A year later, he was a dual-born, able to wield both machinist and traditional magi abilities, and grand mage of the same Family who had all but disowned him. It was almost too much to take in, and he still expected to wake up in his library, having fallen asleep while transcribing an ancient diary or faded piece of parchment. But as long as this was the reality he knew, he would make the most of it.
“Mason was right,” Liam continued, “when he said I’m young and that I don’t have a lot of experience. I know that—it’s not a secret—which is why I want you to be my inner circle. Each of you comes from a different background and will provide me with a unique perspective, so while I may not have all the answers, it’s my hope that between all of you, we will.”
“I can’t commit to having all the answers, either,” Nolan said. “But I owe you and this Family my life, so for as long as you seek my advice, I’m happy to give it.”
Liam nodded and turned to Leira.
“You’re all I have left, little brother.” She smiled, but Liam saw little warmth in her eyes.
With everything that had happened, he hadn’t given much thought to how his rise would affect her. Jaxon was leaving the Family; did that mean he was leaving her, too? Liam would have to talk to her about it later, though the prospect did little to excite him.
He returned her smile and gave her his thanks before turning to Allyn. “And you, Allyn? I owe so much to you already that I hate to ask for more. But what we’ve done, we’ve done together, and I don’t want that to end.”
“It won’t,” Allyn said. “We’re in this together. I’ll help in any way I can.”
Liam let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. He hadn’t expected any of them to say no, but it was his first real act as grand mage, and the irrational part of his brain said that the moment would set the precedent for his rule. If that were true, then he’d cleared his first hurdle.
“Thank you,” Liam said. “Before I let you go, I feel like I’m in the dark about a few things. Allyn, what can you tell me about your sister’s objective and the council’s tactics for the next battle?”
“Do you want us to leave first?” Nolan asked.
“Leave?” Liam asked. “No. If you’re to give me advice, then you need to know all the facts.”
Nolan nodded. Liam turned back to Allyn and motioned for him to begin. Allyn told him of the prisoners and how Kendyl was to use her empath abilities to corroborate his discoveries from the logbook and how she likely wouldn’t return in time to put together a more offensive strategy.
“What happens if there’s another battle before she returns?”
“Then we’ll use a tactic similar to what we used in the last battle,” Allyn said.
“Do you think it’ll work again?”
“I hope so,” Allyn said with a shrug. “We’re unfortunately limited in our options.”
“I guess we’ll just hope Kendyl is able to return before the next battle,” Liam said. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“With Kendyl?”
“With anything,” Liam said. “I don’t intend for this to be a one-way relationship.”
The other three looked at each other then at him, shaking their heads.
“Okay then,” Liam said. “Thank you for your time. We’ll reconvene tomorrow, but until then, get some rest and let me know if anything comes up.”
They offered their thanks and congratulations again before filing out of the room. Allyn brought up the rear, stopping in the doorway. He didn’t look at Liam, but at the room itself.
“Something on your mind?” Liam asked.
“Yeah,” Allyn said. “We’re gonna need to get you a bigger room.”
Chapter 16
The next attack came two days after Liam’s ascension and, as Allyn had feared it would, before Kendyl returned from the magi capital. Without the aid of additional information, the council hadn’t implemented a new strategy and had instead stationed magi squads with the two Families Allyn had already identified as potential targets.
Allyn and a full squad of magi were hidden in a copse of trees on the edge of the forest of the Heilig Estate when he heard the unmistakable rumble of the Knights’ BearCats.
“Contact!” Allyn said, demanding the attention of the fourteen others with him. “Alert the others and prepare to move.”
He rushed to the edge of the forest, where he had a clear view of the driveway. The late-afternoon sun was all but hidden by the forest to the west, and nightfall only a short time away. Already, the impending battle had taken a new twist, and that left Allyn feeling more than a little nervous.
The Heilig Estate was half a mile from Allyn’s position, hidden from view by the rolling terrain. The Family had been evacuated, but those who had wanted to fight remained and filled out the magi ranks. After the council’s decisive victory, it seemed that Families were more willing to fight alongside them.
Allyn shrank back into the darkening forest as the first BearCat rumbled into view. Its headlights stood four feet off the ground, protected behind a menacing steel bumper.
“They’re not even attempting to hide their coming,” Nyla said at his shoulder.
Allyn turned to look at her. He hadn’t heard her approach. “No, they’re not.”
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know.” Allyn turned back to the driveway. Two more BearCats joined the first, creating a V formation. “But I don’t like it.”
He moved deeper into the forest, where his squad was already assembled.
“They’re here,” Allyn said. “Let’s go.”
Trusting his squad would follow without further order, Allyn jogged away, moving in a direction parallel to the driveway but staying under the cover of the trees. Ahead of him, the red and white marker lights of the BearCats crested a small rise and disappeared. The route itself would take him to the Heilig Estate, approaching from the west, and arriving after the battle had begun.
The timing and location were prearranged, of course, aimed at hitting the Knights where it hurt the most—the BearCats. If all went as planned, Allyn’s team would not only destroy three valuable vehicles but prevent the Knights from fleeing as well.
