“What?”
“Hold on.”
“What?” With a piercing cry that echoed through the streets and spilled upward into the sky, Beaky shot up into the air. “AHHHHH!”
Timmy chuckled. “I did tell you to hold on.”
Katie turned to glare. “You should have been more specific.”
“Oh? How could I have been more specific? You’re on a griffin. What else could ‘hold on’ mean?”
Katie continued to glare, and Beaky chortled. Although griffins didn’t have telepathy the way dragons did, Timmy had been around enough of them to tell what he was thinking. Beaky found Katie’s suffering amusing, and he decided to add to it by doing a barrel roll that prompted another scream from the girl.
“Don’t be mean, Beaky,” Timmy chided as Katie yelled a few words that a girl her age probably shouldn’t be saying. “And, Katie, don’t swear.”
It was often said – and not without reason – that dragons were the rulers of the sky. As Spot had so aptly demonstrated, dragons were blessed with immense speed and agility in the air, and they had an instinctive grasp of aerial combat that made them absolute nightmares to deal with. Spot wasn’t a year old, and the thought of what he’d be able to do once he became an adult was a little terrifying. Thankfully, Timmy knew he could be bribed with food. There was probably nothing in the world that could outpace a dragon across long distances thanks to their immense endurance, and there were very few creatures that could match them in the acrobatic chaos that was aerial combat. However, griffins were one of those creatures.
Beaky raced upward, leaving behind the roc riders that had moved into position to join the allied formation. War griffins like Beaky boasted incredible strength, as well as outstanding agility and speed in the air, and Beaky was one of the finest in the world, the product of centuries of careful breeding and Vicky’s strange talent for working with animals that could rip people in half. Timmy could still remember the time some of their classmates had gotten her a giant cobra as a joke gift. It had taken Vicky all of three hours to have the animal eating out of her hand, and it had spent many classes curled up to her desk, hissing at people.
In seemingly no time at all, they were cruising through the air next to Vicky. The woman wasn’t using her full speed, but she couldn’t if she wanted the rest of the formation to keep up. And even Vicky wasn’t about to charge into an entire formation of imperial fliers. Actually, that wasn’t quite right. If there had been no one else to fight them, she almost certainly would have done exactly that.
“Nice of you to join us,” Vicky said. Her glowing form was different from usual. Instead of sending an astral projection, she’d arrived in person with her magic wrapped around her and infusing her body. Once she’d worked out she could reinforce her body with light magic, this had been the logical next step – practically transforming into a being made of light. Sure it was incredibly complex and it took huge quantities of magic to pull off, but it allowed her to use her magic while granting her unbelievable speed, durability, and additional powers like flight.
Timmy was tempted to sigh. Some people had all the luck when it came to magic. He loved his shovels and his earth magic, but becoming the equivalent of super-fast, super-durable, flying magical artillery wouldn’t have been bad either. As good as Beaky was in the air, Vicky was even better. She didn’t fly using wings or anything like that. Instead, she used her magic to manipulate light, and since she happened to be practically made of light, she could use her magic to move herself around – and to pull off manoeuvres no normal flier could. It was this sort of thing that had earned her the position of the most dangerous member of the Council in combat. “How are you two?”
“It’s been a long day,” Timmy said. “We got stranded in another dimension, but we managed to get back after fighting off heaps of smaller cosmic fungi and the giant one over there.” He pointed to where the colossal cosmic fungus had veered off to attack another part of the naval base. A small cadre of ships was in pursuit, and they continued to bombard it with a steady barrage of attacks. “And then we reappeared over the naval base, and we’ve been fighting non-stop ever since. Oh, and I had to help with some of the repairs since, of course, the Sky City suffered serious damage on its way back. But other than those things, I think today has been okay.”
Vicky laughed. “Timmy, other than those things, you haven’t done anything. I don’t think I’d classify today as okay. I’d put it somewhere between disastrous and apocalyptic.”
