Chapter 71 Elodie
Elodie
We ran out of the collapsing castle to see our enemies had breached the walls.
They were everywhere: in the courtyard, climbing over the walls, billowing out in every direction like an endless wave.
And somehow, more dark creatures I’d never seen before had arrived—or, by the looks of them, been summoned straight from hell—to augment their numbers.
But I was a talented sniper, Enclave certified, and if we could fight our way to a good perch, maybe I could take Bran and Narcissa out from afar.
It wasn’t plan A, because a sword was a surer way to end most supernaturals.
Taking the head off pretty much anyone was game over, whereas plenty of supes could recover from bullet wounds, just like us wolves.
But at this point? Even slowing Bran and Narcissa down would help.
Gael had a rifle too. As long as one of us was successful, that would be enough. If they were both incapacitated, we could capture them. Without the leaders, hopefully, the army would fall apart.
But the courtyard was overrun, and my plan to get somewhere high up would have to wait. I slung the rifle over my shoulder by its strap, freeing my staff and disassembling it into two short swords. There was a crush of bodies, both friend and foe, and the length of the full staff would be unwieldy.
But I’d barely freed the short swords from each other when bloodcurdling screams began to sound outside the gates.
What in the nine hells? I might have yelled the question at Valens, but he’d already engaged with an opponent.
And then I heard it. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
Were those wingbeats? What new, psychotic hell beast had Narcissa found to throw at us now?
I clutched my sword hilts tightly, bracing myself as the sound grew closer, but even I had to blink to double-check my eyes when I saw two giant-ass dragons fly over the castle walls.
One had scales as black as a moonless midnight; the other’s were sparkling blue, shining brightly against the sky.
“Holy fucking shit.” I stared agape, as did everyone else in the courtyard, as the dragons turned in graceful unison to avoid the castle, then swept back out over the enemy army and blasted out scalding gouts of fire the width of a city bus.
Wait.
They’re attacking Narcissa’s people!
Did Shay’s coin call dragons? Some people had all the luck.
We fought with renewed vigor, but the flood of people pushed us out of the busted-open gates and beyond the courtyard. I gave up on my sniper plan for now, hoping Gael had had better luck getting into a usable position.
Once we were out on the open ground outside the castle, I caught my first glimpse of Narcissa.
She was a radiant beauty, and suddenly, I understood all those legends about Helen of Troy launching a thousand ships.
This was a woman men would gladly go to war for.
Her thick black hair flowed down her back in glossy waves, and her eyes were big and soft, as if she were delicate and needed protecting.
Ironic, given it was the opposite of the truth.
Bran stood at her side now, not fighting, just… watching. Or perhaps arguing?
I couldn’t study them for long before another opponent drew my blades and my attention. A goblin catapult clanged nearby, distracting my opponent. I used the distraction to run him through, as the catapult took aim at Bran and Narcissa toward the back of the army.
About halfway up the apparatus, a frantic goblin waving got my attention. “What is it?” I called, stepping away from Valens to the green-haired little fellow.
“Our strap has broken! We need a mighty warrior to help hold it in place so we might launch our stone at the mistress of great evil!” He said it all with over-the-top hand gestures.
A quick glance back told me Valens was holding his own, since a third or more of the enemy army had run for it, when the dragons began to spew fire.
I raced to the base of the catapult and, spotting the too-tiny-for-a-shifter ladder the goblins used to climb up it, groaned. The things I do for this pack.
Climbing the tiny rungs three at a time, I came nose to nose with the goblin—who, upon closer inspection, was definitely Rivestky the Grand Inventor from Canada—in a few short seconds. “Give me one second.”
This wasn’t the sniper perch I’d planned, but it was the one that presented itself.
I knelt on the wooden platform, resting the barrel of my rifle over a piece of steel that made up the catapult’s frame.
Sighting it in on Narcissa’s throat, I breathed for a moment, and after I exhaled, pulled the trigger.
I watched as the bullet flew, my aim true to the target. But Narcissa’s eyes snapped up as if she sensed it coming, and she lifted a glowing red hand. My bullet fell from its trajectory, useless, at her feet. Shit.
A rifle wasn’t going to work against an omega with the power of war.
