The Warriors were silent a moment. Then they broke into low murmurs, discussing the situation with each other.
“Come on, people!” shouted Evan. “We don’t have time for this! We’ve got to go NOW!”
“I’m with you.” One of the Warriors stepped forward and presented his sword.
“Me too,” said another. Soon, all the Warriors were committed to the fight, including the tall one who had grabbed the staff.
“What are we waiting for?” shouted Evan. “Let’s get this show on the road!”
* * *
Levi and Brianna sat on the floor before the throne, staring up at Thayne. His blank eyeholes were now filled with light, projecting an image into the space between him and the kids, like a hologram. It showed the Lava Forgers charging down the mountain and crashing into the Prince Warriors’ shields.
The image switched to the forest, where the Askalons were struggling to move. Thayne growled and shot to his feet, clearly agitated.
“The Askalons are stuck,” Levi whispered.
Thayne began to rant, making unintelligible noises. The Bone Breakers started squawking and flapping their wings.
“He’s pretty mad,” said Levi.
“I’m going for the pots,” said Brianna. She could see them, discarded on the floor several feet away from where they sat. “It’s now or never.”
Brianna started to crawl toward the pots very slowly so Thayne or the guards wouldn’t notice her. She was just about to grab one of the pots when Nesher flew down and snatched it up in his beak. The other Bone Breaker then made a grab for the second pot. They shrieked in triumph as they flew back to their perches, the pots firmly in their beaks.
“Stupid birds,” Brianna muttered.
The movement of the birds caught Thayne’s attention. He roared for his guards and pointed to Levi and Brianna.
“Kill them!”
Brianna scrambled back to Levi. They jumped to their feet and pulled out their swords as the Lava Forgers thundered toward them with outstretched arms.
“Don’t touch them!” The voice boomed in the fortress, bringing even the Forgers to a standstill.
Ruwach? Levi spun around, searching for the source of the voice.
But it wasn’t Ruwach.
It was Levi’s father.
CHAPTER 46
Shiny Things
Dad!” Levi’s voice was a mixture of wonder and puzzlement. His father was lying in a coma in a hospital room on earth. Yet here he was in the enemy fortress, standing tall before them, dressed in his full, regal armor, his long, lethal sword prepared for battle.
“Mr. J. Ar!” Brianna gasped.
Mr. J. Ar lunged forward and thrust his sword into a Forger’s midsection. “You two okay?” he asked as he spun around to face the other Forger, who was coming at him from behind. He slashed his sword in the Forger’s neck; the Forger’s head was thrown backward, nearly severed. But it soon recovered, the head fusing to the body once again.
Levi shook himself from his shock as two more Forgers entered from outside the doorway, rushing toward Mr. J. Ar with mighty growls. Levi raced to intercept them, his blade sizzling as it sliced through a Forger’s red-hot core. The Forger arched and stumbled sideways, but when Levi withdrew his sword, he saw the wound he had inflicted close, as if it had never even been there.
“Dad, how did you get here?”
“No time to explain right now,” said Mr. J. Ar. Thayne was thundering down the steps, wielding his hammer. “Get the water!” Mr. J. Ar lashed at another Forger and went to meet Thayne.
Two Forgers came at Levi and Brianna.
“They’re too big,” Brianna whispered.
“Go low,” said Levi.
As the Forgers closed in, both kids dropped to the floor and slid across the smooth floor between the Forgers’ legs. They were up in a flash, slashing at the rock-hard legs with their swords. The Forgers toppled over, grunting.
“Get the pots,” Levi shouted. “I’ll handle these guys!”
Brianna saw Mr. J. Ar and Thayne fighting, though Mr. J. Ar couldn’t seem to get close enough to the armored leader to get a strike. But he danced and darted this way and that, keeping Thayne occupied.
She turned to the throne. The two birds, still on their perches, were too high for her to reach. How was she going to get those pots away from them? Another Forger lunged at her. Despite their size, they were quite slow. Brianna swung her sword, hitting the monster in the leg. She ran for cover to the other side of the lava pit and searched frantically for something that might attract the birds. Something shiny. She saw nothing but blackened lava rocks and broken bones.