“Well, we’re all still alive, so I think that’s enough to promote it to okay.”
“I suppose there is that.” Her gaze shifted to the opposing formation. “Once we deal with them, we should have a window of at least several hours to retreat safely. I doubt the empire will be foolish enough to send troops at the Sky City once we’re no longer within range of the naval base’s weaponry.” She looked at Katie. “And how about you? This is a lot to deal with at your age.”
“I’m as well as could be expected.” Katie nodded. “And thank you for coming, councillor. We could really use the help.” She paused. “But you should probably speak to Gerald after this. I think he might be traumatised. We had to pour some hydra acid on people, and I don’t think he took it too well.”
“I see. Gerald is a good man of many talents, but he is not cut out for pouring hydra acid on people. I’ll speak to him once things have calmed down a bit.” The glowing woman grinned impishly. “And it wasn’t like I could let the Sky City fall into enemy hands, and I certainly wasn’t going to leave your master to die either, no matter what James wants.”
“I’m sure he’d prefer to be rid of me, but I think he’d be annoyed if he wasn’t the one to finish me off.” Timmy grinned as he imagined how mad James would be if someone else managed to kill him. He peered at the enemy formation. They had a lot of fliers. In addition to griffin knights, there were wyvern riders, war drakes, and he could even see some of the massive bats he’d heard were native to the more mountainous regions of the empire. They were famous for their ability to fly perfectly at night and their use of sound attacks to disorient their opponents. “So… do we have a plan?”
“Oh, you know… the usual: we fly in, kill them all, and try to stay alive.” Vicky chuckled at Katie’s dumbfounded expression. “Normally, we’d try to flank them or use more cunning tactics to take advantage of the terrain, but this is the aerial equivalent of a brawl.” She reached over to ruffle Katie’s hair. To Timmy’s dismay, the girl did not glare at the councillor. Why did Vicky get to ruffle her hair without being glared at? “We’re going to let them come a bit closer, so we can make use of the Sky City’s defences, but these sorts of large aerial battles in what is essentially open sky almost always devolve into a series of individual duels and small-group battles. It’s hard to do anything with such large groups that have been put together at such short notice in a situation where both sides have perfect views of each other. It’ll be as close to a straight-up fight as you can expect to –”
BOOM.
A huge explosion rocked the centre of the imperial formation. Heat, force, and light billowed outward. Fliers tumbled out of the sky as those further away from the blast fought to stay aloft. Even from a distance, their panic and alarm was obvious as the empire’s forces searched for the source of the attack. It hadn’t come from the Sky City or Vicky, but who else could have that kind of firepower? The answer arrived a few moments later as two forms raced upward to draw level with the front of the allied formation, one scaly and one crystalline.
“Now that is interesting.” Vicky raised one eyebrow as she studied Avraniel intently. “She’s gotten even more powerful, and she was strong to begin with. She’s also apparently made of crystal now.” She grinned as Avraniel fired off another gigantic blast that had the empire’s forces scrambling to get clear of it. “I doubt we’ll get a better opportunity than this.” She raised her voice, and it echoed in the souls and ears of everyone in the allied formation, cou
rtesy of her magic. “You’re all veterans with many years of experience. You all know what to do. I’ll keep this simple. We’re going right at them. We’re going to break their formation, split them apart, and force them to fight on our terms while we have the initiative. Stay together, fight beside the people you know best, and don’t let them regroup. We just got the Sky City back, so we’re not going to just hand it over.”
“Yeah! Kill those imperial sons of bitches!” Avraniel screamed as Spot roared at her side.
“Yes,” Vicky drawled. “What she said.” She laughed. “All forces, advance at full combat speed. Attack!”
Their forces picked up speed as they closed in on the enemy. Opposite them, the imperial formation was doing its best to regroup as it rushed forward to meet them. In an aerial battle, being caught flatfooted was a great way to end up dead. Speed – or lack of it – killed.
