Aetherial Annihilation (34 page)

"I think that's all of them," I said, finally daring to breathe.

"Man, I must have had twenty missiles on my ass," Boris said. "Did you see how many hit my illusion?"

"I counted thirty-one for me," Ivy said.

I sighed. "Well, apparently I wasn't that important, because only ten wanted me dead."

Pri laughed. "Aw, don't feel bad. We'll make sure more rocket penguins come after you the next time."

Delectra put away her staff. "It's been some time since I conjured so many complex illusions. I'm glad I was able to perform adequately."

"If you decide to run for Arcanus Primus, you've got my vote," Pixie said.

Boris raised his hand. "Same here, dudette. You're awesome."

Delectra looked utterly surprised. "My husband is running for the post."

Pri made a raspberry noise. "Don't let him run. Men are awful leaders. We need a strong woman in that position."

"I will consider asking him," Delectra said in an oddly humble voice.

"I can do illusions too," Ivy said. "I just haven't done them in, like, forever."

I clapped my hands together. "Let's get back to the command platform. I have a feeling the other shoe is about to drop."

We reached the deployment zone about twenty minutes later. Portals ripped open all around base camp, and hundreds of troops poured through. Daemos and Templars spread out in long lines while Blue Cloaks whooshed overhead on flying carpets. Red Cell, the elite vampire forces, raced forward in their crimson armor. Another rift opened and dozens of shiny robots dashed onto the snowy tundra.

Within minutes, the army had arrived.

The command unit, a large round platform, rose into the air. I spotted Thomas in the center. Other Templars manned the consoles all around him, each one responsible for relaying orders to different squads.

Elyssa's voice spoke into my ear. "Justin, I'll be relaying commands to you for the Skywraiths."

A grin spread across my face. "My guardian angel."

"You know it, babe." She paused. "Hang back behind the front lines. We're about to advance."

Several levitating catapults emerged from a gateway, and spread out behind the assortment of supernatural warriors. Support crews with cargo platforms laden with crucibles took positions behind their respective siege engines.

Images of our last battle with Daelissa flickered through my mind. I shuddered.
Feels like it just happened yesterday.

I looked at Boris. "Would you like to say what you've always wanted to say?"

His eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

I nodded. "Go for it."

He shivered. "Sweet!" Boris pumped a fist in the air. "Skywraiths, form up!"

I signaled for the V formation and everyone assumed their positions.

Pixie giggled. "Guess you'll be putting this in your diary, Boris."

"Oh man, you know it!" His voice sounded loopy with excitement.

I spotted Evan Farnsworth accompanied by a large group of Arcanes exit a portal, his face visible through the Nightingale armor, thanks to the HUD. He looked up at us and waved. I waved back.

Guess he wants to make sure I know he's here.

Victus rode a large flat platform with tank treads. Turrets, manned by Science Academy people, swiveled forward. He offered us a salute, then pressed a button. The unit unfolded and the middle of the metal treads rose to form a large triangle while the top of the platform extended higher.

"Cool," Boris said.

Thomas broadcast over the comm system. "Move out."

The army marched forward.

Despite the size of our forces, we moved forward at a rapid pace, eating up the distance between us and the secret base. We were perhaps halfway there when I spotted the flotilla of airships speeding inland. Humanoid forms of enemy robots appeared in the distance, the sun gleaming off their chrome armor. Behind them towered three mega-bots—two bipedal units, and one with four giant legs ending in sharp points. Every lumbering step threw up clouds of snow and ice.

"Prepare to engage," Thomas said.

The airships dropped their cargo containers and more battle-bots spilled onto the battlefield, swelling the ranks of the oncoming army while the aircraft themselves spread out above the enemy lines.

"Whoa, man, that's a lot of robots," Boris said.

"A whole heaping mess of them," Pixie added.

The quarter mile between our forces shrank to several hundred yards. Airship cannons swiveled down toward our front line.

Our support crews slid carts with aether generators into position in front of our people and shields shimmered in the air.

The airships opened fire. Ice and snow exploded. Deadly beams of light splashed against the shields, and the robot army surged forward, lasers firing from their eyes and arms.