I turned back to Rivetsky, who’d watched me shoot with quiet awe. “Put me to work.”
He clapped his hands and jumped onto the ladder above me, leading me all the way to the top of the platform, where two other goblins argued in high, squeaky voices.
I had to crouch to feel stable on the platform, which had only a single railing about shin height to keep the much shorter goblins from toppling off.
“Here, mighty warrior, is the broken strap. If you would kindly hold it while we fasten it so we may execute our most grievous attack.”
“Sure thing,” I agreed, grabbing the leather strap and pulling until he gestured for me to stop.
I watched as he worked, efficiently reattaching the leather strap to its post. Within five minutes, he leaned back, dusting off his hands with satisfaction.
“Release the boulder!” he cried to the other goblins. None of the attackers below noticed or cared, too crazed under Narcissa’s influence to try to take out the obvious threat posed by the catapult.
“I’ll just get out of your way—” I tried to escape, but the goblins worked quickly.
Before I could turn to the ladder, which was the only way down besides leaping off, one of them had already screamed, “Fire!”
The entire wood platform we stood on shook violently as the catapult arm began to rise.
There was no way in the nine hells I’d make it down in one piece, and a broken leg wasn’t an option at the moment, so I held tight to the nearest railing, trying my best to stay on my feet and off my ass as the whole world shook around me.
I watched, a little awed, as a massive stone flew overhead, the entire catapult kicking backward as it released to tumble through the air, right on target. The goblins may have been different, but they still got shit done, and I could appreciate that.
Holding my breath, I watched as the stone sailed directly for Narcissa. She glanced up, clocked the projectile, and gestured to a supernatural standing a few feet away. The man raised both hands, and, almost as if it were happening in slow motion, the stone reversed in midair.
Fuck.
“Get down! We need to get down!” I hollered to the goblins, risking straightening up so I could run for the ladder.
But the stone was coming, and fast. There was no time for the easy way down.
“We have to jump!” A goblin grabbed my leg, wailing in terror.
I picked her up, tucking her under one arm like a football, then grabbed the other.
Only Rivetsky remained. “We have to go! Now!”
“Go! I will leap down after you!” he ordered, shoving at my calf as if he could budge me with sheer force of will.
Out of hands and time, I leapt, doing my best to land and roll in a way that wouldn’t break my knees or smash the goblins I carried.
We landed in the dust, and with the wind knocked out of me, I stared up, realizing that Rivetsky hadn’t jumped.
Shit.
I tried to yell, tried to tell him to hurry, but I was still breathless in the dirt, helpless as the boulder smashed into the catapult, the entire structure toppling over and taking the tiny inventor with it.
“No,” I cried, lungs finally starting to work again as I heaved myself off the ground and rushed toward the rubble. “Please, Goddess, no…” My words trailed off as the dust cleared, and I found him. His own creation had crushed him, the lower half of his body motionless under heavy steel beams.
“Rivetsky, we have to get you out and to the healer—” I grabbed the end of the beam and yanked, but it wouldn’t move.
“It’s okay, mighty warrior. Rivetsky has done his part and will be remembered as the Grand Inventor who brought glory back to the goblin people.” He coughed, blood coating his lips, his vacant smile giving the impression he was already slipping away.
His chest went still, and my eyes blurred with tears.
I barely knew him, yet somehow, my heart ached at his bravery. I scrubbed at my eyes, turning back toward the battle raging on all sides.
Though, it was thinning now. The dragons were swooping down, strafing over our attackers with claws extended, scooping up anyone who didn’t run fast enough and tossing them high in the air like rag dolls.
Holy shit, that’s terrifying.
The harpies had all fled, and as I watched the black dragon roast and then eat a magic scorpion, I had the first flicker of hope that we might have a fighting chance after all.
But Narcissa’s wolves, I noticed, weren’t running. Red-eyed under her influence, they fought on, ignoring the dragons that killed their pack mates in droves.
Damn Narcissa, she really was the mistress of evil.
A quick check told me the two goblins I’d leapt down from the catapult with had lived, and other than a twinge in my back—that my wolf should be able to quickly patch up—I was okay. Gutted, but okay.
I swiped the back of my hand over my face, blowing out a breath. I was done crying. It was time to fight.