The sudden support left Allyn a little uneasy and questioning what was in it for the grand mage. If he hadn’t been ill and abdicating to his son, Allyn might have thought that the grand mage was angling for the arch mage’s position, but with his health problems, Allyn suspected other motivations. In his experience, people didn’t often throw their support behind a tarnished person without expecting something in return.
“I hate leather,” Nolan said.
“Hmm?” Allyn asked.
“Leather seats,” Nolan said. “They’re hot and sticky in the summer and cold as shit in the winter. I never understood why they were so popular.”
Uncertain what to say, Allyn shook his head.
“Seriously. I feel like I’m sitting bare-assed on a freezer.”
“You could always go back outside.”
“Then I feel like I’m inside the freezer,” Nolan said.
“Damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.”
“No shit,” Nolan said. “The rest just need to get here.”
Allyn agreed, and the two of them spent the next hour taking comfort in the fact that they were both equally as miserable.
The first magi force to arrive was led by Arch Mage Westarra and Wesley Green. It was little more than a contingent of Elemental Guardsmen and members of the War Council, but it meant Allyn had something to distract him from the cold.
“Arch Mage Westarra,” Allyn said, approaching the magi leader. “Thanks for coming.”
“Allyn,” Arch Mage Westarra said curtly. “Good work.”
“Thank you, Your Grace,”
“Good work indeed,” Grand Mage Green said. “This is exactly what we needed.”
“I hope so.”
“You’ve had an opportunity to scout the area?” Wesley asked as Arch Mage Westarra strode toward the rest of the waiting magi. Rohn Agerland, the Spark of the Elemental Guard, remained at the arch mage’s side and quickly ordered his forces to reinforce Mason’s perimeter.
“Yes,” Allyn said. “Mason returned a little over an hour ago.”
“Good,” Grand Mage Green said. “Show me what you’ve got so far.”
“This is a sky view of the Knights’ base,” Mason said, standing over a topographical map he’d built with sticks, stones, and bits of bark scavenged from the forest. “The base likely once held hundreds, if not a couple thousand, but many of the buildings have collapsed or fallen into such disrepair that the Knights’ forces seem to only be occupying this section of the abandoned city.”
Allyn stood with Nolan, Jaxon, Grand Mage Green, and Rohn as Mason explained the layout of the abandoned military base.
“Help me get my bearings,” Wesley said. “Where are we on this map?”
“Here.” Mason pointed to an area southwest of the buildings. “So when we approach, we’ll come at the city from this angle here.” He drew an arrow pointing at the rear of the southernmost building.
“Okay,” Wesley said. “What do we have to contend with to get there?”
“There’s a fence that circles the base.” Mason drew a circle in the dirt around his map. “Chain-link with barbwire and a couple nasty signs that say ‘trespassers will be shot,’ but we were able to dig under it without issue. The Knights have posted a handful of sentries closer to the base, but we were able to slip past them too. There’s no way we’ll be able to sneak a larger force past them, though.”
“We’ll need to neutralize them,” Wesley said. “Can’t afford to let them sneak up behind us or raise the alarm.”
“Exactly. From there”—Mason drew another circle, this one closer to the buildings—“the forest ends, and there’s a green space between it and the buildings. Fortunately, there’s still debris and the grass has grown wild, so there is cover. More concerning are the watchtowers here… and here.” He indicated a pair of small twigs that stuck up out of the ground. “They’re not in the best shape, and one of them is leaning pretty badly, but they appear to be manned. We’ll need to eliminate them as well.”
“How close are they to the buildings?” Jaxon asked.
“Pretty close,” Mason said. “If they raise the alarm—”
“I mean if they were to fall, what would they hit?”
Mason made a confused face, the line in his forehead growing deeper as he furrowed his brow. “Depends on which way they fell, I guess.”
“If they fell toward the buildings?”
“Well,” Mason said. “Like I said, this one is already leaning, so if it falls, it’s falling this way.” He pulled the stick from the ground and laid it down so that it had fallen away from the buildings. “But this one, if it were pushed the right way, it would take out this building here.”
“What are you thinking?” Allyn asked.
“Just wanted to know what our options are,” Jaxon said then turned back to Mason. “Please continue.”
“There’s unfortunately not much else,” Mason said. “Except that only two of the three buildings seem to be used for housing. These two here.” He pointed to the northern and southernmost buildings.
“What’s the middle one used for then?” Wesley asked.
“I have no idea,” Mason said. “It almost appeared to be vacant.”
“Maybe that’s where they’re keeping their prisoners,” Jaxon offered.
Mason shook his head. “No. We searched for our people but couldn’t find any sign of them. My guess is they’re either being held somewhere else, like the Knight Commander’s quarters here”—he pointed at another rock separated from the rest of the buildings—“or not at this location at all.”
“You’re sure?” Jaxon pressed.
“As sure as I can be,” Mason said.
“Okay,” Wesley said. “So we approach from the south, burrow under the fence, neutralize the sentries, and eliminate the towers.”
“Yep.”