The battle had begun.

Chapter 29

"Skywraiths, priority target airships," Elyssa said through the comm link. "I suggest flanking from the north."

"We're on it." I relayed the message to the squadron.

"How are we supposed to get close to them with all that ground fire?" Boris asked.

We really had only one option. "We fly high, and flank them." I spun around and led the squadron to our back lines, then pulled back on the broomstick, entering a nearly vertical climb. We climbed far above the battle, until even the airships were hundreds of feet beneath us. Lasers flashed. Crucibles smashed into the attacking robots. Within moments, the frontlines would be fully engaged.

From this vantage, it was clear the airships were spreading out to attack the flanks of our ground troops. We couldn't allow that to happen.

"Remember these things have heavy armor, so it'll take a lot of firepower to disable them." I pointed to the airship on the northern edge of the flotilla. "Target the laser cannon on the top then hit the left engine. Use the bulk of the airship to shield you from the others."

A chorus of assents echoed from the comm link and everyone slid into V formation.

I pumped a fist in the air. "Let's kick ass!"

"Kick ass!" everyone, even Mom, shouted back.

I pushed down on the broomstick and fell into a steep dive. The HUD's red bracket around the airship counted down the distance. The top turret turned toward us and fired a brilliant red laser. Our formation split apart just in time for the laser to miss, then rejoined. I counted down the seconds it took for the laser to recharge.

Since the missile turret was on the bottom of the ship, it seemed incapable of firing on us—an oversight Frankenberg would be sure to correct if we gave him the chance.

My mental timer hit zero. "Split!"

The formation broke apart just as the cannon aimed and fired.

"Now I see why they need so many blimps," Ivy said. "They can't hit us with just one laser."

The airship weapons probably weren't designed to take on small nimble broom fliers, but slower ground targets. A laser flashed from the lower turret and slammed against the top of the shield protecting our ground forces. If the airship drifted any closer to our lines, it would be able to fire over the shield and into our people. We had only seconds to stop it.

We reached firing range before the top cannon could take another shot at us. Ivy, with her superior range, encased the laser in a block of Murk. With a deafening roar and brilliant flash, the turret blew itself apart.

Pri whooped. "Brilliant move, Ivy!"

I was so proud of my little sister, I nearly forgot to give the order to take out the engine. Thankfully, Delectra was a step ahead. She flung a coil of the same disruptive energy she'd used on the one over the ocean, and the turbine smoked and blew apart while the crew inside the cockpit looked on with horror.

Nightliss shielded our group from shrapnel as another explosion rocked the crippled engine.

"Take out the bottom turrets," I said. We swung beneath the airship. Mom and I followed Ivy's example and cocooned the missile and laser turrets with Murk.

The airship crew apparently couldn't see what we'd done. The man at the weapons control glared furiously at us and slammed a fist on the console.

"Shield yourselves!" I shouted.

The missile turret blew a massive hole in the bottom of the cockpit and the airship's reactor exploded a split second later. I threw up a wall of Murk just in time, but the blast sent me spinning away. The rest of our formation scattered like leaves in the wind. I spotted an armor-clad body in freefall and dove after it. I caught the body by the arm and saw it was Pri.

I tried to pull her up, but the broom didn't like the extra weight and began to lose altitude. "Someone help me!"

Mom and Nightliss were the first responders, zipping in and grabbing Pri's other arm, and a leg. The redistributed weight took the pressure off my broom. The hulking airship groaned and plummeted toward the ground. The remaining wing caused it to veer right toward us.

"The airship!" I shouted.

The nose of the aircraft would slam into us in seconds.

A blast of sparkling ultraviolet wind shoved us forward. The nose of the vessel grazed my arm. I glanced back and saw Ivy release the Murk that saved us and dive away from the crippled airship.

She swooped up from beneath and drew level. "Is everyone okay?"

"I think so." I steered away from the battle so we could check on Pri. "You really saved our hides, Ivy. Great work."

She beamed a smile. "Thanks."

The rest of the Skywraiths joined the formation. I realized with a jolt that someone was missing. "Where's Tasha?"

"I lost her after the blast," Boris said. "I don't know where she is."

