Chapter 34 Caspian
Caspian
My mind spins with the amount of briars I’ve shot out, trying to weave their paths up to the surface all at the same time.
I collapse on the bridge, pulling my final threads.
Dayton’s flung way to my left, completely naked.
Rosie and Kel are far over to my right, immediately untangling from my briars and assuming fighting stances.
I got half of Kel’s team up too, but the rest are dead, all felled by a single swing.
As soon as Rosalina’s order rang through my mind, I felt for her briars and followed a path there. One of the underfae, a man with antlers grander than any crown, raised a massive black sword. A single strike was all it took to end five men.
Dayton’s team were dead before I even had a chance to get them out. These underfae…each one fights like an ancient master.
Breath labored, I spin in a circle, trying to take everything in.
Irahn is a speck in the distance, but somehow he still radiates with authority.
The huge flag with the sigil of Winter flaps in the wind high upon its wooden pike.
His voice booms out, mobilizing his soldiers.
The Deep Guard dip arrows in oil and set them ablaze, draw swords and spears, and ready themselves at the walls.
Quickly, I throw my hood up. I’m not supposed to be on the bridge, not after what happened the last time one of the Deep Guard got a look at me.
Irahn’s voice is a battle cry: “They’re coming!”
I run to the edge and peer into the chasm.
I’m no stranger to war, but my heart near crashes out of my ribs.
Explosions rocket forth from the walls of the chasm.
Monstrous shapes emerge: giant moles, their hairless bodies clad only in armor.
Their eyes are black voids. Perched atop their backs are underfae riders, each one armed with spears, knives, and bows.
Of course these bastards would be masters in every weapon known to the Vale.
More moles carve through the chasm’s walls with terrifying speed, their claws ripping stone like parchment. They’ll need to find their way up to the bridge, but—
I look straight down. Moles ascend the elevator lifts as if they’re climbing ladders, using their claws to dig into the abutments of the bridge.
From the moles’ paths, more horned fae surge forward like ants from a broken hill.
They carry an arsenal of grappling hooks and picks.
Ropes soar through the air, snagging onto the Voidseal’s railings and supports.
Within minutes, the entire bridge will be swarmed.
I stagger away from the edge. We never expected this many…
If the six of us could barely take down one, what chance do we have against an army?
A burst of bright light shines in my periphery, and a flaming wolf sprints toward me.
I blink against the intensity of Farron’s luminescent body.
But he doesn’t stop running. I barely leap out of the way before he jumps over me, teeth snapping at a giant mole that’s just scaled the wall.
He rips out the throat of the grotesque beast, then hurls it back over the side into the chasm. Its rider’s scream fades as he falls.
Farron turns back to me, maw bloodied. “You’re not supposed to be on the bridge.”
“I know, but there’s nothing like a swarm of murderous mole men to make a man feel popular.”
“Get up to the airship,” Farron growls. “You can offer aerial support from there.”
I look up. Flutterwing, the airship—once part of the Green Rule’s fleet—now flies low. Ezryn stands at the bow, shouting orders to his archers. A volley of arrows rains down, hitting the side of the bridge. Pained cries echo out in response. “Fine.”
A strange sound enters the cacophony of screams and clatter of metal. A whirring, mechanical screech. Then laughter.
Crazed, annoying laughter.
“Well, well, well! If it isn’t Sira’s precious boy! Finally flown the coop, have you, Your Highness?” The last words are said with such derision, I’m not surprised when Perth Quellos’s shining, bald head comes into view over the side of the bridge.
He’s riding a strange flying contraption.
Its shine means it could only be made of Spring steel.
He sits astride a narrow saddle, holding tight to two handlebars, connected by a panel of gears and levers.
Behind him, twin propellers glow with phantasmal green light.
So this thing is powered by the Green Flame.
Perth looks even more ridiculous than he usually does due to a pair of round reflective goggles he has strapped to his bald head.
“So this is where you’ve been, old man. Hiding away and building toys,” I jeer.
Perth smacks his blue-stained lips. “Oh, I’ve been doing much more than you can possibly imagine!
Sadly, I can’t take credit for this lovely little machine.
