clenched my stomach with one hand, hefted the bar with the other, and lunged forward.
The metal bar hit her normal hand with a sickening crack. She cried out.
“What have you done!” she shrieked, looking up at me with pure hatred in her eyes.
I couldn’t stop. I drove the bar down on her head.
She crumpled to the ground.
My stomach rebelled against me. I spewed bile onto the floor, turning my head so I didn’t get any on my sister’s limp form. Eventually, I got myself under control.
I looked down at Nexita, and she looked just like Pomavar after I killed him. My nightmare may have come true. I forced myself to kneel and touch her neck. Her pulse was still there, beating strong under my fingers. I closed my eyes and thanked whichever god had saved her life—even if it was Chysa.
Janera came pounding up the stairs and stopped in the doorway. “Are you guys okay?”
I lifted my head and took in the rest of the room. More machines had sprung out of the walls, but they all lay shattered into pieces, and one of Kyra’s arrows was in the center of the control panel. Her magic sparked across the surface.
Rennu got up from his chair and backed away from the broken desk. “You’ll regret this,” he spat. He flicked on the radio and barked, “Evacuate the city, Minister Rennu Niwodaxy’s orders. Prioritize high-ranking engineers and temple staff.”
Kyra dropped into the room and drew back an arrow. “You can’t run from this, coward.”
“Watch me.” Rennu pulled a lever on the wall. The floor opened up beneath him and he dropped out of sight.
“No!” I struggled to stand, but my legs buckled underneath me. It was too late, anyway. Another one of his tricks.
Janera lifted her own radio and relayed what had happened to the airships. “We’ll see if we can stop them from taking off, but it’s hard going with all the witches flying around.” She pointed at Nexita. “What do we do about her?”
I put my hand on the bloodstone in Nexita’s prosthetic arm. Unlike the normal witches, I could sense the blood magic ran deep within her body, corrupting her own life energy just like Pomavar’s. They both must have used the magic more than the others. If I tried to remove it, she would die, just like my dreams had warned me.
“I can’t destroy her bloodstone without killing her,” I said with a shake of my head. “Let’s tie her up for now in case she wakes. We’ll try talking to her after this is over.”
Janera yanked the silk ties from the study’s velvet curtains and helped me bind up Nexita’s arms and legs. I touched the broken wrist with regret, but I didn’t dare try healing her.
Kyra walked over and stomped on the floor where Rennu had escaped, but the panel had closed up again. “Who knows where this one leads? The creep had more tunnels than a rat’s nest.”
I closed my eyes and used magic to heal the weakness in my body, then stood. I picked up my rifle and Nexita’s pistol. “I’ll go after him. You guys should help the others, wherever they need it most.”
Kyra came back and touched my hand. “Are you sure you don’t need us?”
I shook my head. “If he’s on the run, that means he’s out of tricks, right? I’ll catch him before he can escape.”
Janera clapped me on the back. “I’m sure you can handle him, oh fearless leader. Then we’ll clean up this mess and celebrate with chocolate.” She
handed me the bag with the radio. “Call if you need anything.”
I nodded and gave them both a brave smile. I might follow Rennu into a trap, but I didn’t want to let them know. If they left, I could trust they were safe, and I wouldn’t have to worry about anyone else while I took care of my father. Even Nexita was out of the way.
Kyra kissed me on the forehead. My mouth still felt gross, but I hugged each of them for luck and waved them off. They jumped to the roof but waited for me to leave first.
I walked behind the desk and found the place where Rennu had been standing. I braced my legs and pulled the lever. The floor dropped away, and I plunged into the darkness.
28
The Synthetic Ethereal Apparatus
At first, the drop was sheer, and I bent my knees to brace for the landing. The walls were cold metal with smooth seams and there was no light to see. I couldn’t tell how far I fell, but the tube began to curve, until it slowed my fall and I slid out onto a cushion.
