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Phaedra raced onto the ’ship with Torin right behind her. Simone gave them a fierce smile as she saw them.
“Are you ready?” Simone asked. Phaedra nodded. Simone gave the order, and deckhands pulled the gangplank up.
“We’re taking the canvas wings,” Torin said. “I’ve never used one before. Only shot them down.” He swallowed audibly.
“We don’t have far to go,” Phaedra said. “Trust the magic and shield.” The ’ship rose as Phaedra spoke and took off towards the flying fortress heading toward Harbor City. The idea was to meet it before it got too close, to allow more people to evacuate. Orso had worked out with Elena how to outfit the remaining ’ships with the new crystal type, which gave them a speed advantage. All Phaedra and Torin had to do was wait until they got there.
As the fortress grew closer, Phaedra and Torin started setting up their canvas wings. They were a lightweight frame you held onto while sitting in a sling. Phaedra had never used one, but they promised it would be easy enough. She could steer them herself, but they were also imbued with magic that would help them to reach relative safety. Two helpers were aiding them to get them situated when something roared by. Phaedra looked up to see the Angels heading towards the fortress.
’ships came up to greet them, and it was all Phaedra could do to hold on and not abandon her post. Simone maneuvered deftly, avoiding the cannon fire as they returned, and took down one of the ’ships in a handful of shots. They must have been able to augment the full-sized spell cannons, too.
A call went up, and Phaedra got ready. The fortress was close, so close Phaedra could already see herself behind the walls. Another ’ship came up to greet them and was shot down by yet another Temple ’ship that came up to the one they were on.
“Now!” Came the roar, and Phaedra flung herself off the edge of the ’ship, trusting the canvas wing wouldn’t fail her as it was a long way to the ground below. Phaedra didn’t look down, instead hoping that Abraham was right, and they were too small a target to hit with the cannons. Dodging between the ’ships, it was all Phaedra could do to hang on, trusting the magic more than her own frozen ability to steer.
The landing place they wanted came up, and with a heartfelt sob she found herself in one of the open courtyards of the fortress.
Phaedra divested herself of the canvas wing and helped Torin, who was shaking. No time to comfort him. She bubbled them both as two men came out and fired. Phaedra held the shield as Torin hit them with lightning, glad that Elena gave her one of the new shield bracelets. “Torre!” she yelled as Torin called lightning down, obliterating the first wave of men.
A moment was all they needed. She kept them shielded as others landed, Eldren and Merethyl alongside them.
Phaedra led the way through the fortress, chest hurting with the familiarity of everything. She looked at Torin, who looked both determined and shaken. The sounds of fighting were all around them, so close but directionless. The memories it brought up made her stomach knot.
Leading the way past their men and deep into the heart of the fortress, Phaedra kept the shield up as they encountered another group of Aurelius’s forces. Eldren stepped forward and threw a bomb, all of them ducking as it went off. Merethyl fired a shot from her spell cannon, incinerating one man and scorching the other. Phaedra pointed her spell cannon at the second as he turned to run and fried him too, satisfaction easing the tightness in her chest a little.
Another hallway, another group of men that Phaedra had once worked with. She holstered her spell cannon and flung them back, allowing Eldren to fling fire over her shoulder at them. Scorched, they hit Phaedra’s shield with a spell cannon blast that dropped it.
Torin swore and held his hands up, and thunder echoed in the room, deafening even from the distance they were at. The men were knocked back and dazed. Merethyl brought her own shield up and Eldren finished them with more fire.
Phaedra led them up a flight of stairs and stopped in front of the throne room. She looked at the resolute faces surrounding her. “Ready?” She turned back to the lock and broke it, Eldren bubbling them as a gout of flame burst through.
“I never should have brought you back,” Aurelius said as they walked into the room.
“Your puppeteer is missing,” Phaedra countered.
