The Veil (28 page)

And those must be the Skyships.

Those inside ejected and a hail of follow-up gunfire reduced them to a bloody mist while they were still airborne. The unmanned Skyship made a loud whirring sound and then stalled, nose-diving into the sea only a few hundred yards from the Valoon.

A wall of water rushed towards us.

I had no choice but to punch the accelerator before tidal wave hit and hope for the best. The Valoon arched upwards until it was almost vertical, and I scrambled to secure the safety harness one handed – my head pinned back into the seat headrest – as we surged upwards. Through great craftsmanship, or sheer luck, the boat didn’t flip, but managed to crest the massive wave. The nose of the boat dipped and we shot back down the other side, slamming into the sea like a fist, which sent gallons of water rushing onto the deck, half-drowning me. I leaned forward and retched, releasing a stream of foul-smelling water onto my lap. Coughing and gasping, I rubbed at my stinging eyes in a desperate attempt to see. Staring blearily around, I saw that a drenched Isiodore was whinnying and bucking, but held safe by the securing harness.

“It’s okay, boy, it’s okay,” I spluttered.
It really isn’t.

The battleship that had downed the jet made an odd clunking sound. I snapped my head around and watched in utter horror as something tore it in half and yanked it under the water. A moment later the destroyed pieces of its hull bobbed to the surface, along with the lifeless bodies of those manning it. Three giant, metal fins appeared above the waves for a moment before sinking back under the waves and disappearing.

“We need to get the hell out of here!”

I pushed my hand along the soaking control panel and we sped forward, weaving through the water and dodging the exchange of rapid gunfire that punctured the waves around us. My heart was pounding in terror as we moved, every part of me convinced that the next heavy duty round would hit the Valoon and blast us into pieces. I might have had the combined power of fifty Chosen hiding inside me, but even I couldn’t survive the explosion from a ten-foot incendiary round.

I drove the boat close to the towering pillar that supported Fenodara. The column had taken several big hits and large chunks of it had fallen away into the sea. I prayed that it didn’t take many more – the thought of an entire city falling a thousand feet into the ocean carrying with it countless thousands of innocents, not to mention all those I cared about was an image that didn’t bear thinking about.
Just keep going.

Somehow we managed to avoid gunfire, most likely due to the fact that it was like an army of battling giants worrying about an ant crossing their path. I guided the Valoon through the underpass that led to the ascension mechanism. I covered my mouth in horror as I saw the slain bodies of all the area’s Lightwardens. Some dangled over the railings, riddled with bullet holes. Others bobbed facedown in the water around me in a mass of severed limbs and exposed bone.

Jesus Christ.

The Valoon hit against a low level walkway, juddering to a stop and smashing one of the lights. There was no one left to help us gain entry to the city, so I unbuckled the seat straps and vaulted over the railings onto the nearby platform. Isiodore gave a loud whine as he stared at me.

“Don’t worry boy, I’m coming back.”

I ran along the walkway until I reached the chain pulley system that the Lightwardens had used the previous afternoon. I took a deep breath and cleared my mind, carrying my memory back to the moment we had arrived and watching the pattern that the guards had pulled the chains in. I snapped my eyes open.

Got it.

I pulled two chains on my left and then ran over and pulled three on the right. There was a loud rush as the water started to pour from the entry points, filling the area.

Yes!

The walls were rising up fast and I barely had any time to make it back. I had no choice but to sprint the length of the walkway and vault over the side. I landed hard on the boat, cracking a handful of ribs. Blood flecked over my lips and I lay on my side for a moment, trying to catch thin breath.

The water filled up the elevator and I felt the boat starting to rise. Slowly I forced myself into a sitting position, one hand holding my aching ribs. My hands still trembling from adrenaline, I unzipped my soaked jacket and pulled out the Biomote. Luckily they were completely waterproof and the water had simply beaded up on its surface. I wiped it away with a thumb and tried to vocal-link with Gabriella .

