Feral Empires: Fanning Flames

by Stephen L. Hadley

  To his surprise, the Militia garrison was practically deserted by the time he arrived. There were no guards and the only militiamen he saw were a dozen or so armed functionaries, ferrying armloads of paper out of the main building and dumping them onto an enormous blaze at the center of the courtyard. And, overseeing it all with a look of grim determination was Colonel Natasha Ryan.

  She noticed him at once and hurried over.

  “I thought you were dead,” she said curtly.

  “Not yet,” Liam said. He hesitated. “The Mayor is, though. A Hunter made it into the palace.”

  The Colonel shook her head and breathed a sigh. “Shit. I guess the Occs really fucked us in the ass this time, huh?”

  “Maybe. Have you seen Kathryn?”

  “The blonde? Not recently. Check the barracks?”

  Nodding, Liam set off in that direction. He’d gone only a few paces when Ryan called out after him. He turned without even bothering to stop.

  “Be careful,” she instructed him. “Keep those girls safe.”

  Despite everything, Liam couldn’t help but smile. Saluting, he turned back around and took off at a renewed sprint.

  Unsurprisingly, Kathryn was waiting for him at the barracks. She stood in the doorway, gesturing furiously at those inside and apparently growing more and more frustrated in the attempt. At the sound of his footsteps, she whirled and seized him by the arm, hauling him into the doorway in his place.

  “Tell them!” she shouted. “Fast, fast! Plant-girl! Boat! Again! Kathryn see!”

  Liam scanned the room, relieved to find it occupied exactly as it had been the last time he’d been there. Julie sat on the bed nearest the door, her children huddled in her lap. Nora knelt on the ground beside her, eyes wide and a reassuring hand resting on Adam’s back.

  “Are you all okay?” Liam asked.

  Julie looked up sharply. “How the hell do you think we are?” she snapped.

  “Alive?”

  “Not for long at this rate. Hope you’ve got a plan to get out of here.”

  “Sort of. Kathryn does.”

  “Even better.”

  There was no missing the heavy sarcasm in Julie’s voice, but Liam ignored it as he turned to face Kathryn. The spritely woman clutched her dress and practically bounced in place, a nervous habit that only grew more exaggerated when Liam looked at her.

  “Well?” he asked. “What’s the pl—?”

  His final word was drowned out by the firing of the airship’s guns, yet again. This time, and at so much closer range, Liam could actually feel the shockwave. The quaking of the ground too was sufficient to make him stagger and catch himself against the doorway.

  “I see!” Kathryn said, speaking quickly but purposefully and gesturing up at the Occ vessel. From the barracks, the airship’s bulbous nose was just visible over the edge of the wall. “Before! Before Liam! Kathryn and Occs! Occs and Kathryn, together!”

  “You’ve seen one of those?” Liam guessed, pointing upward. “Flying? Or destroyed?”

  “Not flying,” Kathryn explained. “Ground. Occs making.”

  “You saw the Occs making that thing?” Liam asked. Despite his impatience, he could feel the first real seeds of hope beginning to sprout in his chest.

  Kathryn nodded emphatically, then grinned. Holding her hands in front of her, she balled them into fists, then violently flung them apart and blew a raspberry for emphasis.

  “You know how to destroy it? How?”

  Squirming her way into the open doorway, Kathryn pointed squarely at Nora.

  “Boat!” she chirped.

  Liam’s smile was feeble, yet anything but half-hearted. Stepping outside, he stared up at the airship.

  “It’s too high up. Even if we could force it to land, there’s no way we’d—”

  “Not land!” Kathryn protested. Returning to his side, she plucked a pebble from the ground and licked it. After a brief, involuntary grimace, she looked Liam in the eyes. “Plant-girl,” she said, and hurled the pebble high with an exaggerated motion.

  Liam watched the pebble arc through the air. His mind raced, trying to work through the many problems and opportunities Kathryn’s simplistic explanation presented.

  “It might…” he began cautiously.

  “It’ll work,” Nora said from the barracks doorway. Stepping outside, she gazed up at the airship—a third of which now protruded past the city walls—and swallowed hard. “I can do it.”

