Page 84 of Stalk the Sky

Fieran leaned closer to her. “Do I need to fetch you a box? A ladder? Hoist you on my shoulders like I do my little brother Tryndar?”

“No. Absolutely not.” Pip rolled her eyes as she gave him a light shove.

She only caught a glimpse of his smirk before she turned her back to him. That put her nose only a few inches from some troll officer’s back.

Perhaps she should have asked him for a box after all. At least here in the back she’d have a good look at the shield outside when it went up.

The troll must have flipped one of the switches because a loud claxon rang out through the base.

Claxons had been installed all over the base and the harbor, giving warning to everyone that the shield was about to go up. Since this shield wasn’t as controlled as a shield wielded directly by a person, there was a good chance someone would be hurt if they were standing over the shield when it activated.

For this test, the entire base had been warned, and all ships ordered to stay in the harbor.

Even with those precautions, the troll let the claxon ring for ten minutes—perhaps even fifteen—to make sure everyone was well away when the barrier went up for the first time.

The trolls remained perfectly still and composed as they waited. Pip couldn’t help but shift from foot to foot. Next to her, Fieran crossed his arms, then uncrossed them. He tapped his fingers on his arm, then paced back and forth.

If she’d done everything right, once the troll flipped the switch, a signal would be sent through underground wires to that junction box. Magic would flood from the power cells into the gigantic wire that had been buried in a circle following the lay of the land, going around the harbor, up the cliffs, around the airfield, and back down again to encircle the dry docks. That wire had been reinforced with her magic so that the magic of the ancient kings would flow as designed and not just incinerate the wire.

The hardest part had been tweaking the wire and her magic to make sure the magic was directed into a full dome instead of simply going straight into the sky.

Had she done everything right? What if this just caused a massive explosion? Would the troll commanders reprimand her for wasting valuable time and resources on a project like this instead of something more practical for the war effort?

Finally, the troll called out, “Barrier going up.” His words were followed by a loud clank as he lifted the lever and shoved it into place, completing the circuit.

Pip spun to face the doors. With a crackle, a dome of magic shot into the air, covering all of Dar Goranth with a shield.

Pip held her breath, waiting one heartbeat. Two. The dome remained, solid and powerful. No explosions. No power lashing out of control in unintentional ways.

“Very good. Switch it off.”

The clank rang again, and the dome disappeared.

Pip released a breath in a whoosh. It had worked. It had really worked.

“You did it.” Fieran reached for her as if to pull her into a hug, hesitated, gave a little cough, and instead stuck out his hand. “Congratulations, Pip. You’ve made me obsolete.”

Pip took his hand and shook, though she would rather have had that hug. “Not so obsolete. My shield will only give a little extra protection. It won’t stand up to a large-scale bombing. Just buy enough time for airships or aeroplanes to drive away attackers.”

It wasn’t a solution for every base and city across the Alliance. For one thing, she could only stretch a dome like that so far before her magic wouldn’t be enough to handle it. She could rig something like this for a compact base like Dar Goranth, but most military bases and cities in Escarland were far too large to be protected this way. Nor would this work well for Tarenhiel with its extensive tree cover that would get in the way.

Not to mention the shield drew a lot of magical power every time it was switched on. While Fieran and his family had great reserves of power, no one wanted to risk them draining themselves too much when they were needed in so many facets of the war and infrastructure.

Besides, the raw materials to make magical power cells were limited, due to needing high grade metals and very specific resources. On top of that, there were the logistics of shipping out the magical power cells to keep everyone supplied.

This might not be a widespread solution, but it would be a boon for Dar Goranth, the most important Alliance base that wasn’t protected by the Wall.

“It’s a great achievement, Pip.” Fieran stepped slightly closer, as if he was still thinking about that aborted hug. “Don’t minimize it.”

It was the kind of thing to put on a resume, if she applied to the Alliance Magical Power Company after the war. Not that her magic wouldn’t be enough on its own.

She shoved that thought away. As much as she wanted to dream about the future after the war—a future involving Fieran in some way, even just to figure out if they could have a future—now wasn’t the time. They had a long war ahead of them yet.

Before she could respond, Pip was swarmed by the troll commanders. She felt like a pinball being knocked between the various officers as they shook her hand and pounded her back. By the time they finished and drifted away, she was stumbling and a bit dizzy.

“You all right?” Fieran steadied her elbow, though he dropped his hand only a moment later.

“I’m fine. Trolls are very bombastic with their congratulations.” Pip rolled her shoulders and drew in a deep breath to steady herself. Once she felt steadier on her feet, she faced Fieran again. “Now that the shield test is over, don’t you have a medal ceremony to prepare for?”

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