Children of the Prime Box Set

by T. C. Edge

  "And let the enemy collect at a single attack point?" he calls out. "No, Kira, we cannot do that. We hold this position for now. We need to draw the enemy's attention here to give Ares a chance to take out the cannons."

  Kira listens closely, assimilating the order, and then nods. "Then we need to target those fixed guns," she says. "If we can take them out it will give us a chance. If not, we'll never be able to hold them off here for long."

  Hendricks nods and prepares to look over the top of the rock, just as another chunk of it explodes, sending a shower of shards over our heads as we quickly drop again. He grunts and tries once more, zeroing in on the fixed gun placements set up beyond the wagons. Kira does the same, as I stay down and out of sight.

  "They're well protected by soldiers at the vanguard," Hendricks says, dropping back down. "I'm not sure how we'd get through to them."

  "We could flank around the front?" Kira suggests. "The fighting is to the north, west and east. The south side might not be so well defended."

  "It might work," Hendricks says, calling over the deafening gunfire as the other soldiers around us fire back. "Take five Stalkers and go. Circle around and take them out. We can take advantage of the ensuing havoc..."

  As they speak, I turn my own eyes out, searching through the maelstrom of fire and light. I see the blue flame of the automatic energy guns, firing wildly upon our flank. One continues to aim right at us. Another two spray gunfire upon our other positions. They appear to be grouped close together, though are well protected by several hundred soldiers ahead of them.

  But still, I think. Maybe it could work...

  "There's another way," I say, dropping back down and turning to the others.

  They look towards me, Hendricks frowning skeptically. "What?" he asks.

  "Those cannons," I say. "They fire pure energy, like your pulse rifles. I feed off them. I can get in close."

  "You...feed off them?” Hendricks says.

  "They don't penetrate my shield," I explain. "All they do is bolster my energy stores. If I rush in, they'll fire at me on instinct. It'll only strengthen my shield and help protect me. When I'm close enough, I'll burn them all down."

  "You'll be exposed, Amber," Kira says, seeming endearingly concerned for me. "What about their other weapons. Most are normal firearms. Does your shield protect against them?"

  I nod, though with a little less conviction. "Most bullets glance off me. Only straight shots do damage and weaken my shield, but if those energy guns fire at me, they'll sort of...cancel each other out. If that makes sense."

  Hendricks's frown turns into a rare grin. "Maybe I'm going crazy with everything we're hearing about afterlife and flying Wind Elementals, but that does actually make some sense," he says. He takes my shoulder in an unexpected show of warmth. "Amber, you know yourself best. If you think you can do it, and are willing to take the risk, then go for it. We will cover you as best as we can and make sure to draw as much fire as possible."

  "And if you destroy the guns?" Kira asks. "You'll be right in the heart of their base, completely exposed. You shouldn't go alone."

  "Then by all means, come with me," I say. "I can extend my fire shield around you, protect you on the way in. I've...done it before. You'd just have to stay close to me."

  "I'm not sure that's wise," Hendricks says. "If you die, Kira, the Emperor will have me on a spit. I may not be Neoroman, but I'm not sure he'd care..."

  "Glenn, with all due respect, I'm not going to steer clear of the fighting because you're afraid of what Domitian might do," Kira returns. "He'd never blame you if I got myself killed. He knows what I'm like."

  "Well, either way, I'm not sure it's a good..."

  "Look," Kira says, staring him in the eyes. "I've already got the Neoroman senate telling me I can't fight anymore. I damn well won't have it from my own people as well." She draws a sharp breath, affronted by the idea, and turns to me. "I'm going with you, Amber," she says. "Just how...close do I need to stay to you?"

  "The closer the better," I say. "The shield weakens the more spread out it is. If it's concentrated, it's much more effective."

  "And if I touch it?" she asks, seeming a little unsettled by the idea.

  "My best advice?" I say. "Don't. I'm able to contain the heat, so you should be fine, but it's best to stay inside if you can. Honestly," I say, almost laughing even in these dire circumstances, "I haven't tested this before properly, so am not sure how it will go down. I guess you can be my guinea pig."

