“Well,” Timmy said at last. “That would explain a lot. What do we do now?”
“Tell her she can leave the chamber.” Marden grinned savagely. “All of our systems are up and running again. I’m not sure how bad the damage we’ve taken is, but the fact we’re still up here and not going for a swim means that it can’t be too bad yet.” He banged his fist down on a nearby counter. “Hah! Those bastards thought we’d just lay down and die, did they? We’re dwarves. You can kill us, but we won’t make it easy!” He nodded firmly at Timmy. “We can handle the rest from here. It’s engineering work. You’re a necromancer. Go out there and give them hell.”
“Oh, I intend to,” Timmy replied. “Believe me. I intend to.”
* * *
“Look!” Katie yelled. She and Gerald were fighting in the naval base with some of the dwarves. It hadn't been easy getting down from the Sky City, but they'd used one of her larger composite zombies to ferry down as many people as they could. Chomp was there too, and they were doing their best to pick off supplies and equipment, as well as destroy any magical weapons they could reach. It was tough going. There were so many imperial soldiers, so it was a good thing she and the others had arrived to reinforce King Barin’s forces before they could be overrun. “The cannons are moving!”
It was true. High above the battlefield, the great magical cannons of the Sky City were moving again. Not all of them – some had been disabled by the bombardment they’d endured since their arrival – but some of them was still a lot better than none of them.
“They must have reactivated the star crystal,” Amanda replied.
The vampire was fighting alongside them and King Barin. The fighting had degenerated from organised combat to a ragged melee with the dwarves doing their best to stay in some semblance of a formation while hitting anyone they could reach. Meanwhile, the imperials soldiers were trying to surround them or separate them. At the centre of a clump of dwarves, Gerald was handing out healing supplies while Old Man continued to cut his way through enemy soldiers. Katie was animating as many zombies as she could, but she was beginning to run low on magic. It was about time for her to drink another potion, but she didn’t know how many more she could take. The dull ache in the back of her head that always came after she took a potion to restore her magic had grown into a full-fledged migraine. If she took any more, she might actually collapse from the pain.
“Thank the gods!” Gerald blurted. The ninja rats had run out of their own needles and were using needles Gerald had given them. It was a good thing he’d taken an interest in sewing some years ago although he hadn’t proven to be any good at it. The demolition rats were also hard at work, rigging traps and cobbling together explosives from whatever they could scrounge up. At least one of the barrels they’d taken from the imperial soldiers had contained blasting powder, and they’d put it to good use. “Because we could really use some help!”
“Stand firm!” King Barin ordered. “I will tell them where to aim!”
The dwarves cheered as King Barin used a scrying sphere to relay their position to the dwarves in the Sky City. With an ominous clank, the city’s weapons angled downward. Katie gulped. She hadn’t been in a good position to see them in action against the cosmic fungi, but the view from below was incredible. The cannons were similar to those used by dreadnoughts, but some of them were far larger. A normal ship could never have generated enough magic to power so many, but the Sky City was a floating fortress. With a huge star crystal as its power source – the same sort of object that had created the Desert of Glass if the stories were to be believed – there was no telling how much power those cannons might have.
One of the cannons fired, and a scintillating blast of magical energy ripped through a dreadnought. The ship’s defences flared, failed, and the vessel was torn to shreds. More of the cannons opened fire, and ship after ship was reduced to kindling. The fleet retaliated as best it could, and the city’s barrier continued to stutter. It must have taken fairly critical damage before they could reactivate the star crystal. Hopefully, they’d be able to strengthen it. However, the sheer mass of the Sky City – it really was a floating city – meant it could weather damage better than the far smaller ships. Several cannons exploded and two were knocked loose and tumbled into the sea. But Skygarde had finally come to life, and the dwarves had no intention of backing down. More of its weapons attacked, and the withering barrage had the fleet scattering to reduce the odds of multiple vessels being struck at the same time.
The Sky City wasn’t done yet.
Some of the cannons shifted in their direction, and a bolt of explosive magic levelled a nearby building and sent imperial soldiers flying every which way. Exhausted cheers rang out, and the Sky City switched to some of its smaller weapons, reducing the area ahead of the dwarves to a maelstrom of magical power.
