by Frank Morin
She plunged back into the column of flames and unleashed a blast of fire so concentrated, it was like a limestone death beam, but made of heat instead. So hot, it burned Connor’s marble senses and he could only stare in wonder and horror. The fire was so powerful its heat shifted out of the visible spectrum and into ranges beyond human sight.
She didn’t cast it at him, but unleashed the unbelievable torrent of living fire straight down. It speared through earth and stone, deeper and deeper until the vast distance challenged Connor’s capacity to follow it.
Something exploded many miles below ground, and Connor felt a rumble begin down there and intensify with terrifying speed.
In his mind, Fire chortled. “She’s gone and done it! She’s cracked the mantel.”
Water looked stunned. “Ever has she refused to walk as our champion.”
“Might not have a choice today,” Fire laughed.
Earth looked exultant. “The birth of a new mountain is a great day, but one I did not expect to see again until our champion was ready.”
“What are you talking about?” Connor cried, but he was already thinking maybe he didn’t want to know.
Deep in the earth, enormous pressure was building, like a million diorite explosions all erupting at the same time. Connor could feel the earth down there compressing, then melting under fervent heat as fissures ripped through solid rock, splitting up toward the surface like inverted lightning bolts.
Earth looked far too excited. “She has broken the seal over the planet’s molten core where the world energy often pools for millennia before breaking forth. The pressure will give birth to a new mountain and bury this land in lava and fire and smoke and destruction.”
Fire started laughing wildly. Air scowled at Earth. “I hate the ash from big eruptions. It chokes the sky.”
Earth shrugged. “You’ll eventually drive it back out. Then you’ll have an entirely new range to explore.”
Not good. Even the elements were distracted. So were his friends, shouting frantically, asking what was going on.
Connor tried to explain what he was sensing, but he felt numb as the full scope of the disaster settled over his mind like a spiky blanket. “She’s unleashing the planet’s core. This entire area is about to erupt. Everyone get out of here!”
From within the center of the firestorm, Queen Dreokt’s laughter cackled forth. “Haven’t you boys started running yet? It won’t help, but give me a show anyway.”
Harley had wanted a show too, had paused in her assault on Althing to wait for them to come up with clever new ideas. Connor had decided to ascend the second threshold, and managed to drive her off. Sort of. At the moment, he couldn’t fathom what might avert the fast-approaching disaster.
Kilian raced up to Connor, looking ashen-faced and more terrified than Connor had ever seen. Evander joined them, his face stoic, but his eyes wild. “Water cast upon a campfire may extinguish the flames, but is in turn consumed.”
For once his cryptic speech didn’t help calm Connor’s nerves. “What?”
“She’s going to kill everyone. Can’t you feel what’s coming? An eruption of this magnitude might shake every building on the continent to the ground. It will fill the air with enough ash to block out the sun and kill all life,” Evander stated, crossing his enormous arms.
“I wish you hadn’t clarified,” Kilian commented, scowling.
Connor was trying very hard not to panic. “What can we do?”
“We have to get that stone away from her,” Kilian said resolutely. He erupted off the ground again, diving straight for the heart of the queen’s protective column of fire. Flames whipped out of it and slapped him out of the air. He tumbled away, looking stunned.
“Don’t you have any blind coal left?” Connor asked, casting his words right into Kilian’s speakstone so he could hear across the eighty yards distance. They couldn’t defeat her with fire, not right now.
“I’m all out,” Kilian replied as he rolled to his feet, disheveled and battered, but still determined.
Connor was too, but maybe he could punch through with combined elements again, making himself the spear this time. Connor wrapped himself in a mixed five-elements shield, then glanced at Evander. “Give me a boost, will you?”
The giant plunged his huge fist into the hard-packed ground. Earth seized Connor’s feet and flung him at the queen. If he hadn’t been tapping granite, filled with the energy of all those lives he’d siphoned at Crann, and wrapped in elements, the explosive movement would have ripped him apart. Focusing all his affinities into a point in front of him, he drove at her flames. If he could pierce them and close with her, he might have a chance.