“Okay.” Timmy tightened his hold on Beaky as the griffin accelerated from his more sedate cruising speed to his much faster attack speed. He’d ridden Beaky before. The griffin didn’t need to be told what to do. He could fight with his eyes closed. It was up to Timmy and Katie to hang on and help as much as they could. “Katie, here’s how this is going to work. Griffins don’t generally have much in the way of ranged attacks, so their standard approach is to close in for melee combat. Their beaks and talons are sharp enough to give even dragons something to think about. As riders, it’s our job to help Beaky do his thing. This means we’ll be the ones attacking at long range as he closes in, and at close range, we’ll be helping him fight. Don’t worry about using your shadows at long range. Focus on close-range and mid-range combat. Remember, you don’t have to kill another flier to win – knocking them out of the sky is enough. If you can damage their wings or get the enemy rider, then go for it.”
“What if we have to defend ourselves?” Katie asked. She shivered, and it wasn’t from the cold. Beaky was moving at a speed even Spot would have struggled to reach.
“Beaky is swift and agile in the air, and he has powerful protective magic. If you notice anything, let him know. If necessary, use your magic to help him.” Timmy chuckled self-deprecatingly. “As much as I’d like to help, I won’t be any good on the defensive end.” His lips curved up into a small smile. But don’t worry. As good as Spot already is, Beaky could still beat him.”
“Really?”
“Beaky is undoubtedly one of the five best war griffins in Everton, and I’d go even further and argue he’s definitely in the top three. Now, hold on. You’re about to find out what riding on a world-class war griffin is like when it fights and why pebbles can be scary.” He was about to congratulate himself on a suitably motivating speech when he noticed something odd. Rembrandt, who had remained silent this entire time, was now wearing one of the rats’ glider suits. “When did you change into that?”
The rat reached up to adjust his eye patch and then smirked before squeaking his reply.
“You like being prepared, huh?” Timmy nodded. “Fair enough. If you’re going to wander off, try not to go too far. Katie would be mad if something happened to you.”
“He’ll be fine, master,” Katie said. “He’s Rembrandt.”
It was, Timmy supposed, as good an explanation as any, and at least, they wouldn’t have to worry about Rembrandt falling to his death if he had a glider suit. Beaky cawed a warning, and Timmy braced himself. It was a good thing he’d remembered to tie them both to the griffin. Sure, Katie could fly, but falling off in the middle of a fight would not be good, and it wasn’t like he could fly. Gravity was very much not his friend.
“Let’s go!” Timmy lowered himself in the saddle, leaning forward, and Katie did the same. On her shoulder, Rembrandt clung on tightly. “Time to make some noise.”
The two formations closed in on each other, and tension coiled in Timmy’s gut. This was not a battle he was comfortable fighting – earth mages typically preferred to be surrounded by rocks and dirt – but it was one they needed to fight. Each heartbeat seemed to go on forever, and he tightened his hold on Katie ever so slightly as the first spells and projectile weapons began to flash through the air between the two groups. A white glow formed around Beaky as the griffin shrugged off a blast of lightning and simply ignored a handful of crossbow bolts. The wind whipped past, and Beaky shifted slightly, angling toward one opponent in particular as the world became little more than a blur of motion. They were so close now.
THUD.
They hit a wyvern, and the poor creature practically exploded as Beaky’s size combined with his speed and defensive magic turned the griffin into the equivalent of a flying boulder. Blood flew, and bones shattered. Beaky twisted and wrenched his talons up and forward as he wheeled away, already looking for his next target as the stricken wyvern and its hapless rider plunged toward the ocean.
“Ah!” Katie screamed and jabbed one finger back at their opponent. “Did you see that? He exploded the wyvern!”