Aurelius laughed. “I don’t need my advisor to finish you off.” Phaedra shielded again as Aurelius drew a sword and swung at her, hard and fast. Four of his generals jumped over the tables and engaged with everyone Phaedra had brought along.
Aurelius was fast. Faster than she remembered. Faster than the last time she faced him. She needed to immobilize him again, but he was moving around so quickly she risked hitting an ally. And no one was using magic, so the shield wasn’t recharging the way it would have otherwise. “I’m going to collapse the shield and then I’m going to kill you,” Aurelius snarled.
Phaedra drew her spell cannon and aimed, firing as her shield collapsed. The shot washed over Aurelius, who laughed. “I am a God of Death, and my closest advisor is the God of War. Did you think you will kill me so easily?” Aurelius said, laughing as he swung again. Phaedra dodged, dropping her spell cannon, and pointed at him. “Torre!” She shouted, drawing on the Celestial Fane. Aurelius just laughed as he shrugged it off.
“Cristiano was hard at work figuring out how to counter your little trick,” he said, swinging again. Phaedra blocked him, backpedaling. She could see behind him that his generals were keeping Torin, Eldren, and Merethyl just as occupied as she was.
Aurelius kicked out and nailed Phaedra in the thigh. She grunted and fell back, and he swung. She blocked, but it was an awkward block, and with a push, he knocked her over.
Phaedra kicked out with her foot and got him in the ankle, sweeping his feet out from under him. Aurelius fell with a thud and Phaedra scrambled for her weapon, just to find his cutlass. Power shot through her as she grabbed it, causing her to gasp as her arm went numb. Liquid trickled down her face as she backpedaled and pointed the cutlass at Aurelius. “Torre!” She shouted again, pouring all the power from the weapon into the Command Word. Aurelius howled but froze, falling to his feet as his skin started to look more like a mummy’s.
That Command wasn’t going to be enough. There was too much power to drain from him to cause him to wither. She had to make sure he was dead, which meant she needed something more than just that Command. Phaedra reached for him, memories of Demeter in her mind, just to hear Torin shout something behind her. Dodging fast, she moved out of the way as all four Generals all converged on her.
Phaedra was able to bring up a small shield through the energy of the weapon as they attacked at once. Torin shouted something and a wave of thunder knocked them around, rattling Phaedra. Backpedaling some more, Torin raised his hands and lightning arced between all four of generals. A second wave of thunder pealed, deafening in the small space.
There wasn’t time to ask about the new lightning spell. One man reached for Phaedra from the floor and she bent down to grab his wrist, ripping away the life that animated him. The three others staggered to their feet and ran as the one left behind started turning into ash.
Aurelius held his hand out and a blast of necromantic energy washed over Phaedra, causing her to fall to her knees as she retched. She could feel herself withering. Judging by the cries, the others were being drained as well. Time slowed down, and she heard Torin yelling something she couldn’t make out. Aurelius stepped closer and bubbled both of them, her sword on the other side of the shield.
Phaedra pulled her scattered senses in and kicked out, knocking Aurelius to the ground again. Sound returned as she stood, causing her to sway on her feet, and she dodged a kick. But he spun around, knocking her to the ground again.
Phaedra reached out and shattered the bubble with a burst of raw energy. It was too much for the bracelet to handle. Rolling out of his grasp, Aurelius stood between her and her sword. She went to draw her spell cannon, but he lurched to his feet and wrenched it out of her hand. Behind Aurelius she could see two men capture Torin and Eldren, and another had disarmed Merethyl.
“I’ll take care of all of them. But first,” Aurelius approached Phaedra, who held out one hand and barked out a Command. He laughed as it did nothing. “My advisor was able to come up with a way to block your stupid Command Words.” Phaedra backed up as he advanced, noting where her weapons were behind him. Eldren was screaming her name. The other two looked too shocked to say anything as the generals held them all immobile. “I never should have brought you back.”
Phaedra sidled along the wall, trying to get within striking distance of Aurelius. “That’s not my problem.” She dove under his arm and rolled to grab her sword, but instead of facing Aurelius, she darted toward the man holding Torin.