“Fall back!” King Barin thundered. “We’ve done our work, lads! Let the boys upstairs cover our retreat!”
The cheers grew louder, and potions and healing were swiftly doled out as the dwarves began to fall back toward the Sky City. Katie animated whatever corpses she could and directed them at their opponents. She didn’t need to kill them. The Sky City was doing a wonderful job of that. She only needed to slow the imperial soldiers down. Skygarde’s smaller weapons swept back and forth across the battlefield, creating fields of devastation to separate the dwarves from the imperial troops. Magic lanced up toward the Sky City – there were still several Lords of Magic around – but the Sky City’s reply was devastating. The mages were forced to abandon their positions and seek shelter in the parts of the naval base that were still intact. Of course, the sudden reactivation of the city’s weapons did not go unchallenged for long.
The naval base was one of the empire’s finest, designed to withstand attack from several fleets at once, and it had the firepower to match Skygarde. As the Sky City unleashed another deadly barrage, the naval base switched its firepower from the shambling cosmic fungus to Skygarde, and the air was suddenly torn to shreds as the legendary city and the naval base went toe to toe, exchanging salvo after salvo. The thunderous roar of magical cannons drowned out the beating of her heart and the howls of the cosmic fungus. The Sky City’s wavering barrier flickered and died, and the naval base’s barrier joined it a moment later. It was brutal – a simple contest in which the two combatants ignored anything even vaguely resembling defence in favour of simply hitting each other as hard as they could. Would the empire triumph, or would dwarf engineering carry the day?
Broken masonry tumbled down from the Sky City, and portions of the naval base were reduced to smouldering craters. And still the battle went on. Bolts of lightning, flame, ice, and other magic lanced down from the floating city and up from the empire’s base. It was a stunning display of magical firepower, and Katie could only gape in awe as the two fortifications ripped into one another. For the longest time, it seemed as though they were evenly matched until a sudden, fiery explosion annihilated one of the huge towers that housed one of the naval base’s most powerful magical weapons. Melting stone rained down on them, and a blazing comet leapt out of the ruins and streaked toward them. The air burned in its wake, and the buildings it passed caught fire. There was a brilliant flash of light and heat, and the comet unleashed a tidal wave of fire that enveloped swathes of imperial soldiers and left only a vast, roiling lake of liquefied rock in its wake. Katie readied herself for battle, but Rembrandt shook his head. The energy he felt wasn’t quite the same, but it was still close enough for him to know who it was.
“That’s Avraniel?” Katie asked. “Are you sure? But even her magic isn’t that powerful…”
“It is her,” Amanda said. “And this also answers several questions I’ve had since I first met her. Elves do not have fire magic like she does – unless they’re not really elves.”
Avraniel landed in front of them, and Katie’s eyes widened. It was like looking at a living statue wrought of finest crystal. The elf – or wha
tever she was – was lit from within as though someone had replaced her heart with the sun itself. Her eyes were blazing pools of gold that radiated pure brilliance, and countless symbols etched in fire and light glowed upon what passed for her skin.
“Hey, twerp.” Katie twitched. There was something distinctly inhuman about Avraniel’s voice now. It hinted at endless aeons and gulfs of eternity that even an elf could never hope to grasp. It reminded her, vaguely, of the feelings Sam radiated when he spoke of his youth, which was so long ago he couldn’t even remember when it had been.
“Uh… hi.” Katie paused, not quite sure how to phrase her next words. “You, um, look… different.”
“I feel different too. As Spot would say, I feel awesome.” Avraniel smirked. The heat radiating off her was suffocating, and Katie was certain that if she hadn’t been making an effort to rein it in, then every single one of them would have been reduced to ash. It was like standing next to a living inferno. “But it looks like we’ve got company.”
Katie followed Avraniel’s gaze and squinted. “Gerald, do you have a spyglass?” The bureaucrat handed her one, and Katie peered through it. “Reinforcements – imperial reinforcements!” She gulped. “That is a lot of fliers. I see griffins, drakes, wyverns, and a few other things too.” She scowled. She hadn’t thought about it until now, but the empire must have called for reinforcements the moment the Sky City appeared over their naval base. It was too big a prize to lose, and those reinforcements had arrived just in time to prevent the Sky City from retreating or seizing control of the battle. If only they’d arrived later! “What do we do?”
