Page 50 of Of Scale and Blood

Kaia relayed the orders then said,Rua not happy. Want fight.

Tell her if the riders attack, she and Hannity will get more than enough chances to fight and burn.

You want to capture rider?

I hesitated.Let’s burn those boats first and see if that brings the gilded riders out of the woodwork. We can decide what to do then.

What woodwork?

I smiled.Woodwork is making things out of wood, but the term itself means something or someone appearing suddenly.Or, as the case may be here, flying out from the cover of magic.

Your sayings strange.

Yes, indeed.

I signaled to Kele and then Hannity to let them know what we were doing. Both raised their fists in acknowledgement. Rua immediately circled away while Yara arced left to begin her run at the second boat.

On the pier ahead, the green-haired men were now pointing and probably shouting, though with the speed we were flying, it was impossible to hear anything. Most dropped whatever they were holding and ran—some toward the port, others back to the boat—though there were a few who aimed metal crossbows our way. Arrows wouldn’t pierce Kaia’s scales, but I nevertheless warned her to be cautious.

Her response was a deep roar that echoed loud and long, then she dropped hard toward the first boat, banking briefly, then folding her left wing close to her body so that I had a clear path of destruction. I unleashed a thick and deadly spray of fire, sweeping it across the deck from stern to bow, cindering anyone who got in the way and setting the entire boat alight. Crates similar to the ones we’d seen in the cave near the Beak exploded, spewing flames and burning liquid into the air, along with the remnants of several men who’d been standing close.

Kaia roared again as we swept over the bow and smashed her tail across the boat’s mast, snapping it in two. As it crashed down, she extended her claws and dropped a little lower, scouring the pier, ripping up the ancient wooden planks as easily as she scooped up the still-running men. She crushed both in her murderous claws, then dropped them into the sea.

More explosions, this time to our left. As the mast on the second boat fell, a destructive rain of wood speared the air, forcing Kaia to bank away sharply. As she did, I caught a glimmer of gold in the blackened and burned remains behind the administration building. A heartbeat later, Rua’s warning swept through my mind.

The gilded birds were rising.

I’d been right about the magic Kaia had sensed being a concealment spell, butverywrong about the ability of the birds to fly during the day.

Not, came Kaia’s comment.They hooded. Look.

She briefly deepened our connection, allowing me to see through her eyes. The five birds appearing above from the ashes of the administration section were all wearing the same sort of hoods as the one we’d spotted tied up at the watch station near the Beak, which completely covered their heads, leaving only their sharp beaks exposed.

How in Vahree’s name could they fly when they couldn’t see?

Bands on leg, Kaia said.You said use to talk.

I’d certainly theorized that the metal bands worn by both the “lead” bird of any attacking flight and its rider allowed the two to communicate directly. Obviously, that connection also allowed the birds to see through the eyes of their rider when necessary.

And the fact that it wasonlythe birds and riders wearing the bands who’d risen in response to our attack did seem to confirm that they actuallycouldn’tfly in daylightunlessthey had the advantage of a connected rider.

So why not fit all birds and riders with those bands? Was it simply a matter of not all birds and riders being compatible?

That was a question we could ask when we caught one of the bastards alive.

See other birds now,Kaia growled.We need kill.

I squinted past her lowered head. I wasn’t yet seeing them, but the haze that had covered that area was definitely fading. Perhaps the birds, in rising, had shattered the protective spell.Aside from the fact we need to get past these five birds first, the other riders will be well aware of our presence now, and they will protect their mounts.

We in air. They on ground. Have advantage.

Not when their weapons can burn wing and flesh.

They fire, you burn.

Let’s just concentrate on the five first.

She grumbled in response but nevertheless turned and swept back toward the burning boats and the shoreline. The riders had formed a wide reverse V, the largest of the five birds holding the anchor position at the rear, distinctly behind the others. Perhaps he needed to do so in order to view our movements and direct the response of the other riders.

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