"Nice to see you too, Loras," said Xander.
Regan pushed her way between the two Tormada. "Loras, stop! He's with us. He saved my life – and he saved yours at the river. You have to believe me."
"It's true," added Dario, joining the group. He laid his hand on Loras' sword arm and lowered it slowly. "He helped Lucan and I escape the prison. I'm not sure why... but he's with us."
Loras looked suspiciously at Xander and then at his sister before deactivating his sword. "I have an idea why," said Loras.
Once his friends had had their moment, Tinko whipped the tarp off of the cart with a dramatic flourish. The golden liquid inside the orb shimmered with light. Suddenly, the crowd of Reysene began to cheer. Tinko looked down and saw his old professor frowning at him.
"That was quite a speech, Mr. Tinko. You're lucky it didn't get you killed."
Tinko hopped down off of the cart. "Loras told me that I needed to draw their attention for a few moments. I think I succeeded pretty well in my task."
"Oh, so you were in on the plan too, were you? Why am I not surprised?" Lucan turned to Loras, but his frown was waning.
Loras placed his hand on his professor's shoulder. "I never thought I'd say this, but I'm relieved to see you, Professor. After our escape, I wasn't sure I'd ever see you again. You move pretty good for an—" Lucan raised an eyebrow "—for a scholarly man, such as yourself." Then he turned toward Dario. "And thanks for the assist out there. How did you do all of this?" Loras pointed up toward Dario's room and the adjacent building with its wall of reflected sunlight.
"Maybe someday I'll show you," said Dario. "But first, we need to fill this thing up before Hadrian has time to regroup." He beckoned for several Reytana to help lift the full energy orb above the Lotus. They then carefully tilted the orb, spilling its contents into the empty globe below. The cheers from the Reysene grew louder as the orb filled.
“Now what?” said Loras.
"Now," said Dario as the last bit of solar energy was transferred, "we take the fight to them!"
Chapter Thirty-Six: Siege
Hadrian grunted under his breath as the cheers of "Rey-sa! Rey-sa!" echoed down from the city on the cliff. They won't be cheering for long, he thought.
The king stomped through the camp looking for his second in command. Everywhere, the Gartolian war machine was in full effect. It had been eighteen years since the army last fought, but it might as well have been yesterday. A cluster of triage tents had been rapidly constructed at the south side of the camp to tend to those who sustained wounds at Octavian's Pass. Each regiment of soldiers – both Tormada and torman – had already re-grouped, re-stocked and started preparing for the next round of battle. All they needed were their orders.
Hadrian arrived outside of the command center and shouted through the open doors.
"Morlo!" shouted the king. "Get out here, now!"
The Gartune commander humbly emerged from the command center.
"Your highness—" he started to speak but Hadrian cut him off.
"You had one job! Just one!"
"I know, my king," said Morlo with his head bowed low. "One of the Reytana spotted us before we had planned on attacking. We had no choice. We had to open fire."
"You were impatient as always," seethed Hadrian. "I should have known you could not be trusted. I must have been out of my mind for allowing you to begin this battle. The task was so simple; the instructions so clear. Even you should have been able to follow them!"
"My king," said Morlo. "They have won nothing. Our troops took only minor losses and we are ready for the counter-attack."
"And what of the tanks?" said Hadrian slowly.
Morlo raised his head slightly to look at the king. "They are in place and ready for your command."
"Good," said Hadrian. "Then let us not waste any time. The floaters have enjoyed their little victory long enough. It's time to shut them up once and for all. Bring up the tanks!"
Morlo nodded, "Yes, my king!" then rushed out of the command center and disappeared into the camp. Once Hadrian's conversation with his commander had ended, a Gartune sentry that had been waiting outside the command center approached the king.
"Your highness, Damnar and Damina have returned. They are waiting inside and wish to talk to you."
"I don't have any time to waste on those two fools. Tell them they can speak to me when the battle is over," replied the king.