“Relax, twerp. We’ll be fine.” Avraniel chuckled, and waves of heat wafted outward, stifling in their intensity. “They’re not the only ones here.” She pointed, this time in the opposite direction to the imperial reinforcements. Sure enough, the other horizon was full of friendly fliers wearing the familiar colours and livery of Everton and the Shimmering Isles. At their head, Katie saw an immense griffin bearing the colours of the House of Winters. Katie swallowed thickly. She’d never seen so many aerial troops before. Even the battle between the Sky City’s roc riders and the naval base’s griffin knights paled in comparison to the coming conflict. This could well be the largest aerial battle since the last war between Everton and the Eternal Empire. “See? We’ll be fine.”
There was a flash of movement above them, and Avraniel whistled sharply. “Spot!”
The dragon landed beside them, and he gave a happy cry as he rushed over to Avraniel and examined her more closely. Whatever he saw must have pleased him because he bounced around in joy, tail wagging and wings flapping, before finally leaping into her arms. Katie had seen him do that before. Even with her great strength, Avraniel was usually thrown at least slightly off balance. This time, she didn’t budge even an inch.
“Come on.” Avraniel scratched his chin, and tongues of flame curled around the dragon’s snout and rustled down his back. “You’re with me, Spot. We’re going to go up there and have ourselves some fun.” She leapt into the sky, trailing fire in her wake, as her parting words lingered in the air. “You guys handle the bastards down here. I’m sure there will be plenty more for you to kill.”
“Will you guys be okay here?” Katie looked up again. Apart from the griffins, wyverns, and drakes carrying knights and other aerial combat specialists, there were also fliers carrying large numbers of troops. “There are more boarders coming, and I think my master could use some help.” She closed her eyes and reached out to her zombies. Yes, her master definitely wanted her back up in the Sky City. He was saying as much to one of her zombies. “I should probably get Gerald somewhere safer too.” She paused. “And I’m sure he could help with the repairs and healing going on up there.”
“Good idea!” Gerald cried. He had already handed out enough supplies to heal the dwarves down here several times over. However, there were bound to be more people up there that needed his help. The fact that it should be safer up there was simply a happy coincidence.
“Aye.” King Barin grinned. Like any good dwarf, the prospect of finishing off his enemies had erased his tiredness. The Sky City’s reactivation and the arrival of reinforcements had his blood running hot, and he and the others dwarves would do their best to hinder the naval base’s attempts to help the arriving imperial troops. “Give us some more supplies and tell my brother to send some of his damn golems down here.” He looked at Katie. “And lend us some of your stronger zombies too, lass. With the Sky City working again, they’ll do their best to board it. We’ll make sure they don’t get any help from down here.”
She grinned back at the king. “I’ll lend you Harold and a few of the others. Try to bring them back in one piece.”
* * *
Timmy breathed a sigh of relief as a familiar griffin landed beside him. It was Beaky, Vicky’s favourite griffin. The towering beast skipped over to him and gave him a playful nudge that almost threw him off his feet before nonchalantly turning and shredding three soldiers with his talons. Vicky, of course, remained airborne. Her glowing form was at the head of the swathe of aerial troops that had arrived. The remaining imperial griffin knights had fled to join the safety of their own approaching formation as the roc riders fell in beside their counterparts from the Shimmering Isles and Everton. Beneath him, the city continued to shudder as it and the naval base and fleet continued to exchange blows. At the same time, though, the Sky City had begun to move into a better position. Ideally, it would be able to fire on the fleet without the naval base lending the ships any support. However, although the city could move again, it had clearly taken more damage than they’d hoped because it was only moving at a crawl.
“It’s nice to see you too, Beaky.” Timmy fought to stay on his feet as the griffin chirped and nuzzled him. “Good grief. Did you somehow get even bigger?” Beaky was already enormous for a griffin – he dwarfed a warhorse in size – but he was fairly sure the flier had only continued to get larger. His gaze shifted as Katie landed beside him with Gerald. “Are you guys okay?”