They had only made it about halfway to the estate when they were met with the first sights and sounds of battle. Fireballs illuminated the purple skies, sailing toward the Knights who were already storming the estate. They used handheld battering rams, making quick order of the front entrance, then tossed in what looked like a full-sized dummy, no doubt hoping to spring any trap the magi had left for them.
The tactic worked. The inferno mines the magi had left behind detonated, spitting lances of fire and debris out the open door. Smoke billowed out of the doorway and shattered windows as the Knights advanced, guns trained on the estate’s dark interior. The moment the line of soldiers was entirely inside, the magi sprang their next trap.
In nearly every other assault, the magi had fought tooth and nail to repel the Knights while suffering as little damage as possible—not just in lives, but also in property. Each of the other manors and estates had held historical and strategic significance. The Heilig Estate, however, had fallen into a state of disrepair. Foundational issues had rendered it nearly unlivable, and the Family, with aid from the Order, was preparing for a new build and a major renovation. Because of this, instead of attempting to draw the Knights away from the manor, they were drawing them in.
Still far from the estate, Allyn could see only quick flashes of light and shadows moving frantically inside as the bullets and fireballs flew. In another few minutes, it would be time for his squad to engage. He picked up their pace, hoping to be in position long enough to survey the scene more closely and allow the squad a chance to catch their breath. When they arrived, Allyn moved toward the edge of the f
orest, taking cover behind the overgrown ferns.
The BearCats had stopped in a different formation than before. Two were parked with their large hatches opened to the manor itself, noses pointed toward their retreat. A third, likely the one led by the Knight Commander himself, was parked twenty feet behind the others, on a small rise that offered a clear vantage of the battle. With the first two parked as they were, it seemed the Knights were interested in getting into the manor as quickly as possible and had already positioned themselves to make a quick getaway should the battle turn ugly.
The tension building in Allyn’s gut and lower back loosened a bit. The Knights had shifted tactics, attacking as night approached and positioning their vehicles in a more optimal formation, but they hadn’t abandoned their previous strategy altogether. The two sides were like a pair of fighters in a ring, throwing jabs and feints, more concerned with watching how their opponent responded than with landing a heavy blow. The magi had changed that dance a bit, but neither side, it seemed, was ready to commit in a full-scale attack.
But impressions were often far from the truth, and knowing better, Allyn felt a quiet confidence wash through his veins. The magi, he knew, were cocking back, ready to land the decisive blow.
Allyn turned and found his squad’s eyes already trained on him. “You know what to do. Eliminate the BearCats, and we eliminate their escape. Three squads. A and B, you take the BearCats nearest the estate. We’ll take the third.”
Sedric is mine.
Nyla and Nolan, each in charge of their own squads, nodded and quickly ordered their magi to advance. Ready to move only if the Knight Commander showed himself, Allyn and his squad remained behind the tree line as the others streamed toward the BearCats.
The two squads quickly crossed the green landscape then took up positions alongside the BearCats. Working off a predetermined silent count, the two squads sprang into unified action, racing around the backs of the BearCats and up their lowered ramps.
Half a heartbeat went by. Then two. There was no gunfire. No magi attacks. Then to Allyn’s horror, magi dove out of the nearest BearCat, scrambling, screaming, pushing to get away.
“No,” he heard himself say. “No. Get out. Get away!”
But they couldn’t hear him—and there was nothing he could do.
The first BearCat exploded, sending shrapnel and magi flying through the air. He had just long enough to turn his attention to the second BearCat, seeing Nyla with her back pressed against the vehicle’s reinforced exterior.
“Move!” Allyn screamed again, terror and desperation amplifying his voice.
Recognition manifested on Nyla’s face, and she looked in Allyn’s direction, her shoulders slumping in helpless resignation.
The second BearCat erupted into a second ball of flames, consuming Nyla and the rest of the magi nearby. Metal groaned as the BearCat was lifted off its tires, the fireball sailing high into the air.
Allyn dashed toward the fallen magi, racing toward Nyla. He rushed past the dead and dying, eyes only for the slender body with silver hair lying facedown on the charred earth. He slid to a stop beside her crumpled body, kicking up ash and burnt grass.
“Nyla.” He rolled her gently onto her back. Her pale skin was blackened and blistered where the fire had kissed her flesh. “Oh, Nyla. No. No.”
He tried to brush her silver hair out of her face, but the strands broke free and fell to the ground as if they were bits of dried wheat. Her eyes looked up blankly at the darkening sky.
“No,” he repeated, choking with emotion. “No.”
He checked frantically for a pulse, but his fingers felt nothing and came away sticky with blood. He collapsed to the ground, his head falling on Nyla’s chest, his sobs making it impossible to breathe. Nyla was gone. Dead. Taken from him.
Someone grabbed him by the shoulder, pulling him back. He shrugged it off and slapped the hand away again when they tried a second time. He couldn’t leave her.
“Allyn!” The voice sounded vaguely familiar. “Allyn!”
The hands took him again, shoving him back forcefully. He found himself on his back, staring up at a cloudy sky bathed in the same reds and blacks as Nyla’s burned skin. A face appeared in front of it, staring down at him.
