The troops existed in clusters I could now see, shoulder to shoulder in their groups, each group evenly spaced to cover parts of the circle. No one would get through the gaps without heavy fire.
The spell was full orange, continuing to change. Continuing to strengthen. I needed to find those mages! Where the hell were they?
Fire streaked in front of me, the plumage of the phoenix. Gun blasts came as she dipped, spraying
fire. It hit the spell, not spreading out. Blackening it a little. That had to be good news. Or, at least, it wasn’t bad news.
I sent excitement through our bond and gave her a thumbs-up when she turned to look. She tried again, aiming for the same spot. The black increased a little, fading when she let up, but slowly.
Encouraged, I beckoned for her to follow me and continued flying parallel to the dome, looking for those mages. The blasts were strong, but they weren’t enough to take us down. At least one thing was going right for us.
Oranges and reds streaked the sky, glowing down on the enemy troops, their guns poised and ready, some of their eyes skyward, some level. The blue throbbed right in front of them, the magic still clearly going strong.
As I passed, guns were lifted quickly, movements smooth and confident. They took aim and fired in a blink, incredibly practiced. The gargoyles and shifters drew closer, running, but they wouldn’t be able to get through that barrier. Wouldn’t be able to shoot through it, either.
I sent a command to slow them, panicked now as I continued to look for the mages. They had to be here somewhere. Someone was working the magic!
Fear ate at me. What if they had a stronger invisibility potion? What if they were there, but I couldn’t see them? I wouldn’t be able to get close enough to feel them, especially not with the distraction of the gun blasts pinging off my shields.
Onward I went, my blood turning cold. My chest starting to tighten. We couldn’t all die here. My life couldn’t end like this, in a massacre of my people.
Nathanial squeezed me…and then pointed.
Hunched on the ground next to the ley line was a black tarp, only now visible in the brightening sky. It bowed oddly, covering something. Something that was moving.
What a clever bastard Momar was.
I broke from Nathanial and angled that way immediately, stopping in the air not far from them. The troops to either side finally moved, pushing in around the tarp, looking at me. Cyra joined me and then Hollace, the great bird thrashing air down on me from his mighty wings.
I pointed to the tarp, to the ground next to it forming a red sheen. It slowly radiated upward. This had to happen now.
Cyra blasted the magic with fire before flying at it, ready to try to break it with force and magic.
But just before she reached it, she pulled away squawking. Guns flared, going off rapid-fire, hitting my shields on her and deflecting. Those that hit the spell seeped in and made it stronger.
She stayed there for a long moment as Hollace approached an upper part of the dome. Both of them backed off, though, not attempting to go through. Cyra must’ve thought it would kill her to make the attempt. She’d then be no help to the rest of us.
I tried elemental magic as she rejoined me, the top of my power scale. It acted similar to hers, blackening slightly but not seeping in. Maybe this was a power issue. Lesser power would be consumed by the spell, but higher-powered spells couldn’t be commandeered so easily.
Cyra hit it with fire, and I mixed in my magic, the two merging and striking the dome even as the color rapidly changed. We’d been fried at yellow, and red would be nearly impossible to pass.
Come on, come on, I thought as the blackened area formed a patch, the orange-red backing off to just orange.
That was it! We just needed more power.
I turned wildly, seeing the gargoyles in the sky watching, the shifters beneath them. So many beings counting on me. I wasn’t powerful enough, though. Not anymore. If I’d known where those
mages had been when the spell was yellow, I could’ve done something. I’d never make it through now, though, not if Cyra couldn’t.
But if Sebastian could lend his power and Hollace could figure out how to get his lightning in on the action, then together we might weaken an area enough for me to get through. If I could manage that, I could kill those mages. I’d just have to stay conscious just long enough to do so. That, and hope the spell came down fast enough for my people to provide some cover afterward.
I just had to find Sebastian quickly enough. He could be on the other side of the perimeter.
Roaring to get Cyra and Hollace’s attention, I turned to Nathanial to get going. He grabbed me quickly and flew in the direction I was pointing, hopefully understanding my garbled “find Sebastian.”
The dome stretched above us, burnished orange. Gargoyles waited, getting out of the way as we flew. Shifters watched us pass. I saw two more tarps, the movement beneath clear. Any one of them would do.
Adrenaline coursed through me, hope and fear mingling. We could do this. We could. If we worked together, we could keep this whole town from being destroyed. But only if we had enough time.
Heart hammering, I searched my connections for Trace, needing to find him fast. Sebastian would probably still be with him.
Nathanial slowed, ripping me out of my reverie, before turning around.
“Wh- at rrrrr ouuu do-ngg?” I asked, scrabbling to get free.
“He cccomzz,” Nathanial replied, adjusting his hold so I could stretch and look behind.
His wings and body mostly obscured my view, but in flashes I could pick out Tristan’s large form, coming fast, holding something. Sebastian.
Bless that weird mage. He’d figured out what it would take faster than I had, found the fastest gargoyle in our arsenal, and come to me.
Hope overtook my fear. Adrenaline still coursed through me, and with it, determination. When I dove through, I’d have to stay conscious long enough to claw out middles or rip off heads. I couldn’t pass out from pain like I had in that cave. I had to keep shields up for those guns, too, long enough to get the job done. After that, after the trap spell was ruined, I could give in to the pain, come what may.
We raced back toward our first location. I pointed to the tarp I’d noticed, and Nathanial’s wings tilted immediately. Cyra and Hollace kept pace. Tristan was still coming. He’d catch us by the time we got there, much faster than Nathanial.
The trap spell started to throb with energy. Tarps lifted, flung away, the mages standing up now as the sun peeked over the mountains. They probably thought they were far enough along in their spell to stop anyone from coming through. That, or they knew the darkness was no longer there to hide them.