Star spear sun serpent s.., p.28
Star Spear: Sun Serpent Saga, Volume 2, page 28
“Ooo,” she said, bouncing on her toes with enthusiasm and slipping a black dart between her fingers. With a quick flick, she sent it flying, embedding the projectile in the floorboards—an inch from Morgan’s feet.
The Captain was mid-word, halting the commands she was issuing. Her tattooed brow rose as she gave the dart a cold look, then slowly lifted her attention to Elyria.
Elyria, to her credit, laughed. “Want to try dodging knives next?” She spun one of the stone daggers in her palm before smoothly re-sheathing it into the bracer.
“You could try…” Morgan retrieved the dart from the ground and tossed it lightly in her hand. “But then again, you’d never get the chance to loose one.” A fiendish smile curled her crimson lips.
Was that her idea of a joke? In almost unison, both women chuckled darkly. I looked between them and then to Alanea, who was smiling like she was somehow in on the joke, too. These women. If they ever had the opportunity to fight at each other’s back, they would be terrifying. I might very well get that chance today.
Morgan’s smile vanished when she directed her blue piercing eyes at me. “Sails up in ten.” Any levity that had been in the moment vanished with those four simple words. “I hope you’re ready. The vanguard set off an hour ago.”
There was no changing our minds now. War had begun.
The vanguard would be approaching via a dead strip of desert that stretched between our kingdoms. By now, they would be nearing the edge of the lava fields. The magnetic force of the land picked up at the shift, and the Iron Legion would use that to their advantage. With the extreme magnetism and the Metal Singers they’d have in their ranks, iron airships could easily skim over the lava fields, avoiding all the dangers that came with them. Our forces will have a trickier time navigating those fields, but still possible—for as long as magical reserves hold out.
That lava would be our saving grace and Malvat’s undoing. The shores held long tunnels of ocean cooled lava. They wove deep into Mt. Kraav, and the foundation of the fort was built atop them. Not unlike Malvat using our grottos to gain access to the castle, we would use the Lava Tubes to infiltrate the fort. The difference being that we would need to avoid not only the rivers of molten lava that sometimes spilled into the tubes but also the lava cats that made their dens deep in the tunnels. There was a reason Venterrans referred to Kraav as a place of death, demons, and eternal damnation. No sane person would approach this way, and that was where I hoped we would have the advantage of surprise.
“Did the aerial division have any difficulties with their ascension?” Xoc asked.
“No, smooth take offs, all of them. The additions I made worked perfectly, of course. I retained a dozen smaller speeders to fend off the attack fliers.”
I flicked my eyes discreetly at Elyria. She was thumbing the stone knife again, flipping it back and forth in her hand before sliding her thumb along the hilt. Either it was her nervous need to fidget or her way of learning the intimate nature of a new blade. Probably both. Either way, the fluid, unthinking nature of her movements was sexy as hell.
Morgan strode up the gangplank with determined, thumping steps. Swiveling with a backward step onto the main deck of Star Spear. “Were you just going to stand there with your band of unnecessary muscle behind you, or were you actually going to join in on this little war we’re waging?”
Trudging down the dock, Elyria said, “If a certain spineless dragon was here, then we could just fly over and burn the whole damn mountain to the ground. We wouldn’t need an armada.” She looked back towards the Vanfald, holding up a middle finger. Petros, standing directly in her line of sight, did a double take. Turning to see nothing but the mountain behind him, he looked back at Elyria with an offended and possibly hurt expression.
It took everything I had not to break into laughter.
Pushing Elyria up the ramp, Xoc remarked, “Try not to insult the men who will be watching our backs only hours before we go into battle.”
With a mock whisper and a glance over my shoulder to be sure he was paying attention, I added, “Plus, Petros is sensitive, and it’s hard to fight when his panties are all in a twist.”
Pete’s indignation turned down into an outright scowl. Alexander, on the other hand, looked like he might start cackling.
