‘Gods damn, Gallows…’
Gallows never enjoyed killing, but nor did he feel disgust at the bodies at his feet or the blood on his hands. Most of the time, enemies were just anonymous obstacles—thinking of them as living human beings spread doubt and hesitation—and that could get you killed.
‘There’s a library not far from here,’ Serena said. ‘Heinrich mentioned it. Could be a place to hole up until we—’
The Sabretooth’s engine got louder.
‘There!’ Serena pointed towards the mouth of a narrow stone staircase leading down to a lower tier of the village. It was wedged between two high walls.
Gallows took the lead, taking the steps three at a time.
‘Careful,’ Serena called.
‘Ain’t the fall I’m worried ab–’
Shards of glass exploded over Gallows. He lost his footing and slipped down the stone stairs, his knife flying from his grasp.
A pirate leapt on top of him, hands around Gallows’ neck, and hammered his skull into the staircase. A red fog skirted his vision. Gallows grasped for his knife. He found its hilt—
And the pirate’s grip loosened.
‘Gallows…’
Serena clutched a rock stained with blood.
Gallows heaved the body off and watched it roll down the steps.
‘You okay?’ Serena asked.
Gallows steadied himself against the wall and nodded, unable to speak.
Serena dropped the rock. ‘The song’s coming back. I’ll take the lead.’
Gallows wanted to argue, but the dull pain at the base of his skull stopped him.
He followed Serena, the long staircase tilting before his eyes. He lost his footing more than once but managed to keep from slipping.
He stepped over the body of the pirate and noticed the metallic gleam of a revolver in his holster. Gallows bent low and grabbed it—
The pirate grabbed Gallows’ ankle and pulled.
He fell, and the pirate rained punches down on him. They fought and clawed at one another, blood coating Gallows’ tongue.
But Gallows still gripped the gun. A shot rang out, blood welled over Gallows, and the pirate stopped.
Thank the Go—
Metal scraped against stone.
The Sabretooth.
It accelerated down the stairway, squeezing between the walls, shearing its wing mirrors off and sending showers of sparks in its wake.
The ground rumbled and the barrels of its gyrogun spun.
Time slowed.
Gallows raised the revolver and squeezed the trigger.
The bullet struck the gunner’s forehead—but the Sabretooth didn’t slow.
It tumbled down the staircase, picking up speed.
Gallows ran, numb to the pain coursing through him. He took the steps three, four at a time, jumping, slipping, sliding. The ground tilted and the engine snarled, closer and closer.
Serena yelled at Gallows to hurry. She stretched her hands out but Gallows had no way of knowing if her powers would work. He pushed himself, pain knifing his lungs, the staircase stretching before him. The stone tremored beneath his feet, the Sabretooth inches away from him now, sure to catch him beneath its treads.
He leapt, tucking and rolling on the snow, hitting the ground hard.
The Sabretooth burst out, its front wheels skidding and sending ice and mud flying.
Gallows saw the whites of the driver’s eyes.
The Sabretooth charged at him.
Gallows raised his weapon and pulled the trigger, kept pulling it until it clicked empty, and dived out of the way.
The motorcarriage shot past him, swerving on the treacherous ground, straight into a low wall. The driver flew out of the shattered windshield, shards of glass catching him, and lay in a mangled heap on the vehicle’s smoking bonnet.
He gasped for breath, mopping sweat and grime from his forehead.
Serena rushed over to him. ‘Gods, Gallows, are you okay?’
He didn’t have the energy to respond.
She helped him to his feet. ‘Library’s just up ahead.’
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The library’s iron door hung on one of its hinges. Gallows stepped inside and unsheathed his shortsword and his knife. He stalked through a hallway, checking the corners, but the place stood still and undisturbed. ‘Guess they’re not keen on reading.’
Gallows led Serena into a large, oval room. A dozen bookcases were set into the wall, untouched. Outside, screams and gunfire punctured the air.
Keeping his voice to a whisper, Gallows pointed up to a balcony and said, ‘Reckon we should take higher ground.’