"But, sir," said the other guard. "They say they have some information. Information about Xander... and Septa." Hadrian was already heading back into the camp, but Septa’s name stopped him in his tracks.
"They know what happened to my daughter?"
"They wouldn't tell us," said the guard. "They said they would only tell you."
"Out of my way!" shouted the king as he stormed past the sentry and into the command center.
Reysa's command center, spanning the entire top floor of the capitol building, was full of activity. Panels and monitors that had been dark for years were alive and humming. Methodic beeps, pulses and flashing lights emanated from all corners of the room. Several Reytana took posts behind the panels and began adjusting knobs, pressing buttons and reading monitors. In the middle of the room stood Dario, giving orders like a seasoned general. Xander and Regan silently watched the Reytana work from the corner of the room.
"You know, I always thought that Reytana were kind of... disinterested... when it came to this kind of thing," whispered Xander to Regan. "But this is impressive. Reminds me of how they do it on the ground."
"Well, the Gartolians haven't been the only ones fighting a war for hundreds of years. We've had just as much practice as you," said Regan.
"Maybe," said Xander. "But you're still not as good as us." A concerned look flashed on Xander's face as he remembered something. "There's something I need to tell Dario," he said.
Just then, the room began to shake. "More hovercraft?" asked Regan, peering up out of the window.
"Those aren't hovercraft..." said Xander as he ran toward the Reytana governor. "Dario! You need to activate the city's forcefield – now!"
"Why?" said Dario, annoyed with being interrupted. "They've only got light artillery down there – nothing that can do any damage from that range. I'm charging up the cannons – all of the cannons. It's time we wiped that camp off of the ground!"
"Look!" shouted Xander, pointing to the ground. From their vantage point at the top of Reysa's tallest building they could just see down to the Gartolian basecamp. It looked like hundreds of tiny squares arranged in a perfect grid with thousands of little specs marching in between them. Just beyond the camp, something was happening. The ground was opening up. Giant square holes in the desert were sliding open and large, dark objects were rising up through the widening gaps.
“Tanks,” said Regan. “How did they–-”
"Forcefield up!" yelled Dario. "Full power to the southern perimeter shields!" The Reytana manning the circuit board nearest Regan rapidly turned dials. An electric hum began to swell outside the room. Down below in the Lotus' courtyard, six large tubes flooded with light. Regan watched as the light shot through the tubes toward the southern wall of the city. It was only seconds before the light reached the perimeter and illuminated the large pipe that ran atop the great wall. Regan knew that several other pipes ran parallel along the outside of the wall at ten-foot vertical intervals. She had never seen them illuminated, but she knew that they were now. With the Lotus feeding it energy, the southern face of the city wall was striped in gold.
Slowly, a shimmering light rose from the wall. Then, a translucent liquid began to form a dome over the city. The liquid swirled slowly creating irregular floating shapes that reflected a myriad of colors when the light hit it.
"Southern shield deployed," said the Reytana at the panel next to Regan.
"Will it be able to stop those things?" asked Regan, pointing down to the tanks.
"We're about to find out." said Dario.
&nb
sp; The last tank platform completed its ascent from its underground chamber and the four hydraulic columns that supported it locked into place as the Gartolian war machines slowly rotated their turrets up toward the city.
Morlo didn't waste any time giving his command. The instant the turrets stopped turning he yelled "fire!" and the tanks launched their projectiles up at the city. The iron cannonballs, ten feet in diameter and made out of a combustible Gartolian alloy, flew toward their target. Twenty feet from the city's wall, they collided with the golden forcefield and shattered with a magnificent explosion of splintered iron and refracted light. The forcefield flickered briefly, but then the golden liquid resumed its steady, molten flow, unbroken.
"Ten degrees down... fire!" yelled Morlo.
Another relay of cannonballs sped toward the city. This time they struck the cliff just below the wall that held the forcefield’s light tubes. Other than some very loud explosions and nominal dents in the rock, the projectiles did not have much of an effect. Morlo grimaced.
