Chapter 9
CHAPTER
NINE
Smoke smothered a good portion of the fortress, and my heart leapt in fear.
But after a moment, I realized it wasn’t damage but rather the haze of buffel grass burning across multiple rooftops.
Ten gilded birds swooped and soared above the smoke line, but none darted into it.
Either it affected their senses, or they simply didn’t want to risk diving into an unknown situation, especially given they knew we had at least one blood witch, having encountered—to their detriment—his barriers before.
There also weren’t as many here as I’d feared, but even though they hadn’t unleashed the entirety of the force we’d seen up on the Sheer, it was still two against ten.
Three, Kaia said firmly. We all flame as we drop.
We have Kele ? —
We have anger, she growled back. We kill, drop under smoke, be safe.
I sucked in a breath and resisted the urge to argue.
There was little point to doing so when she was so determined.
And, in truth, it was probably the only way all three of us were going to survive against this many.
Lura and Kiko might be fresher than Kaia and I, but they were also younger and newer to all this.
Tell them to move up in line with us. As the riders swing round to hit us, we flame as one and get into that smoke as fast as we can.
I hesitated, scanning the visible areas, looking for recognizable landmarks sitting above the haze.
Our current position will have us entering over the second levels.
Tell them not to hit any buildings if possible.
Below us, one of the birds was swinging around and up. A few more seconds and they would see us....
Now , I said, and thumped my hands against her spine, bracing hard as she dove.
The turning bird saw us and squawked harshly, a sharp sound that rose toward us on the still air. The rider glanced up, then hit the comms bracelet on his wrist.
As the other birds and riders swept around, I said, Flame, and Kaia and I did so, as did the other two drakkons and their kin.
A fiery wall of white-hot death swept toward the middle six riders.
They never stood a chance. We swept through their ashes and the waning backwash of drakkon flame and hit the smoke as one, punching through the thick, pungent layer.
I twisted around, flames flickering across my fingers, ready to unleash if the remaining birds followed us in.
The heavy haze swirled around Kaia’s tail, and the seconds ticked by with agonizing slowness, but no riders appeared.
Then we were through the smokey blanket and rocketing toward Esan’s buildings.
Kaia bellowed a command and changed the position of her wings in an attempt to pull up.
The drop in speed was abrupt, and it flung me back so hard the rope on the harness snapped.
I lunged for the rope around her spine to prevent slipping past her wings and gripped hard with my thighs.
Her tail flipped forward underneath us and smashed into a chimney, sending large chunks of stone flying and briefly unbalancing her; a rear claw raked across multiple rooftops, sending tiles and burning ropes of buffel grass into the streets below.
The other remained tucked up under her belly in an effort to protect Kele as much as possible.
A crash came from behind us; I twisted around, saw Lura tumbling over several rooftops before somehow righting herself.
I couldn’t immediately see Miri, and my breath caught in my throat, but after a moment I spotted her.
She was several rooftops farther back and was just climbing to her feet, having obviously jumped from Lura’s back before she hit the rooftop.
As she limped back to her drakkon, I turned to see how Kiko fared.
She was the smallest of our group, and this had obviously played to her advantage, because she alone had managed to pull up without hitting anything or anyone.
We flew on, keeping between the rooftops and the base of the smoke layer, every now and again spotting the odd glimmer of gold.
The occasional spray of acid made it through the thick haze, but it was easily avoided thanks to the fact it set off a chain reaction within the smoke that reminded me of a fiercely boiling pot.
Was that the reason the riders hadn’t yet breached the barrier? Did they believe it was magic-enhanced?
It was certainly possible, given that odd reaction. The air mages might be busy protecting the walls, but we did have the other four blood mages here, and maybe they’d been brought into the fray.
We rose toward the palace level. Those manning the walls scattered, leaving room for the two younger drakkons to land.
Kaia swept over the wall and approached the courtyard, bellowing in warning.
Those who hadn’t already cleared the area did so fast. Medics waited to the left of the gate, watching our approach.
Can’t land on one leg , Kaia said. You jump.
I quickly unclipped my packs, sword, and bow, and dropped them to the ground, then, using the frayed rope that still dangled from the neck harness, climbed down as far as possible and jumped the rest of the way.