‘In a minute.’ Serena leaned back against a wall, shoulders slumped and eyes turned down. ‘How many Frostcloaks do you think made it to the shelter before the raiders sealed it?’
‘I don’t know. Hey, Serena—nosebleed.’
‘Shit.’ Serena wiped the blood from her upper lip. ‘I need a breather—whatever’s inside Ventris kicked my ass, but when I’m ready, I’ll put a stop to her soldiers. Not her, maybe—but I can take her army away. I can turn her weapons against her.’
Gallows didn’t argue. Serena’s powers still scared the shit out of him, but this didn’t seem like the time to voice his concern. ‘How long do you need?’
Serena’s hands fell to her sides. ‘Not long.’
Gallows pointed to a balcony on the floor above. ‘I’ll check upstairs. If we can make this place defensible, then maybe we’ve got a shot at letting you do your thing.’
Gallows dragged a ladder connected to an overhanging track running along to the balcony.
‘Careful,’ Serena said, her voice low.
He climbed the ladder, keeping his knife in his right hand. The ladder groaned every time he put weight onto a rung.
Typical—I’m in the middle of a war zone and it’s a slip from a ladder that kills me—
A boot kicked Gallows in the face and he flew back onto the floor.
He rolled and unsheathed his sword, but Serena stepped in front of him, arms stretched up.
‘Don’t shoot!’
At the top of the balcony, clasping a rifle in shaking hands, stood Jasper. ‘Uh, sorry! Thought you were one of the Ryndarans.’
Gallows took his time sheathing his sword. ‘Gods damn it.’
‘Don’t blame him.’ Tiera Martelo resolved from the shadows next to Jasper. ‘It was my idea.’
After Gallows explained his plan to Tiera, she swore at him. ‘It’ll get us killed.’
Probably. ‘It’s the only plan we’ve got’
‘You can’t turn a library into a fortress,’ Jasper complained. ‘We’re not soldiers.’
‘You don’t have to be,’ said Serena. ‘All you have to do is stop them from reaching me.’
‘Heinrich and Lyani are trapped in the shelters because of that metal behemoth—what’s so special about you?’
‘I can stop the fighting.’
Neither Jasper nor the other Frostcloaks cowering in the library looked convinced.
‘There are too many of the mongrels,’ spoke a young woman with long tresses of amber hair. Her clothes were bloodied and worn, and her eyes raw and hollow. Gallows reckoned she was only a year or two older than Serena.
Jasper placed his hand on the young woman’s cheek. ‘I’ll keep you safe, Mika.’
They won’t last long.
Serena stood in front of Tiera. ‘You know Ventris better’n any of us—what’s our best course of action?’
‘For you? Run.’
‘How do we beat her?’
The violet in Tiera’s eyes dulled. ‘I don’t know—this woman is not the Helena I once followed. But she is flesh and blood, and that means I can kill her. She’ll use her forces to sweep up the chaff before she reaps the wheat. She will not stop until she takes whatever she is here to take, or kills who she is here to kill.’
Gunfire from beyond the library’s walls punctuated the stillness. E
very Frostcloak’s eyes fixed on Serena.
‘She wants me because I killed Solassis,’ Serena said.
Mika shoved past Jasper and pointed at Serena. ‘Then we should hand you over. This isn’t our war.’
‘It ain’t mine either, but it’s here. If Ventris kills me, she won’t stop. There’s something inside her—and it’s full of hate.’
‘How do you know all this?’
‘Because I’ve been inside her mind.’
Mika inched away from Serena. ‘You’re crazy.’
Going by the look in Jasper’s eye, he agreed.
Tiera crossed her arms. ‘If you got inside her head, why does she still breathe?’
‘She has a defence—I don’t know what it is, but it doesn’t matter.’
‘Reckon it’s an important detail.’
‘I can’t get inside Ventris’ head—but I can get inside everyone else’s. I’ll rip her own weapons from her and turn them against the Queen of the North.’
Mika laughed and shook her head.
Gallows stood at Serena’s side and kept his voice low when he asked, ‘You sure you’re strong enough? Not everyone’s okay with what you can do.’