"I haven't seen her either," Delectra said.

"Oh, no." Nightliss pointed back toward the ground far below where a body lay still in the snow.

I couldn't see the person's features from here, but knew it was our missing comrade. My heart ached.

"Oh god, no." Pixie sobbed. "I need to check on her."

"No. She's dead." It hurt to say it, but even Nightingale armor couldn't have saved her from such a fall. Robots marched past Tasha's body, making any attempt to check on her extremely dangerous.

"Bastards." Boris ran a hand over his face. "We'll make them pay."

We reached a safe distance from the robot army and set down to check on Pri. Before I even lowered the hood on her armor, my armor's HUD revealed her lifeless eyes staring into space.

Mom ran a hand down Pri's neck. "It's broken."

Pixie burst into fresh sobs. "She's dead too?"

Mom nodded sadly. "She's gone."

I got off my broom and stormed back and forth in the snow.
It's war. Death happens.
I heard my knuckles crack and looked down at clenched fists.
Shake it off. The fight isn't over.

"We need to finish the job." I climbed back on my broom. "If anyone wants out, now is the time to say so."

Tears soaked into Boris's armored mask. He shook his head. "I'm not leaving until this is over, or I'm dead."

"Me neither," Pixie whispered in a strained voice. "I'm in 'til the end."

Delectra stiffened. "I intend to finish this as well."

"We're all in, bro." Ivy took my hand in hers. "We can win."

"I will stand by you," Nightliss said.

Mom nodded. "I'm ready."

Boris knelt next to Pri and held her hand. "Rest well, Pri. We won't forget your sacrifice."

Pixie wiped her face despite the armored hood absorbing her tears. "Promise me we'll find Tasha's body after the battle. She deserves a proper burial."

I nodded. "I promise."

We left the body of our fallen companion lying in the snow and lifted off into the sky.

We lost two people for one damned airship.
There had to be a better way.

Elyssa's voice interrupted my silent contemplation. "Justin, I lost sight of you. What's your status?"

"Pri and Tasha are dead." Anger burned deep in my chest. "We're going to finish the job."

"I'm so sorry, but the airships are hitting our left flank. The Blue Cloaks are engaging, but we need the Skywraiths." She blew out a breath. "The mega-bots are almost in range. If the airships aren't stopped, our ground forces will get hammered."

"We'll handle them." I stared at the flying warships in the distance. We had no magic bullet to take them all out at once. It would take a series of concerted attacks to render them useless. The explosion taught me that we were vulnerable in a close formation.

"Pixie and Boris, you're with me." I turned toward the others. "Alysea, pair with Delectra. Nightliss you're with Ivy."

"We're splitting up?" Boris asked.

"We're going to be mosquitoes," I explained. "Starting from the right side of the flotilla, each team will take on an airship. Encase the laser and missile turrets with Murk, and take out an engine just like the last one and watch each other's backs."

"We can't channel Murk," Pixie said. "What are we supposed to do?"

"I have a good electro-magnetic pulse spell I can use on the engines," Boris said.

"Do you know any heat spells Pixie?" I asked.

"Sure," she said. "I'll help Boris on the engine."

I handed out airship assignments. "We approach from the north and split at the first airship, okay?"

The team signaled their readiness.

"Let's go." I aimed the broom north and led them in a wide circling arc.

The airships were too busy firing on ground troops to see us until we were nearly upon them.

"Skywraiths, attack!" I commanded.

Mom and Delectra dove for the first airship. Nightliss and Ivy took the next. My team attacked the third. I hit the laser and missile turrets with a wide beam of Murk. It crystallized around them in a solid shield. The gunner seemed to realize something was wrong and didn't fire. Boris and Pixie thrust forward their staffs. Lightning erupted from Boris's staff. The energy crackled and slithered into the engine like a glowing snake.

Pixie unleashed a volley of small fireballs. The turbine sputtered, smoked, and burst into flames. Through the cockpit windows, I saw the airship pilot fighting for control as the airship listed to the side. He regained control, and the vessel leveled off. The gunner still didn't fire, and I realized my Murk shield would wear off and allow him to open fire again within minutes.