They were dragging dead fireborn, Kael realized. Some carried whole bodies, others what limbs they could find. With relentless haste they tossed them into the pile, which simmered and boiled with an unearthly red glow. Worse were the bodies of humans that joined the pit. The body parts of adults were tossed in piece by piece, full bodies too big to be carried by the diminutive creatures. Children, though, they could manage, and Kael watched two demons drag a boy’s body into the pit’s center, flesh peeling away as it sank into the magma.
“What do we do?” Clara asked softly over the faint hum of their wings.
“I don’t know,” Kael said. “There’s so many of them.”
“What are they trying to create?”
“Your guess is as good as—”
He stopped. Not far to their left he saw another child being dragged toward the molten pile. She looked no more than two years old, her arm terribly burned from where the demon clutched her.
She was still alive.
“This whole night can go to Hell,” Kael said as he drew his sword and tore through the air. The many fireborn turned his way, a multitude of obsidian eyes glaring at him as they bared their molten fangs and hissed like feral cats. Kael stayed above and out of reach, the child his only goal. The magma pool passed beneath him, the heat uncomfortable to his skin despite the distance. Pieces floated within, thick chunks of black stone amid the orange and red. Claws, legs, and even faces of dead fireborn floated atop it, a macabre graveyard for the otherworldly beings.
Kael landed before the creature, which snarled and refused to release the child. When Kael lashed out with his sword, the fireborn ducked beneath the swipe, but its refusal to let go kept it pinned in place. Kael looped the sword around, and as it ducked again, he pushed his shield closer. Its light flared, blinding the yelping fireborn. The next sword thrust pierced it between the eyes, killing it instantly. The body collapsed, black tongue lolling out of its mouth. Still it kept its grip tight on the crying girl’s arm. Kael cut it off at the wrist, and as its blood pooled out on the stone, the severed hand hardened, cracked, and then released.
“It’s all right,” Kael said as he scooped the girl into his arms. “I’ve got you.”
Two fireborn dashed closer, weaving around Clara’s protective blasts of ice. Kael jumped into the air while punching his throttle. The fireborn leapt. Kael’s wings thrummed. Their claws missed by inches as Kael flew down the street, Clara keeping back to defend his retreat. The girl sobbed in Kael’s grasp, tears trickling down her dirty face from big blue eyes as she squirmed and held her burned arm.
“We’re safe,” Kael lied as he dropped lower now that the fireborn circle was so far away. “We’re safe, I promise.”
Guilt and frustration tightened his chest. He didn’t know where her parents were, assuming they were still alive, or where her home might be. He felt as helpless as when Galen collapsed, his actions pitiful and meaningless against the overwhelming carnage unfolding. But at least this girl would live. That meant something, he told himself as he banged on the door of the first home he came upon. Kael heard movement from within, but no one came to answer.
“I’m a Seraph of Weshern!” he shouted. “In the name of the Archon, open this door!”
A lock rattled, and then the door cracked open, revealing a haggard man’s face. Huddled behind him was the rest of his family.
“Take her,” Kael ordered, handing the girl over to the father.
The man did so without argument, too stunned and frightened to speak a word. Kael gave one last look to the child, prayed she’d be safe, and then flew back toward the molten pit.
Clara circled overhead, keeping far out of reach of the frantic fireborn. She rained ice upon them, her gauntlet a relentless cannon. Some dodged, others scrambled faster, carrying what body parts they could. As Kael neared he spotted a familiar one-armed fireborn rushing ahead of him. It weaved side to side, its pace uneven. Kael did his best to judge, then flung a small thin lance. It shattered upon the road, barely missing the creature.
The fireborn glanced over its shoulder, saw him, and laughed.