A quick slash with her cutlass disabled the man without hurting Torin, who dove and threw thunder at Aurelius. The room rang with the sound, and everyone but Phaedra froze, killing the man in front of her and going to free Eldren. Torin pivoted and grabbed Merethyl away from the shocked general, who he killed with another blast of lightning.
Aurelius roared and charged at Phaedra, but Eldren swung his cutlass and cut deep into Aurelius’s hamstring. He fell with a thud, struggling to come to one knee.
Phaedra gripped the sword she held and walked over to Aurelius. “It’s over,” she said, grabbing him by the throat with her left hand. He started to say something, but Phaedra ripped the life force out of him too, watching in grim satisfaction as he started turning to ash.
“We still have Cristiano to deal with,” Torin said, a light sheen of sweat on his brow.
“How do we find him?” Eldren asked. “This place is a labyrinth.”
“Check the obvious places first,” Torin said. “He’s got to be in the control room.”
Phaedra fetched her spell cannon and cutlass, though she held onto Aurelius’s sword. She could feel the pulse of his men, his power, still alive and vibrant in the weapon, and she was going to use it to kill them all.
Phaedra stopped at the door to Aurelius’s control room. From behind the door, there were sounds of destruction. Phaedra glanced at Torin, noting the blood drying on his clothes, and wiped at the blood that was on her face in reflex. He caught her eye and summoned a shield that engulfed both of them. She heard a similar shield go up around Eldren and Merethyl.
Phaedra broke the door handle and shoved it open, sticking close to Torin as he held the shield bracelet up. Someone had trashed the room. Gears were strewn everywhere, drawers open, papers scattered. Cristiano paused as he was tearing the desk apart. “You,” he said, lips pulling back in a snarl. Gone was the pull together façade. Desperation and anger twisted his face into something bestial. “I’ll kill all of you,” he snarled as he drew a cutlass.
“It’s over, Cristiano,” Phaedra said. “No matter what you say.”
“We’ll see about that.” He thumbed the hilt of the sword, and it lit up with a crystalline glow. “I haven’t made it this far to lose now.”
Phaedra readied the weapon she had taken from Aurelius. She heard Merethyl’s cutlass clear its own sheath, and Eldren’s gun clear its holster. Torin held up both hands. On a silent three, he dropped the shield and targeted Cristiano with a volley of magic arrows.
Cristiano shielded, but not before some hit, causing him to bleed. He screamed, a feral sound, and stepped towards Phaedra. Phaedra tried to sidestep him, but he came up close, engaging her with his blade. Phaedra blocked, and he bubbled them both. “I’m not losing to you, not now and not ever,” Cristiano said, lips twisting into something sinister.
“Collapse the shield!” Phaedra ordered.
“I don’t want to hurt you!” Torin yelled back as Cristiano struck too fast to change weapons.
Cristiano laughed. “Poor Torin is so lovesick; he’s going to fail you and let you die because he’s too weak to take risks. Some perfect pupil,” Cristiano said, not letting up on his attack. It was all Phaedra could do to fend him off. He’s too close.
“Drop the shield. I’ll be fine!” Phaedra yelled, blocking another blow.
The three others in the room started their own volleys, trying to drop the shield. Cristiano just laughed. “You can’t overwhelm my shields that easily,” he said, driving Phaedra around the room.
Out of the corner of her eye, Phaedra saw Torin produce the bracelet charm with sigils on it. Gripping it in one hand, he whispered something Phaedra could feel. The temperature of the room dipped, the lights flickered, and static electricity rose as a sigil dragon appeared. Cristiano paused, eyes opening wide at the sight, and Phaedra pressed her advantage, driving him back. The dragon roared, a sound filled with flickering lights and power, and dove at the shield. The dragon absorbed it on the first hit, causing the sigils along the ethereal dragon to ripple and light up. Cristiano screamed, a sound full of rage, and dove at Phaedra. She tried to cut him, but he was too fast, grabbing her by her throat with one hand and pinning her sword hand behind her back in a painful twist. “If I die, so do you,” he said, snarling.