  “Can you control how long it takes?” Liam asked.

  Nora fidgeted and considered the question a moment, then nodded.

  “A bit,” she said. “It’ll be tough, but I think I can do it.”

  “You think—?”

  “I can do it,” she amended.

  “Good,” came a new voice. “You’d better.”

  Liam, Nora, and Kathryn turned as one to find Jenn descending from her stilt-like vines as she approached the barracks. She was not remotely out of breath, in sharp contrast to Andrew, who had somehow managed to keep pace with her on their way from the Mayor’s palace.

  And, remarkably, so had Damien and Olivia. The former was not so much panting as merely breathing hard, though that no doubt had something to do with the woman astride his back. Olivia dropped to the ground as Damien reached them, her expression hard.

  “You came too?” Liam asked, before he could help himself.

  Olivia looked at him, eyes full of scorn.

  “Of course. This is my father’s city,” she said, the rigidity of her shoulders making it clear that she had not misspoken. “If I don’t defend it, who will?”

  There were no arguments to be found.

  ***

  “We’ll need to be high up,” Jenn noted as they hurried along the city street, heading back the same direction they had just traveled. “Two or three stories would be best. I’ll need a clear line of sight. And we can’t be beneath it, either. We don’t want to be exposed when that thing comes crashing down.”

  “I wouldn’t mind,” Julie muttered between panting breaths. “At least then we could stop running.”

  Liam almost grinned at that. There was something refreshing in Julie’s gallows humor that made him feel as though he wasn’t about to act on a ridiculous plan that would almost certainly end with the lot of them dead.

  “I know a place,” Andrew said, from his spot alongside Jenn at the front of the pack. “We’re almost there.”

  “Are you sure about this?” Olivia asked. Her words came out oddly musical, jostled as she was on Damien’s back. “We’ll only get one shot at this. If you miss, the Occs will turn every single one of those guns on us.”

  “I know that!” Jenn spat. Her vines slammed down unnecessarily hard into the dirt and Liam could practically hear the tension in the gesture. He would have hurried forth to comfort her, but Andrew called a halt before he got the chance.

  The building they’d arrived at was, as expected, precisely the sort that the plan required. It rose two-and-a-half stories, looking as though it had been built specifically to stand ever so slightly higher than its neighbors. It was dangerously close to the leading edge of the Occ airship, but that was only natural, given the behemoth’s slow, inexorable progression over the city. In any case, the residence was appropriately deserted and they were able to climb to the roof without fielding any protests from the former tenant.

  Staring up at the belly of the enormous airship, Liam could feel the cold, corrosive feeling of despair begin to creep back into the fringes of his thoughts. It seemed impossible that their efforts could hope to damage something so overwhelming. It was like children flinging stones at a Hunter. What would he do if that proved to be all their efforts amounted to?

  Gritting his teeth, he pushed such thoughts aside and looked around at the people assembling on the rooftop. Jenn and Nora stood near the rear edge, murmuring to one another as Jenn stretched an overly long vine over the edge of the
rooftop. With a grunt, she lunged and sent the tendril hurtling upward toward the airship like a whip. Apparently satisfied with the effort, she nodded and offered Nora a thin-lipped smile. And then, after a moment’s consideration, a far more enthusiastic hug as well.

  Andrew, on the other hand, was busy arguing quietly with Julie. Judging by her posture, she seemed resentful, but did not argue for long before descending the stairs and entering the relative safety of the home below.

  That left only Olivia and Damien, Kathryn having taken up her usual place at Liam’s side. The pair of them were crouched at the forward-facing corners of the building, studying the street below in what Liam assumed was watchful guard against any Occ troops who might have already entered the city.

  “Good job,” Liam said. He glanced down at Kathryn and took her hand. “This was a good plan, Kathryn. Thank you.”

  Beaming, Kathryn squeezed his hand and rested her head against his arm.

  “Welcome,” she said. Then, far more softly, added, “I love you.”

  Almost without meaning to, Liam’s eyes flicked to Jenn. If she’d heard Kathryn’s words, however, she gave no sign of it.

