Page 89 of Of Blood and Fire
But the walls still stood, the military section remained almost untouched, and the air mages had cast a protective air cell—which was basically an envelope of fierce winds preventing anyone or anything entering a defined area—over the entire fortress and her surrounds. If the riders, their birds, or indeed their orbs tried to enter the wind zone, they’d be swept up and spat out, usually with enough force that they broke and died—or exploded, in the case of the orbs—on impact with the ground or mountains. Such cells could be dismantled by magic, of course—and the Mareritt had certainly learned to do that—but the riders’ mages hadn’t shown any capacity to control the weather to date, even though they could control the earth.
Maybethatwas their next step—though surely if they had the capacity to bring down an entire fortress, they would have done it here.
I glanced across to Jarin. “How were the orbs delivered? Via the birds?”
He shook his head. “They came with the boats.”
“Meaning it was Zephrine’s sky they were going to cover with gold, not ours,” Garran said grimly. “We were merely a distraction.”
“Hardly a distraction, given the toll they’ve taken on us.” I hesitated. “But thinking back to what the Rayabar said about our lands soon being theirs, it’s now obvious he meantourhalf of the continent, not the whole thing.”
“A pre-agreed splitting of war spoils?” Garran scrubbed a hand through his hair. “It would certainly explain why the riders have moved the barges to the northwest of K’Anor and why they’re massing on the Sheer. They were never intending to hit us—they were simply using both as waystations on their way to Zephrine.”
“Or they’d discovered Zephrine didn’t have the drakkons and were a far easier target.”
“Still mighty presumptuous of them to be dividing spoils before their victory, given neither fortress has ever fallen,” Neera commented darkly.
“Against the Mareritt, no,” Garran said. “But neither they nor we have seen the likes of the Stymphalian birds or the acid tubes their riders use before now, so I’m not surprised they were both very confident of victory. They just didn’t count on us using the drakkons.”
“Which we don’t have enough of,” I said. “And I can tell you now, we won’t be flying to Zephrine’s aid. Not until we’re safe here andtheycan guarantee they’ll stop fucking huntingtheirdrakkons.”
“Oh, I think you’ll find once this mess is over, Aric will not want us having a military advantage over them. He will be demanding his own drakkons.”
“He can demand all he wants. It’s up to the fucking drakkons, not us.” I glanced at Jarin. “What of the boats? Are they still anchored near Zephrine, or do they move on to Kriton?”
“They’re anchored in Deep Water Bay. Scouts report they’re unloading men and supplies. It’s presumed they’ll be marching on Zephrine by nightfall.”
Deep Water was a two-day ride from Zephrine, if I remembered rightly. “I’m surprised they didn’t sail around the peninsula and hit Zephrine from behind.”
“Except the Mareritt don’t sail, and they have never breached the defenses of either fortress, so cannot give the riders a detailed chart of our seas and lands,” Neera said.
“The riders don’t need a chart when they have the birds,” I said.
“The fact they could have wiped out a good portion of the continent before we’d even become aware of their presence suggests they prefer to destroy all known defenses,thentake their time erasing the unknown.” Garran straightened and handed the papers back to Jarin. “Tell Tayte we’ll send warships to help protect Kriton and the peninsula, but we cannot spare any air mages, so it will take longer than usual for the fleet to arrive.”
Jarin saluted and moved away. I glanced at Garran. “It’s a dangerous strategy to send the boats, given they have little in the way of defenses against the birds.”
“Aye, but given the havoc you’ve now wrought on their winged force—both on the Sheer and the islands—I’ve a feeling the riders will be concentrating on protecting the forces moving against Zephrine rather than attacking West Arleeon and her ports.”
“Well, I for one hope your gut is right.” I motioned to the old scrolls on the table. “What have these got to do with the situation?”
“Nothing.” His gaze met mine. “Aric has captured Damon.”
Fury—and fear—rose, pressing heat against my fingertips even though I was well aware he wasn’t yet dead. The link between us still pulsed, and if life had been snatched, it would no longer exist. But if he was Aric’s captive, then death could be only a few heartbeats away.
“Why thefuckdidn’t you lead with that when I got here?”
“Because you needed to be aware of the Zephrine situation before you stormed away,” the Prioress said. “It may be the only thing capable of breaking through the veil of Aric’s madness.”
“I take it, then, he’s now demanding my presence, even though he’s well aware I will burn his black heart from his chest and render his flesh to ashes?”
“As much as I approve ofthatcourse of action,” the Prioress said, “he will undoubtedly use Damon as a body shield.”
I glanced at her. “But Damon is a blood mage—why can’t he raise a shield against my fire?”
“The problem with using blood to create spells is the very fact you have to use blood,” she said dryly. “He will be bound and immobile. Aric is no fool.”
“Then what’s the plan? I take it you do have one?”