"Twenty degrees west... fir—"
"Belay that order!" shouted Hadrian, marching up to the platform at the center of the tank regiment. "Repeat the trajectory of your initial volley. Target the forcefield!"
The turrets on the tanks rose slightly and then fired in unison. Again, the cannonballs collided with the forcefield and exploded in a dazzling display of sound and color. The shield flickered twice before regaining stability. Hadrian smiled. "Again!" he yelled. "Maintain current trajectory. Keep hitting the forcefield!"
"But, your highness," said Morlo, "our fire is not penetrating the forcefield. It's having no effect."
"Isn't it?" said Hadrian, raising an eyebrow. Another round of tank fire rang out. The projectiles struck the shield and exploded as before. This time, it flickered a few seconds longer before settling.
"You have your orders!" said Hadrian. He then turned and walked briskly back toward the camp, a look of satisfaction on his face.
The Gartolian tanks pounded Reysa's forcefield relentlessly. Once a tank had exhausted its payload of ammunition, the metal platform it sat on lowered back into the ground and another tank immediately rose to take its place. Underground, the massive cavern was built like a freeway, twelve lanes wide. Each lane held three tanks. While one was firing above, another waited to replace it, while the third tank was being reloaded with ammunition. Hundreds of giant cannonballs lined both sides of the lanes. Gartolian-operated cranes quickly moved back and forth between the rows of cannonballs and the tanks, lifting the ammunition and loading it into the back of the tanks. It was a spectacle of Gartolian engineering and efficiency. Morlo's secret project may have taken longer than expected to complete, but now that it was operational, it was a deadly weapon.
Reysa's command center shook again as another volley of Gartolian tank fire hit the forcefield. Dust fell from the ceiling and the lights flickered. However, none of the Reytana manning their controls seemed to notice. They were too involved in their work. But Dario's face was wrought with concern.
"The forcefield is holding," said the Reytana at the shield controls. "But it's using a lot of energy."
Dario looked down at the energy orb in the courtyard. Already, an eighth of it had been drained. "My little sun-bouncing trick won't be able to refill the orb at the rate that it's draining," said Dario. "And once night comes..."
"The tanks are firing at will right now. Maybe we can slow them down a bit," said Xander. "Divert some energy to the solar cannons. I'll take some of the Reytana with me and we'll see if we can't slow down their assault."
Dario shook his head. "I need the Reytana to guard the prisoners." Down in the courtyard, the Reytana had the Gartune collected into small groups. The guards paced slowly between the prisoners, their heads pointed toward the southern wall. With each explosion, the look of concern on their faces deepened, while the Gartune began to quietly snicker.
"Your soldiers are wasted down there." said Xander. "They would be more effective at the wall." A wry grin spread on his face. "As for the prisoners, I know just the place we could lock them up."
Dario thought for a moment, then nodded. "I suppose Hadrian did us a favor when he expanded our prison. Ok, take them underground and put them in the empty cells. But leave plenty of Reytana to guard them. The last time Hadrian visited the prison, he came in through a different door. There is now more than one way into that dungeon, and I don't want anyone from below sneaking up there to free... any of them."
"Understood," replied Xander.
Loras walked into the command center just as Xander was leaving with his new orders. Xander clapped a hand on Loras' shoulder as he passed him. "Oh, by the way, nice work out there, Loras. Couldn't have done it better myself."
"Your dad says hi," said Loras, brushing Xander's hand off his shoulder. Xander laughed and left the room.
Loras walked over to Dario and stood next to him at the windows. They watched as the forcefield sustained another barrage of tank fire.
"Will it hold?" asked Loras.
"Not forever," said Dario.
"How long do we have?"
"Once the sun goes down," said Dario grimly, "so does our shield."
Dario and Loras watched out the window in silence. Twelve brightly-colored explosions flashed before their eyes. The floor shook and more dust fell from the ceiling. Dario brushed it off but Loras did not. He was lost in thought.
"There's only one thing we can do," said Loras. "For our shield to stay up, theirs must come down."
