"Now that we've handled that," Krinir said, "it's time to destroy the city."
"Is that truly necessary?" Warrick asked.
"Yes, it is." Krinir raised his arms. Garet had no idea what he was doing. Not that it mattered. The god could do whatever he wanted, and Garet couldn't stop him.
It didn't take long to see the result of Krinir's actions. Beyond the edges of the city, a massive ring of fire appeared, towering more than a hundred feet in the air. Garet felt as if an icy hand had gripped his heart. He knew now how the people of Crayden had felt.
But he also knew how they could escape. He had to find Gram.
Krinir and Warrick both vanished.
Garet took in a deep breath. Time to save as many people as he could.
He raced through the streets of Bradenton, calling for everyone to follow him. Now the battle felt as if it were a natural part of him. He fought his way past Imperial Guard after Imperial Guard. They were all headed toward the garrison. It was how they'd escape.
How everyone would escape.
Garet's heart climbed into his throat as he watched the wall of flames dance closer to the city. Would there be enough time to reach the garrison? Where had all the others gone? Did they have the same idea? Or were they dead already?
Screams sounded from all around. Men, women, and children lay dead in the streets. Garet felt like vomiting at the sight. How could anyone justify destruction on this scale?
The entire city seemed to be on fire now. Smoke hung thick in the air, and Garet's lungs ached. Some of the people with him collapsed from exhaustion. He helped a few of them to their feet, but others could not keep going. Garet didn't want to leave them.
But what choice did he have? He had to be there for as many people as possible.
A few streets from the garrison, he found Dave, Mara, Captain Davis, Liam, and Captain Young of the Bradenton city guard. They were all engaged with a large group of Imperial Guards. Garet joined the fray, killing the man who was battling Liam.
The innkeeper gave him a smile. "Good timing. I thought I was dead for sure."
"No time to celebrate," Garet said, engaging another Imperial Guard. Their swords swished back and forth in a quick series of clinks and clanks. Just when Garet thought his opponent might get the better of him, Captain Davis sliced through his neck.
"Thanks," Garet said. "That man was quite a good swordsman."
"My pleasure," said Captain Davis. He charged toward another Imperial Guard. The Imperial Guard turned and ran, heading toward the garrison, but Captain Davis kept pursuing him. Most of the Imperial Guards had broken free from their opponents, trying to escape the flames as they closed in on the city.
Captain Young's eyes were wide. "How the hell are we supposed to get around that?"
"Teleportation chamber," Garet said. "We need to find Gram."
A few stragglers still hobbled through the streets, covered in soot, bleeding from multiple injuries. Some of them were too young to deal with these horrors. Why had Warrick and Krinir decided to destroy this city? Did their plans require it, or was it pure cruelty?
"Head to the Imperial Guard garrison," Garet called out, projecting his voice as loudly as he could. "It's the only way to escape the city." He turned to the others with him. "Check the streets. Find anybody still out there and help them get to the garrison."
They all nodded their agreement, briefly discussed which directions they'd go, then took off. Garet went in search of Gram. The streets had grown eerily quiet. Those people still out and about looked too stunned and horrified to speak.
At every corner, Garet expected to see an Imperial Guard, but instead he saw only destruction. The flames in the city towered high above him, consuming nearly everything.
He'd heard Nadia, Markus, and Rik describe the destruction in Crayden, but he hadn't understood it. Now he did. How had they remained sane after seeing such evil?
The garrison stood at the city's northern side, dangerously close to the flames. Would there be enough time to round up the city's survivors and lead them there? Garet shoved these thoughts aside. He had to focus on the immediate task: finding Gram.
The flames grew closer, bathing everything in their brilliant glow. Garet kept gesturing for the townspeople to follow him. They needed a lot more encouragement than he'd expected. It seemed like they slowed down every time they looked at the flames. Didn't they know that was the exact wrong thing to do? They had to go faster.
Some were running toward the garrison, but others were injured or just plain terrified. Garet wanted to help those who were lagging behind, but if he didn't find Gram, none of this would matter.
Wait. Gram wasn't the only Imperial Guard on their side. How could Garet have forgotten about Dave? Surely Dave still had the Imperial Guard seal. He may have deserted, but Warrick hadn't removed the seal.
Garet was about to turn around and look for Dave when he saw the bearded man approaching from a street to his left, leading dozens of townspeople.
With a sudden burst of hope and energy, Garet sprinted over to Dave. "I can't believe I forgot, but you can get us into the teleportation chamber. Can't you?"
"Yes, I still have the seal. I thought you knew that."
"Well, you should have said something," Garet told him.
Dave shrugged. "No harm done."
"You seen any of the others?"
"Not yet. They should be on their way." Dave shook his head. "I was wondering why you were so intent on finding Gram. You're right. I should have said something."
"It doesn't matter," Garet said. "With your help, we can save a lot of people."
The flames grew closer as they continued toward the garrison. The fires were perhaps fifty feet beyond the garrison.
"Dave, get inside and open the chamber," Garet said.
Dave nodded and raced into the garrison, shouting for the townspeople to follow him inside. Garet waited outside, helping anyone who appeared to be struggling.