The heat and gases from the lava pit overwhelmed her. Brianna coughed and fell to her knees, her head swimming. She could barely breathe. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her seed. She saw that it was glowing in her palm, sparkling like a tiny red star.
Then she had an idea.
She closed her fingers over the seed and thrust her fist straight out in front of her. The network of sparkling seeds deployed over her head, giving her instant relief from the toxic fumes. She took a few deep breaths to clear her head. Then she stood up straight, hoping that the little seed lights would shine through the smoke.
“Come on, goonies,” she called out. “Come and get it!”
Despite the hazy smoke and the two Warriors still fighting Forgers and Thayne on the other side of the pit, the Bone Breakers holding the pots became mesmerized by the sparkling lights of the shield. They spread their wings and flapped slowly, making noises in their throats.
“Come and get the shiny lights,” Brianna whispered.
The birds took off from their perches and glided toward her. As they flew over the top of the pit, the birds opened their beaks to snatch the sparkling lights. The pots fell into the pit. They flared and then cracked from the intense heat. The birds closed in on Brianna, but before they hit the shield, the lava pit exploded, unleashing tongues of bright blue flame that shot all the way to the top of the fortress and into the sky above.
* * *
Xavier saw the explosion at the fortress as he rode Tannyn through the sky. Blue lava shooting out of the pyramid, tearing the top of it apart. The percussive blast stirred up the air into turbulent waves that rocked Tannyn’s whole body, throwing him backward.
“Hang on!” Xavier shouted to Evan and Manuel as Tannyn struggled to recover. The Warriors following on the ground let out gasps of fear. They too knew something had happened, but they weren’t sure if it was bad or good.
“They did it!” shouted Evan. “They blew up the fortress!”
“I hope they’re okay,” Manuel said in a shaking voice. “I hope we’re okay too! Five hundred sixty, five hundred sixty-one . . .”
* * *
The Prince Warriors were standing firm—and singing.
They had been doing this for what seemed like hours, bracing their shields against the enemy attack. The Sparks, who appeared now as bright, shining warriors, took their places on either end of the line so the Lava Forgers could not break through. They were still singing, and the Prince Warriors had joined in the song.
But they were getting tired. Ivy’s arm was cramping from holding this position for so long. More and more Lava Forgers were piling up against their shields. The Bone Breakers hadn’t relented in their attacks. In the woods behind them, the Askalons were starting to move, breaking through the branches that stopped up their wheels. Ivy wondered how much longer they could last.
Suddenly the sound of an explosion met their ears, and the ground began to quake, knocking both armies off their feet.
“What was that?” Mary cried, falling against Ivy, who fell against Finn.
“The fortress,” said Finn.
Ivy’s stomach did a flip. The fortress. She looked up to the mountain. Abov
e the dense cloud around the summit, blue lava was shooting into the sky.
“They did it,” she whispered. Levi and Brianna . . .
The Lava Forgers began to act strangely, spinning around in circles and knocking into each other. The Bone Breakers flew back up toward the fortress, shrieking. The Ents seemed to turn to dust right before their eyes.
Ivy knew it was time to fight. She drew her sword and raised it in the air. Finn did the same; he was tall enough that everyone could see him.
“Attack!” she shouted. “Attack!” Finn echoed the command.
The Prince Warriors let out a joyful cheer and raised their swords, slashing at the confused Forgers. Every stroke reduced them to ashes. All along the line, the Forgers were falling.
But then the growling of the Askalons rose up from the woods. Ivy spun around to see the deadly machines once more on the move, churning out ice-webs and snakes as they rumbled through the burned-out trees.
“Askalons coming!” Mary screamed. She looked as though she might faint. Others turned in confusion, unsure of what to do. The Askalons would overrun them at any moment.
“Don’t run!” Ivy shouted. “Stand firm!”
The Askalons barreled toward them, picking up speed. Ivy’s breath caught in her throat. She kept her shield raised, urging the others to do the same. It was all she could do.