Phaedra’s hand went to his wrist, trying to pull him off as he pushed her back.
“Unsummon the dragon, and I’ll let your precious Phaedra go.”
Phaedra looked at Torin over Cristiano’s shoulder. She had all the time in the world now that she could focus. As her vision flickered, she retreated into that space in her mind where peace lived. Closing her eyes, she summoned the Command Word impede, projecting it from her hand directly into him. She opened her eyes in time to catch Cristiano’s look of shock as he let her go, stumbling backwards. Phaedra brought her cutlass up to a guard position and backed up, vision still flickering, and the dragon that took up a good portion of the room roared its electric roar and descended on Cristiano. For all it was ethereal, it was effective, and the only sounds were Cristiano screaming as the dragon devoured all his magic.
As the last of his magic disappeared, the dragon dissipated. Phaedra saw Torin holding up a spell cannon and pointed it at Cristiano, who huddled on the floor. “Please, Torin. I gave you everything.”
“It’s too late to beg forgiveness.” Torin pulled the trigger. The roar of the cannon was deafening in the enclosed space, and the cartridge Luca created engulfed Cristiano in flames. She watched, in horrified satisfaction, as he died the same way Luca did.
Phaedra grasped the cutlass that had once been Aurelius’s and drew the power in it, and in his men, up into herself. She fed on the life force of countless others that had once been tied to Aurelius. Blood poured from her nose and ears until she couldn’t take on any more and the cutlass fell from her hand.
Collapsing to her knees, she felt someone press a cloth to her face. She opened her eyes to see Torin, once again staunching the flow of blood from her nose. “Thanks,” she mumbled, taking the piece of cloth.
“I’m never eating pork again,” Eldren said, looking at Cristiano’s charred husk.
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Phaedra reminded him. “We still need to land this thing.” She went to the control bank, wishing she knew how to work the controls.
“That’s why I’m here, love.” Phaedra turned to see Simone waltz in. “Elena took control of Aurelius’s fleet; the fight went right out of them,” she said. Phaedra stepped out of the way and let Simone work her magic. Her fingers flew over the console and Phaedra’s stomach dropped as the fortress descended.
Phaedra turned away from the type of magic Simone was working with and walked over to Torin. “You hid a dragon from everyone.”
“I had given up on getting anywhere with it until you came along,” he admitted, running a hand through his hair.
Phaedra gently touched his shoulder. He jerked, then relaxed, hand reaching up to touch the back of her hand.
“I couldn’t have done it without you to push me along,” he said, face working as Eldren came up.
“That was impressive. I had no idea people could do that,” he said, sounding just as impressed as Phaedra. “I’m glad you were on our side.”
Torin smiled, a pained expression. “Thanks.”
Phaedra steeled herself, clapping Torin on the back as the fortress landed with a thump. “Ready for that hero’s welcome?”
Torin exhaled; it was a shaky sound. “No, but I want to get it over with.”
Slowly the five of them walked out of the fortress, noting the Temple men and women who were present. Eyes watched them walk by, and they started applauding. Torin froze.
Phaedra looked at him, noted his deer in the headlights look, and threw her arm around his shoulders. “They’re cheering for you.”
He side-eyed her. “You dropped Aurelius.”
“And you killed Cristiano,” she pointed out. “So, I think that makes us even.” He smiled again, a happier expression, as Phaedra continued, “Torin. Take the win.”
They reached the entrance to the fortress. It had been almost two centuries since the fortress had been on the ground, but people had already rigged up gangplanks to the much safer ground underneath.
The people massed outside burst into applause as they walked out of the castle into the waiting crowd. Torin pressed himself along Phaedra’s side as she waved at everyone cheering.