“That’s what griffins do,” Timmy said. He eased one of the bags of pebbles open and palmed a few of them. A flick of his shovel sent a pair of the small stones racing through the air. An oncoming drake took both pebbles straight to the head. Its thick skull saved it from being killed outright, but it was badly stunned. As it floundered, Timmy used his shovel again. A trio of pebbles lanced through the drake’s rider before he could use any defensive magic. The pebbles continued onward, piercing through several archers and crossbowmen behind him. As a mage at the back tried to use some healing and defensive magic, Beaky struck. The griffin ripped through the drake’s left wing, and Katie had the good sense to use her shadows to knock off as many people as she could, including the healer. “See? Teamwork. That’s what this is all about.” Behind them, the drake plummeted out of the sky, its remaining wing flapping madly as it tried to regain some altitude.
As they swung around to launch another attack, an imperial griffin lunged toward them. Timmy fired more pebbles, but the projectiles glanced off the creature’s defensive magic. A jet of water from the griffin’s rider threatened to knock them out of the sky, but Beaky rolled under the attack and then shot upward as his own magic allowed him to shrug off the assault. The two griffins collided. White light flared over and over as they fought, beaks and talons moving with lightning speed and terrible precision. Beaky’s talons raked over the other griffin’s side, only for white light to ward off the blow. A beak strike aimed at his shoulder met a similar fate.
Timmy launched more pebbles, and the other griffin’s rider threw several more jets of water, but neither of them could land a clean blow, not at such close range, and not with the griffins’ magic still at work. Katie took a moment to adjust to the blistering pace the griffins had set – they’d already travelled more than a mile while fighting – and then her shadows darted forward. The griffin’s magic was tuned to deflect incoming attacks, but it must not have regarded her shadows as big enough threats to ward them off automatically. Shadowy tendrils tried to yank the rider off the griffin and to grab the griffin’s wings. Immediately, the enemy griffin clamped down with its magic. The initial wave of shadows dispersed, but Katie sent more, forcing the animal to divert its magic between her shadows and the mighty blows Beaky was throwing. The other griffin was big, but Beaky was even bigger.
The other griffin broke free and moved away, sensing the danger. It couldn’t fight off Beaky and defend against Timmy and Katie at the same time. Its rider fired compressed spheres of water to cover their retreat, but Beaky ploughed through them in pursuit. The first one almost knocked them off course – the rider could compress a huge amount of water into a projectile that was only a little larger than Timmy’s head – but Beaky adjusted, and his magic surged to better defend against the second and third spheres. As they closed in again, Katie’s shadows lengthened and took on a razor’s edge. The two animals collided again, and the world spun crazily as they twisted and turned in mid-air. More pebbles clattered off the griffin’s defences before Beaky landed
a powerful blow on the other flier. Its defences faltered, and Timmy’s next pebble managed to hit it. The griffin shrieked in pain as the projectile struck its side, and its rider fought desperately to push them back. However, Rembrandt saw an opportunity and took it, leaping off Katie’s shoulder and onto the rider’s arm. The rider saw the rat and immediately assumed the worst, drawing a dagger and trying to stab the ninja rat.
“Now!” Timmy shouted.
With the griffin wounded and its rider distracted, Katie attacked. She wrenched the rider out of the saddle with her shadows as she cut the rope tying him onto his griffin. Rembrandt leapt back toward them, throwing a handful of needles at tiny gaps in the griffin’s feathers. The poison on the needles would have killed a man several times over, but it only managed to slow the griffin down as it tried to catch its rider only for Beaky to ram into it again. The pair of griffins grappled with each other as the falling rider unleashed a concentrated stream of water that would have blown a hole right through Timmy if he hadn’t managed to alert Beaky in time. The huge griffin twisted, avoiding the attack, and Timmy launched a pebble at the falling man. It went right through his chest, and he went limp. The enemy griffin bellowed in outrage, but Beaky met its cry with a talon to its chest. It screeched in defiance, but Rembrandt’s poison had begun to take effect. Its movements were slowing down, and it was unable to block or evade Beaky’s next three attacks. It was the last of those – a talon to the throat – that ended the fight. The other griffin screeched wetly and fell.
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