She raised her chin. ‘I will be—I did it at Arnault’s palace, I can do it here—I just need a little time.’
Jasper thrust a finger towards the window. ‘People are dying now. Listen!’
Gallows didn’t need to listen—he knew people were being slaughtered in the streets, in their homes—and he knew more would die before they put Ventris in the mud. Sera… Kirivanti, Carney, Royce… Rocco, Omari, Cooper… The hardest lesson Gallows had ever learned was that he couldn’t save everyone.
‘We take whatever weapons we have and make a stand here,’ he said. ‘When it starts, it won’t be long ’til Ventris figures out where Serena is—she’ll concentrate her forces here.’
‘We don’t have the resources to fight,’ Mika screeched.
Gallows ignored the girl. ‘We make barriers and create a chokepoint on the bottom floor—that’s the killing ground. Jasper, you and I will take a side each. Mika, you and Tiera secure an exit; we’ll need an escape route as soon as that armoured tank gets us in its sights. Serena, when you start—’
A storm of bullets shattered the windows.
‘Down!’ Gallows roared.
Everyone hit the deck. Outside, a Sabretooth revved and circled.
‘We’re too late.’ Jasper’s voice trembled. ‘They’re here.’
Tiera swore. ‘Serena—make them stop.’
‘Give me a minute.’
‘We don’t have a minute.’
Another volley of bullets chewed through the library’s walls and men barked commands.
‘Then we take out the Sabretooth,’ said Gallows.
Tiera shook her head. ‘And give away our position? Soon as Ventris knows we’re protecting Serena, she’ll throw everything she has at us.’
‘Sounds like she knows you’re here already,’ spat Mika. She turned her back. ‘You’re on your own.’
Jasper clutched her arm. ‘We’re safer with them than out there.’
‘For how long?’
Something caught Gallows’ eye from the window—a telegram cable running across a narrow chasm, connected to a burnt-out building on a lower island. ‘I’ll lure the Sabretooth away—Tiera, make some Tarevian cocktails. Serena, barricade yourself in and regain your strength. If the Sabretooth takes the bait, then the pirates don’t know it’s you in here. If it doesn’t, I’ll find a way to take it out of the game.’
‘That’s it?’ Serena asked.
‘No.’ Gallows kept his gaze on the cable and held his hand out. ‘Give me your wrench.’
Enoch stalked the battlefield like one of Nyr’s Valkyries, saving those he could. The huge tank’s turret tolled like thunder. The pirates who didn’t cower from Enoch launched themselves at him, their eyes filled with the mania of battle. They fell like ragdolls.
Bullets flew and blades cut him, but Enoch ignored all of it. Frostcloaks scattered, gazing at him in fear. Above, the Queen of the North circled the flaming ruins of Frosthaven.
Enoch broke into a run, sweeping men and women from his path, leaping across scars in the frozen ground towards the shell of a bell tower. He climbed its ruined, skeletal interior and used it as a vantage point.
The colossal tank approached the library—even if the vehicle couldn’t cross the terrain, its target would soon be within range.
And then Enoch saw something he couldn’t quite believe: A man leapt from a window, zipping over a rocky ridge on a telegram line.
The Sabretooth took the bait.
Air rushed over Gallows as he zipped over the chasm, fingers tight around the wrench as it carried him across the cable.
Above the rush of wind in his ears, the Sabretooth’s gyrogun stuttered. Bullets chased Gallows—his heart pounded and his forearms burned. He passed over a rocky ridge, shooting towards a building below.
C’mon, Tiera…
A bullet severed the cable. Gallows swung in a steep arc, arms burning, and landed on the rock.
Pain reverberated through Gallows’ legs and blood filled his mouth. Shaking, he got to his feet and ran—the surface of the ridge was narrow as a knifepoint. He pushed himself, summoning all the strength he had—and stormed straight into a pirate’s back.
Surprised, the pirate spun, scything the butt of his rifle at Gallows and missing by an inch.
Gallows swung Serena’s wrench, and a shower of blood and teeth burst from the pirate. He flailed over the edge of the ridge, down towards the frozen clasp of the Discordant Sea.
