Page 49 of Of Scale and Blood

She did so.Still not happy.

She has an anger problem, doesn’t she?

She young. Not as controlled.

Tell her she must remain in control if we want any chance of beating these bastards.

Have. She considering.

Tell her if her actions damage my friend,Iwon’t be happy.

There was another pause while Kaia passed on the message.Won’t damage.

At least that was something. We continued to follow the mountains’ spine, then swept along the long left leg of the Sinopa Pass, remaining above the streams of cloud and smoke in an effort to ensure any ground sentries wouldn’t easily spot us.

The closer we got to Hopetown, the more that smoke seemed to smell of destruction and death. I had no doubt it was, at this stage, more imagination than reality. Even if the fishing port had been wiped out as thoroughly as Eastmead, the scent of death surely wouldn’t be evident this high up or this far away. I really hadn’t smelled it at Eastmead until I’d gotten much closer.

And even then only in the marketplace, where the bodies had been piled up on top of each other and semi burned.

Once we were near Sinopa’s toes, I ordered the drakkons to begin a sweeping descent to the right so that we could approach Hopetown low and fast from the sea. While there didn’t appear to be that much wind about—if there had been, the thick layer of smoke wouldn’t be hanging so stubbornly over the seaport—the fact it also wasn’t drifting out to sea suggested we’d be flying with what little there was at our backs. Coming in underneath it should also allow a clear view of what was happening in the port—if there actually was anythingleftof it, that was—and whether the gilded riders remained in the area, as they had at Jakarra.

We slowly angled down through the clouds and the haze, then hit clear air. As the drakkons swept around, it quickly became evident that the destruction, while bad, had been contained to the port, administration, and market areas, as well as the military encampment near the port. The main military section situated again the curtain wall had also been destroyed, but I couldn’t see any bodies, either human or courser, to indicate any sort of fight had occurred there. In fact, there was very little evidence ofanysort of resistanceanywherein the main sector. There didn’t even appear to be a pile of burning bodies, as there had been in Eastmead.

Had the whole town simply walked away and let the enemy do as they willed? Had the arrival of the refugees from Kinara convinced the council that there was no winning against this foe? At least not with the weapons we currently had at hand?

If theyhadmanaged a total evacuation, that might well explain why the outlying living, schooling, and trade areas had basically escaped unscathed, although there were several fires burning that, if left unchecked, would soon change that. It didn’t explain the lack of any immediate sign of the gilded riders, although perhaps we were simply too far out to see them.

Not, came Kaia’s thought.Magic ahead.

My gut twisted.Is it the same magic that we came across in the blue vein tunnel?

Feel same.

I scanned the seaport we were fast approaching but couldn’t see anything that twinged my instincts, magic wise. But the certainty we were walking—flying—into a trap was definitely on the increase.

Where is the magic located?

Above grass.

Meaning the grass that lay behind the ruins of the administration buildings and accommodation wings. All I could actually see was a strange haze covering the area and a sea of building wreckage and glittering glass before it.

If that haze was the magic Kaia could sense, did that mean it was concealing something? Something like a regiment of tube-armed riders, ready to attack a drakkon intent on killing, perhaps?

We couldn’t discount the possibility. But, by the same token, we needed to know what had happened here and had no choice except fly on and see what eventuated.

Are you seeing or smelling anything to suggest those birds are near?

No. Wind at tail.

A statement that did not help ease the increasing tension within atall.

I flexed my fingers, trying to ease the tension. Sparks flew lightly, but were quickly whisked behind me. I twisted around, signaled to Kele and Hannity to stay alert, then returned my attention to the port itself. Three of the five docks had been destroyed, but there were currently two boats tied up at the remaining two and at least a dozen brown-clad men unloading boxes, sacks, and goodness knows what from the boats and carrying them down the pier to one of the few intact buildings in the immediate area. Hope rose that these boats had been tasked by the council with procuring vital supplies, but it almost immediately faded. Aside from the fact that all the men visible on the dock had green hair, Kriton—the only other major shipping hub in Arleeon, and the one most likely to have all the supplies Hopetown would need—was atleasta good day’s sailing away, even with the aid of an air witch and good winds, and both these boats bore flags that featured a long-clawed golden bird flying over crossed spears that sat on a blood-red background.

The flag of the nation that had spawned the gilded riders.

We burn? Kaia asked.

We burn, I replied grimly.Tell Yara to sweep over the one on the left; we’ll take the one on the right. Order Rua to remain back and keep watch for gilded riders.

---