  Kira raises a single red eyebrow. "Fantastic," she says. "Doesn't that just make me feel a whole lot better."

  Beside us, Hendricks watches on, shaking his head. His eyes turn around again, seeking two nearby Stalkers, firing over the rock. "Can you fit a couple more within your shield, Amber?" he asks. "I'd feel a whole lot better if you took some Stalkers with you."

  I perform a quick shrug, feeling like I may have opened a can of worms I can't control here. "Maybe," I say. "If they stay close behind me too."

  "They will," Hendricks says. He bellows out over the din and calls them over. The two Stalkers immediately stop firing and phase towards us. I notice Kira looking at them with a very clear note of displeasure. Like many of the Havenites, she's clearly having trouble accepting them in the coalition ranks.

  "Follow Amber," Hendricks commands. "Stay within her shield, and do anything Kira commands. Protect them both with your lives."

  The two Stalkers nod, their dark eyes unblinking. Everyone turns to me expectantly.

  We're really doing this, then, I think to myself, rather regretting I'd ever said anything.

  Yet as those doubts come, I hear a fizzing sound rip through the air once more. My eyes turn up, and from the Olympian army, I see several more enormous energy balls firing off towards the fort.

  The fort that contains my grandmother.

  The fort that contains Elian.

  Without a second thought, I step in towards the others, wrapping my shield around them.

  And around the rock, as one, we step.

  158

  The sound is simply cacophonous as I rush forwards, Kira and two black-clad Stalkers at my back.

  Around us all, my shield shimmers, all but invisible to the enemy in this light. But not me. I glow like a beacon, lit golden amid the black, like a figure of pure fire, rushing along with three trails of smoke behind me.

  The enemy seem so bewildered at first that they don't immediately fire. It give us a second to press onwards, my own speed boosted by the flame, the others quite capable of keeping up and staying within the concentrated shield-bubble that surrounds us.

  After a moment, however, the enemy unthaw, all those nearby suddenly drawn to us as we go. They begin firing with all they have, hundreds of bullets seeking me out, my shield flashing wildly as the bullets ping and deflect, melting and sparking as they connect.

  The distraction is enough, however, to provide temporary relief for the others. Behind us, Hendricks and the rest of our troop, in a coordinated motion, suddenly begin firing in concentrated blasts. Those tracing us with their eyes and guns find themselves suddenly under siege. Caught in two minds, many are killed. Others are forced to duck down once more, giving us precious extra time to slip through their lines.

  But still, the bullets come, cracking into my shield with alarming frequency. Each impact is nothing but the prick of a needle, drawing a drop of blood. But hundreds of drops soon add up, my shield starting to waver a little as its lifeblood is drained.

  Yet, relief doesn't take long to come, my instincts proving to be correct. One of the fixed gun placements turns its attentions on us, firing at us with its blue energy and light. I rush towards the incoming barrage, my flame hungry for the connection. The projectiles hit, one after another, each a boost to my stores that I draw in, reinforcing my shield anew.

  I smile gleefully as we close in, the others still staying tight to my back. To my utter delight, another of the energy guns nearby turns its attentions
on us as well, suddenly fearful of what we might do. Yet their fire only serves to further ignite my own, my energy stores rising once more, my body all but bursting with light.

  Around us now, the carriages begin to loom. I see other soldiers nearby, the front lines well spread out from the centre of the convoy. To the north, perhaps a hundred and fifty or so metres away, I see the great energy cannons boiling again, ready to rain more fire down onto the fort. I feel an urge to divert my course in their direction, but don't. I have my own job to do.

  I begin to focus the fire, drawing it to my hands as we go. I notice many soldiers around me beginning to take flight, rushing off to the flanks to seek easier targets. The sight invigorates me, the fires flowing powerfully through my blood. I draw them to my palms and, turning towards the nearest gun placement, unleash a flood upon it.

