by Drew Wagar
The flags were raised.
Coran turned and saw the acknowledgement from the cliff tops behind the city. The Mobilis was almost back to the harbour walls, thick black smoke trailing from the burning fluid that still coated its aft decks. Coran couldn’t see who was left aboard.
The dachs began to dive.
‘Wait,’ he called, staring up in the sky. He could see the riders now, poised with their weapons in their hands, ready to drop fire upon the city. ‘Wait!’
He could hear them now, both the roar from their throats and the rush of air over their wings. They were magnificent and terrifying all at once. He saw the leading riders dropping their weapons.
‘Loose!’
Kiri was behind the leading wave of dachs as they swooped down upon the city. The priestesses could sense the trajectories of the arrows unleashed against them, but the response was more co-ordinated here than they had experienced at Viresia. Riders and dachs were slain in the fierce response, but then the fire dropped.
Flame burst out in the ranks of the defenders, throwing some of them off the walls to die in the streets, burning others alive or sending them over the walls to drown in the sea. As the dachs swept inwards fire erupted in the streets and around the high towers where more archers were located. Dachs fell and riders were lost, but the defence began to become more haphazard as the fires took hold.
Kiri could see people running in the streets trying to douse the flames, but it was to little avail; the oily compound the priestesses had learnt to use burned despite their efforts. Kiri threw her own vials at one of the towers, seeing it burst into flame and disappear behind as she pulled her dach into a climb over the city.
Then she stared in surprise, her mouth dropping open.
Over the cliff tops were flying machines, huge, far bigger than the one she had pursued Meru in. They were descending towards the city. Kiri could make out people within, armed with bows.
Rihanna!
The machines were enormous, careening straight into the fight. From their flanks arrows flew, dispatching riders and dachs alike. Kiri watched in horror as arrows whistled through her own flight, slaying two of her own. She turned her dach to avoid the assault.
They fight well, as Meru said they would! We have never lost so many …
The priestesses were well trained. Rihanna signalled for them to re-establish their wings and return to the attack.
Do not attack from the sides! Attack from above if you can!
The dachs tried to climb above the flying machines, but their moves were countered as the machines rose in place, able to hover over the ground with ease. More arrows flitted through the air and more dachs fell.
The priestesses were struggling to apply their mental powers too. The twisting and turning of the attack and the defence made inflicting mental pain impossible, they were having to put all their efforts into flying and avoiding the arrows of the defenders.
They fight well, the fiercest resistance we have ever encountered …
An arrow pierced the wing of her dach. Kiri could sense the pain and felt the dach convulse beneath her thighs. She looked behind, only to see one of the smaller flying machines was pursuing her. An archer was hanging out of the side, fitting another arrow.
As she yanked her dach aside she saw the tidy formation of the dachs was now in disarray. Any pretence of order had been abandoned. The battle was joined, it was a fight of attrition now.
Below, the Taloon ships were closing on the harbour walls.
Another arrow whistled past, forcing her to concentrate on her own survival. Whoever was at the controls of the flying machine knew what they were doing, it was right on her tail, twisting and turning in the air whilst arrows snapped past too close for comfort every time she made a turn. Her dach rose into a stalled turn and then closed its wings and fell from the sky, the flying machine in close pursuit.
The smoke cleared. Ren could see the other flying machines were still hovering over the city. The largest one had been hit by the flaming weapons of the dach riders, but it seemed to be coping with the attack without much difficulty, its metal hull resistant to the flames.
The dachs were swarming them, trying to rise higher than the machines and drop their flaming weapons on them from above. Ren watched in horror was one of the medium sized machines was struck. The first attack sent fire blazing into the open interior of the machine and the second hit the windows on the front. They smashed, and flames burst into the cockpit.
Trailing smoke the ship dropped from the sky, spiralling downwards out of control to crash into the city far before, exploding and shattering into fragments.
‘No …’
A shadow passed above. Ren saw a dach before him. He twisted the flying machine around to follow. The two smaller machines were almost as nimble as the dachs, and in his hands they were evenly matched in the skies. The dach rolled and pitched, unable to shake his pursuit. He angled the machine aside for a moment, to give his two companions a chance at a shot.
One loosed an arrow. Ren saw it hit the dach in the wing.
‘Got it!’ he yelled.
The dach was wounded, but they hadn’t finished it. Ren saw the rider look behind them and catch sight of him.
‘Going to get you!’
He swung the flying machine back the other way and his second companion unleashed an arrow. It missed and he watched the dach fold its wings and drop away. He nosed the flying machine into a dive and continued the chase.
Coran lost sight of Fitch in the smoke, but ran along the lines of archers defending the walls, encouraging them to keep shooting at the dachs. Fires were burning all across the city, many were dead or dying, but the priestesses’ attack, whilst devastating, had not overwhelmed them.
Above, the flying machines were giving good account of themselves, the dachs unable to assail them. Coran couldn’t see much of that battle through the smoke, but the machines were still there and were keeping the dachs occupied, allowing the defenders to regroup along the walls and deal with the fires.