Then the Imperial Guards appeared. A large contingent of them must have still been in the city, killing those people they'd come across. Garet readied his sword and raced toward them before they could reach some of the stragglers.
Garet's arm moved with fluid motions as he performed an intricate dance with his first opponent. The man fell quickly, clutching at the wound in his neck. Garet then had to engage two Imperial Guards at once. Somehow, fueled by adrenaline, he dodged all their attacks. He ducked. He jumped. He parried. He slashed.
Sweat poured down his face, but he felt almost at peace. This was what he was meant to do. Fight. Protect people. Destroy evil wherever it appeared.
He slammed his fist into an Imperial Guard's neck. The force of the blow was so hard it crushed the man's windpipe. He fell backward struggling to breathe, but now another man joined the fray, advancing on Garet with hatred in his eyes.
Garet dodged blows, landed some of his own. His heart pounded in his ears. He felt more alive than he'd ever felt. Fighting was like music to him, beautiful and deadly music.
An Imperial Guard fell, then another, and another. Garet's dance continued. Others were fighting the Imperial Guards as well, but he barely noticed them. All that mattered was the opponents around him. His entire life—every adventure, every day he'd trained—had all led up to this moment. Maybe he would die here, but he would save a lot of people at the same time.
After some time, the battle died down around him. He turned to see Dave racing toward him.
"We've got a problem," Dave said. "The magical crystal that fuels the teleportation device is missing. Someone must've taken it."
Garet wiped sweat from his forehead. "Then what can we do?"
The flames were within perhaps twenty feet of the garrison.
"It has to be one of these Imperial Guards," Garet said. "They wouldn't leave themselves without a chance of escaping." He peered through their smoky surroundings. "Look for someone who isn't part of the fighting."
Dozens of Imperial
Guards were racing into the garrison now.
"There's no way we can protect all of them," Garet said.
Dave's expression was grave. "I know."
"But we have to find that crystal. Without it, everyone will die."
Garet surveyed his surroundings again. There. A commander was standing apart from the rest, giving orders and directing his soldiers with one hand. The other hand remained in his pocket, as if protecting something. It had to be the crystal.
Garet pointed at the man. "He has the crystal."
He and Dave rushed through the streets, pushing past townspeople and injured Imperial Guards. As the flames grew closer, everybody looked up at them.
They reached the edge of the garrison.
The teleportation chamber was on that side of the garrison, and it went up in flames.
"No!" Garet screamed. It was too late. They were all going to die. Everything they'd done had accomplished nothing.
The smoke had grown thicker than ever. He could barely see the commander through all this chaos. But he did see a few of his comrades. Dave still stood alongside him, and then Mara and Captain Davis appeared within the smoke.
"I'm not gonna make it out this time," said the captain.
"Where are the others?" Garet asked. "Captain Young? Liam? Gram?"
"I don't know about Gram," Mara said. "But the captain and the innkeeper are both dead."
Garet didn't have time to feel sad. He shoved the knowledge of their deaths aside and pointed at the Imperial Guard commander again. "That man's holding something that may be the only way out of here. I don't know what it is, but we have to take it from him."
They crept through one of the nearby alleys, a place the flames weren't too thick. As they did this, the commander was calling some of his comrades to him. Garet got as close to the alley's exit as he dared and strained his ears to listen.
"Come on, men. We haven't got much longer. It's time to go to Luminia."
More and more of the Imperial Guards clustered around the commander.
"Whatever he's holding must give him the ability to teleport," Garet said.
"We have to get it from him," Dave said.
'Leave that to me." Garet pulled his bow from his back. He hadn't used it yet in this battle, preferring the more personal nature of fighting with a sword. But now the bow was their only chance. As he aimed his shot, the commander pulled a blue stone from his pocket.
No time to waste. Garet released the arrow. It whizzed through the air and then slammed into the commander's head. He fell immediately, dropping the stone. In the immediate chaos that followed, someone kicked the stone, and it went flying toward the flames, which were now less than ten feet away.
"Hurry!" Garet shouted. "We need to grab that stone!"
Then the flames engulfed it.
Captain Davis adopted a look of grim determination. "I'll get it."
"But the flames will burn you to death," Mara said.
"I know."
Garet saw that there was no persuading the captain to change his mind. Captain Davis took off toward the flames, racing past the Imperial Guards, who looked on in confusion. Five feet to the flames. Three feet. Two. One.
When the captain leapt into the wall of flames, he let out the most anguished scream Garet had ever heard. That scream sounded as if it would last forever, as if Garet could never erase it from his memory.
Then the stone came flying through the air. Standing a few feet from the flames, Garet caught it. It burned his hands, but he didn't care. This stone was the key to saving as many people as they could.
"We have to find all the survivors," he said. They raced back toward the garrison to find that the Imperial Guards had left most of the people inside alone. A few were injured or dead, but the rest were unharmed. Garet stood outside the garrison now, just ahead of the wall of flame.
"Please remain calm," Dave called out, and to Garet's surprise, the crowd of people did as instructed. Of course, many of them were sitting down, waiting for the flames, resigned to their fates.