He struck, tapping pumice at the same time, but somehow the barrier felt absolutely solid. She owned fire, and she had also added her other elemental affinities into the mix. Did she know a secret to blocking pumice too? It seemed that maybe she did. She’d created a barrier that no Petralist could puncture. Not soon enough to matter.
Connor too bounced off, filled with growing dread. They couldn’t stop her. And in moments, the entire area would erupt in an explosion of unstoppable elements. They’d been so close, but she’d flipped the entire fight against them. And against everyone living in Obrion.
“You foolish children fancy yourselves heroes. I only see fools who have brought destruction to all the other fools who follow you,” Queen Dreokt mocked them from within her protective flames.
“Doesn’t anyone have any blind coal left?” Connor demanded as he rejoined Evander and Kilian. Hamish shot up from inside his battered Juggernaut and flew to join them. All of them shook their heads.
“I have some on the Swift,” Verena said, and began accelerating toward them.
That offered one hope, but Queen Dreokt could also overhear speakstone conversations, and she unleashed a mighty wind that swept all the flyers away to the east. If Verena tapped blind coal to slip through, she’d run out before reaching them.
“Tallan take it and boil it for lunch,” Hamish cursed. “Can’t you get close enough to finish her off?”
“No. That stone she’s got is too strong. None of us can match her or break through without blind coal,” Connor shouted back. The air was growing hot, and a noxious smell was growing, making him cough. Ominous rumbling was beginning beneath them. He could feel the pressure growing to critical levels far below. They were out of time.
Kilian’s expression remained determined. “This day is going worse than even I feared it could. We’re out of time. Burned Cookies! Get everyone away before—”
Too late.
89
The Ultimate Curse Punch
The eruption built far faster than Connor expected. A tidal wave of molten stone began shooting up through the many fissures ripping up through the stone of the earth. It rose so fast, driven by so much energy, that all the power he’d ever controlled seemed laughable. Even though it was starting miles below ground, it would only take seconds to reach them.
“Go!” he shouted, leaping into the sky. He could fly and so could Hamish, but he realized with horror that the other Juggernaut pilots still locked into the broken Ilse’s Revenge would never escape the devastation coming.
Evander leaped into the sky beside Connor, and the fact that he had to abandon earth seemed to confirm the hopelessness of the moment.
Connor glanced back toward Hamish and Kilian. Hamish started turning toward his Juggernaut, but Kilian grabbed his shoulder and shouted, “Fly!”
“But—”
“Fly!” Kilian repeated, throwing Hamish forcibly into the air.
“The other pilots,” Connor protested.
Even though he was no longer standing on the earth, he didn’t need to be. The ground was groaning and swelling upward. The other Juggernauts could never escape. He caught Mistress Four and Commander Six with air and sent them flying away. The Hawk could pick them up. He could seize all the Juggernauts, but he feared even he would move them too slowly to
escape the pending destruction.
So he said, “Hamish, order your pilots to abandon their Juggernauts.”
As Hamish did so, Kilian said, “Connor, don’t worry about them. I’ll get them out of here.”
“You can’t save them all,” Connor protested.
“I’ll save as many as I can. You have to contain the eruption. Evander and I will work to block the spreading ash.”
“But . . .” Connor said again, trying and failing to comprehend the magnitude of what Kilian was suggesting.
His ancient mentor held his gaze, his expression deadly serious. “Don’t fail Connor or everyone dies.”
Tomas’ voice surprised Connor. The Fast Roller shouted, “No retreat, lads! This is our moment. Take the fight to the old hag. Cameron, you with me?”
“Aye!” Cameron said, his voice as eager as ever for a fight. “Give us the naval eruption.”
Hamish shouted, “Wait! You need to eject.”