Morgan didn’t wait for us. The second she stormed the main deck she began shouting orders. “I want guns and all hands at full alert. Signal the rest of the fleet on first sign of approaching enemy forces. Archers, grenadiers, you do not need command to fire. You see an opportunity to bring something down. You take it.”
A chorus of “Aye, Captain” rang out along the deck. Several stomped their feet or slapped the outer deck with their swords.
The advancements we had discussed were visible everywhere. From the dock it had looked like the same ship, but standing amid the rigging, I could spot the changes everywhere. Mounted crossbows now lined the outer decks and looked like the spikes running along the dragon’s spine. The bolts for each were roughly the size of my arm. Not only would these tear a man apart, they might just be able to take out an entire airship if they were stupid enough to buzz anywhere near Morgan’s air space. With a quick glance at the other ships readying to sail beside us, I could see they were all similarly outfitted. It was amazing what she managed to accomplish in such a short span of time.
A team of Sea Singers moved into formation on the quarter decks with hands raised. The ship lurched beneath us, and I reached out to steady Elyria against me. Rows of attuned soldiers lined the starboard bows of the ships flanking us. Their combined force pushed the fleet from the harbor, sailing as one. Morgan and Bein had done their job well. Their timing was a perfect machine.
My heart rate increased as we left Innesvale behind. The coil of barbed nerves at the center of my chest slowly began winding itself tighter with each moment we moved towards the distant volcanos.
I reached down and gripped Elyria’s hand in mine. She gave me three small squeezes. Together we watched the Guardians as we sailed past, Innesvale’s sentinels with swords raised, and the water that crested over the sides in two great waves. The rainbows shimmering in the mist felt like the universe was wishing us luck. We would see them again.
“This will work,” Xoc said resolutely, reading my mind.
I looked at them, at the brother who has had my back during every battle, and at the woman who gave me a reason to hope.
“It has to.”
Chapter 33
The distant glow on the horizon grew, along with the rumble of tumbling rock and the hiss of lava along the shores. To the west, the lava fields extended in an unending expanse. The lingering smoke clouds blocked the intermittent rays of sunlight, turning the sky an ominous red. It was no wonder Venterrans believed this place to be cursed.
A horn blared, the same horn that announced a call to battle stations. I ran my hands over Elyria’s shoulders, feeling a light tremor there. Scales shifted beneath my fingers, covering her velvet skin in armor. She looked over her shoulder at me. Her eyes were bright, fire sparkling around their edges. Of course, she was shaking in anticipation and not fear.
I leaned down, claiming her mouth with my own, our kiss a silent prayer to every god I knew to keep my girl safe. My hair fell forward, brushing her cheek. She lifted her hand to the now golden strands, then caressed the scales forming along my collar. I would never tire of her feeling hands on me.
“You’re not waiting until we’re alone?”
“I’m not taking any chances, not with Malvat in the wind and you here beside me. It’s easier to control my power when I’m fully shifted. The Undying are sworn to me, and Morgan’s men would never dare betray her command.” Gods only know what she does to traitors. A shiver prickled along my neck imagining it. “And, any of the Iron Legion who get close enough to identify us, won’t live long enough to speak of it. Our secret is safe.”
Elyria glimmered in the grey light, a radiant beacon atop the perilous sea. Ash floated in the air, landing in Elyria’s dark hair like snow. Beyond her, buzzing similar to an agitated hive of bees drew my focus to the quickly growing spot on the horizon.
A black streak buzzed by us, followed by four more dark metal ships falling into formation with the lead flyer. Perched on top of the wings of each ship were a line of Legionnaires, balanced and poised to drop on us. Xoc spotted them too and called out a command to The Undying. His voice was almost lost amid the growing sound of engines.
The airships circled back around, centering their approach to the bow. The bowmen lining Star Spear’s decks tracked their movement. Before anyone could fire, the airships disappeared into the cover of the grey clouds.
Morgan’s cutting voice called out, “Fire.”