Please be all right.

“Ella, Ella can you hear me? It’s Alex!”

For a moment there was nothing but the same buzz of static feedback. Then I heard a distorted voice crackling through the receiver and my heart skipped a beat.

“Lex? …hear…”

“Ella, it’s Alex,
can you hear me
?” I almost shouted.
How can something still be interfering with the signal when I’m this damn close?
Fiddling with the fine-tuner, I scrolled through the frequency of the Biomote coms, trying my best to pinpoint the partially blocked signal. At first I did it the wrong way and her voice faded into a hissing sound, but spinning the tuning dial the other way, I was able to get a slightly stronger reading – her voice was still disjointed and electronic, but I could make out just enough.

“Alex…you hear me?”

“Yes, yes I can hear you!” I said, relief flooding through me at the sound of my soulmate’s voice.

“Th…god you’re okay. I di…want to leave you…”

“That doesn’t matter, I’m almost in Fenodara, what’s happening?”

“Alex, the city…under attack.” She sounded breathless, as if she had been fighting, or running hard. “…Overrun.”

“Is everyone okay?”

“For now. We managed…get to cover. But they’re just outside. Alex, I don’t know…longer we can hold on.” I could detect a hint of panic in her voice that she was doing her best to disguise. “…too many of them.”

“Where are you?”

“…ius.

“Where?”

“Atrius! We gathered innocents…bought them here…doors are shut, but…are trying… break through
right now!
”

My stomach twisted in fear. “I’m coming!”

“…Hurry!”

I heard Gabriella shouting orders to someone and then the line fell quiet. The boat had almost reached the end of its ascension into Fenodara. My heart was still thumping and a gnawing sensation was biting its way through my stomach.
Calm down and prepare. This is what you were trained for. This is what you do.
I closed my eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, settling my mind and getting ready.

I jammed the Biomote back into my open jacket and then unsheathed my sword. Moving over to the securing fixture, I unlatched it and took hold of Isiodore’s reins, staring into his aquamarine eyes. “This is going to be tough boy, but we can do it.” He pressed the side of his head into my hand in a clear show of solidarity. He knew what I was asking of him.

The doors cranked open and I was hit by the acrid stench of burned flesh and gunpowder. Thick rolls of billowing smoke rolled above the city like smog, stained orange in areas where the flames rose to the apex of the buildings. Screams and shouts hit from every direction and I glanced from side to side, the bright lights of the city exposing the Lightwardens and the invading Umbra – dressed in lightweight black armour – positioned in ranks and firing a hailstorm of bullets at each other. Wardens high up were taking pot shots at the Umbra forces below before getting torn to pieces by armed Succubi sweeping through the clouds. Those who could fly were locked in airborne battle, and those who had reached each other on the ground were slicing pieces out of each other with hand-to-hand weapons. The bodies of innocents were strewn everywhere, slumped down on the ground, over railings and some dangling over the edge of the waterway, blood streaming down their limp arms and pooling with the water. A cluster of Valoons had been shoved together to bar the way forward. I guided the boat forward until it bumped against them and then I swung onto Isiodore’s back.

“Let’s go!”

I cracked the reins and Isiodore vaulted between the Valoons and then onto the side. He started to gallop through the streets, weaving between the fighting hordes. I held my blade tightly in my hand, my muscles tense and prepared. Up ahead, a group of three Bloodseekers were bearing down on a curled up Lightwarden, stabbing the life out of him as he screamed in agony. I leaned forward and guided Isiodore right towards them. One looked up at me as I approached.