The light was blinding like the sun was shining in my face. I blinked. When my eyes adjusted enough to see, I realized I was in a cavern full of sunstones in every shape and size, some even larger than me. They covered the walls, the ceiling, and the floor so the light came from every direction.
I checked that I still had my weapons and the radio bag, then got to my feet. I didn’t see signs of any enemies, but I drew the pistol just in case, holding it before me as I crept forward.
I stepped around a crystal formation and saw the largest machine I’d ever seen. There were wheels and gears like the inside of an enormous clock, if the clock was the entire city. They turned so slow that I could barely see the movement, as if it would take an entire year to make a full rotation. I couldn’t tell what it was doing, but the sheer amount of energy in the surrounding air confirmed where I had to be. The Synthetic Ethereal Apparatus. This was the heart of Lyndamon.
The sound of shoes scuffling drew my gaze up, and I saw Rennu climbing up in the workings, as small as a mouse. I couldn’t see what he was doing, but I knew it wasn’t anything good.
I tucked the pistol into my belt and unslung the rifle on my shoulders. I walked forward, aiming at his back. “I’ve got you now, Father! Stop what you’re doing and come down.”
Rennu didn’t even turn his head. He lifted something in his hand and brought it crashing down onto a crystal in the center of the machine. It shattered like glass.
The light dimmed all around the cavern. The gears in the machine stopped turning, and the ground tilted to one side.
I stumbled, then regained my footing. I fired a warning shot over his head. “I said, get down here!”
Rennu reached for the ladder and started climbing down. “I’ll come join you, but it’s too late now, my dear daughter.”
The ground tilted again, and a rumbling started deep underneath my feet. Then the sensation of falling.
I stared up at the machine. The magic had drained out of it. “What did you do? You’ll destroy the whole city!”
“Precisely,” Rennu called over his shoulder as he climbed. “If I can’t have this city, then no one can. Your choice now is to join me and escape in my hidden airship, or we can both shout at each other until we die.”
I pointed the rifle at him. “Fix it, right now! This city is full of innocent people who rely on you to lead them. It doesn’t matter who rules, you can’t let them die!”
“It’s too late,” he repeated with a bitter laugh. “You can’t imagine how many priestesses sacrificed their lives to make that crystal, and I’ve broken it. If you want anyone to survive, you’d better tell them to get out. Lyndamon is done for.”
I dug in the bag for the radio. “I don’t know any of the codes, but this is Riwenne,” I said into the mouthpiece. “Don’t stop the evacuation. In fact, we should help get as many people out of the capital as we can. We’re falling out of the sky.”
Deryt’s voice came back to me broken and full of static. “Didn’t catch—message. Is that—wenne?”
The radio signal must be weak this far underground. “Repeat, evacuate the city!” I shouted, stressing each word. “We are falling!”
“Have—end the operation,” Deryt’s reply came through. “City—falling. Not enough ships—population.”
Oh, gods, we wouldn’t be able to save everyone. I pressed the button. “Just get everyone you can to safety!”
I picked up the rifle again and pointed it at Rennu, who was only halfway down. “I won’t let you get away, even to save myself. If you surrender and agree to help get more people to safety, then we can take your ship. Otherwise I kill you right now and take my chances.”
Rennu turned around on the ladder to look at me. “I suppose it’s only fitting that I go down with the city, then.” And he let go.
He plummeted faster than I could track. I dropped the gun and flung my hands out, trying to send magic to stop his fall, but it was too late. His head hit the edge of a gear on the way down and blood sprayed out. Then his body hit the ground in a twisted mess.
“No!” A raw scream tore through the cavern.
I turned away from the gruesome scene and saw Nexita standing in an entryway, staring at me in horror. She lifted her mechanical arm and pointed it at me.
“You killed him!” Her arm began to glow, charging up one of her deadly blasts. “I warned you, if you hurt him, I would destroy you!”
I lifted my hands. “No, wait! I was trying to save him!”