Beside me, five grenadiers pulled back on their catapults. The deadly blue orbs shone in their catches. I didn’t know what they could be aiming at, but perhaps they didn’t need to make direct contact with them. The grenade just needed to be close enough for the shrapnel to take them down.
One by one, they released into the clouds. The dull buzzing filled my ears until a concussive boom rocked the sky and sent our ship rolling. I held on to Elyria’s shoulders, keeping her firmly to my chest. Explosions echoed across the sky, and two fiery airships spiraled down into the water, a trail of thick black smoke following behind them.
Movement caught my eye. Elyria and I looked up together. Our escorting fleet of speeders zipped in and out of the clouds to the sounds of ricocheting projectiles and clashing metal. They must have been waiting for our initial attack. Once it was clear, they zoomed in to pick off the survivors. Each was small, barely more than the size of a man, but they were fast. They would be impossibly hard for the opposing force to track and shoot down. The twang of bow strings sang above us. The speeders were equipped with small preloaded crossbows. Bolts of what almost looked like lightning shot across the sky, aimed straight for the remaining airships.
The buzzing on the horizon mutated into dull roar. An armada of massive airships, more than double our own ranks, emerged from the clouds. I scanned the boats sailing on either side of us, watching as they worked to eliminate the speeders still zipping around our airspace. We’d left Innesvale with every barque and schooner we could spare, but despite our efforts, we didn’t have near the numbers to fend off ships of this size and quantity. For the first time since we began discussing our attack, I questioned if we would even make it to the lava tunnels to begin with. As I watched the large envoy approaching, I realized we may never leave the deck of this ship.
“Demons below. What in the hells of Kraav are those?”
A deep blaring horn echoed over the clouds, loud enough that I felt it in my chest. In unison, each of the massive warships broke apart, splintering into dozens and dozens of smaller ones. They blotted out the sky as they descended on our fleet. Several broke away, zeroing in on Star Spear to circle around on us. With one of our speeders hot on their tail, two of the new vessels streaked overhead, dropping two dozen men onto the deck of Star Spear. The action seemed suspended as everyone processed what was happening. And then, fighting exploded everywhere, all at once.
“Hello, pretty-pretty,” one of the men said in a low, gravely voice that didn’t sound remotely human. Elyria stuttered in her step, taking in the same nightmarish details that I was.
In place of the Legionnaire’s armor, a skeletal set of plates were embedded into their flesh. Scarred skin gripped metal ridges that resembled a macabre version of a ribcage. Similarly, puffy, inflamed skin wrapped around the edges of a skull-like mask, showing only white eyes beneath. Malvat hadn’t even spared his own people from the Shade.
An unwanted shiver ran down my spine. What had he done to his forces? The Mal I knew growing up, the man I called brother, cared about every single person under his care. He never could have inflicted this level of abuse. As I studied the patinated metal impaling the man before me, my chest ached with the memory of my father’s knife piercing it. Each bit of weathered metal made them look more like monsters than men. These were once good people, too.
Was the entire Iron Legion now more undead than living flesh? I glanced towards where I had sent the majority of our forces. The weight of their lives felt heavier than ever. Were they all facing people as unstoppable as Andros and Andromeda had been? How were we supposed to fight an unrelenting army who were oblivious to their already dying bodies?
Elyria pulled her shoulders from my grip and flashed me eyes sharper than the daggers strapped to her body. They glowed brighter than I had ever seen, a nearly ethereal gold, flames crackling at the center of her irises.
“I’ve got this.” She licked her lips. “The only thing worth fearing on this deck right now is me.”
Elyria pulled out a throwing knife and sent it whizzing into the air. It embedded itself into an iron clad warrior,right in the throat. He fell instantly with an unceremonious thud.
The twitching man twisted into an impossible contortion while crawling back to his feet. He should have been dead. With a slow drag, the throwing knife tore free of his throat, slicing through tendon and baring the entire left side of his esophagus. A wet raspy sound that might have been laughter gurgled from him, the exposed muscles flexing as he tried to swallow. Torrents of blood poured from the grotesque wound and down his chest before death finally claimed him.