Pain shuddered up my legs and my ankle twisted slightly.
I swore softly and limped under Kaia’s hovering form.
Right , I said to her, lower a few more feet.
She did so. When her gigantic claws were within touching distance, she extended her leg a fraction more and, with surprising gentleness, placed Kele into my arms. This close, her face was a fucking mess; bone was visible through the remnants of her right cheek, and a shallower but no less nasty-looking wound cut across her closed right eye.
Thankfully, there was no sign of bubbling around any of the wounds, which suggested enough rain and seawater had washed across her skin to deactivate the acid and prevent it from causing deeper damage.
If that hadn’t been the case, it was doubtful she’d even have a face left.
Whether she’d be able to ever see again was another matter entirely.
Need go now , Kaia said. Need see Gria .
You can’t go back through that smoke—the riders will be waiting. Give me a few minutes to take care of Kele, then I’ll talk to Garran and see what the situation is over the mountains behind us.
While the height of the mountain above the palace level wasn’t any barrier to the drakkons, against the somber black stone that made up the mountain’s slopes, their bright colors would make them conspicuously obvious.
Need hurry.
Will.
She landed the minute I was clear, tucked her wings in, and proceeded to glare—and puff smoke—at the soldiers crowding the courtyard’s entrance.
Seriously? I added, Stop terrifying the locals .
Is fun.
Maybe, but it’s not helping our cause for acceptance.
Don’t need their acceptance.
I motioned the medics and stretcher bearers over. You do if you want them to stop hunting drakkons.
She harrumphed but curtailed both the glare and the smoke.
Maree, a rotund woman with a wicked sense of humor and a booming laugh, hustled forward first, undaunted by Kaia’s closeness.
She was an exceptional apothecary, though her true skill lay more in divining what was happening within the body to provide a clearer roadmap for those who healed and repaired with magic or knife.
She sucked in a breath when she saw Kele’s face. “Now that is going to take some repairing.”
“But it can be repaired, right?” I said, unable to entirely keep the concern from leaching into my voice.
“Anything is possible these days with magic, luck, and a skilled surgeon.” She patted my arm. “We’ll take good care of her, don’t you be worrying about that.”
“Let me know when she regains consciousness.”
“I will.” She paused. “Once you report, come see me about that head wound. I’ve got a few salves that should stop the scarring and enable the hair to regrow.”
“Could you just send them to my quarters? I’ve no time?—”
“Self-care is a necessity, not an inconvenience, young woman.”
I smiled. “And regrowing a patch of hair is less of a necessity than ensuring I have enough food and shamoke in my system to fuel the next round of battles.”
Her sniff suggested she was unconvinced by my argument. I smiled and added, “Please.”
“Fine, but I’ll send a few refueling potions along with the salve. Make sure you take them.”
“I will. Thanks.”
She motioned to the medics accompanying her. Kele was taken from me, placed on the stretcher, and then hustled away. Maree padded beside her, holding Kele’s hand, already beginning her medical divination.
I sucked in a breath, then turned at the sound of footsteps. Garran, with two guards a couple of paces behind him.
I lightly saluted, and he rolled his eyes. “We’re cousins. You don’t salute.”
“You’re my king and commander?—”
“And you’re our drakkon queen. I think that puts us on the same level.”
I didn’t entirely agree, because protocol did have to be maintained, but let it go for now. “Is this smoke haze witch-enhanced?”
He nodded, his gaze lingering a little on my head. “It was the Prioress’s idea. It reacts against the bird’s gold feathers, stopping them from entering. Can’t be maintained indefinitely, but it allowed us to at least concentrate on repelling the Mareritt at the main wall. Why?”
“Can this end of it be extended upward at all? We need to cover the drakkons’ exit back to the aerie.”
“Let’s go ask her.” He paused. “Will the drakkons be okay here while you’re gone?”
“Halka and Miri are here, and Kaia will behave.”
If must , she sniffed.
I fell in step beside Garran and did my best to ignore the niggling ache rising from my ankle.
Surprisingly, we headed toward the side of the palace, away from the main entry steps. He must have sensed my confusion because he said, “They’re on the roof, doing their thing.”