The Awakened World Boxed Set

by William Stacey

  When he heard whistles announcing the beginning of the enemy's assault, he sighed wearily. Sorry, Angie. I’m so sorry.

  The soldiers on the wall fired first, taking their time with each shot. But before, where there had been a cascade of gunshots, now only solitary shots rang out in the predawn gloom. Through the smoke, he saw the first of the enemy soldiers running for the breach, their faces twisted into masks of hatred. He could shift, he supposed, but it wouldn’t change anything, and if he was going to die here, he’d rather die as a man.

  Some of the enemy fell to gunfire but only a handful among hundreds. He wished he might have seen the sun rise one last time, but some things just weren’t meant to be. The soldiers with him opened fire. The enemy surged forward, howling. He tensed, preparing to take as many as he could with him.

  And then at the pounding of hooves behind him, he spun to see the first of at least a hundred men and women on horseback come around a barrier at the end of the street. The riders picked up speed, galloping for the broken gates and the oncoming enemy.

  "Get out of the way!" Tec yelled and pulled a young woman with him to safety just before the first rider sped past, a cavalry saber flashing.

  Tavi! It was Tavi.

  Behind her followed a combined force of Norteno Rangers and Sanwa City Horse Cops. The young Brujas Fantasmas mage had somehow mustered an honest-to-god cavalry charge.

  Tavi screamed as she broke into a gallop, charging at the stunned Aztalan soldiers, who were staring wide-eyed at the horses charging them. A moment later, the first of the enemy turned to flee. The panic spread, and more soldiers broke. Tavi's saber flashed as it fell among them, and men screamed.

  The last of the riders whipped past Tec, an overweight Horse Cop with mutton chops. The Horse Cop was firing a handgun as he rode, whooping like a cowboy from the Old West.

  Chapter 43

  Tavi chopped down with her hexed saber, slicing through the fingers of an Aztalan soldier who had been trying to pull her from her saddle. As her blade slashed into his face, he fell away. More soldiers came at her from both sides; one tried bayoneting her, but her shade threw up a shield to protect her. Her mare reared up to kick with her front hooves at another soldier, smashing in his forehead with a resounding "crack."

  Horse Cops and Rangers fought all around her. Most fired pistols into the enemy, but others fought with whatever they had been able to grab, fire axes, rifle butts ... sticks. But the initial panic that had shaken the Aztalan soldiers had already passed, and while her cavalry charge had driven away the first enemy brigade, a second attacked as the enemy realized how few riders there actually were. Aztalan soldiers screamed in hatred at the riders as they pulled them from their mounts, beating them to bloody pulps. Gunfire cut down horses and riders. Their charge was over, its energy spent. Her surviving force needed to break contact and get back to the city.

  When she managed a desperate look about her, she knew that wasn't going to happen.

  They were already cut off.

  She accepted her fate with stoicism. Better to die fighting than to be captured and stretched naked across an altar. She shoved the point of her saber through the face of a man who looked younger than she was. The impact of the strike felt immensely satisfying. Her mare danced forward, and she used the momentum to yank her sword free of the young man's head.

  Then her horse went down, throwing her forward. Her shade shielded her impact, but she still hit the ground with enough force to stagger her. She dropped her sword and slammed her head against a rock, which her shade couldn't prevent. Pain roared in her skull as she rose on hands and knees. She shook her head and stared in confusion at her saber in front of her. She couldn’t process facts properly, and her vision blurred. Gunshots hit a shield in front of her face, discharging a rain of sparks. Her shade was still trying to protect her.

  For now.

  The Aztalan soldiers had her surrounded, but for some reason they held back. Why? Had they all attacked her at once, they’d have overwhelmed her shade. When a heavyset bearded man with a basket-hilt broadsword stepped through the enemy, grinning at Tavi, she understood: the enemy had brought a mage. The man made a series of test cuts in the air and then came on.

  Tavi grasped at her saber and rose on shaky legs. Blood dripped down her skull and into her eyes. She wiped it away with her free hand, doing her best to take up a dueling stance.

  The man brought his blade down hard enough to cleave her skull. She cast Shutter, moving two feet to the side as his sword cut through where she had been. She lunged, trying to skewer him through the throat, but she was too off balance, and the mage parried and quickly riposted, cutting at her face. She danced back, realizing even if she weren't hurt, he'd be a challenge.