This is Kairyn’s creation.” He searches the length of the bridge.
“Now, where is that boy? Never mind. I can show you the power of Quellos all on my own!”
Great. Wrenley’s metal dog is here. Just what we—
Wait. Wrenley’s metal dog is here. As much as I hate to admit it, if anyone knows where she’s run off to, it would be Kairyn.
Suddenly, I feel like I’m standing next to a bonfire. Farron’s fur is entirely engulfed in flame, red and orange tendrils of fire sparking into the chilly air. His teeth are bared, and his eyes scream with wrath. “Get out of here, Cas. Quellos is mine.”
I look down the length of the bridge. I need to find Kairyn. Besides, it certainly seems like Farron can handle himself.
“Good luck, Quellos. I know better than to get between a dog and his bone.” Giving Farron a wink I doubt he registers through his terrifying bloodlust, I dart away.
Running, I desperately try to take everything in, fighting through the chaos to see any sign of Kairyn.
More moles have descended over the sides, their riders now entrenched in battle with the Deep Guard.
Overhead, Kryodian Riders swoop down on giant owls and falcons, lobbing arrows.
For every dead underfae I leap over, I’m avoiding a dozen more of our own.
Throwing a look over my shoulder, I catch sight of Dayton. He’s found pants, which is a start. His turquoise trident gleams in the sunlight as he launches himself at a woman with mossy green skin.
I can’t stop moving. Grappling hooks dart over the side. Swords clatter. Blood sprays up at my face as a man dies beside me.
Where are you?
Then I see him: the distinct gleam of Spring steel. His ginormous height and all-black armor make him stand out among the Deep Guard and underfae alike.
His sword sits in a hilt at his back. He does not fight but wanders through the battle like a ghost. The expressionless black helm slowly looks from left to right.
My heart stutters. There’s my chance to find Birdy. My muscles ache with how fast I run toward him. My hood flies back.
I know the moment he catches sight of me. His whole body stills, then he too runs.
I skid in a spray of frost as he approaches. The words leave my lips at the same time as they do his. “Where is she?”
“What?” I gape at him. “I thought you’d know!”
His breath reverberates beneath the helm. “If I knew where she was, I would be with her now.”
My heart sinks, and I stumble backward. “She’s really gone…” A sword swings in my direction, and I barely have time to throw up a briar to block it. I turn to my assailant. It’s a member of the Deep Guard. Young, eyes wide and terrified.
“I knew you was allied with the Below!” the guard cries. He pulls his sword loose of my briars, drawing it back for another swing.
Kairyn throws his arm in front of my face, blocking the blow with his gauntlet.
Then he kicks the boy hard in the chest, sending him clattering to the ground.
“Get out of here, Caspian. There’s no hope for you or your people—if these are your people now.
Not with what she has planned. Save yourself before it’s too late. ”
What she has planned.
Sira.
I stagger away from him. Up ahead, I see the sparkle of golden briars. Rosalina and Kel fight back-to-back. The Sword of the Protector gleams in the sunlight.
I whip briars up as fast as I can, blocking assaults from both Deep Guard and underfae. I am enemy to all here. A few underfae I’m able to send flying out over the railing, but I won’t attack the Deep Guard. I just have to keep myself alive.
“Cas!” Rosie cries when she sees me.
I slide across the icy ground, coming up between her and Kel, and throw a briar out to stab through the thigh of one of the underfae attacking Rosalina.
“I see negotiations went well,” I say.
“You’re not supposed to be on the bridge,” Kel growls.
“Yes, as everyone keeps reminding me.”
Kel looks to Rosie. “Forward!”
They move in sync, running ahead. I rush to keep up.
Kel glances at me. “Get up to the airship and support Ezryn. Rosalina and I need to get to my uncle.”
I follow his gaze back farther up the bridge. Irahn fights with a familiar stance, so like Kel. He’s surrounded by four underfae, his speed with his blade the lone thing keeping their strikes from connecting.
“Yes, sir,” I say, beginning to grow a briar around my legs to shoot me upward. I’ll only endanger them if I stay.
But something appears beside Irahn. A black shadow, so dark it seems to swallow the light.
And from its depths steps a woman.
My mother.