CHAPTER 41
Through the Night
The Warriors on the ground couldn’t see what had happened to the two dragons, only that they disappeared from the sky. The fortress had renewed its attack with the lava catapults; huge fireballs streamed into the night sky and smashed into the skypod, causing a shower of burning rock to fall all around them, setting trees on fire. With every strike, Ivy wondered if Xavier, Manuel, and Evan were okay. She wished she could see them, but she just had to hope that Ruwach was taking care of them.
Ivy and Finn reunited with Kalle and Kristian, who had rounded up another forty Prince Warriors. They now totaled about one hundred all together. A fraction of their number from the battle at the Bridge.
Ivy tried not to let her discouragement show. She rallied the Warriors to prepare themselves for the battle, assuring them that victory was theirs as long as they stayed strong and stayed together. She hoped she was convincing; she was having a difficult time convincing herself.
It was dark and cold. And to make matters worse, a storm had rolled in, bringing fierce winds and snow that whipped through the trees and cut into the Warriors’ exposed faces.
“At least it’s putting the fires out,” said Finn, still trying to stay positive.
“We’ll need lookouts,” said Kalle. “To keep an eye on the skypod, in case there is a signal. Or to see if the fortress blows.”
“How can we see anything in this weather?” asked Ivy. Still, she agreed to the plan. Several Warriors volunteered to climb the taller trees and take turns keeping watch. Ivy told the rest to take turns sleeping if they could but to keep their shields and swords ready, just in case. There were still snakes around.
The remaining Prince Warriors huddled together for warmth, raising their shields to buffer the wind. Between the rumbling of the storm and the fireballs hitting the skypod, it was going to be hard for anyone to get any sleep. They all knew it was going to be a long, cold, uncomfortable, and possibly dangerous night.
Finn put his arm around Ivy. “You okay, little sis?”
She glanced up at his big, goofy smile, unable to help smiling back. “Not bad. You?”
“Hanging in there.”
“Thanks,” she said.
“For what?”
“For . . . just being there.”
Finn grinned again and gave her a thumbs-up. “You got it.”
Glancing over, Ivy saw Mary Stanton, sitting all alone, crying softly. Ivy got up and went over, sitting down beside her. And then, without knowing why, she started to sing.
She had never sung in front of other people before. But now, in this cold and dark place, it felt right.
Mary looked at her and smiled gratefully. She picked up the melody, humming and then mouthing the words. Soon others joined in, singing softly at first, but rising in strength. The wind and the storm seemed to get quieter as the voices grew louder, filling the dark night with music.
* * *
Levi’s legs felt like lead. The effort of lifting them from the thick, spongy rock and placing them down again was getting to him; it was like slogging through thick mud, except that with every step a little burst of flame erupted from under his feet.
“Not . . . much . . . farther,” Brianna said for the fifteenth time. She seemed to be having an easier time than he was, or at least she was pretending to be full of energy still.
Then they heard the sound of a catapult being launched and the first ball of lava hurled at the skypod on which their friends were standing. It slammed into the side of the pod, emitting a torrent of nasty Ents.
“Not those things again,” Levi muttered under his breath. He’d had just about enough of Ents, those evil-looking metallic butterflies with their deadly stingers. In fact, he’d had enough of this whole expedition. What were he and Brianna doing anyway? Climbing a mountain so they could throw a thimbleful of sulfurous water into a giant lava pit. As if that would do any good. As if there were any way they could topple that huge fortress all by themselves.
“We should stop now,” Levi said. “It’s getting too dark.”
“No, we can’t stop,” Brianna said. He saw that she was looking at him squarely, as if reading his thoughts. “We have to keep going.”
“Through the night?”
“Yes. Through the night.”
Levi sighed and nodded. He knew she was right. But the thrill of entering a real battle had drained out of him long ago. He was a good swordsman—he’d even defeated Ponéros when that monster had been disguised as a human—but this trudging through crusty lava up a mountain was not, in his mind, a valiant fight. It was a hopeless waste of time.
You’re so right, said a voice in his head. It doesn’t matter what you do. I will win, in the end.
The warped, distorted voice droned on, saying the same thing over and over, thudding in Levi’s ears. His steps became slower and slower. Brianna turned suddenly and put her hands on her hips, glaring at him.
“Levi, use your helmet.”
Levi looked up at her, annoyed. “What do you mean?”
“Remember how you begged me once to put on my helmet? That day under the tree—and I kept refusing? You almost died trying to get me to put it on.”
“Yeah, so? I’m wearing my helmet.”
“Well, you may be wearing it, but you aren’t using it.”
Levi thought about this. He wasn’t sure he knew what she meant.
“You need to listen!” Brianna said.
Levi slowly put his hands on either side of the helmet and pressed it closer to his ears. The voice sounded different suddenly. No longer tired, but strong and resonant.
It matters what you do. I will win. In fact, I already have.
It was unmistakably Ruwach’s voice. The words seeped slowly into Levi’s brain and trickled down to his arms, his back, his aching legs. He took another step, suddenly realizing that it wasn’t as hard as he had thought it was at first. The soft rock felt springy, as if it pushed his foot back up for another step.