Then she became aware of a noise rising up from somewhere beyond the Askalons. It sounded like a battle cry. She squinted, sure she was seeing things, for coming up behind the Askalons were dozens of figures dressed in white armor, with swords and voices raised.
CHAPTER 47
All Fall Down
The explosion knocked Levi, Mr. J. Ar, and the Forgers across the vast room and slammed them against the walls. Levi landed on the floor, overcome with the blast of heat and smoke that filled the fortress. Gasping, he reached into his pocket and grabbed his shield, thrusting it out before him. He took several deep breaths, filling his lungs.
Huge blocks of obsidian were falling from the top of the fortress. The walls were cracking and breaking apart. Levi couldn’t see his father anymore, or Brianna. Brianna. Where was she? She must have gotten the pots into the lava pit somehow. But that meant she was probably somewhere near the pit when it erupted. Fear seized his heart. What if she—?
“Bean!” Levi shouted in the smoke. He had to know if she was okay. Fingers of hot lava and small rocks were slamming into his shield. Giant pieces of obsidian fell all around him.
The Forgers, who had been blasted apart by the explosion, were re-forming themselves, though their body parts now seemed to be in all the wrong places. One’s head was at the end of its arm; another’s leg was sticking out the top of its head. They fumbled around as if they couldn’t see where they were going, running into each other. One of them fell into the lava pit.
“You will pay for this!” Thayne’s voice boomed. He turned from fighting Mr. J. Ar and lunged at Levi with his hammer raised. The explosion had caused some of Thayne’s armor to melt, making his movements jerky and stiff.
Levi saw the hammer coming down on him; it ricocheted off his shield, propelling Thayne backward, into Mr. J. Ar. Both of them fell. Mr. J. Ar was up quickly and slammed his sword into Thayne’s midsection.
But the sword seemed to be stopped in midair, repelled by some invisible force. Thayne rose up and smashed his hammer into the center of Mr. J. Ar’s breastplate. Mr. J. Ar flew through the air, headed for the lava pit.
“Dad!” Levi shouted. He started to run toward his dad, but he knew he wouldn’t make it in time to save him. “Dad!”
A blinding light met his eyes, and Levi fell to the floor. He couldn’t see his father anymore. But then the light compressed, taking the form of a person. A tall person, so perfectly white it was as if he were made of light. He was dressed in glittering armor and held a sword that seemed to be on fire. He stood at the edge of the lava pit, stopping Mr. J. Ar’s flight and setting him on his feet.
Mr. J. Ar nodded toward the shining warrior.
“Thanks, Gavreel,” he said.
“No problem,” said the warrior.
Thayne bellowed in rage at the sight of this newcomer. “How dare you enter my fortress!”
Without a word, Gavreel leapt toward Thayne, covering the distance in a single, effortless jump. The fire sword smashed through Thayne’s belt. It broke off and slid to the floor. Mr. J. Ar picked it up and threw it into the lava pit.
Thayne roared again, but Gavreel just disappeared in another flash of light. Levi blinked, wondering where he had gone.
Thayne lunged for Mr. J. Ar, enraged by the loss of his belt. But a weird thing happened. Other pieces of Thayne’s armor began to fall off his body, clattering to the floor. It was as if the belt had kept all the other pieces in place. Even stranger: underneath the armor, there seemed to be nothing there at all. Thayne, though he was still fighting, was beginning to disappear.
Mr. J. Ar swung his sword, which worked this time, as it was no longer repelled by the Belt of Lies. The two fought, the sound of their clashing weapons reverberating off the walls, which continued to crack and break and tumble down around them. The Lava Forgers were busy attacking each other now, for they couldn’t see who they were supposed to fight.
Levi spun around, searching for Brianna. He called her name, but there was no answer. Then Gavreel suddenly appeared before him, shining through the smoke. His sword was sheathed, no longer on fire. He didn’t speak, but he motioned to Levi to follow him. Then he turned and disappeared.