“Gross.” Elyria grimaced.
Defying all my instincts, I put space between us and brandished my short sword. Light flashed as Elyria unsheathed both Butterfly blades. I wasn’t ready for the rush of pride that came over me, knowing that I was fighting with her by my side. But feeling that spark and connection between us now, nothing had ever felt so right.
For each Legionnaire that fell, two more seemed to drop out of the sky. They were definitely targeting Star Spear. In the back of my mind, the nagging ‘I knew it’ rang. I shot a bitter glare in Morgan’s direction.
The air became thick with smoke, both from the nearing volcano and the exploding wreckage of each airship Morgan’s crews shot down. Explosions lit up the hovering smoke cloud with flashes of light. The sounds of men jumping into the ocean mixed with the clatter of machinery and swords.
Two Legionnaires came straight at us. I moved to engage them, but Elyria spun, cutting off my attack. Two brilliant streaks of silver cut through the air. Sparks flew off of the butterfly sword as they connected with an iron ribcage. She dropped below the counter strike of the man and used the motion to swivel behind him. Elyria swung low and with precision. This time the blades connected with flesh, severing the tendons and muscles along his ankles. The Legionnaire’s white eyes showed no reaction and continued to advance, but with muscles no longer functioning, he dropped to his knees.
Anticipating the man’s fall, Elyria crossed the blades, letting his own gravity and motion drag the blade across his throat. Blood spluttered from his mouth, spraying across her chest before his head thunked to the floor.
The second man stepped over the headless corpse. Elyria caught the motion and pulled out a throwing knife. It hurtled at the second man, flashing red in the firelight—Until it wasn’t. The metal knife spun, suspended in the air before her. My muscles tensed, ready to halt the blade should it fly back. The Legionnaire’s iron-clad hand extended towards the blade. The knife disintegrated into thick shining drops that splashed against the ground.
The Legionnaire bellowed a laugh. “Silly girl thinks she can play with knives.”
“Well, that was a mistake,” I said, lowering my sword and leaning against the railing to watch the show. Elyria would eviscerate him. It was going to be a glorious thing to watch.
Elyria growled at the man. “Fucking Metal Singers, I only had two of those left, you asshole.” Fearless and wild, she leapt into the air, pouncing on the man like a cat. She drove her foot deep into his throat with a gruesome-sounding crunch. Her weight toppled them to deck followed by the sound of several bones cracking and muscle tearing apart beneath razor-tipped claws.
Wondering why I even bothered to brandish the thing, I sheathed my unnecessary sword.
After wiping the blood from her hands with the tails of the man’s tunic, Elyria stood up, one foot still on top of the man’s flattened throat. Her hair flipped behind her, the golden tips gleaming crimson in the lava light.
“You are the most beautiful kind of violence.” I gripped the holster strapped beneath her blood-splattered breast and pulled her to me while she simultaneously yanked on my collar to bring my lips down to hers. The adrenaline pounding from her heart flooded into mine, radiating down into my fingertips with a seductive power that only she could give.
A battle cry, followed by the concussive blast of a pistol firing, echoed from behind us. Feeling a tug on my shoulder, I broke my lips from Elyria’s and turned. A shorn bit of leather fell to the ground at the feet of a man stumbling forward. The iron sword replacing his hand dropped limply to his side. I only looked at the mutilated limb for a moment before my attention zeroed in on the rosette blooming over his heart.
“This isn’t a brothel.” Morgan hollered from the plank that ran along the edge of the quarterdeck. She was parrying with the long thin saber she always kept at her hip. The small pistol attached to her blade smoked slightly. With a spin, the sword plunged straight through the man. “I can’t keep saving your life.” Pushing the dying man off of her blade with her foot, he tipped over the edge and crashed into the water. She was the exact vision of every battle story and merciless tale I’d ever heard. I knew in this moment they were all true, and none of them exaggerated.
“I knew you liked me,” I called back.