But the Sabretooth kept coming, ploughing through the ice and dirt.
Gallows ran. He couldn’t lure the motorcarriage to a lower island from here, not without leaping to his death, so he kept moving.
As long as the Sabretooth stuck to him, it wasn’t going after Serena. That was the mission—that was all that mattered.
A wide, stone bridge loomed before him—it had to be the only one left in Frosthaven, and it was large enough to take the weight of the behemoth tank. They need it.
Gallows ran towards it, hoping his instincts were correct and the Sabretooth would leave the bridge alone.
It didn’t.
Bullets sent showers of splintered wood exploding around him—the gyrogunner aimed for the wooden supports in the stone, weakening the bridge. Gallows kept running, knowing the next moment could be his last. Myriel’s words branded his mind: Existing isn’t enough—you need to live.
If he made it out of this alive, he’d give that a shot.
The bridge convulsed and its bed peeled away as Gallows raced across. The motorcarriage couldn’t follow Gallows across the jagged terrain, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t get him in its sights.
Gallows punished himself, the breath pulverised from his lungs as a hail of bullets sank into the structure.
Frostcloaks exchanged fire with more of Ventris’ men, all too busy to notice Gallows. This was his chance—he ran, mere metres away from the other end of the bridge, where he could find cover from the Sabretooth and—
The ground stripped away from him.
The sky flipped and the bridge tilted from horizontal to vertical. Gallows flailed—he reached out and found a gap in the wooden deck of the bridge just as it swung into the cliff-face. It punched the breath from his lungs but it remained intact.
Gallows hung there, the chill of the sea reaching up to him.
Inch by inch, he climbed the overhanging bridge deck like a ladder. The wood crumbled as soon as he put his weight onto it—he climbed, jumped and shimmied across, every muscle burning.
He reached the top and clambered to his feet—just in time to lock eyes with the Sabretooth’s gyrogunner.
The six brass barrels of his weapon spun, and Gallows hit the ground.
Then a scream erupted.
Gallows risked a look—the gunner lay slumped over the edge of
the cab with a slit throat, and the driver’s face had been shoved through the windshield.
Tiera materialised from behind the Sabretooth. ‘You take the gun, I’ll drive.’
Gunfire rang from Jasper’s weapon. Bullets drilled through the barricade of bookcases on the ground floor, and Serena heard the Frostcloak’s panicked breathing. It was now or never.
‘Incoming,’ yelled Mika, ‘right side!’
The familiar, feathery tingling ran through Serena’s veins. ‘I’m ready.’
‘They’re inside!’ The barricade burst inward. Jasper ran to Serena’s side and lay prone, taking shots. ‘Two of ’em—Mika, help!’
Mika tore herself away from the window and opened fire.
Just a second more…
A bullet struck Jasper in the shoulder. Mika screamed his name, screamed at Serena.
I can do it…
‘There’s one m-more,’ Jasper stuttered.
Mika dragged him across the floor, glass and stone shattering around her. ‘Let him kill her!’
Jasper yanked free of Mika’s grip, grabbed his rifle and shot the pirate in the chest.
But as he died, the pirate ignited a flare, sending red smoke billowing through the library.
Gallows rocked to the side as the Sabretooth skidded across the earth, towards a group of pirates taking cover behind a storehouse.
He spun the gyrogun’s crank, spitting bullets and cutting the enemy down.
A Tarevian cocktail sailed overhead. ‘We’re on your side!’ Gallows called to the Frostcloak who hurled it.
They were luring the invading forces away, striving to keep the huge prowling tank away from the library—but Gallows had no idea where the mammoth tank was, and the longer they were out in the open, the more danger they were in.
Though his arms were pained, Gallows sustained fire on the invading force—until the bullets ran out.
‘Why have you stopped?’ Tiera called.
‘No ammo!’
‘Sit in the passenger seat, no use exposing yourself like a damn—look out!’
Another Sabretooth barrelled towards them, crashing into the side and nearly launching Gallows out. Its cab possessed the cradle to house a gyrogun, but the weapon itself was missing.
Wrath of Storms Page 40