  The flames gush from my palms, shooting like water from a spout. I see the men manning the guns look on in horror as they try to rush away. A couple speed free of my fiery snare. Two others are caught within in, the fires catching them up and gobbling them down, just as it envelopes the energy gun itself, burning it immediately to a crisp.

  I turn, quickly, upon another nearby, and do exactly the same. Within moments, the gun is gone; a black lump of melted metal on the barren plains.

  The third comes under my attention. I turn towards it, ready to fire, but see that's it's no longer active. Several soldiers rush away from it, abandoning their posts. Around us, others swarm off, speeding away to do battle elsewhere, leaving us temporarily alone among the carriages, a tiny oasis in the midst of the raging fight.

  "You can let us out, Amber," I hear Kira say behind me. "Look."

  I turn eastwards again, and see that Hendricks and a number of others are now rushing through the broken enemy lines, pouring like water through a breach in the dam. Several dozen of them come, taking advantage of the confusion, firing upon the enemy as they go and forcing them to begin retreating to the north.

  I alter the shield, opening up a door for the others to step through, before encasing myself once more. My body continues to hum with an almost uncontainable energy, my frame glowing gold as I watch Hendricks approach.

  He rushes right towards us, a determined, and awestruck, smile on his face.

  "My word, Amber," he pants. "That was truly something. What else do you have up your sleeve?"

  I draw up a grin of my own and prepare to answer.

  I don't get a chance.

  Towards the north, a sudden explosion rips through the air, as one of the massive energy cannons explodes into a ball of blue and yellow flame. It lights up that part of the battlefield in the distance, illuminating the forms of the Neoroman troops as they rush forwards, one significantly larger than all the rest.

  "Ares," Kira calls, staring to the distance. "He broke through..."

  I feel a swelling of hope as I look on, though it appears to be short lived. There are two additional cannons there, still operational, still firing. And immediately, I see Ares and his forward unit coming in for extra attention, swarms of Olympian troops pressing the Neoromans back once more.

  And there, among them, I see their talisman.

  Herald Gailen, taking flight.

  "We should follow," Kira says. "Ares will have hundreds bearing down on him now."

  "The cannons aren't so well protected from this side," Hendricks adds quickly. He looks to me. "Do you think you could do that again?"

  I look north towards the two cannons, firing now at an expedited rate. The fort won't stand long with that sort of attention. Before long, it will have to be abandoned.

  I begin to nod, and open my lips to answer. Before I do, however, Kira draws our attention once more, her eyes turned to the south.

  I follow her gaze away, towards the fort a few miles away. The outer wall is flaming now, giving shape to the castle and towers within. In the foreground, I see movement. With the flickering fires as a backdrop, I sense figures - hundreds of figures - rushing quickly towards the walls.

  "They must have been sent ahead," Hendricks says, his voice tense. "There are hundreds of them."

  He turns, eyes widening, towards the cannons behind us once more. There, I see Gailen swooping past within a cyclone of smoke, picking up our troops as he goes, tossing them high and far through the air.

  "They won't be able to defend the fort alone," I find myself saying in a rush, my mind turning to my grandmother, to Elian. "Not against that many. Not with the walls breached."

  "They have Maximus," Kira says. "And Perses..."

  "Perses who won't fight," Hendricks counters. "And it wouldn't be enough anyway, not against that many." He looks on again, eyes narrowing. "Fire. They have Fire Elementals with them."

  I turn around quickly, straining my eyes to see. I can just about make out the flaming dots as they rush onwards.

  No, I think. Not you. Hestia...no.

  "We have to go and help them," Hendricks calls out, coming to a swift decision. He turns around to the assembled troops, Stalkers mostly. There are about fifty of them, the rest of our troop either dead, still trying to hold the flank, or else drawn to the fighting in the north. And over in the west, I sense the fighting has diminished too, the battle now gathering towards the north. "Ares will retreat if he must," he goes on. "But he needs somewhere to retreat to. We cannot allow the enemy to take the fort. We must drive them back to Olympus." He looks around the small unit of fifty. "With me!" he bellows. "Give everything you have!"