As the morning dawned, Levi and Brianna found themselves just below the rim of the crater. They had made good progress during the night, but they were both near exhaustion. It was suffocatingly hot, so hot they felt their skin would be seared right off. As tired as they were, they dared not try to sit for fear of being burned. Only their boots seemed to be fireproof.
“Stay here. I need to go up farther to see what’s happening,” Levi said. The rim dropped steeply toward the lava moat that encircled the tall obsidian pyramid, whose point seemed to pierce the red-and-black sky. Lava Forgers crowded the steep slope leading up to the fortress, working the catapults. Levi could see now that there was barely anything left of Xavier’s skypod at all. Above them the Bone Breakers circled in pairs, gliding on their huge wings, buffeted by the warm air rising.
Levi contemplated what to do. The lava moat was very far below the fortress—much too far, he thought, to do any damage to the fortress itself. If he wanted to bring down the fortress, he’d have to get the water pots into the lava pit inside. That was going to be trickier.
To get into the fortress, they would have to cross the moat. But if they used the obsidian bridge, they would be seen by the Lava Forgers and the Bone Breakers. They’d never make it.
“Okay, Ru,” he said to himself, “show me how to get in there.”
Levi held up the Glimmer Glass. As he peered through, something began to appear—a fizzy, shimmery light. Sparks? The light took on shape, a walkway of sorts, a bridge that led from the rim of the crater and went up at a diagonal all the way to the tip of the pyramid. Over the heads of the Forgers with their cannons. He knew there was a hole at the top. And that hole was directly over the lava pit.
Levi slid back down to join Brianna. “We need to get to the top of the fortress. We can drop the pots in the hole up there. And Ruwach’s g
iven us a bridge.”
“Won’t the Bone Breakers see us?”
“Maybe. I’m not sure. But the bridge is . . . invisible.”
“Invisible?”
“You can only see it with this.” Levi held up the Glimmer Glass. “Maybe when we’re on it, we’ll be invisible too.”
“Okay,” Brianna said, still uncertain. “But Levi, if we drop the pots . . . what then?”
Levi took a breath and shrugged. “I’m not sure. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” He chuckled at his own joke.
Brianna smiled, although there was fear behind her eyes. “Stellar.”
“You might not be able to see the bridge either, so just stay with me.”
“Here.” Brianna pulled the root from her pocket. It seemed to stretch, elongating. She wrapped one end around her wrist and handed him the other end. Levi took it. “That way I won’t fall off or something.”
Levi nodded and wrapped the end of the root twice around his palm. Somehow being connected to Brianna this way made him feel more secure. He led the way to the rim, climbed up, and quickly jumped onto the invisible bridge. It held him, even though he could see all the way down to the sloping rampart and the ledges where the Lava Forgers were working the catapults. Brianna hesitated, but when she saw Levi was being supported by virtually nothing, she jumped up after him.
“Seems like we’ve done this before,” she said with a little laugh. She stayed close to Levi as he sprinted up the walkway toward the sheer dark wall of the fortress.
CHAPTER 42
Breaking Point
Day 40
This . . . is . . . not . . . good,” Manuel said.
Throughout the night, Xavier, Evan, and Manuel had been under assault by Ents, which had been released as the skypod had started breaking apart. The boys had climbed on top of Tannyn with their shields to protect him from the fireballs and to give him as much comfort as they could. Tannyn continued to moan, the sound echoing mournfully in the darkness.
Now it was nearly dawn, and yet the swarming Ents created a cloud so dense it blocked the rising sun. There were now more holes in the skypod than there was actual skypod. Only the spot on which Tannyn rested remained intact. They knew it was only a matter of time before the entire pod collapsed.
None of them had been able to get any sleep, between the constant buzzing of the Ents and the crashing fireballs. Evan could hear Xavier breathing heavily, fighting against the pain in his burned arm. Manuel was now the only one who was able to raise his shield. He kept his arm outstretched, resting on Evan’s shoulder, with his fist closed. Evan often heard him counting during the night. He was up to four hundred twenty-nine. When he needed to rest, Xavier would take a turn, raising his seed-shield in his good arm for a time, with Evan’s help.
They needed to get off the skypod before it collapsed. But Tannyn’s eyes were badly damaged and his wing was broken, so there was no way he could fly them out. Evan couldn’t see any other way they could be rescued.
Manuel was right. This was not good.
Evan closed his eyes and rested his head against one of Tannyn’s spikes. He reached into his pocket for the hundredth time, hoping to feel the seed there, as if it would miraculously reappear. Instead, he felt the rock. It was warm from being in his pocket for so long. He wrapped his fingers around it.
Remember.
The voice seemed to come from inside his head. Remember . . . what? Something Ru had said. I am with you. You have everything you need.
Ruwach was here, somewhere, even if Evan couldn’t see him.
“Okay Ru,” Evan said to himself. “Give me what we need.”
Put your hand on your brother’s arm.
Evan’s eyes flew open. He was certain Ruwach was right in front of him, speaking to him. He looked around but didn’t see the little guide anywhere.
Put your hand on your brother’s arm.