  “I love you too, Kat,” he said.

  “All right,” Jenn said, loudly enough to draw glances. “Everyone ready?”

  No one spoke, though from the way her posture remained unchanged, Jenn had not expected them too. She nodded to Nora and drew one of the short, iron javelins from its quiver. Wrapping her vine securely around one end, she took a deep breath and handed it over.

  Nora, too, breathed deeply. She grasped the javelin tightly with both hands for a moment, then delivered a quick, purposeful lick across the topmost section.

  Jenn sprang into action then, yanking the javelin by its vine and drawing it quickly down over the edge of the building. Grunting, she lunged to the side, her body arching and one arm outstretched as if she was throwing the weapon by hand. For a split-second, nothing happened. And then, with the sound of wind and splintering wood, her vine shot upward toward the unsuspecting airship.

  Liam held his breath as he watched the sliver of metal arc into the sky. He followed its path for as long as he could, until the grey of it was lost amid the sea of silvers, greys, and browns that formed the enormous underside. Then, as if waiting for his gaze, he relocated the javelin just as it reached its destination.

  It struck the airship perfectly, colliding at the spot where the gun turrets connected to the bulging, armored core and nearly lodging there. And, just as planned, it detonated.

  Liam could not hold back his cheer as the javelin exploded, nor was he the only one. The airship shuddered, the bottommost portion disappearing briefly in a blinding, secondary explosion. Bits of metal and flaming debris plummeted from the wrecked turrets as the vessel pitched violently. It reared in a wild, uncontrolled motion, the unseen rudder and tail almost grazing the top of the city walls as distant klaxons sounded aboard the floundering behemoth.

  And then, in a lethargically dawning moment of dread, the klaxons fell silent. The airship’s bow sank back to its former level. And even the smoke that had erupted from the destroyed gun battery seemed to thin.

  The great smoking engines on either side of the beast roared suddenly. And at that moment, Liam understood something about the Occ vessel. The leisurely pace with which the airship had come to loom over the city was not its full speed, but had instead been a deliberate choice.

  The airship turned, not quickly, but fast enough. And though the frontal guns had been eliminated by Jenn’s precise aim, eight more remained—four per side.

  Liam swallowed hard, frozen in place as he stared down the barrels.

  They had failed.

  Chapter Twenty One

  Liam had no time to consider it. One moment, he was standing there, gazing up at his impending demise—unable to even consider whether or not his healing ability would be able to stand up to the irresistible firepower of the Occ airship—and the next Jenn was moving.

  She tackled him over the edge of the building, sparing only a single vine to help cushion his fall. Her own was nearly as hard, having used most of her vines to snatch Nora and Kathryn and half-carry, half-fling them to safety behind the adjacent building. Her grip failed her as she struck the ground, pulling down the corner of a roof-turned-balcony she’d used to slow her descent.

  Liam groaned as he felt bones crack. The pain didn’t come, but the fogginess of thought did, briefly, as he struck his head on an inconveniently placed stone. Before he had a chance to collect himself, much less stand, the world exploded.

  Again, Liam felt himself thrown, far less gently this time, as the building they’d previously occupied simply ceased to exist. He didn’t hear the thunder of the airship’s guns, he merely saw the explosion of debris as wood, stone, and other assorted materials as the walls disintegrated and crumbled into a heap of smoldering ruins.

  Coughing on the smoke in the air, Liam rose to his knees. He’d somehow wound up on his stomach, a further dozen paces away. His skin itched and he glanced to find his shirt shredded and his rapidly repairing skin spitting out hundreds of wooden splinters.

  “Jenn?” he called out, blinking to clear the dust from his eyes. “Kathryn?”

  He spotted them quickly and the sight struck him more forcefully than the Occs had. Kathryn lay on her side, her face a pained grimace as she clutched a freely bleeding gash that had been torn in her hip. Nora was unharmed, or relatively so, at least. She limped to Kathryn’s side, pulling up the girl’s dress and pressing her hands against the wound to slow the bleeding. Noticing Liam, she tried to speak, coughed, and then made do with urgently waving him over.