  His words would inspire another crowd, but Stalkers don't have the capacity for such things. Still, they inspire me, my own mind set. I turn to follow as he begins rushing off, though notice Kira standing her ground for just a second. I stop and grab her arm, forcing her green eyes on me.

  "Ares will be fine," I say. "He's got hundreds of men with him still. They'll rally to him, Kira. We have to help the others."

  She looks at me for a moment, just staring into my eyes. I sense something different in her. It isn't conflict. It's doubt. Perhaps it's her injury, perhaps it's something more. But whatever it is, I need her to snap out of it.

  I shake her arm, and do so with some force. My own eyes glow gold, my expression resolute. It seems to be just what she needs.

  Defrosting from her brief reverie, she nods and draws a breath. Her jaw tightens, eyes brighten. And with that, we follow the others south.

  Right back to the fort.

  159

  Even with her injured left ankle, and my powerful boosts of flame, Kira has to keep her pace in check to allow me to keep up. Ahead, the others aren't quite so restricted, Hendricks and his Stalkers quickly taking the lead as they rush across the barren earth, in pursuit of the enemy.

  I see Kira analysing the Olympian numbers as we go, her impossibly good vision capable of coming to a fairly accurate number with little more than a glance, even in the dark. "Five hundred," she says, her voice fraught. "There are at least five hundred of them."

  Her words come clean. When I speak, mine come with a pant, delivered through bursts of speed-enhancing flame. "How many...do we have...at the fort?" I call out over the rush of the fire.

  "A little more than fifty," she says. "And not our best." She glances across at me. "You saw Herald Gailen," she tells me. "Did you spot anyone else?"

  "You mean...other Heralds...and Chosen?"

  She nods.

  I shake my head.

  Her eyes narrow again as they search forward. "Then prepare for quite a fight," she growls.

  Ahead, the fort begins to grow in clarity, the fires around the northern walls burning bright. Above us, a sudden fizz rushes by, not too far above our heads. I find myself dropping to the earth as it comes, gazing up from the ground as the ball of blue energy soars towards the walls, hitting it right at the heart of its now-weakest point.

  The impact is brutal, undoing all the good work we did in bolstering the palisade earlier. It bursts apart, like the straw that broke the camels back, creating a
wide breach through which the enemy can pour.

  I launch myself back up to my feet, and join Kira again in her rush, glancing back to make sure no more projectiles are coming our way. It's hard to see what's happening to the north now. I see nothing but a blur of multi-coloured lights as the battle continues to rage.

  "Come on, Amber," Kira calls, urging me on.

  Ahead, Hendricks and the Stalkers are rushing in to engage, meeting the slower members of the Olympian forces before they reach the breach. They don't seem to have seen them coming, a number of them cut down before the others realise they have pursuers. Yet when they do, they turn, dropping into defensive positions and raising their weapons to fire. Within no time at all, the five hundred or so enemy soldiers are engaging with the mere fifty of our own.

  Kira presses me on, and we quickly close the gap, my heart hammering inside me as I look up and see the damage to the fort. The main tower ahead in which we held our meetings is gone. What was standing only hours ago has now fallen to rubble, the northern side of the fort decimated beyond all reckoning.

  The breach, bordered by flame, is low enough for the enemy to pass through. As the Olympians turn to engage with Hendricks and his men, I see a good portion of them - a hundred at least - attempting to rush inside, moving for the gap to storm the castle beyond.

  My mind turns again to Elian, powerless and defenceless. To my grandmother, her stores likely still depleted. Even to Burns, a non combatant here, a man I've come to like and admire, widely loved among the Havenites.

  Thoughts of my loved ones and friends pushes me on. I press forwards with a burst of speed as I watch the men pouring in through the gap, hundreds of others still between me and the fort. I scan, still hardly able to make out individual characters, and see figures of flame now pressing towards Hendricks and his troops. There are a number of them, half a dozen perhaps, pouring flame in Hendricks's direction as they advance.