by E. G. Foley
But when another explosion slammed into the small grove of trees on the lawn where he and Maddox had once bickered over a stick, Jake ducked.
Glancing upward with a flinch, he saw a strange, bulbous, propeller-driven vehicle chugging noisily through the sky overhead, trailing long, billowing fishing nets out behind it.
“Look at that!” Archie exclaimed, pointing up at it, but the airship or dirigible, or whatever it was, continued pounding the palace roof, the maze, and the sculpted grounds with cannon fire from above.
Nixie was ashen-faced. She had her wand in her hand but looked too scared to remember any of her spells that might have been helpful at the moment.
Meanwhile, at the front of their party, the Guardians fended off a knot of tusked barbarian invaders, who charged.
It seemed the diplomatic party’s arrival via the bright, shiny portal had drawn the enemy’s attention.
They repelled the attack, but Jake heard Derek curse as he kicked one of the creatures backward. “Filthy Noxu!”
“Oh,” Archie said with a gulp. “So, that’s a Noxu.”
The brutish half-trolls smelled terrible. Their musky odor mingled with the smell of the smoke from all the fires. The bulky creatures wore leather armor and had beady eyes, and snouts like wild boars.
Jake was glad to let the adult warriors handle them. The Guardians were focused on their fight, but seemed to have matters under control.
Relatively safe in the middle of the ring with the rest of the civilians in their party, Jake continued scanning. He was pained by the sight of dead gnomes strewn across the grass here and there.
Over by the maze, he saw that Dr. Plantagenet had mobilized a bucket line. The Green Folk were terrified of fire, but that did not stop dozens of their kind from passing pails of water along, working to douse some of the tall flames that threatened to consume the whole maze. Big, clumsy Ogden Trumbull was helping.
Next, his gaze zoomed toward the palace, where the gnomes of Merlin Hall were working catapults stationed on the roof to assist the embattled Guardians trying to beat back the horde of Noxu surging around the entrance.
Taking in the whole violent panorama, Jake turned around slowly and watched with a sense of unreality as a centaur on the bridge jumped forward like a donkey, kicked out with both hind legs, and sent one of the invaders flying into the river.
There, the naiads fell upon the creature and held it underwater until it stopped thrashing.
Blimey.
The younger members of the diplomatic party huddled together, unsure what to do while the rattled adults strove to get their bearings.
The iron ring of Guardians around them continued beating back the tusked barbarians. The soldiers almost seemed to be enjoying themselves—except for Derek, who was outraged.
Red reared up, unsheathing his front claws as his golden eyes gleamed. Clearly chafing to join the battle, the Gryphon let out a war cry. Even little Teddy started barking more viciously, like he was keen to bite somebody’s ankles.
Dani quickly quieted her dog, but Henry and Helena exchanged a nod, then turned themselves into their animal forms. It seemed the twins, too, burned to join the battle to defend Merlin Hall—or, at least, to protect their charges.
In the next instant, the kids had a black leopard defending them on one side, a snarling wolf on the other, as well as an angry Gryphon.
It was then that Jake spotted the over-tall Nephilim madman, his would-be father. Wyvern was battling Sir Peter near the fountain in the middle of the courtyard, out in front of the palace.
Jake looked on anxiously, worried that the easygoing headmaster was no match for the son of Shemrazul.
But without his usual black academic robes, the cheery dean looked like a different person. He fought with a vengeance. By the lurid glow from the burning maze, Jake could see the snarl of fury on Sir Peter’s face.
Feet braced, he gripped his wand with both hands. Jagged arrows of bright magic flew out of it at Wyvern, who answered in kind.
Jake did not want to look away, but seeing their duel made him all the more desperate to find Aunt Ramona out there, wherever she was, and make sure she was safe.
Another sweep of the grounds did not reveal her, but Jake caught snatches of treacherous singing in the distance.
Oh, he knew that voice.
Fionnula.
Still, Jake did not see either witch yet. Instead, as he scanned past the duel of warlock and wizard up to the front stairs of Merlin Hall, he saw the towering master Guardian, Ebrahim, planted in front of the palace doors.