  Climbing to his feet, Liam staggered over. He barely even paused, stooping and holding out his arm for Kathryn to bite. She did, weakly, and he splashed a clumsy handful of blood across her wound.

  Then, without even waiting to see if that amount would prove sufficient, he continued on to Jenn.

  She tried to smile as he approached, but failed and settled for a pained grimace.

  “Sorry,” she said, wincing. “I should have aimed better.”

  “What are you talking about?” Liam murmured. “Your aim was perfect.”

  He swallowed hard as he took inventory of Jenn’s injuries. They were not few. She was bleeding from a hundred small cuts and scrapes, including several spots on her legs where hints of bone lay exposed. One arm, too, hung limply at her side, connected by nothing more than the joint and few scraps of skin. Carefully, Liam began to collect the blood from his freshly healed arm and swab the most serious of Jenn’s wounds with them.

  “I shouldn’t have waited,” Jenn continued. “I had enough time to use another javelin. I should have. Maybe that one wou—”

  “Shut up,” Liam said. At Jenn’s surprised expression, he offered the most fleeting of smiles before returning to his work. “It’s not your fault, Jenn. It’s mine. I’m the one who decided we should stay and fight. It’s my fault. And now…”

  He paused as a thought occurred to him. Turning, he glanced at the remains of the building and froze anew at the sight of the rubble.

  “He trusted me,” he said, too overwhelmed to even note whether or not he spoke aloud. “Scott trusted me with his family. And I—what will he think? I… I brought Julie here and—”

  “Liam,” Jenn said, her voice severe enough to bring him out of his thoughts. She wasn’t looking at him, however, but up at the sky. Following her gaze, Liam felt his heart seize, yet again. Despite the angle of their hiding spot, the nose of the Occ airship was beginning to drift into view. “Less talking, more healing,” Jenn prompted.

  “I wouldn’t bother,” growled a painfully deep voice. “You’ll all be dead soon, anyway.”

  Liam spun and immediately wished he hadn’t. The sight of Wuyong stalking toward him, claws outstretched and maw gaping was the last thing he needed right now. And frankly, it was exhausting too. There was no way t
hey could hold of the Hunter in the current state. Returning his attention to Jenn, he offered her a final, remorseful smile.

  “Sorry,” he whispered. “This is all my fault.”

  “I’ll be damned,” Wuyong continued. Despite the gravel in his voice, his amusement was plain to hear. “I expected Fuyuan to survive that. But all four of you? I guess the Zhengfu Zhe needs bigger guns.”

  Liam stood, ignoring Jenn’s pained attempts to grasp his hand. He glanced at Kathryn and Nora, but neither of them appeared in much of a state to help him, either. The wound in Kathryn’s hip appeared partially healed, but she was still struggling to stand. Nora, on the other hand, appeared to be trying her best to remain unobtrusive. Her eyes, however, darted around in an unsuccessful search for something with which to arm herself.

  “What do you want, Wuyong?” Liam asked.

  The Hunter paused, brow furrowing as he looked at Liam.

  “What do I want?” he echoed. “How hard did you hit your head? I told you less than an hour ago. I’m here to target the most dangerous adversaries first.”

  “And the Mayor is dead,” Liam said. “So what do you want now?”

  “Are you deliberately playing stupid?” Wuyong snapped. “I’m here to kill the four of you.”

  “Obviously. But there are four of us. So, who’ll it be? Which of us is the most dangerous? Because apparently, you have to kill that person first. But if you’re fighting the most dangerous first, won’t the others have time to flee?”

  Liam looked around, shrugging as if seeking agreement. His eyes, however, were wide, focused, and desperately trying to convey his plan without words. By the time he turned back to face the Hunter, however, Wuyong had stepped closer and had a single outstretched claw pointed in his direction.

  “You,” Wuyong said. “You’re the weakest, Fuyuan. But you’re getting on my nerves so I’ll kill you first.”

  “Great,” Liam said.

  He stared at the Hunter and stretched as if preparing for nothing more than a good-natured brawl. Then, without another word, he turned and ran.