Evan hesitated, glancing at his brother, who was leaning forward on one of Tannyn’s spikes with his eyes closed. He’s going to freak out.
Just do it.
Evan reached toward his brother and carefully laid his hand on the wounded arm. Xavier jerked upright, gasping.
“Hey!”
“Sorry,” Evan said out loud.
Xavier tried to jerk away, but he didn’t have the strength. “What are you—?”
“Just hold it.”
Xavier went still, staring at his arm. Evan closed his eyes and focused on the words Ru had spoken to him. You have everything you need. When he opened his eyes again, Xavier had twisted around to stare at him. His face was filled with surprise, but Evan could tell that he felt better. The reddened skin of Xavier’s arm looked less angry, and the swelling in his fingers had gone down. Xavier raised his arm to stare at it, then wiggled his fingers.
“It doesn’t hurt anymore,” he said. “How did you—?”
“Not me,” said Evan. “Ru did it.”
“But he’s not even here.”
“Yes he is.” Evan felt calmer. Even though they were still under intense attack, he knew that Ru was with them.
“It’s a . . . miracle,” Manuel said.
“Thanks, little brother.” Xavier looked at Evan and smiled. Evan beamed back. Finally, Xavier really saw him. Even though the Ents were still swarming and the fireballs were still falling, Evan was happy.
* * *
Levi and Brianna sprinted over the bridge until they could touch the side of the pyramid. The bridge ended several feet below the very top of the pyramid. Levi stood on tiptoes, but he couldn’t reach the opening above him.
“We’re still too low,” he said. The pinnacle was smooth as glass and very narrow.
“I’ll climb up,” Brianna said. “There’s only room for one anyway. Give me your pot.” Levi handed over his water pot. She stuck it in her belt with the other one. “So, hopefully once I do this, we can escape down the bridge before . . .”
“Yeah,” said Levi. He glanced down at the shimmering bridge they stood upon. That would be their escape route.
Brianna nodded and set her foot on the glass wall. Her boot stuck to it like a suction cup. She took another step, holding her hands out for balance. When she was as close to the top as she could get, she grabbed one of the pots from her belt and stretched her arm toward the opening. When the pot was in the right spot, she took a breath and dropped it.
The Bone Breakers started to caw loudly. They’d spotted her.
“Hurry!” Levi said. “Drop it!”
“I did,” Brianna said, puzzled. “But nothing happened. Maybe I missed.”
“Throw the other one!” Levi shouted. He could hear the birds sending signals to each other all around them.
Brianna took the second pot from her pocket and threw it down into the opening.
Still nothing.
“I don’t get it,” said Brianna. “Why isn’t there an explosion?”
The cawing of the Bone Breakers filled Levi’s ears. “Come down! We need to get out of here!”
Brianna turned to climb back down. Levi put one foot on the pyramid to help her. Just then two huge Bone Breakers swooped upon them. Levi went for his shield, but it was too late. Brianna screamed. The birds snatched the two Warriors in their talons as if they were nothing more than a pile of bones.
CHAPTER 43
Heart’s Desire
What have you brought me, Nesher?”
Thayne, sitting high atop his throne of gleaming obsidian, stared down at the two Warriors sprawled on the floor where the Bone Breakers had dropped them. The bird spoke in a series of strange squawks that Thayne seemed to understand.
“Spies,” Thayne said. “Prince Warrior spies.” Thayne’s voice sounded like gears grinding in an old truck. It was worse than even the squawking of the Bone Breakers.
Levi, lying flat on his stomach, stole a glance at Brianna to make sure she was okay. She lay on her side, her eyes open and wide with fear. But she didn’t look injured as far as he could tell.
His mind raced through what had just happened. They had been captured by Bone Breakers, carried into the fortress, and deposited on the floor before Thayne’s throne. At least, that’s what he thought happened. The flight had been so breathtakingly fast he could hardly catch up to his own memory.
Levi slowly raised his eyes to Thayne. Up close, he was even bigger than Levi had imagined.
Thayne stepped down from his high throne and approached the two Warriors. He held his war hammer in one hand, with its spiked tip glowing red-hot.
“What were you doing on top of my fortress?”
“Uh . . . watching the sunrise?” Levi said.
Thayne chuckled, though the sound was more like a death rattle. He bent and opened his other fist.
“Looking for these?”
Levi saw to his dismay that the two little pots of water lay in Thayne’s massive, metal palm.
“Did you think we could not see you? We have been tracking your movements all the way up this mountain. I could have destroyed you at any time, but I was curious to see what you were up to. Tiny little children, armed only with tiny little pots. It was quite amusing.” Thayne tossed the pots away. They rolled on the shiny floor, just out of reach. Levi glanced at Brianna. She was keeping her face hidden, but he could tell she was watching those pots as well.
“I’m glad you liked it,” Levi was stalling for time, his mind racing. He glanced at the smoking lava pit behind them. Beyond that was the doorway, guarded by two massive Lava Forgers. They had to be at least ten feet tall and almost as wide. More Forgers were probably standing guard outside the door. He knew he and Brianna wouldn’t have a chance getting out that way.
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