The powerful black man was mowing down Noxu on all sides and bellowing orders to the many other Guardians fighting with him there to fend off the horde.
The Noxu clearly meant to storm the palace. Jake thought he glimpsed Ravyn among the knot of Guardians there, but he lost her again when Archie jostled him from behind.
“Look out!” Archie pulled Jake out of the way as a pair of fighters tumbled into their midst, right past the ring of Guardians surrounding them.
A half-troll and a very angry, brawny dwarf warrior were beating the daylights out of each other. Absorbed in their battle, the pair rolled right through the children’s midst and out the other side of the Guardians’ circle, then jumped to their feet and continued banging on each other with all their might.
Jake wondered if the stout-hearted dwarf was one of Laird Broadbuckle’s men from the Deep Delves. Probably so.
“Thanks, Arch,” Jake mumbled.
The boys exchanged an ominous glance.
Mad things were happening everywhere they looked.
A herd of centaurs armed with swords launched a cavalry charge against a group of the invaders, rushing at them with thundering hooves. But the Noxu quickly formed an infantry square, pointing a phalanx of spears at the onslaught. The centaurs had no choice but to gallop around them, flowing by on both sides.
Across the lawns, Guardians flipped and spun with dazzling attacks against the brutish enemy troops.
The airship blasted Merlin Hall’s roof, blowing up one of the catapults and sending gnomes flying.
All around the palace, curtains or, in some places, flames billowed out from the broken windows. Jake could see ghosts pulling energy from the fires to make themselves visible. In poltergeist form, they did their best to scare away some of the Noxu.
Overhead, witches careened on brooms, throwing bolts of magic from their wands at the dirigible, only to flee from a giant owl that swooped after them, chasing them through the dark skies.
Jake realized the witches were trying to bring the odd vehicle down and, thereby, stop the attack from the air. Studying the airship, Jake felt an idea begin stirring in his head…
One that would likely get him killed—or, at the very least, infuriate his mentor.
Still glancing around worriedly trying to spot Aunt Ramona, he noticed old Master Balinor engaged in some high strangeness.
The aged head wizard walked out from around the corner of the palace. His kingly owl followed him—a normal-sized one. Its majestic head swiveled all around, as though the bird were watching out for sneak attacks on his master from behind.
Raising his arms, Balinor conjured a gushing waterfall that appeared out of thin air above the palace.
Aiming the torrent at a section of the roof that was on fire, the wizard blasted the flames with water; at the same time, Jake saw that Balinor was controlling someone he had apparently trapped inside of what looked like a man-sized snow globe swirling with wisps of black smoke.
Inside this translucent orb, a large, furious man pounded on the glass, his shouts and curses at the wizard muffled.
Jake had no idea who the fellow was, but he looked rather terrifying.
A soldier of some sort, the herculean fellow was covered in more weapons than even Derek would’ve carried into battle. His face was smeared with greenish-brown war paint.
Calmly ignoring the warrior’s muffled curses and threats, Balinor put
out the blaze and walked on, repeating the waterfall exercise on the next section of the burning palace, several yards away. The old wizard simply floated the angry man in the ball along with him.
Unfortunately, mere moments after Balinor moved on, the section of the fire he thought he’d just extinguished flickered back to life.
Jake looked on with concern, unsure if Balinor even noticed.
Janos certainly had. He stood nearby, having kept close to the kids in the battle.
Pausing, the vampire guardian stared grimly toward the roof. “That is no ordinary fire. I have seen that before…” Turning, Janos glared at the Nephilim, who was still battling Sir Peter. “Someone’s got to get that cursed Atlantean cuff off Wyvern!”
Suddenly, Aleeyah appeared in their midst with a tinkling of silvery bells. “You’re right,” she said to Janos, her fellow spy. “Those are not normal flames. I just took a closer look up on the roof.”
“And?” Janos prompted.
“I believe it’s Greek fire,” the djinni said with an ominous look. “I’ve seen it used in many wars throughout the Near East, but not for an age.”
“Greek fire?” Jake echoed, mystified.
“The secret weapon of the Byzantine Empire!” Archie shoved his way over to the djinni. “Did you say Greek fire?”
Aleeyah nodded.