“What do you think?” Wesley asked, turning to Jaxon. “Two squads to take out the sentries and another for the towers?”
“Yes,” Jaxon said. “One approaching from the south, as you said. The other approaching from the north, here. They’ll need to be able to communicate with each other to attack in unison. What I’m fuzzier on is what happens next. How many Knights do you think are housed here?”
“Somewhere around fifty in each,” Mason said. “But that’s a very rough guess. Could be more. Could be less, though I’m not betting on that. You don’t hole up in a place like this if you only have a handful of soldiers at your disposal.”
“That’s what I was afraid of,” Jaxon said. “One hundred Knights, maybe more. We can’t overpower them with force of numbers, even if we do take them by surprise. Not on enemy ground.”
“We need to break them up,” Wesley said. “It has to be a series of individual battles. We can’t let them mount an organized counterattack.”
“I agree,” Jaxon said.
“How do we do that?” Allyn asked, voicing the question already on everyone’s lips.
Wesley Green smiled. It was a sinister thing, devoid of all amusement, and if Allyn hadn’t been on the same side as the grand mage, he would have been terrified.
“You kick the hornets’ nest,” he said.
The sky had turned the color of a deep bruise by the time Liam and his squad arrived. Allyn could hear the deep rumble of the BearCats before he saw them. Dark gray in color, they would have blended into the night if it hadn’t been for the headlights and the LEDs across the tops of the cabs.
Seeing the enemy vehicles quickly approaching their hidden position, Allyn might have thought their force had been discovered and was about to be waylaid by the enemy, except that one of the magi SUVs was at its lead. The SUV and BearCats came to a stop, killing their lights. Liam jumped out of the passen
ger side of the SUV, a smile splitting his face.
“You made it,” Allyn said.
“Yeah,” Liam said, his eyes falling over the gathered magi force behind Allyn. “It looks like just in time, too.”
Liam had been the last to arrive, but unless they’d been stopped and the vehicle confiscated, there was no way the attack would have begun without him and his squad. The BearCats were too important to their plan, as were the magi and machinists within Liam’s squad.
“You run into any issues?” Allyn asked.
“No,” Liam said. “You were right, though; there was a silent alarm. It’s a good thing we had Canary with us.”
“That’s good to hear,” Allyn said. “What about the computer? Find anything useful?”
Liam grimaced. “Not so much. I’m not even sure why it was there, to be honest. I couldn’t find anything on it.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing,” Liam said, shaking his head.
“How often does that happen?”
“That there’s nothing on a computer?” Liam said. “Never.”
Something about that didn’t sit right, but Allyn didn’t have any answers for it, so he left it alone. “Grab the rest of the squad. The arch mage is about to speak.”
A few minutes later, Allyn and Liam gathered with the rest of the magi force, finding a spot with a clear view of the arch mage. Word had come only minutes before that the operation was about to get underway, but before it did, Arch Mage Westarra wanted to say a couple of words.
The leader of the magi Order stood atop a boulder, flanked below by his Elemental Guard and remaining members of his War Council. Allyn watched them with a sour expression, not really caring how much of his distaste for the magi leader was visible on his face. Deep down, he knew he was being childish, but like all petty children, he didn’t care. The council had voted him out, embarrassing him. Even Wesley Green, who had come to their aid, stood to gain all the glory and recognition.
There are worse things than being ignored, he told himself. But he was cold, exhausted, and more than a little cranky. Even his own positivity was getting under his skin.
The murmurs and whispers of the crowd quieted as the arch mage held up a hand, indicating he was about to begin.
“In just a few moments, you will be embarking in the largest magi assault in more than half a millennium. Magi, clerics, and machinists from seven Families, four countries, and two continents have been brought together for one, single purpose: survival.”
Allyn surveyed the crowd, studying the faces of the men and women he was about to go into battle with. Magi and clerics from the Klausner, Schuster, and Heilig Families mixed with other European Families and were reinforced by more from the States, including McCollums, Hylands, and Greens. At more than a hundred strong, they were truly a remarkable sight and had come together more quickly than he had ever dared to imagine.
The largest magi force in over half a millennium, the arch mage had said. All brought together by Allyn. That in itself was an incredible achievement, but it would pale in comparison to what they would accomplish next.
“Make no mistake,” Arch Mage Westarra continued, “the enemy we fight today is unlike any we have ever fought before. They’re better equipped, better funded, and more deadly than ever. The Knights of Rakkar are the largest threat our Order has ever faced. And if left unchecked, they will succeed in their five-hundred-year mission to eliminate the magi existence from this world.”
Arch Mage Westarra paused and took on a somber expression. He looked over the crowd, making eye contact with many, offering small nods and tiny smiles of encouragement.
For all the issues I’ve had with the man, he is a good speaker, Allyn thought, silently chastising himself for his earlier behavior. Maybe I was too hard on him.
But no, Allyn decided, he’d done what needed doing and pushed the magi leadership into action. Good leader or not, best intentions in mind or not, the arch mage had needed to be pushed in the right direction.