  He came at her again—smiling, no doubt confident he had her—and carried out a series of cuts and thrusts. All she could manage was to retreat and parry, to give ground. He feinted high and then went low, cutting open her forearm. She cried out in pain as blood flowed down her arm, making her grip slippery. The fingers of her injured arm no longer wanted to work properly, and she had to use both hands to hold the saber. His next cut knocked it from her entirely, sending it clattering to the ground. She stood tall, glaring in defiance as he drew back his broadsword for the blow that would take her head off.

  A man with long dark hair surged forward from behind the mage, barreling through the watching Aztalan soldiers. Tec! she realized. It's Tec! He caught the mage's sword arm by the wrist, stopping him, and spun him about as if he were no more than a child. Tec drove his machete into the man’s gut, driving it with so much force that it went right through the shield the man’s shade had created—she had never seen that happen before!

  With a savage roar like a predatory cat, Tec wrenched his blade up, opening the man from stomach to sternum. The bearded mage fell back, his intestines spilling out, and landed on his back.

  City defenders with bayonets fixed to their rifles threw themselves against the other Aztalan soldiers, driving them away. Smoke, blood, and turmoil surrounded Tavi, and as she fell forward, Tec caught her. The screams of the fighting seemed muted somehow now.

  "Hang on," he said. "Damned crazy, beautiful thing you did, a cavalry charge."

  "Where's Jay?" she asked, her vision going dark. "I want to tell him ... tell him..."

  As darkness rushed in, she thought she must have really hit her head hard, because she heard a helicopter.

  Tec stared in stunned surprise as the Blackhawk helicopter screamed over the trees from the southeast. The aircraft opened fire with missiles, the 70 mm unguided rockets exploding among the Aztalan soldiers attacking them and destroying their cohesion. Then the aircraft swept over Tec, banked, and came back at the Aztalans. It was one of Tec's helicopters, he was certain of it, and judging by the snarling wolf's head on the canopy, he knew who was flying it: the Seagraves were back.

  The roar of the Gatling gun as it opened fire was deafening. The ground around the enemy erupted into clouds of dirt. Men fell, cut to pieces. The defenders with Tec cheered, pumping their fists in the air as the Aztalan brigade broke. Some fired at the helicopter, but their shooting was sporadic and ineffective.

  Tec, still holding Tavi in his arms, screamed at the survivors around him, those he had been able to muster, as well as the surviving cavalry force. "Grab what weapons and ammo you can and get back to the city. Hurry!"

  Corpses and the carcasses of horses lay scattered about him, but he found one animal, its dead rider still slumped over the saddle, and caught the loose reins as the animal walked in circles. With Tavi over his shoulder, Tec eased the dead rider to the ground. It was the same mutton-chopped Horse Cop he had seen before. Then he laid Tavi across the saddle and walked alongside the frightened animal, making sure Tavi didn't fall off.

  He and the survivors hurried back to the city as Casey made another pass with the Gatling gun, sending the Aztalans scurrying for cover. Tec looked over his shoulder as he passed under the twisted
wreckage of the gates. Spent casings glittered in the air in the helicopter's wake, sparkling in the glow of a sunrise he hadn't expected to see.

  The helicopter banked and flashed overhead as it came to land in the city.

  Chapter 44

  The Blackhawk helicopter settled to a landing within Veteran's Square, the prop wash kicking up dust that forced the growing crowd of excited citizens back. Tec, delayed because he had made sure Tavi was taken to the city's hospital, moved through the crowd, sliding between the people, all straining to see the heroes who had saved them from the Aztalan army. Their celebration was premature, he knew—the Aztalan army still surrounded the city and wasn't going anywhere—but he didn't begrudge them their excitement. And the presence of an armed gunship did vastly improve their tactical situation.

  But sadly, it didn't change the fact the city would fall. They were still outnumbered, still surrounded, and still perilously short of ammunition.

