“Let’s go,” Bonner said, his hand already at the back of his collar, inserting the key. Several golds rushed by, on their way toward the explosion.
Once free of the collar, Bonner used his magic to pull apart the shackles at his wrists and feet. With another flick of his hand, he bent back the bars on his cage, making an opening. He climbed out, then did the same to Kate’s cage and undid her shackles and collar. She crawled through the bent bars and immediately turned to help Bonner with Signe.
“We need to get her on my back,” Bonner said, gently easing Signe toward Kate, who held out her arms to accept her. Signe sagged hard against Kate, one arm flung around her shoulders. Bonner turned his back to them and crouched low. Kate guided Signe forward, each step a painful shuffle. Then she helped Signe climb onto his back, pushing and shoving as best she could.
“Are you sure you can keep her up there?” Kate said. Signe’s injuries had robbed her of strength, if not will.
“I’ll manage.” Bonner hoisted her higher, his bruise-covered arms wrapped around her legs. “Hold on as best you can, Sig.”
Signe nodded, her face scrunched against the pain as she tightened her arms around his shoulders. Bending forward, Bonner raised his hand toward the nearest daydrake cages.
Another explosion sounded, making them all duck for cover. Only this one was different, coming from outside the structure. More explosions followed it, sending a fresh shower of rocks down on their heads.
“Get us out of here,” Signe cried, unable to protect herself while clinging to Bonner.
They rushed toward the nearest exit, the drakes forgotten. They didn’t need any more diversions. Whatever was hitting the fortress was enough. Already the golds were racing toward the exit, shouting about an attack.
Another explosion struck just as they reached the door to the corridor, this one closer and louder. Part of the ceiling came down behind them, sending up a cloud of dust and smashing a row of cages. The drakes inside them shrieked before being silenced by the crush of rock.
Bonner picked up the pace, jogging now. Signe gasped in pain with each step he took, but she held on. Kate followed after them, worried how they would get out with so many golds rushing for the only exit. But once in the corridor, she saw half a dozen giant holes had been blasted into the outer wall. Too many for the golds to defend or block. The sight of those holes sent a surge of hope through Kate. Only wilder magic could’ve done it.
“Bonner!” Kate called. “Through there.” She pointed to the largest of the holes, one big enough to pass through. Pale morning light shone just beyond. Bonner headed through it first, ducking into a crouch to give Signe clearance. Kate hurried after, sucking in a breath of cool, fresh air.
They emerged inside the bailey of the Hellgate, surrounded by the crumbling battlements—and chaos. A battle raged before them, golds and wilders. The Rising was here.
So was Corwin.
Kate’s heart lurched into her throat when she spotted him in the midst of the fray. He came for me. And he was fighting with the Rising, arm in arm with wilders. He had a sword in one hand and a buckler in the other. The small, round shield glowed with magist magic. Kate watched as he used it to deflect a spell. Then he turned toward his attacker and cut him down with the swipe of his sword.
Next to him, Raith let fly a spell at a gold while behind him a hydrist sent out huge blasts of water. Other wilders hurled fireballs and lightning while still others fought with wind or the very earth itself. This latter was the source of the explosions, massive rocks being uprooted from the ground and hurled at the battlements. The golds were fighting back, tossing spells or moving in for hand-to-hand combat, mace to sword or spear.
Watching the fight, Kate saw again that what Raith had once told her about wilder and magist magic was true. Whenever a stream of lightning or wind or fire met a mage spell, the two powers dissipated, fading into nothing. Only indirect attacks stood any chance at working. As it was, most of the fighters were switching to hand-to-hand combat.
“Kate!” Corwin shouted, spotting her at last. He started toward her, Dal following half a moment later, his gaze fixed on Signe.
A gold rushed toward Corwin, mace raised. Realizing he didn’t see it, Kate raised her hand and stretched out with her sway, seizing the gold’s mind. Sleep, she thought, and he slumped to the ground as if struck dead.
Reaching her, Corwin turned and called for a retreat. The other wilders heard the order and passed it along, shouting it to one another. To her shock, Kate saw that many of them were young, barely more than children. She tried not to look at the ones who had fallen. Not all of the dead and dying on the field were golds.
Dal took Signe from Bonner, hoisting her into his arms while Bonner, Kate, and Corwin formed a circle around her. Then they began to slowly edge toward the battlements where Kate could sense the horses waiting. They were almost there, but the golds were moving to surround them. They were so many and the wilders too few. We’ll never make it.
A wrongness filled Kate’s mind, a warning sounding inside her. Daydrakes. No sooner had she thought it than a stream of them came rushing through the broken fortress wall onto the field. For a moment she couldn’t think from the fear, but then reason broke through and she reached out toward the nearest drakes with her sway. The message she gave them was simple—attack anything gold that moved. The drakes heard and obeyed. A moment later, the golds’ press on the wilders slackened as they were forced to deal with this new threat.
Kate stopped in the retreat long enough to pick up a fallen sword. Like Corwin’s buckler, its blade glowed with magist magic. She held it crossways in front of her, ready to deflect any incoming attacks. She ran her gaze over the golds, focused on shielding Dal and Signe. The golds were distracted, but they were cutting down the daydrakes far too quickly. It seemed they had spells designed to fell the beasts.
Hurry, Kate thought, wishing she could run. Then the urge to flee died inside her as she caught sight of Maestra Vikas fighting off a drake just a few feet away. Around the maestra’s neck hung the crystal with Kate’s father’s blood inside it. All reason fled from Kate, all worry and concern about her friends rendered meaningless. All she could see and feel was blind hate, as red as the crystal’s contents.
“Kate!” Corwin shouted behind her. “What are you doing?”
She could hear his words, but they were like the shadow of a memory, nothing compared with what she was feeling. With her eyes fixed on Vikas, Kate charged forward. Vikas saw her coming and raised her mace. She let fly a spell, and Kate swiped at it with the sword. The spell fizzled and died as it struck the blade, but so did some of the magic on the sword. She wouldn’t be able to defend herself with it for long.
Kate reached out and touched the mind of the nearest daydrake. Its oily, infectious nature made her want to recoil as she summoned the drake to her. It and all the others left alive obeyed, nearly a dozen swarming in front of her like a pack of well-trained guard dogs.
Leaning to one side, Kate could just see around one of the drakes’ shoulders. Vikas’s expression had changed, the cold confidence of a moment before sliding away. Yes, be afraid, Kate thought. I am coming for you. Then, touching the drakes’ mind once more, she commanded they kill the maestra.
The drakes obeyed, surging forward, their wails like lightning cracking in the air around them.