But the others were already responding to the command in the bash fighters’ voices. The entire body of Ilse’s Revenge seemed to compress, then two spheres exploded out the belly, flung forward with tremendous velocity.
Tomas and Cameron.
The other pilots immediately triggered their ejection seats, erupting from their Juggernauts. Kilian leaped toward them, again moving so fast Connor couldn’t track him. He couldn’t comprehend how Kilian was tapping such speed, but he was grateful for it. Kilian used a burst of fire to shoot into the air to intercept one of the pilots, a woman slowly descending toward the ground, her descent jacket hissing air. Kilian snatched the woman out of the air and shot away, moving so fast he created a little thunderclap as if the air was surprised anyone could move that fast.
Tomas and Cameron accelerated straight toward that intense burning pillar, whooping their favorite war cries.
“No one else knows how to manage their blind coal,” Cameron said, sounding smug.
“Gives us the bash fight of a lifetime,” Tomas shouted with another whoop.
“Can’t believe we’re wearing all this armor,” Cameron replied. “Makes me feel fat.”
“You’re head’s fat. Can’t these things go any faster?”
“Kind of sad even Connor forgot you can’t always rely on those fancy tertiaries. Times like this, a good beating is all that works,” Cameron said.
“Kid’s getting inferenced by all them powerful old Petralists he hangs out with too much,” Tomas agreed.
Cameron chortled. “Who taught you to talk? The word’s impoverished.”
“Get out of there!” Hamish shouted, glancing at Connor for help.
Connor wanted to stop them, to help them, but there simply wasn’t time. Maybe they were right. The queen’s defenses were built around blocking him, Kilian, and Evander, but the juggernauts were Builder mechanicals, and they were the only ones left with blind coal. He didn’t have time to go take it from them. If they could punch through, he had to let them try.
Attempting to do so was horribly dangerous, but not doing it was worse. They were facing absolute destruction if the queen controlled the eruption. She was mad if she thought it wouldn’t hurt her own people, but clearly she didn’t care. If only they had more blind coal!
“Go,” Connor told Hamish.
Looking torn, Hamish still activated full thruster and shot into the sky. Evander saluted, then shot off to the east, moving into position to help control the eruption. If that was even possible.
Alone with the two intrepid Fast Rollers, Connor wrapped their Juggernauts with the strongest shielding he could manage, trying to protect them from the intense heat. It would never be enough. Within that superheated column, the queen would sever all of his influence.
“Which button activates pumice?” Tomas asked.
“The one next to blind coal. Hit ‘em both.”
“Should give us a couple seconds, right?”
Together they shouted, “For Rory and never-ending bash fights!”
The two Fast Rollers’ Juggernauts shot into the flames side by side, the outer edges of the shells already beginning to melt from the fervent heat. Connor tried to maintain his connection, tried to offer what help he could to the idiotically brave warriors.
He maintained connection for a fraction of a second, but lost it as they pierced the queen’s protective elemental barrier. The combination of blind coal and pumice together allowed them to punch through.
The last thing Connor sensed was the huge battering rams from both Juggernauts blasting out the front of each sphere.
And miraculously they connected.
The queen tumbled out the back of the column, what was left of her severed torso crushed by the impacts, broken arms thrown wide, expression enraged.
She no longer held the sculpted stone.
“Yes!” Connor shouted, raising his fists in victory. They actually did it. He started to laugh.
The two Juggernaut spheres blasted out the column of fire that was already shredding to pieces now that the queen had lost direct control. The two spheres were glowing red from the intense heat, despite their protections.
“You’d think she’d have put up more of a fight,” Tomas said as he and Cameron peeled away and started accelerating for safety.
“Old ladies have health issues,” Cameron said.
Connor wrapped them in air and lifted them off the ground. He only needed a few more seconds to lift them high enough before—
The ground beneath both him and two Fast Rollers simply melted, transforming into an ocean of superheated lava that exploded up into the air all. Connor gasped in a surprised breath of air laden with sulfur and smoke before lava consumed him.