"Loras," said Dario. "Gracien knew that taking down the Gartolian shield was going to be a suicide mission. That's why he insisted that it was him that did it," he sighed. Another barrage of cannon fire shook the room. "He was the strongest among all of us, and even then, his odds of succeeding were slim. Nobody knows how to get on the floating tank. We've been watching for years and have never seen anyone get on or off. And even if you did get inside, there's no way of knowing what is waiting for you."
"It's the only way," said Loras. "Somebody has to do it."
Dario turned and looked Loras up and down. "Do you even know how to swim?"
"No, but I've been told it's less difficult than it looks."
Dario sighed again and shook his head. This time when the cannonballs hit, it took the forcefield several seconds to stop flickering. He looked down at the Lotus, rapidly pulsing solar energy into the six veins that fueled the shield. He would have to open up six more to fuel the cannons. Once he did so, the orb would drain twice as quickly. They might not even make it to the night.
"How are you going to get down there?" asked Dario. "I'm sure Hadrian has the lift covered by now. They'll shoot you down the minute you step aboard. And the mountain pass is too dangerous now with all of the explosions above it. You'd have shards of cannonball raining down on your head."
"You leave that to me," said Loras. "Just keep all of the Gartolian attention up here."
"Very well," said Dario.
Loras clapped the governor on the back and walked toward the door. Just as he was about to leave, Regan ran up to him and hugged him.
"Two hugs in one day?" said Loras. "Who are you and what have you done with my sister?"
"Just be careful," said Regan. "This isn't playing with sticks after school. This is real." Loras looked at his sister. Concern was plastered all over her face. He was so used to seeing disapproval or embarrassment when she looked at him that he wasn't quite sure how to react to this new sentiment. He started to revert to one of his old, sarcastic comments but Regan put her hand to his mouth just as he was about to open it. "Don't," she said. "Just try not to kill yourself."
This time Loras smiled at his sister's familiar tone. "I'll do my best," he said, and he walked out the door.
Loras ran through the courtyard to the sound of exploding cannonballs. The last of the Gartune prisoners was being ushered away by Xander and a handful of Reytana. Xander spotted Loras and gave him a small nod before continuing on his wa
y.
Loras could feel the heat from his headband and wristbands warming his skin. He did not need to look at them to know that they were glowing. Inside his chest, his heart pounded fiercely, yet he felt oddly calm. He knew what he had to do. Though he did not know what obstacles lay ahead, somehow, he knew that he had the strength to overcome them. After all, look what I’ve already achieved today. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that he would ride in a Reytana hovercraft or meet King Hadrian on the field of battle and live to tell about it. And after all of that, somehow, he had managed to liberate the city of Reysa from the Gartune – just like he had dreamt for so many years. It was crazy to think about, and yet, he had done it. He, Loras, on this day, had done all of that. Now, his greatest task lay before him. It might be naive to think he was capable of accomplishing it, but he didn't care, for now he knew that the outcome of his next mission was solely up to him. And that, in itself, was a comforting thought.
Before long, Loras reached the eastern edge of the city. Once there, he quickly scaled a four-story building that butted up against the perimeter wall. When he emerged on the roof, he was fifteen feet above the wall. He looked down and was almost blinded by the dazzling sunlight reflecting off of the rippling sea. Before he had time to debate his decision any further, he walked to the opposite end of the roof and took a deep breath. Here we go, thought Loras. He closed his eyes, bent his knees and ran. Three large strides easily crossed the width of the roof. Loras opened his eyes just as his right foot was planting for his jump. He panicked. His right leg straightened, and his momentum sent the top half of his body flailing over the planted leg. Arms wind-milling at his side, he balanced precariously on the edge of the roof. Below him, the enormous distance to the sea smacked him in the forehead and pushed him back up straight. He fell backward on to the roof.
Embarrassment washed over Loras. He looked over his shoulder to see if anyone was watching, even though he knew no one was there. The blue sea stretched out before him, calm and beautiful. It mocked him. Loras felt shame in his heart.
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