But now the main attack was being unleashed.
The invading ships were closing on the harbour walls. Coran could see men standing on the gunwales, armed with swords and bows.
But now they’re in range of our weapons!
Coran ran up one of the sighting towers and bellowed out instructions
‘Catapults!’
Along the wall ropes were pulling from the catapult restraining harnesses. In a balletic ordered sequence the catapults’ stored tension was released and huge chunks of rock were hurled into the air.
Many rocks splashed down into the sea, drenching the attackers with spray, but doing no harm. A couple hit, smashing the hapless vessels into kindling and dashing their occupants into oblivion.
‘Reload and release at will!’
More rocks continued to fly, striking down more vessels, but there were still hundreds coming towards the walls. The smaller faster ones were striking for the harbour entrance. The Mobilis was blocking their path for now, but its supply of rockets was exhausted and there was little else it could do.
Archers were turning their aim back towards the sea as the aerial battle continued above.
The invading vessels were close now, driving in using their oars, heading for the harbour entrance. Coran ran back to set more flags, but he could see Fitch on the opposite wall, gesturing to his own counterparts.
Fitch had swung the strange siphon device around and was pointing it out to sea. As Coran watched he took a flaming torch and lit the end, as did his counterpart on Coran’s side.
Coran saw Fitch raise his arm and then lower it with a snap. As he did so, a flaming river of liquid sprayed out from the siphon, arcing out over the sea and engulfing the nearest vessel. The siphon near Coran did likewise, splashing hot fire over the next vessel in line. Both vessels were ablaze from stem to stern in seconds, their crews and soldiers diving out into the water.
The heat was intense, forcing Coran
to stagger back. The liquid continued burning on the surface of the sea, splashing around and spreading to the other vessels queued up behind the first. Coran could see the panic on the faces of the crews. Orders were shouted and those ships still free of the flames reversed course, their oars digging hard into the water as they tried to retreat.
Nerina watched the carnage from one of the ships further back in the fleet. The aerial assault continued. One of the Amaran flying machines had been brought down to cheers from the crews around her, but then the fire had burst from the walls as the Taloon ships approached.
Cheers turned into cries of fear and trepidation and the ships slowed their progress. Those nearest the conflagration were torched in the flames, sending men screaming and diving into the sea. The waters before the city were a mass of flames and sinking wrecks.
‘We cannot fight against such weapons!’ Karquesh called to her. ‘We lose too many!’
‘Hold fast!’ Nerina said. ‘Do not fear the weapon of the enemy. We will soon render it of no consequence. Make ready to attack the city.’
Karquesh issued the instructions. The men around her looked subdued, but turned back to the oars at her instructions. Nerina turned her attention outwards.
Rihanna!
Kiri turned her dach in the air and then swooped downwards. The flying machine was unable to make the turn and it vanished into the swirling smoke behind her.
Rihanna’s voice sounded in her head.
They have a weapon on the harbour that spits fire! The ships cannot approach!
Kiri looked down and saw it, twin jets of burning flame that had set the lead ships ablaze as they approached the harbour entrance. She circled overhead to get a sense of the machine that was spewing the fire. She could see it being turned to one side and then the other, covering an arc that stretched along the harbour walls. Dozens of ships were ablaze.
I will destroy it!
She pushed her dach into a steep dive.
The dach was swooping lower and lower, it turned to avoid the spires jutting from the city. Ren tried to turn with it but realised he couldn’t without endangering the machine. He pulled back on the controls and forced the flying machine back up, abandoning the pursuit.
The dach spun around below him. He could see it heading towards the harbour walls.
He realised what the rider was aiming for.
‘No you don’t!’
The flying machine came around again, he turned it towards the harbour.
A light glinted across the sea, he squinted, trying to make it out.
It was another flying machine.
‘Zoella! Meru!’
His heart hammered in his chest as he saw a dach diving towards the distant machine, approaching from above and behind.
Fitch saw the huge dach descending through the smoke, its wings folded as it dropped down towards him.
‘Scorchin’…’ he managed to utter, trying to bring the siphon around to aim at the approaching beast. The rider must have seen what he intended as the dach extended its wings and rose above him before descending across the harbour entrance towards the second siphon and its crew. Their attention was elsewhere, on the ships in the harbour. In horror, Fitch watched as the dach’s rider dropped two of the burning vials from on high.
The rider’s aim was good, fire blazed out around the mechanism, forcing its operators to run or cast themselves into the sea below. Fitch saw some men running back towards it, carrying buckets of water.
‘Get back!’ he yelled. ‘Get back!’
It was too late. With a blast of ignition the mechanism exploded. A huge fireball erupted upwards from the harbour wall, a cloud of burning flame mushrooming upwards, throwing burning bits of debris, metal and bodies high into the air, to fall, crashing down upon the city.
Coran was nearly thrown from the harbour walls when the mechanism was consumed by the explosion. He fell back along the stone paving, his hair singed, feeling his skin rip against the rough surface. He rolled over before he came to a halt and looked up, amazed to find himself alive.
