“They’re sending the dirigibles out to the harbor,” Shani said.
Scores of floating wooden balloons glowed with shades of blue, emerald, and gold as they headed out from the docks in the direction of the Sentinel.
“I hope they can succeed where our navy can’t,” Rogan said.
Above the site of the naval battle, a speck rose from the smoke of war to fly high into the sky. The tiny figure hovered in the air, waiting as the dirigibles approached.
“It’s him,” Ella whispered.
She remembered witnessing the final battle between Evrin Evenstar and Sentar Scythran. The vision of Evrin screaming in pain as his flesh blackened was forever burned into her consciousness. Ella again felt the terror that had coursed through her as she’d watched black lightning pour from Sentar’s hands. Her heart thudded in her chest as she recalled waiting for Evrin to surface. But he never did.
Ella suddenly grabbed the Louan spyglass from Rogan and trained it on the black figure.
“They need to pull back,” Ella muttered.
The dirigibles were close now, drawing up to the heat of the battle. The figure in the sky slowly moved to meet them at their own height.
A jagged line of bright energy suddenly shot from the black figure to strike the foremost dirigible. The balloon flared up to meet the storm of fire, and for long seconds Ella held her breath as the lore of the Louans fought off the attack.
The dirigible exploded. Ella couldn’t help but think of the pilot.
“Isn’t there something we can do?” Shani whispered.
“Against that?” Rogan said as Sentar Scythran bathed the next dirigible in fire. The roar of the next explosion overshadowed even the blasts of the cannon below. Rogan glanced at Ella. “There’s only one among us who can face him.”
“And he left to rescue Altura,” Ella said.
“He left for you,” Rogan said, so low she could only just hear it.
The dirigibles at the rear now tried to turn back, and it became Sentar’s turn to play hunter. He followed after them, as if gleeful, his awful power making one after the other burn in the sky, falling down to the sea in ash and fire.
Ella took the seeing device away from her eyes. She couldn’t watch any more.
Smoke now enveloped the whole harbor, rising up high into the sky, clouding even the sun.
“I need to go,” Ella said.
She turned and staggered as she walked, leaning against a stone column for support.
“Ella!” Shani said.
“I’m fine. Let me be!”
Ella pushed away from the column and descended down the steps, clutching the wall as pain wracked her senses, clawing at her abdomen, leaving Rogan and Shani watching her as she fled the destruction in the harbor.
The human ships stubbornly resisted Sentar’s encroachment, darting out of the way of his attacks and veering off to turn and fight again. He was losing ships too fast to count, and the humans had learned to be wary of the explosive devices stuffed into the hold of every one of his vessels, yet he knew it was just a matter of time until he achieved dominance of the harbor. Why fight the inevitable? Humans were nothing if not obstinate.
Sentar stood with legs apart, close to the prow of his cargo ship, the vessel that had to be protected at all costs. He frowned as a huge explosion nearby caused water to smash against the sides of his ship, splashing his face with cool seawater. That one was a touch close.
Sentar spread his arms at his sides and once more rose into the air, climbing the sky until he was again high above it all, with a view of the entire battle. He’d lost a multitude of warships, but what did it matter? He no longer cared whether Renrik and Gorain enjoyed success leading the attack on Seranthia’s walls. His target was so close, he could reach out and touch it.
Looking ahead, Sentar saw with satisfaction that just one human ship remained. Even as he watched, one of Sentar’s cruisers drew close to the glowing Buchalanti dreadnought, and the two vessels exchanged fire.
Foolish.
Sentar’s cruiser exploded as her magazine detonated, destroying the last defender in the conflagration, and as the dreadnought sank below the waves, the harbor was now his.
Sentar’s ships drew forward to surround the tiny island. The humans had walled the Sentinel, but against his power and his cannon, the wall wouldn’t last long, even enhanced as it was with the lore of these so-called builders of Torakon.
Sentar Scythran could now take his time.
He would order every cannon trained on the wall around the statue. If any more ships came, his warships would blow them out of the water. If more dirigibles came to bomb him, he would roast their crews alive.
Night would fall soon, but the bombardment would go on.
The Evermen would soon be home.
49