“Then water’s of no use. That’ll never put it out!” The boy genius straightened his glasses. “Tell Balinor he needs to use potassium. Potassium salts! And if that doesn’t work, tell him to try carbon dioxide.”
Jake and Janos exchanged a startled glance.
Aleeyah furrowed her brow. “Come again?”
“Arch, not even Balinor can conjure something unless he can first picture it in his mind.” Nixie grasped his elbow. “What does this stuff look like? Describe what you mean so Aleeyah can tell Balinor.”
Archie shrugged. “Baking soda! That’s basically all it is, give or take a molecule. A whole blizzard of it dumped upon the fire should do the trick. It’ll smother the flames.”
Janos looked wryly at the djinni. “You heard the boy genius.”
Aleeyah seemed amused. “Excellent. I will tell him now. Thank you once again, Dr. Bradford,” she said, then vanished.
“I daresay.” Archie tugged on his waistcoat. “Hasn’t anyone around here studied chemistry besides me?”
After the djinni had gone, Jake suddenly hoped she didn’t get stuck in her smoke form again—it was brave of her to risk it. But desperate times and all.
Then Aunt Claire turned to their primary Lightrider. “Ranjit, take the children out of here! You’ve got to take them someplace safe.”
“I will send them where you wish, my lady, but I cannot leave,” said the white-uniformed Sikh.
“But—”
“You see what is happening!” He gestured at the field. “I am sorry, my lady. All are needed here.”
“Stone! Lord Bradford! What are you doing here?” an angry male voice shouted from somewhere out amid the chaos.
Jake looked over and saw Finnderool nimbly ducking blows as he ran toward the group, shooting Noxu warriors with his bow along the way.
“How did this happen?” Uncle Richard exclaimed as the wood elf slipped past Janos, who dropped a Noxu after snapping its neck.
“Badgerton’s betrayed us,” Finnderool replied. “He dug a tunnel out beneath the dome and let the blackguards in.”
Aunt Claire gasped. Even the wolf and the leopard looked shocked, since Badgerton was a shapeshifter too.
Jake and Dani exchanged a wide-eyed look.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Finnderool said to Uncle Richard. “But, frankly, I’m glad you are.” He eyed Derek and Janos. “We are badly outnumbered. The Noxu are about to storm the palace, and have already reached the center of the maze.”
“Oh no. The Old Father Yew,” Isabelle murmured. She closed her eyes, lifting her hand to her temple. “He’s dying…”
“Traps in the maze have taken out dozens of these brutes,” the wood elf continued, “but I swear Wyvern brought every stinking half-troll mercenary he could hire. What’s worse, he’s got several other Dark Druids with him.”
Aunt Claire recoiled. “Not Zolond!”
“No, my lady. I have not seen the Dark Master,” Finnderool said. “But Archeron Raige is directing Wyvern’s forces. At least, he was, until Balinor contained him.” The wood elf nodded at the furious man in the magical snow globe. “And”—he added with a grim glance at Janos—“Viola Sangray has come.”
“Oh, perfect,” Janos mumbled.
Jake had never heard of either one.
“Fionnula Coralbroom is here. You might’ve heard her. Remember, don’t listen to her songs. Inigo Dread arrived in The Dream Wraith, as you’ve no doubt noticed.” Finnderool nodded at the dirigible floating overhead.
“How did he penetrate the dome?” Derek exclaimed, gesturing at the sky.
“Fionnula used her singing to weaken the dome from the inside as soon as she arrived with Wyvern,” Finnderool said, then he glanced around. “As for Duradel, I haven’t seen the prophet, but I can feel him somewhere close by.”
“Never mind them! Where is Aunt Ramona?” Archie demanded, the flames reflected in his glasses.
“Dealing with Fionnula, Master Archie.” Then Finnderool looked at his fellow Lightriders. “Ranjit, Tex: I need you both to come with me. We’ve lost track of some of the children.”
“What?” Aunt Claire clutched her heart.
Miss Helena roared with concern.