More ice, shot after shot as Kael chased, the fireborn bolting for the molten pool. Kael saw others abandoning their own tasks and rushing straight in, melting into the liquid fire. Such suicide made no sense to Kael, but he knew that whatever the reason, it wasn’t good. Diving lower, he launched one last barrage at the fleeing fireborn. The demon sensed the attack coming and tucked into a roll. Kael’s attacks missed the diminutive target, which launched itself into the center of the molten pool with a victorious screech. With a burst of flame, it sank down deep and then vanished.
Kael flung his feet forward and rotated the angle of his wings so they pushed back against his momentum, effectively hovering him in place as he lashed the ground with ice. The rest of the fireborn were charging the pit, and his gut said to stop them at all costs. He attempted to form a wall encircling the glowing red pool, but it melted from the heat faster than he could build it. Clara flew beside him, and without a word between them they tried again, redoubling their efforts into a single stream that layered the molten ground. Steam rose in great plumes, but it seemed nothing could deter the fire. The ground shook, the flames roaring hotter and hotter.
And then the molten pool began to rise.
The remaining few fireborn dove into the lava, their bodies melding into it, becoming yet another part of the growing monstrosity. Chunks steadily hardened, turning black as the pool gained form. Taller and taller it grew, thirteen feet high, a horrific facsimile of the smaller fireborn. Its legs were thick and stocky, its chest bulky and covered with hardened stone. Jagged pieces jutted out from its knees and elbows. Veins rippled over the surface of its body, glowing red as molten fire pulsed through them. It bore no tail, nor did it have lengthy claws. Instead a ring of jagged horns protruded from its forehead like a demonic crown.
The fireborn giant reared back its head, stretched its shoulders, and let forth a cry that shook the walls of the nearby buildings. Beneath it, where there’d been a gigantic pool of flame and melted stone, was now nothing but blackened char.
“This is bad,” Kael said. “This is very bad.”
“Higher, now!” Clara shouted. Sound advice, Kael agreed, and together they shot into the air. The giant took a lumbering step, the weight of its impact audible even from up high.
“I don’t know if we can bring it down,” Kael said as he hovered beside Clara.
“I don’t know, either,” Clara said. “But we’re sure as hell going to try.”
She reached into her pocket, pulling out two spare ice elemental prisms.
“Here,” she said, handing over one of them. She popped out her old element and replaced it with the new. Kael did the same, not wanting to run out in the middle of fighting the fireborn giant. Clara looked to see if he was ready. He nodded.
“Give it all you’ve got,” she said, leading the way. Her arm stretched out as she aimed with her gauntlet. The giant had its back to them as it rammed straight into a nearby building, knocking it to the ground as if it were made of cards. Clara spread her fingers wide, releasing an enormous torrent of ice from the focal point in her palm. It slammed into the back of the fireborn like a club, not meant to pierce or cut but instead crush and overwhelm. Steam hissed as the ice melted against its form. The force of the impact knocked the creature to one knee, and it turned about, hatred glinting in its obsidian eyes.
Kael struck it in the face with two boulders of ice, rocking the thing backward. The boulders broke into pieces, but they did their damage. A thin stream of orange liquid dribbled from the fireborn’s mouth and down its chin. They gave it no reprieve, Kael rising higher while firing three large lances. Clara kept low, blasting at its knees with another beam of ice. The fireborn shrugged off both attacks, its stony skin seemingly impenetrable. Its hands dug into the street, scooping up slabs of dirt and stone. Biting back a swear, Kael turned and flew away, weaving as the firebo
rn hurled the collection at him through the air. After a glance over his shoulder he weaved again, dodging a thrown chunk of a nearby home. A heavy stone struck his thigh as he turned, and he clenched his jaw to hold in a pained scream.
Once he was safely away, Kael turned about for another assault. Clara continued throwing ice at the fireborn’s legs, undeterred by its apparent lack of damage. As if to mock her, the giant dug its hands into the street and ripped the stone and earth upward, forming a barrier to protect its lower body. Forced to clear it, Clara rose into the air, joining Kael as they flew in for a barrage. Lances and boulders shot from their palms, battering the beast, but it kept its back to them as it crashed through the center of a home, its very touch setting the wood aflame. Kael led them closer, trying to focus on the same spot on the fireborn’s back. Their attacks might have seemed to be causing little damage, but the ice dulled the creature’s fire as their attacks slowly chipped away at the thick rock that made up the monster’s body. Perhaps if they could weaken it enough, or break through its armor to the blood flowing underneath...