  He eased through the last of the crowd and saw Marshal and Carter arrive, their bodyguards pressing people back. Tec joined them just as the side door of the aircraft slid back, exposing Erin Seagrave, who stared at the crowd with a look of mild panic on her beautiful features. Then she jumped down, followed by her brother Jay. Tec saw Rowan and Casey through the cockpit windscreen, and Tec raised a hand in greeting; Rowan nodded in reply, then turned about and said something to someone behind him. Then, as it had last night, the dragon mark on his left palm throbbed with energy, and he gasped, almost reeling.

  "You okay, son?" Presidente Carter asked him.

  He didn't point out that he was significantly older than she was. "I ... something ... I can't explain," he said, making a fist of his left hand. None of this made any sense. Quetzalcoatl was dead. He had seen Itzpapalotl kill his master, watched in horror as she ripped his head from his body. There was no coming back from that, not even for a dragon. Yet his palm...

  Marshal, looking weaker and sicker than ever, moved forward as Rowan Seagrave climbed out of the aircraft. Tec stared in surprise at the eldest Seagrave and the weapon he wore strapped over his back: Tec's dragon-enchanted macahuitl, wrapped in a makeshift leather sheath. How...?

  Marshal and Rowan squared off against one another, and Tec wondered if Marshal could possibly be so foolish as to still harbor a grudge against the man who had just saved the day. Although … he did also burn Marshal’s fleet of Shrike aircraft.

  Rowan stood tall, his expression proud. Marshal stepped forward on his cane with his free hand outstretched. Tec only caught Marshal's final words. "...Welcome home, Captain."

  Rowan took Marshal's hand, and the crowd cheered.

  Small miracles, Tec mused.

  Someone else was climbing from the aircraft, a small figure with long dark hair.

  Tec's breath caught in his throat, his knees weakened, and he felt dizzy.

  It was Angie.

  Carter gripped Tec’s elbow as if afraid he'd fall. Tec, barely aware of the crowd, stared at the woman he loved. And he did love her. He knew that for a certainty now. It wasn't just the dragon-mark that linked them but something much stronger: love. Carter said something, but he didn't hear.

  He stumbled forward. Angie carried a large golden object in her arms, a ball of some kind. When her eyes met his, a shiver of excitement ran down his spine. He pushed forward, unable to hold himself back. Angie gave the golden ball to Erin and then bolted forward, her eyes tearing up.

  A moment later, they embraced, out of breath, squeezing one another as if certain that if either let go, the other would disappear again.

  And he was never going to let her go again.

  "I'm sorry," he whispered into her hair, crushing her against him. "I was going to come for you but..."

  She shushed him, placing her fingertips on his lips. "It's okay," she answered. "It's 2053. We women can save ourselves now, but I appreciate the offer."

  He kissed her, unable to stop himself, and she kissed him back. His heart thumped madly as if he were a boy again, kissing a girl for the very first time. His joy surged. A part of him heard the crowd cheering, but his attention was only on Angie. They might have been alone in the world.

  They only stopped when Erin cleared her throat loudly—again! He was aware he was grinning, having never been so happy, and looked to see all the Seagraves watching them, as well as Marshal, Carter, and hundreds of citizens. His gaze snapped to the object Erin was holding. It wasn't a ball ... it was an ... egg, a golden, scaled egg.

  Angie took his left hand and placed it atop the egg. Magical energy flared through the dragon-mark on his palm.

  It was a dragon egg!

  "We need to talk," Angie said.

  The only word Tec could manage was a strangled, "Yes."

  "All right, all you looky-loos!" Casey yelled to the crowd, his hands on his hips. "Got a metric crap-ton of bullets for you to unload. Let's get going. I'm gonna need to lighten the load if I'm going to fly any more close air support."

  If Itzpapalotl could have screamed with rage in her astral form, she would have.

  Her consciousness circled the throng of citizens milling in the square around the aircraft, but her physical form was still within her lair atop the temple. Every ounce of her malice and hatred was here, though, directed at the golden egg the dark-haired woman carried.

  So, the feathered coward tricked me!

  The revelation burned like molten magma. Dragons rarely laid eggs, great dragons even less frequently. It had been more than a thousand years since the last great dragon had laid an egg: her own sire, the dragon-god Memnog, and Memnog had laid two, her and her brother Tezcatlipoca.

  And now this other.