“I’m still alive,” Gerald said. “And I haven’t been stabbed or anything yet, so this day is still something of a success, all things considered.”
“Well, the day’s not done yet,” Timmy quipped. “We’ve got plenty of wounded and lots of repairs to carry out. Find some place convenient to set up and help as best you can. We’re moving into a position that should make it harder for people on the naval base to board us, and some of the dwarves have just reported that they destroyed the portal the empire was using to get here. However, we still have to worry about fliers dropping off more troops.”
“So… I can stay here?” Gerald asked. “You know, where it’s kind of safe?”
“Just let the dwarves know where you are, so they can come to you if they need anything.” Timmy’s brows furrowed and several zombies marched over. “The dwarves might have destroyed the portal, but we’re still cleaning up imperial troops. Take these zombies with you.” Gerald looked absolutely relieved at the thought of staying on the Sky City. “Oh, but before you go, how about giving me a few bags of pebbles?”
“Of course.” Gerald handed him several bags of pebbles and then ran off in the general direction of the healers’ area. Timmy placed the bags of pebbles in the saddlebags that Beaky had. Griffins were not only swift in the air but also powerful too. They were capable of carrying heavy loads long distances without complaint. And it wasn’t like Timmy could just grab a few pebbles once they were airborne. “Good luck, Gerald. Stay safe.” He paused. “And if you’re not sure what to do, run and find some dwarves.”
“Okay!”
“Who is that, master?” Katie asked. To her relief, the fighting around the city was dying down. Without the griffin knights to support them and with their portal onto the Sky City destroyed, the current wave of boarders was firmly on the back foot. Groups of dwarves accompanied by bands of golems and zombies had taken to the streets to scour them of any imperial s
oldiers who were still around. Unfortunately, the battle was far from won. There was a huge aerial battle coming up, and the empire’s reinforcements had brought plenty of extra fliers that could carry more boarders to the city. “Master?”
Beaky peered at Katie, taking her measure. A gleam entered his eyes, and he lunged forward with incredible speed. Before Katie could even think of dodging, the griffin had seized her by the scruff of her cloak. He lifted her off the ground and chortled as her arms and legs flailed in the air.
“Hey!” Katie wailed. “Let go! Master, make him let me go!”
“Relax.” Timmy patted Beaky on the head. The griffin let Katie go, and he caught his apprentice and set her back on her feet. She huffed and scowled ominously at the griffin, but Beaky simply stared back with the equivalent of a grin on his face. “This here is Beaky, Vicky’s favourite griffin. He’s a nice guy, actually, not stuck up like most griffins. However, he does have a mischievous streak. Have you ever heard of a griffin sneaking into someone’s bedroom to hide a grass snake in their bed? Beaky has done that – twice. The only reason he has stopped doing it is because he’s too big to go sneaking around people’s bedrooms.” His voice turned serious. “He’ll be our ride for what I hope is the last part of this mission, and we couldn’t ask for a better griffin to carry us. Beaky is one of the finest war griffins in the world.”
Katie gulped and looked up. “So… we’re going up there to fight too?”
“Yep.” Timmy hefted his shovel over his shoulder. He was glad he’d picked one of his sturdier ones. It would be a shame to have to deal with a broken shovel in the middle of a battle. “Don’t get me wrong, Katie. I’d prefer to keep my feet on the ground since earth magic is kind of terrible in the sky. However, the only reason we don’t have more boarders is because we have air superiority. If they win the air battle, they can drop more boarders and one of them might be a mage who can establish another portal to the naval base. The Sky City can move again, but it won’t be able to outrun griffins, wyverns, or anything like that. The people we’ve got on the ground are working to disable as many weapons as they can and to create as much chaos as possible. If we can deal with the fliers, we can grab our people from the naval base and retreat. We don’t have to beat them to win here. Simply escaping with our forces and the Sky City intact would count as a win for us.” He lifted Katie up onto Beaky and settled in behind her before tying both of them to the griffin. Beaky shifted, testing the distribution of weight. “Now, you’ve never ridden a living griffin before, so let me tell you something very important.”
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