“It all happened so suddenly!” the wood elf said. “Right now, we’ve got about a hundred schoolchildren sheltering in the library basement with Jillian Quince and the librarians. But dozens more of our students are hiding wherever they can all over the grounds. Many are still hunkered down in the palace—which, as you’ve noticed, is on fire. Aleeyah’s been helping, but I could use a hand finding the rest of the children and getting them down into that shelter as quickly as possible.”
Ranjit nodded. “I am with you.”
“What can I do?” Uncle Richard asked.
The elf pointed at the woods surrounding the lawns. “Some of the kids are hiding in the forest, I believe. The Noxu haven’t made it that far yet. Gather them up as best you can; I’ll be there with a retinue of Guardians as soon as possible.”
“Done,” said Uncle Richard. The viscount exchanged a glance with his wife, who gave him a firm nod.
“Miss O’Dell?” Finnderool turned to Dani. “Take your friends someplace safe.”
“Who, me?” the carrot said with a blink. She had been huddled beside Jake in a terrified daze.
But the cool-nerved wood elf sent her a pointed look. “Yes, you.” Then he nodded to his colleagues. “Shall we?”
“Go on, Ranj,” Tex said. “I’ll give the lil gal a hand. Be right behind ya.”
As the cowboy took Dani aside to help her open the portal, Ranjit centered himself amid the chaos, then clapped his hands together and conjured a rifle. He nodded to Finnderool, who nocked an arrow in his bow, then both Lightriders ran off toward the palace to find the stray schoolkids.
“Guardians, two of you go with them!” Derek ordered, pointing. “Remember, the enemy’s collecting Lightriders! Kill anything that tries to lay a hand on them.”
“Yes, sir!” Two of the bodyguards from the trip jogged after the pair.
The remaining Guardians redistributed themselves evenly around the diplomatic party, along with the two snarling shapeshifters.
Tex turned to Dani, laying a steadying hand on her shoulder. “Now, don’t fret, tumbleweed. Let’s send you on your way.”
“Tex, I-I can’t.”
“Yes, ya can.”
“Sure you can, carrot,” Jake chimed in.
“Munroe, you send those kids somewhere the enemy won’t think to look for them,” Janos said, his tone dire. “We know they want Jake and Isabelle—they’d probably like to get their hands on Ar
chie, too.”
“Well, don’t I feel special,” the boy genius quipped.
“Easy, fangs,” Tex drawled at the vampire. “You do your job; I’ll do mine.” Then he gazed down kindly at Dani. “You got some coordinates memorized, honey? Someplace no one will find ya.”
“Y-yes, sir,” Dani said, her eyes wide. “I’m going to take them to—”
“No!” Aunt Claire interrupted.
The viscountess strode over to Dani, sword in hand, while explosions crashed overhead. “Keep the location to yourself, please, Miss O’Dell. It’s better if we don’t know where you’re taking them—just in case.”
“In case what, Mother?” Archie turned to her in alarm. “Surely you don’t mean in case you’re captured?”
Isabelle gasped and grabbed her arm. “Mother, no! You can’t risk it. You need to come with us!”
“Children, I will brook no argument—”
“Izzy’s right, Mum. You have no business being at a battle. You can’t fight!”
“I can help your father find the children, though. You heard what Finnderool said.”
Archie looked half panicked that his mother, let alone his sire, should remain so close to danger. Perhaps he had seen enough of what Jake had gone through as an orphan…
“Father! Talk sense to her!”
“You heard your mother,” the viscount replied, reloading his pistol. “Don’t worry, son.” He smiled at his wife. “The lady is full of surprises.”
Aunt Claire gave her two children a quick hug and cupped Jake’s cheek. “Be brave, children. I know I hardly need say that to you, of all people—”
She hesitated again, clearly pained to leave them, then glanced at their little Lightrider-in-training. “Look after them, Miss O’Dell. All of you, take care of one another, as you’ve done so many times before. Someone will be in contact with you at the first opportunity.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Dani said gravely.
Though her emerald eyes were round with fear, her face pale beneath her freckles, a businesslike attitude came over her as she set about opening the portal.
Jake watched her for a second with open admiration. The little redhead had always been one to keep her wits about her in a fight, but having been given her assignment and reminded of her training, she seemed to turn quite fearless.