Levi chased after him, keeping his shield raised against the smoke. Glowing blue lava continued to spew straight up into the top of the pyramid. He couldn’t see Gavreel anymore, but then he saw, on the other side of the pit, a small figure lying on the floor.
“Bean! Bean! Brianna!” Levi rushed toward her, covering her with his own shield.
She was so still. Levi felt panic well up within him. He shook her. “Bean! Wake up!”
Her eyes fluttered. Then she coughed.
“Bean!” Levi almost cried with gratitude.
“What happened?” she asked, still coughing. She looked around as if she didn’t know where she was.
“We need to get out of here,” Levi said. “This whole place is about to fall. Can you walk?”
“I don’t know . . .”
Still holding his shield, Levi pulled Brianna to her feet. She wobbled and leaned against him then smiled slightly and opened her fist. Her seed was still in her palm. “Stellar.”
Levi helped her to the doorway and sat her down outside at the top of the slope. The obsidian bridge was still intact, though the moat was churning and spitting up fire. “Wait here,” he said. “I’m going to help my dad. We’ll be right back. Keep your shield up.”
Brianna nodded weakly and raised her fist.
Levi raced back into the toppling fortress to find his father, who was still locked in mortal combat with Thayne. A large piece of the wall was starting to collapse right on top of them.
“Dad, look out!” Levi yelled. Gavreel appeared suddenly, catching the jagged slab of glass and throwing it off. The shining warrior disappeared again. Levi blinked, not sure he had really seen that happen. Then Mr. J. Ar let out a bellow, spun in a circle, and smashed into Thayne’s armored body; Thayne was thrown backward and rammed into the sharp tip of the slab, impaled. He flailed about, struggling to free himself, the black glass sticking out of the middle of his chest.
Levi gasped. Then he threw his arms around his dad, hugging him tightly. It was really him. He was here. He was okay.
“Brianna,” said Mr J. Ar.
“She’s outside. Come on!” Levi and Mr. J. Ar made a dash for the door, skirting around chunks of glass and rock, dodging falling debris. A huge chunk fell in front of the doorway, blocking their exit. But then Gavreel appeared again,
lifting the gigantic stone up in the air so Mr. J. Ar and Levi could pass through.
“Thanks, Gavreel!” Mr. J. Ar said.
“Who is that guy?” said Levi. Mr. J. Ar didn’t answer.
Brianna was still seated on the rampart, under the cover of her shield. Mr. J. Ar bent down to give her a hug.
“The bridge!” Levi gasped. He pointed to where the black obsidian bridge over the moat was starting to break apart. “Hurry!”
“I can’t . . .” Brianna struggled to stand. Mr J. Ar put away his sword and lifted her in his arms.
“Come on, son!” Mr. J. Ar ran down the slope, headed for the bridge. Levi started to follow when he was suddenly yanked off his feet and flung through the air. He crashed onto the hard floor inside the fortress, the impact jarring him. His whole body screamed with pain.
And Thayne stood over him.
CHAPTER 48
The Turning
Now you will die!”
Levi struggled to catch his breath, which had been knocked out of him. His back ached. His sword was gone. He tried to rise.
Thayne had broken away from the shard of obsidian that had impaled him, though there was now a gaping hole in the middle of what was left of his chest. Part of his helmet and one arm were gone. But he still had enough of both legs left to stand and move. He raised his hammer over his head.
Levi managed to roll away in time; the hammer smashed into the floor, creating a large crack. Lava bubbled up from the crack, spreading out like a pool of blood. Levi had to keep rolling to get away from the hot lava as the crack lengthened. He saw his sword lying on the floor and crawled toward it. As Thayne reached down to grab him again, Levi flipped over and swung the sword with all his might. The sword caught the hammer and flung it from Thayne’s hands. The hammer flew through the air and landed in the lava pit, which exploded again as the metal sizzled and melted. Thayne bellowed in rage. He reached down, ripped Levi’s sword from his hands and hurled it into the lava pit, which caused another small eruption. Levi moaned at the loss of his sword.
The Winter War, epub Page 21