For a second he thought he had simply died. His vision blurred as he tumbled about, carried upward by the eruption. Molten stone was blasting into the sky with such force it would probably carry him thousands of feet. Heat couldn’t melt him, and while walking with all of the elements together, he’d survived the initial explosion. His elemental senses expanded through the rapidly spreading eruption and the scope of it boggled his mind.
He sought for Tomas and Cameron. They’d been caught in that explosion too, and their protective mechanicals would run out any second.
There!
He sensed the two Juggernauts. Both Fast Rollers were laughing crazily, and for a second Connor’s hopes raised.
Then Cameron’s laughter changed to a shouted curse of pain. “I’ve got a leak! Out of blind coal, and lava’s pouring in.”
A second later, Tomas said, “Tallan’s roasted bones, so do I.” His voice was far too calm.
Cameron’s voice was laced with pain. “Max tapping doesn’t help much. Best bash fight of a lifetime, though.”
“Never thought we’d go out bash fighting with mechanical fists,” Tomas responded, his breath gasping.
“My friend, it’s been an honor to—”
Cameron’s Juggernaut exploded.
Tomas’ voice was weak, and it sounded like he spoke through gritted teeth. “Aye, lad. It’s been—”
His Juggernaut exploded too.
No.
The twin blasts seemed minuscule, embedded within a mountain of lava, but they resonated in Connor’s heart like a fist-full of diorite.
Tomas and Cameron were gone.
He couldn’t believe it. The two dauntless warriors had faced the most insane battles with a shrug and a joke, eager to bash fight any challengers. They’d accomplished what he couldn’t do with all of his affinities. They’d broken the queen from that sculpted stone and offered Connor a chance, however slim, to try averting a much greater disaster.
He could not fail them. He had to fight to bite back sobs. He could hold his breath a long time, but sucking in deadly mouthfuls of molten stone would kill him too. He cast his senses throughout the explosion, determined to stop it.
Earth was right. The queen had unleashed a mountain. Even with that sculpted stone, she was a fool to ever think she could contro
l it. If all of the lava erupting into the air congealed, it would form a mighty peak. If it spread, it would consume the Macantact and all of northern Obrion. It was a natural disaster so immense Connor struggled to understand it, let alone control it. But fear for his still-living friends shook him out of his numb shock.
Connor grappled with the fire and molten earth blasting up into the air from a dozen huge fissures, but despite his enormous powers, his strength was pitiful against the raw power of the earth’s core.
Fire laughed in his mind. “There’s no stopping this, Connor. This is real power. This is our domain. But you’re privileged to witness the event right from the heart of the volcano. No one’s ever done that before.”
Connor seized Fire’s hand, then grabbed Earth’s. “You’re right! This is your domain. You two control these elements. You can stop this.”
“Why would we?” Earth asked, looking genuinely perplexed.
“Because if you don’t, half of Obrion will be destroyed.”
“The earth is a living thing. It grows and changes all the time,” Earth said.
“Fire consumes just as it warms,” Fire added.
“But if we don’t control this, I might die along with everyone I love,” Connor exclaimed. He knew the elementals weren’t human, but it still shocked him to see how little they seemed to care about the fate of the people in their world.
That made them pause. Air hovered overhead, while Water drew closer. “We do want to walk the land with you for a long time to come. Today the queen has granted Earth an unexpected freedom, but that will only last a short while. We can help you rein in this movement of the natural world, but it only adds to the debt you owe us.”
“Fine,” Connor said immediately, grasping at any chance to get them to help.
He hated making a blanket promise like that, but what alternative did he have? He still didn’t understand what they wanted from him, and was starting to fear they might want a lot more than he would be willing to give, but the eruption was continuing to gain momentum. The queen feared something about the elements, but he didn’t know what. As much as making the promise made him uneasy, the disaster he was stuck in the middle of was real and immediate and threatened everyone he loved.