Their path took them close, too close. The fireborn giant whirled around, one of its mammoth arms outstretched. Its palm opened, and like a demonic version of a Seraph it released a torrent of flame that mocked even Bree’s tremendous blasts. Kael and Clara split to either side, muscles protesting as he forced the turn. The flames licked his heels as he banked, avoiding two more tremendous sprays. Then it turned its attention to Clara, thinner, faster lances ripping from its palm and shooting through the air. Kael curled about, his heart in his throat as he watched Clara dance and weave in retreat. The shots appeared on target, but she narrowly avoided each one, twisting and dodging no differently than if an enemy Seraph were in chase.
The attacks stopped, the fireborn giant again putting its back to them and hurrying away. Kael joined Clara, looping over the rooftops to fly to her side.
“You all right?” he asked as she slowed to a hover.
“Yeah,” she said, chest heaving as she sucked in air. “Where’s it going?”
Kael returned his attention to the fireborn. It was marching with purpose, but where? He lifted higher, tracking the direction the creature walked. Seeing its path, he felt the pieces clicking into place in his head. The one-armed fireborn. It had seen the royal family. Somehow it understood who they were, and its intelligence was now part of the giant. There seemed no stopping it as it blasted through homes, crumbling planks and stone all around it as it lumbered for the alleyway where the Archon lay wounded within.
“It’s headed for your parents!” Kael exclaimed.
She turned his way, then looked to the creature. She saw its path and made the same connection. Fear etched into her face, she flared her wings with light.
“We have to warn them!”
They pushed their wings to their limits. Speed was all that mattered as they flew over the fireborn in a desperate bid to beat it to the royal family. Kael veered slightly, just in case the fireborn flung another blast of flame, but it did not, so focused it was on its destination. Not much of a surprise, Kael decided. So far he and Clara were but pests to the thing, posing no real threat.
The alleyway approaching, Kael slowed as they dipped lower. Sig stood at the nearby entrance, then dashed after them as the two soared over his head to land in the alleyway.
“We have to get them out of here!” Kael shouted.
“Why? And how?” asked Sig.
“It doesn’t matter,” Clara said, kneeling down beside Isaac. “We have to...”
A red glow washed over them, and she tensed, knowing what it was.
“Holy shit,” Sig said, jaw falling slack at the sight of the fireborn giant halted at the edge of the alleyway, flames licking off its body in swirls. A horribly familiar grin was on the creature’s enormous face.
Kael lifted his shield, positioning himself before the royal family. Pure light washed over its surface. Despite the shield’s amazing properties, the protection felt meager in the presence of such a beast.
“No running,” Kael said. “We have to take it down together.”
The fireborn’s mouth opened, and from deep within its belly rumbled a spine-chilling laugh.
“Try,” the creature said as it stepped into the alleyway, its voice like stones cracking together. The buildings on either side crumbled to make room for its enormous frame. “Nowhere left to run. We are here now, humans. We reach you at last.”
The other Seraphs powered up their wings as the giant took another step. Light swirled across their palms as their focal points filled with power. Kael readied his own, imagining the ice as a sharpened spear, an enormous ballista to pierce through the creature. Before he could let it loose, the fireborn flung its arm. A massive chunk of stone ripped free of its form, swirling with flame. The boulder flew straight for Kael, mocking his shield with its size. The other Seraphs unleashed their elements upon the fireborn, bathing it with ice and lightning from above, but they could do nothing against the boulder.