The harbour wall before him was in flames, with debris and twisted metal wreckage everywhere. Around him were bodies, some still alive, others twisted and burnt. Smoke was all about him, wafting back and forth, stinging his eyes.
Beyond the flames he could see the ships swinging about, preparing to drive back towards the walls again. He got to his feet, yelling to the guards and people about him
‘To the walls! Everyone to the walls! Now comes the fight!’
Kiri braced herself as the dach crashed into the ground. She was flung from her saddle, forward over the dach’s head. She curled herself into a ball to limit the impact, but still smacked down hard, rolling over and over before she stopped.
A strangled roar sounded behind her and her dach breathed its last, with a shuddering snort.
She got to her feet, grabbing her kai in one hand and a vial in the other. She stepped forward through the smoke.
Before her was a man. He was thin and bent, wearing a bizarre looking wide-brimmed hat. She could see a pointed crooked nose that protruded almost to the rim of the hat. His long coat was smoking at the tails.
He turned to regard her as she stepped towards him, a snarl curling his lips.
‘Been wanting a piece of you witches …’
He snatched around the metal weapon he was carrying, pulling back a lever with a thick click. He was hoisting it to his shoulder with a practised air. Kiri could sense the muscles in his arm, his fingers tightening, the intent and direction behind his aim. She ducked aside.
A bang, something sparked against her kai and wrested it from her hands. The man advanced, reloading the weapon.
‘Very pretty, but not enough, witch …’
Kiri flung out her hands, straining at the man’s mind and crushing at it. He yelled, the weapon firing again. She felt an impact and fierce stinging pain in her left arm. She was spun around and flung to the floor.
She looked up, gasping with the pain. Blood was coursing down her arm, but the weapon had come close to missing, though it had ripped the skin out just below her shoulder.
The man was standing over her, the weapon pointed down at her. Kiri found herself staring into a dark barrel. Flames and smoke roared behind him, casting his face into shadow. She struggled backwards, crying out as her arm stung. He stepped after her, reloading the weapon.
‘Third time’s the charm,’ he said and pulled the trigger.
Meru had tried to fly down towards the city, but the air was thick with flames and smoke, he could hardly see anything. Dachs swirled around them, duelling with the flying machines that hovered over the city.
‘They’re everywhere,’ Zoella said. ‘Look, there’s Fitch! Put us down there.’
‘I’ll try to …’
A dach flashed by the windows of the flying machine. There was a horrible thump from outside and then the machine was spiralling out of control. Zoella screamed as the motion flung her against the side door, the harnesses cutting into her skin. Outside was nothing but a dizzying whirl of motion.
‘We’re going to crash!’ Meru yelled.
For a moment they saw the harbour, the walls aflame. Meru was wrestling with the controls, trying to pull the machine out of its death dive. Dachs, fire, smoke, people running, ships …
The flying machine hit hard, its engines screaming. Zoella saw sparks and flames before the machine rolled over on its side, a deafening metallic squeal assaulting her ears.
The gun spat fire, Kiri flinched, clenching her eyes shut, but a moment later realised she was still alive. Something had gone wrong with the weapon, it was smoking at both ends.
‘Snuttin’…’
She thrust out at him, gripping at his mind again. He yelled and staggered backwards, trying to shield himself with his hands. Kiri rolled aside and grabbed her kai, swinging at him. He managed to block her thrusts twice with his weapon before she curled her attack, wrenched it from his hands and sent
it spinning away.
A thudding impact sounded nearby, accompanied by a horrific screeching noise. Kiri turned to see one of the flying machines had crashed behind her, its metal shell crunching as it rolled on to its side, sliding towards her. It cannoned into the carcass of the dach and came to a halt.
Kiri took her chance, she uncorked the last vial she was carrying and hurled it at the mechanism beyond.
Zoella couldn’t see through the spidered glass of the windscreen, but something was moving outside. She was pinned at an awkward angle in the seat, the harness still holding her in place, with the machine on its side. She battered at the harness and it came free. She caught herself by one hand and braced her foot against the dashboard of the flying machine. She looked around inside.
‘Meru!’
He was lying below her slumped in the pilot’s chair, blood running from his forehead. She could hear faint movement from behind, cries and moans.
‘Ira?’
Flames flickered outside. She tried to open the doorway above her, but it wouldn’t move. She pushed at it as hard as she could but only managed to cut and bruise her hands. Ira appeared beside her. She appeared unhurt and joined her in trying to open the door. Even together they couldn’t manage it. It opened a hand’s width and then jammed. Smoke was filling the interior. They coughed, still struggling together.
Ren watched in horror as the dach lost control and crashed into Zoella’s flying machine. The dach, stunned, fell like a stone and dropped into the sea beyond the harbour wall. The flying machine, damaged by the impact, spun out of control and landed hard on the wall itself, rolling on to its side, sparks streaming in its wake.
It fetched up against the body of the dach he’d been pursuing, it had been shot down as it had attacked Fitch’s own weapons.
Ren circled for a moment, seeing no one emerge from the downed machine.