“Guardian!” he shouted and fired a gun at me. I jerked my head to the side and the bullet whined past my ear. Whirling my sword around, I sunk the blade deep into his sternum. With a growl I yanked my arm to the side, ripping through his ribcage and forcing my blade out the other side. He spun around on the spot and fell into his comrades, knocking them to the ground. I hit Isiodore’s hide and then jumped down, landing on the pile and driving my blade through their skulls. Without stopping, I kept running until I was parallel with Isiodore and then swung myself onto his back again. I glanced over my shoulder, half-expecting the Lightwarden to get up, but he didn’t move.
It’s too late for him.
I leant down and cracked the reins again, forcing Isiodore to gallop harder.

I slashed and carved my way through the bloody, flaming streets of Fenodara, saving as many Lightwardens and innocents as I could, but with my main focus on getting to the others as quickly as possible. I ran parallel to the path we had travelled down the waterway until I saw that it split off further ahead, heading under a tall building and barring our way forward. At the end, a number of Fenodarian citizens were on their knees, pleading with a Devil, who had a gun aimed down at them. Two had been executed already, their bodies slumped down on the ground and thick blood pooling onto the streets. He had the gun pointed down at a young Elf and his mother was next to him weeping and begging. It was the Egradia – the citizen who had gotten into trouble with the Lightwardens at dinner.

“Please, spare my child. Kill me instead,” begged Egradia.

“Where are they?!” the Devil roared, ignoring her request.

“
I don’t know,
” she half-screamed in desperation. “If I knew I would tell you! Please I’m begging you, don’t kill him. He is my child.” The boy was crying, his shoulders shaking with fear.

I grit my teeth together and cracked the reins. Isiodore’s muscles seemed to go more ridged, gaining power. He lowered his head like a bull – horn pointing outwards – and charged towards the Devil.

“Get out the way! I shouted as we bore down on them. The citizens looked up and their eyes went wide as they saw us. The Devil snapped around at the same time Egradia grabbed her child and threw herself into the water. The Umbra barely had time to raise his gun-wielding arm before Isiodore’s horn stabbed right into his chest. His tipped back his goat-like head and roared, black blood spilling between his teeth. Isiodore kept the momentum and vaulted, carrying us all right over the wide channel of water and landing with a skidding motion on the other side. His legs buckled and he careered forward, the horn driving even further into the Devil as we hit the ground. I arched down and stabbed the blade down as hard as I could into the centre of the devil’s face, ripping the blade out with a spray of black blood. Isiodore shook his head and sent the skewered body away from us. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Egradia and her child being pulled out of the water by the rest of the group. Once she was out they all scrambled through a door and into a nearby building, hopefully to safety.

I turned my attention back to Isiodore. His front legs were folded downwards and we were leaning at an odd angle. “Come on, boy,” I said, patting his neck. He tried to stand and faltered, falling back down again. Panic filled me up.
Has he broken a leg?
I didn’t know a massive deal about Unicorns, but for horses, I knew that was practically a death sentence.

“Come on boy,
please
be okay.”

I got my answer when he shook his head and whinnied, as if psyching himself up, and stood up once more. He took a few tentative steps forward, stamping his front hooves down on the ground and testing his legs. Then, before I could do anything else, he broke into a gallop again.

We kept surging through the streets, as the 360-degree carnage continued around us. A few random bullets were fired at us as the invaders realised I was a Guardian, but like in the sea beyond the city, the opposing forces were too busy dealing with each other to pay us much attention. I guided Isiodore towards the nearest Railport station, only to see that it had been reduced to a broken pile of rubble much like Scholaris. Overhead, a large chunk of the Lightrail had been blown apart and a few sections of the shuttle were dangling over the edge like a crooked finger. The rest of it had fallen to the ground hundreds of feet below and was now a steaming mass of burning and bubbling metal. Isiodore rushed around it and I hid my face in the crook of my elbow as the thick smoke billowed around us, praying that the shuttle had been evacuated before it had taken a nosedive.

My Biomote crackled to life again, and I heard Gabriella’s frenzied voice, clearer now I was closer, but still under the influence of something that was distorting what was normally a crystalline connection. “Alex…hurry please, they’re almost through. We won’t be able to hold them off!”