Kael couldn’t move, couldn’t dodge. The royal family was behind him. Shield raised, gauntlet arm extended, he let loose a defiant scream. His element unleashed from his widened palm, Kael demanding every bit of its power. His vision filled with ice and fire, an explosion of steam, and then he braced for the fatal collision.
CHAPTER
26
All around Johan’s hideout was insanity. Seraphs dashed in and out of the warehouse, grabbing wings, swords, and their respective elemental prisms. Bree already wore her pair, having been one of the first to alert the others of the fireborn’s attack alongside Johan. Rebecca Waller stood in the heart of the chaos, a small table before her as she created an impromptu command post in the center of the street. A map of Weshern was unfurled across her table, pinned at the corners by two lamps to give her light. Dozens of marks and symbols were scrawled over it, names of Seraphs attached to towns and hastily circled districts.
“Where’s Argus?” Bree asked as she and Johan pushed their way to her side.
Rebecca didn’t even look up from her map.
“Argus is too hurt to leave his bed,” she said. “So that leaves only me.”
She pointed to a trio of towns, one after the other in a tight bunch on the map.
“Scour those three,” she told two Seraphs beside her. “When you’re done, don’t return here. Head northwest, and skip Gainesville as you clear out the fireborn on the way toward the island’s edge. Varl’s stationed twelve men there, and we’ll have to trust them to protect the village instead.”
The Seraphs saluted in unison, then tore into the air. With them gone, Rebecca finally turned her attention their way. As the flicker of candlelight washed over her features, Bree winced. Rebecca’s nose had been broken during her capture at the Aquila Forest, and it was still swollen and red, with a crook near the center that didn’t quite belong. It certainly looked painful, and when Rebecca spoke, her voice had a slight muffle to it.
“I hope you’re here to share some good news,” she said. “There’s been precious little of it tonight.”
“I’ve spoken with my disciples,” Johan told her. “They’re spreading out in all directions to the nearby towns to aid in killing the fireborn.”
“That’ll help,” Rebecca said, not a hint of enthusiasm reaching her words. “I’ll ensure further patrols skip over the locations that your disciples can reach on foot.”
Johan bowed low to the woman.
“As always, at your service,” he said. “Now if you don’t mind, I have work to do.”
The man left, leaving Bree standing awkwardly before the little table.
“As for you,” Rebecca said, looking to her map. “If you don’t mind flying solo, I think there’s a spot near your home of Lowville we could...”
“I do mind,” Bree said. “I need to find Kael.”
The woman looked up, her face iron.
“Tens of thousands of helpless lives in danger,” she said. “An
d you’d abandon them all to go looking for one of the few people actually capable of defending themselves?”
Bree’s face flushed with heat. Before she could respond, another Seraph joined them, still in the process of strapping on her wings.
“What’s my patrol path?” Olivia West asked.
“I haven’t decided,” Rebecca said. “I was planning to send Bree to the southwest, starting with Lowville, but she wants to look for her brother.”
“Not just my brother,” Bree said. “He’s with the royal family. They’re out there somewhere, in danger of both knights and fireborn.”
Rebecca hardly looked convinced.
“By diverting resources toward a search, we’re dooming others to die,” she said. “The Archon already has an escort. I don’t see how we can afford to take such a risk.”
“Yet we risked dozens to save the Archon earlier today,” Bree argued. “How is this any different?”
Olivia crossed her arms and lowered her voice as she leaned closer to Rebecca.
“The people are going to be frightened by what happened tonight,” Olivia said. “We’ll need Isaac to keep them calm and help pick up the pieces. With Center breathing down our necks, the last thing we need is a power vacuum.”
Rebecca glared at Bree.
“It’s a poor excuse,” she said. “But I’ll allow it. Take Olivia with you. If you both fly a direct path toward the holy mansion, chances are good you’ll pass one of the towns they’re in. Even if you don’t spot them it will still give them a chance to signal you as you fly over.”
Rebecca stood, and she braced herself with the edges of the table as she sternly addressed them both.
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