“Allyn!” Nolan screamed, blood dripping from his face. “Come on!”
Allyn blinked, and the world rematerialized. A chorus of screams and shouts rose around him, but they weren’t the same screams and shouts as before. Mixed in with the pain, there was fear.
Nolan pulled him to his feet, and that’s when Allyn heard the unmistakable sounds of battle. They weren’t coming from the manor, however. They were coming from beyond the trees where the driveway met with the road and the remainder of the magi force waited. The forces there had two purposes—attempt to wall the Knights in should they attempt to retreat, and prevent a second squad of Knights from taking the magi unaware.
The battle hadn’t been raging long enough for the Knights to have attempted a retreat, and he could still hear the battle being waged inside the manor itself. This was something different. Something new.
The pieces clicked into place in Allyn’s mind. The BearCats were bait. That meant they’d also known the magi would divide their forces and attempt to flank the Knights as they had before. If that was the case, then the new battle being fought near the road was a new squad of Knights arriving to turn the tide of the battle squarely in their favor.
As quickly as they had begun, the new sounds of battle disappeared, replaced by an ominous quiet. Either the magi had successfully held them back, or the Knights had broken through. Allyn knew which was more likely. A moment later, several more BearCats rumbled in the distance, growing louder with every heartbeat.
“Allyn,” Nolan said. “We have to go. We can’t stay here!”
Ignoring him, Allyn stepped past Nolan, walking toward the incoming BearCats.
“Allyn!”
Red coils of electricity snapped into existence, twisting menacingly around Allyn’s arms. Crackling and hissing, they burned away the sleeves of his compression armor. In front of him, three more BearCats crested the rise. He held his arms out wide, making himself visible by throwing static charges into the air like sparks from a fire.
Shouts rose up behind him, but they were indiscernible over the din. Allyn ignored them. He had eyes for only one thing. Sedric. And he was sure the man was in one of those vehicles.
Allyn continued forward, a solitary figure standing against a tsunami of metal and weapons. The lead BearCat roared louder, pulling ahead of the rest.
Allyn smiled. He’d been seen. Sedric was coming for him.
He fueled the electricity with every ounce of grief and anger boiling inside him, willing the coils to burn hotter and pulse with more energy. It was a dangerous game. Burn it too hot, and he risked interrupting the electrical system of his heart and going into cardiac arrest. It didn’t matter, though. Nyla was dead. He was going to die too. He knew it. Planned on it. Whether the BearCats or his own grief killed him, his life was coming to an end.
Something akin to peace washed over him. No more battles. No more death. No more grief. No more guilt. No more nightmares. It would all be over soon.
Allyn hurled a pair of static charges at the charging BearCat, taunting its driver. They struck its nose, enveloping the vehicle in a tangle of electrical tendrils before disappearing without effect. He threw two more—both as ineffective as the first.
The BearCat bellowed louder. Allyn refused to move, keeping his arms outstretched at his sides, welcoming the sweet relief death would provide.
Suddenly, a fourth BearCat appeared, and before Allyn could understand what was happening, the new BearCat slammed into the lead vehicle, throwing it to the side and out of Allyn’s path with an angry shriek of metal. The lead Bear
Cat flipped and rolled, coming to a rest with its tires facing the sky.
The next BearCat in line clipped the new vehicle’s rear, sending the new vehicle spinning viciously. It rocked back and forth, finally coming to a rest as the two remaining enemy BearCats continued toward the manor.
Allyn rushed toward the new vehicle, but before he arrived, the driver’s door opened and Nolan, more bloodied than Allyn had last seen him, emerged. He jumped to the ground, favoring an arm.
“Nolan,” Allyn said. “H-How?”
The other machinist didn’t have an opportunity to answer before a hatch opened on the wrecked BearCat and a Knight wearing full tactical armor opened fire.
Bullets sparked off the reinforced exterior of Nolan’s vehicle as he and Allyn dove for cover. Allyn readied a pair of static charges and popped out from behind the BearCat, shooting the electrical discs at the opened hatch. The first missed, but the second took the Knight in the chest. The man stiffened then fell back inside the vehicle.
When no other Knights emerged, Allyn and Nolan advanced. Nolan threw open the driver’s door and hurled an energy blast inside. Half a second later, the energy blast detonated, its muffled blast rocking the vehicle sideways. When Nolan opened the door again, he peered inside, ensuring his work was done. He nodded his confirmation.
Allyn wasn’t satisfied, though.
“What are you doing?” Nolan asked as Allyn began to climb inside.
“Sedric was in here.”
“He was?”
Allyn nodded. He was sure of it. Why else would it have raced ahead of the rest? Why else had it attempted to run him down? It was Allyn’s turn to repay the favor.
The coppery smell of blood was thick inside the BearCat as Allyn crawled across the driver’s seat. Bodies littered the main compartment behind the driver and passenger seats. None looked like they would even move again. Despite every instinct telling him not to, Allyn moved deeper into the BearCat, taking inventory of the faces of the fallen Knights. Sedric wasn’t among them.
Capture (The Machinists Book 4) Page 14