  No wonder the feathered coward had left his lair to strike at her brother. He had left an egg, another feathered coward, to take his place in this world. That would not stand. Itzpapalotl would burn this city to the ground first.

  She'd breathe death on them. She'd leave nothing in her wake but cinders. She'd consume that egg. She'd...

  Do nothing. Not yet.

  First, she needed to capture the Haanal X’ib. Without the blood of the elf changeling, she'd never free her sire. But Rayan Zar Davi, her high priestess, her Mother Smoke Heart, would succeed.

  Now Itzpapalotl would make sure of it.

  Chapter 45

  A half hour after landing, Angie watched as Tec bent over the conference table in city hall, peering at the golden egg. He wore an expression of rapt wonder as he studied the egg, trailing his fingers over its pebbled and scaled surface for what must have been the hundredth time. For some odd reason, she had been surprised to discover that city hall now served as a military headquarters.

  Wyn Renna was here as well, along with a dozen of her commanders, all seated at the far end of the conference table, discussing defensive plans. They had barricaded the breach—at least as well as they could. Most of the Seagraves were here, except for Jay, who had rushed to the hospital to see Tavi. Rowan, Erin, and Casey waited as Tec studied the egg. They had laid their hopes on this man and his knowledge of dragons.

  "It's warm," he finally said.

  She closed her eyes and composed herself. "I know that. What else?"

  He shook his head and turned to face her and the others. "I don't know anything more about this than you."

  "You're kidding?" Rowan asked.

  "I've never even heard of another dragon egg, let alone anything about hatching a baby dragon. These are creatures of magic. They can live for dozens of centuries, sleep for decades." He paused, staring at the egg. "The only thing I know is that we need to protect this egg." He looked to Angie with eyes red from lack of sleep. "You shouldn't have brought it here. You need to get in that helicopter and get it out of the city while you still can." He turned to Rowan. "Take Jay and Tavi with you and Angie. Someone needs to survive to keep this egg safe."

  "I'm not leaving you," Angie said. "Not again."

  "Nobody is going anywhere," Wyn Renna said as she left her offic
ers to join them. "At least not until nightfall. We've received reports the Aztalans have set up multiple heavy machine gun positions around the city, anti-aircraft positions. You go up in that aircraft and—"

  "And the Azzies will fill it full of holes," Casey said. "She's right. We've lost the element of surprise coming in. On the other hand, flying around while assholes shoot at me is what I do." The large bearded man scratched a butt cheek then glanced at Rowan. "You give the word, brother, I'll take the bird up again. Got enough missiles and bullets left for one good fight. After that ... well, maybe we might want to think about saving that egg—as well as Angie, Jay, and Tavi. Tec’s right. Someone oughta get outta this dump."

  "What about the ammunition we brought?" Angie asked Wyn Renna.

  "Distributed it all, and thank god you brought it, but I don’t think it’s enough to change anything. There's still way more of them than us, and they've been preparing for this war for a long time now, years. They've scoured all old Mexico and Central America for supplies. The only way we win here is to outlast them, and even with your resupply and the helicopter, I don’t think we can hold. We're seeing preparations for another assault on the walls, this time from every direction. The main thrust will be the southern breech, but they’re also getting ready to hit us from the north, west, and east. I think they’re going to get in. After that, it'll all be over."

  "So we keep 'em from the gates," Rowan said. "At all costs." Angie saw the hidden message in the look Rowan gave Casey. Day or night, Casey would take to the air and risk getting shot down.

  Wyn Renna looked to Rowan. "Could use your help, maybe go over our defensive plans."

  Rowan nodded. "Of course."

  "You too, Tec," Wyn Renna said. Her eyes darted to Angie. "I'm sorry, but..."

  "No, it's fine." Tec gave Angie a quick kiss and pulled her against him, whispering in her ear. "I love you, but as soon as it’s dark, I want you to fly out of here with the egg. Go as far northeast as you can. Get over the mountains before you even think about stopping." Her face flushed with anger, but before she could say anything, he put his fingers on her lips. "Think about it. Just think about it." He spun away, accompanying the others to a large map of the city at the far end of the table where the other officers waited, both Home Guard and Norteno. Strange, strange world.