“Liar!” Nexita aimed down her arm and shot at me.
I dived to one side, but the energy blast hit the machine behind me, causing metal shards to fly off in all directions. “Stop it, Nex! We need to fix the machine or the whole city will crash.”
She just walked toward me and started charging the next blast. “I don’t care. They can all die for what you’ve done!”
I couldn’t afford to let her hurt anything else with her blasts, so I created a wall of energy in front of me. Her second shot hit the shield and dissipated.
Nexita growled and grabbed her bionic arm with her other hand. Magic crackled again, warping the metal. The prosthetic turned into a blade.
She leaped into the air and sliced through my shield with a single swipe. Then she lunged at me.
I made a sword and brought it up just in time. The blade stopped inches from my face.
She was fast. She chopped overhead again, and again, driving me back with angry blows. Metal clashed.
I let the next hit slide along the length of my sword, then dodged to the side. I ran.
Nexita matched my speed. Then she bent her knees and sprang. The point of her blade aimed straight for my heart.
I blocked, but she pushed against the blade with all her weight. Our faces were only inches from each other. We used to be the same size, but her bionic arm was heavier. She was gaining ground, and she knew it, because she smiled.
I kicked out.
She released and launched into a full backflip, landing in a crouch. “Can’t use the same dirty trick on me more than once.”
I dropped my sword to my side. “I don’t want to fight you. It’s over, Nex. Just give up.”
“Never!” She ran toward me and swung again.
I parried blow after blow, stepping back a little each time. My arm was tiring. I glanced over my shoulder and saw the enormous machine was coming closer. In a moment, I’d be cornered.
Just before I reached the machine, I dodged to the side again. Nexita’s momentum drove her forward. Her blade hit an enormous metal gear and snapped in half.
She grimaced, but she pointed the broken blade at me again. “I’ll make you pay for what you did to Father!”
I ran over to his body and pointed. “Look, I never touched him. He chose to die instead of surrender.”
“I heard your shot!”
Her blade was shorter, but she drove it hard against mine. I stumbled back, panting for breath.
She bent and picked up the blade’s tip from the gr
ound. “I can fix this.” She held the two pieces of metal together and they became whole again. She brandished her right hand. “Just like I healed my wrist you shattered, and the lump you gave me on my head. You’re not the only one with healing powers.”
The air crackled around her with the sheer amount of energy she was using. The tendrils of blood magic were deep inside her body, feeding off of her own life force to keep up with the demand for power.
I couldn’t keep fighting her.
“Nex, please! If you keep this up, you’ll kill yourself.” I knelt and held my sword out to her, hilt first.
She shook her head. “I’ll take you with me!”
She moved so fast, I had no time to react. She lunged for my sword and drove it straight through my chest.
I gasped, but no breath came to me. There were no words for the extreme amount of pain.
Everyone would be so mad at me. Especially Kyra.
Nexita caught me with her bionic arm, which had stopped being a blade, before I collapsed backward to the floor. But the other hand gripped the sword to keep it inside my chest. I felt my magic try to heal around the weapon and fail, repeatedly. The wound was on fire.
She cradled me and her face softened. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry, too,” I mouthed the words.
I touched the bloodstone on her arm and poured my power into it.
This time, I didn’t counter Chysa’s energy with Quilla’s. I focused on the healing power trying to save my life and redirected it into Nexita, healing her body and purifying it of the blood magic. The dark tendrils retreated from her heart and mind.
Nexita’s eyes widened. “No!” The bionic arm went limp, and she lost her hold on me.
I fell back, sliding off of the sword, but the pain was growing distant. Darkness was creeping in at the edges of my vision. At least this would all be over soon.
Nexita yanked the tip of the sword out and pressed her remaining hand against the open wound. “No, Wen! How could you let me hurt you and then save me?”
“You—” I coughed up blood. “Sister.”
Riwenne & the Bionic Witches Page 24