“I tell you this, not to scare you or lay out the odds. I tell you this to prepare you. To let you know why there can be no other outcome but victory. Failure is not an option because it means the end of everything we hold dear. I tell you this because I know you won’t let me down. You won’t let the men and women beside you down. You won’t let your Families down. Because not only are you the largest force marshaled in our lifetime, but you are the greatest. Magi and cleric and machinist, you are the most deadly contingent ever assembled, and it is you who will go down in history as the magi who faced our greatest threat and prevailed. Who guaranteed our existence and ushered in a new era.”
Westarra’s voice was growing louder now, building to a climatic crescendo. “You are the greatest of magi heroes. Yours are the faces who will be etched into eternity! Fight with me, now and forever, and together, we will show this enemy the true might of the magi. Together, we will show them we have and will always fight as one!”
“We are of One!” the magi shouted.
“We are of One!” Westarra shouted back.
“We are of One!” the crowd responded. Allyn, throwing aside all previous concern about noise, joined in this time.
“We are of One!” Westarra screamed, showing no signs of letting up.
“We are of One!”
Arch Mage Westarra looked over the energized battle force, his face like stone, looking every bit the leader of the magi Order. “Go now and secure your position in history.”
The crowd erupted into motion and shouts of approval. Allyn saw Jaxon through the throng and made for the former grand mage of the McCollum Family.
“Jaxon,” he said over the din. “Jaxon.”
Jaxon saw Allyn approaching and turned from his father, stepping up to greet Allyn.
“I heard you’re leading the vanguard,” Allyn said.
“Yeah.” Jaxon’s voice lacked any hint of emotion.
“I couldn’t think of a better man to do it,” Allyn said. “I wanted to say good luck.”
“Thank you,” Jaxon said. “And good work. This is really something.”
“I couldn’t have done it without help,” Allyn said.
“Such are all things, I suppose.”
“I guess,” Allyn agreed. “But I appreciate it. Everything you’ve done for me and our Family.”
Jaxon waved a dismissive hand, but Allyn wasn’t having it. Nyla had been torn from him before he could express how he felt, and he wouldn’t let the same thing happen again.
“I mean it, Jaxon. You’ve been around lately, but you haven’t been close, not like before, and that’s taken some getting used to. I just hope when this is all done that we’re still friends.”
Jaxon sucked in a sharp breath. His cheek twitched, and he glanced away. When he looked back at Allyn, he held a hand in front of him. Allyn took it, grasping Jaxon’s wrist in the magi fashion.
“Always,” Jaxon said. And then the thick man pulled him tight, slapping him on the back. The gesture took Allyn by surprise. It was the most emotion he’d ever seen out of the man. “Take care of yourself, Allyn.”
“You too.”
“I’ll see you on the other side,” Jaxon said.
“That’s the plan.”
It wasn’t until Allyn was walking away from his friend that he realized the potential double meaning of Jaxon’s words.
Chapter 24
Jaxon slipped through the trees, wincing with every snap of branch and rustle of underbrush. The lingering darkness was both a blessing and a curse. It provided necessary cover for him and the other four members of his squad, but it also made their trek that much more treacherous.
Rustling through an alien forest without light, Jaxon’s squad made more noise than he would have preferred. He just hoped tha
t this close to the enemy border it wasn’t enough to catch the attention of any of the sentries.
Their first landmark was the chain-link fence circling the perimeter. If Mason’s directions were correct, Jaxon and his squad were getting close. Their mission was simple: sneak inside the enemy perimeter, neutralize the sentries, then rejoin the main magi contingent to prepare for the full assault.
Mason had said the sentries were inside the perimeter, so as Jaxon neared the fence, part of his mind drifted back to his conversation with Allyn. His friend had taken a great risk by disobeying the arch mage’s wishes and an even greater one by strong-arming the War Council into action. As Jaxon had said during the meeting, Allyn could be impulsive and bullheaded and had grown even more so lately, so his rash behavior wasn’t terribly surprising. What was surprising was Liam’s willingness to go along with it.
Leira had warned Jaxon that Allyn and Liam were working on something behind the arch mage’s back. She had been worried Allyn was manipulating Liam in the same way he had eventually manipulated the council. Jaxon didn’t accept that accusation, though. That wasn’t in Allyn’s character. He was Liam’s friend, and he valued loyalty and trust, two things Jaxon believed he wouldn’t abuse. That didn’t mean Jaxon hadn’t kept an eye on him, or taken precautions to protect Liam, of course.
When the time came to come to Liam’s aid and provide his support, he had. Since then, Liam had eyed Jaxon’s father warily, no doubt attempting to understand why he had lied to the arch mage and assumed responsibility for Allyn’s actions.
The thought brought a smile to Jaxon’s lips. Neither Liam nor Allyn had realized that Jaxon, not the great Wesley Green, had manipulated the arch mage. His father was merely the face of the manipulation, working on Jaxon’s behalf and from the limited information Jaxon had provided. His father may have done it for him, but Jaxon had done it for Liam.
Capture (The Machinists Book 4) Page 20