Garet placed the blue stone on the ground. "I don't know exactly how this works, but it's the best chance we have. Everybody needs to hold on to somebody while I hold on to the stone. It should be able to teleport us."
Mara placed a hand on his shoulder. "But where should we go?"
"Well, I want to go to Luminia," he said softly. "But I don't think we should bring all these people there. If Imperial Guards are there, it won't be safe."
"Then where would be safe?" Dave asked.
"Riverside."
Dave nodded. "All right, let's do this."
The flames were closer than ever, bathing everyone in their glow and their heat. Garet sat on the ground, touching the stone but giving it no instructions. Dave and Mara held on to him, and all the townspeople gathered there did the same. By now, no one else was trickling in. If there were other people in the city, there was nothing Garet could do for them.
"Ready?" he shouted.
Not that it mattered. Another few seconds and the flames would engulf the crowd.
"Riverside," Garet said to the stone. "East side."
The world dissolved around him.
Chapter 53: Path of Destruction
Upon their return to New Washington, Nadia expected to have some time to rest and train her new powers, but Daniel and Yasmin had other ideas.
"I don't understand," Nadia said. "Why did we bother to go to the Earth Temple and start that rebellion that killed so many people? Aren't we supposed to use our new powers?"
The rebellion had already come to an end. Thousands of soldiers had arrived from New Washington. Some people died in the process, but most simply gave up the fight. Nadia felt as if the blood of these people were on her hands, as if she could never wash them clean.
"I can't read the Webs as well as I'd like," Yasmin said. "But they did show you going to the Earth Temple first. Don't ask me why. That's just the path that showed the best chances of success. I would have been a fool to go against what the Webs showed me."
Nadia glared at her. "Just once, I wish I could see these Webs myself."
She was tired of feeling like other people were guiding her life. All she wanted was to know the truth. If so many sorcerers could read the Webs, then why couldn't she?
Yasmin's expression softened. "You are welcome to try. I sense in you the ability to read the Webs. I can try to guide you in your efforts." She gestured toward a wooden chair in her office. "Please sit down."
Nadia took a seat, feeling a little sick. She hadn't expected Yasmin to agree so readily, and didn't feel ready to read the Webs. Shouldn't there be some kind of preparation? She didn't want to look like a fool.
She looked at Markus, and he gave her a smile. After all, he'd shared the same doubts. They all had. If she could read the Webs for herself, then she could either feed those doubts or dispel them. It was a good sign that Yasmin was letting her read the Webs. That action indicated that perhaps Yasmin was telling the truth and guiding them along the right path.
"Close your eyes and empty your mind," Yasmin said. "You've had intuitions before, haven't you? Perhaps even visions?"
"Yes, I have."
"Try to recall that feeling, then. It's your best guide in reading the Webs."
Nadia had no idea how to do that. She kept her eyes closed, trying to remember how she'd felt when she'd had her visions. Normally, they appeared at crucial moments in her life, or in the lives of others. Her intuitions were even less predictable.
"Concentrate," Yasmin said. Her voice sounded distant.
Nadia focused, but she had no idea what she was supposed to do. She tried to imagine an intricate spider web. That was her best idea of what the Webs looked like.
Nothing happened.
"It's not working," she said.
Yasmin's voice remained soft, almost gentle. "I wouldn't expect it to work on your first try."
Nadia continued to focus, but nothing appeared apart from
the darkness behind her eyelids. She closed her eyes tighter, straining to conjure any image at all.
"Let me help you," Yasmin said. "I can guide you to the Webs." She placed her hands on each side of Nadia's head. At first, nothing happened, but then delicate strands began to dance in her vision. She tried to pull her focus toward one of the strands, but something was resisting her efforts. Concentrating intently, she tried again. Still, nothing happened.
"What am I supposed to do?" she asked, feeling overwhelmed. She'd never attempted anything quite so difficult. Most things came to her much more easily.
"Focus on something you'd like to know," Yasmin said.
Nadia pulled her thoughts to the task that lay ahead of them, and a series of scattered images flashed behind her eyes. It felt like a more disjointed version of her visions. Taking deep breaths, she tried to focus the images, to glean something from the chaotic mess.
The images slowed down. She saw black-clad soldiers standing between them and the Machine, saw Markus lying dead on the stone floor, saw chaos flooding the streets of New Washington. The images remained scattered, almost impossible to decipher.
When they slowed again, she saw herself lying dead, then Daniel, Berig, and even Lara.
"Pull your focus to the right strands," Yasmin said.
How was Nadia supposed to know which strands were the right strands? Didn't they all indicate potential futures? She had no idea, but she didn't like what she was seeing.
"Focus on success," Yasmin said. "No other possibility matters."
Nadia felt as if something strong were closing in around her head, giving her a terrible headache, but she ignored it, focusing on their path to success. This time, she still saw the black-clad soldiers. But she also saw Markus leading an army of undead warriors. A great explosion followed—the destruction of the Machine, she knew instinctively.
The path to that event still remained obscure, however, no matter how much she tried to focus on it. Already her thoughts were drifting, gliding farther along the strands of the Webs.
Kara appeared in her vision, and Rik.
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