Her nod was sharp, sure. Good.
Brand leapt from the tower to a rampart below. Demons were already racing along it, streaming from every which way. He joined the hurtling flow, shoulder to shoulder with his brethren, shouting orders as they hit the stairs that would take them to the courtyard.
His twin shadows were there, flanking Lyriat along with the rest of his guard. Hundreds of warriors had already gathered before the gates to the high road in neat lines, countless others still coming to fill out their ranks.
“Do we know how many?” he asked as they joined them.
Lyriat’s jaw ticked, burning fury on his angular face. “Too many. Perhaps a dozen, maybe more.”
Brand’s world narrowed to a pin prick of hazy light. A dozen dreadbeasts.
It had taken two and a half Imperial Sons and Nachthelliae’s most powerful Sorcerit to bringonedown.
Magnus and Vann arrived, Thad on their heels. Brand scanned the way they’d come, searching for hope in the formidable forms of his uncle and remaining brothers.
“Where are they?” he demanded.
Mag began untying his robes. “Araxis never showed, Caius went to report to the Chieftains, and Amun left with Amal a couple of hours ago.”
“Fuck. Fuck!”
Luna’s hand landed on his cheek. “We were surprised by the first,” she murmured. “We know better now. Put me down.”
Brand obeyed, curious to see where the determination he felt in her would lead them.
She reached out, power flaring, and the four talons they’d taken from the first dreadbeast appeared on the ground.
“Fucking genius, witchling. Who will take them?”
Another shudder in the earth, gasps and growls sounding.
A nervous hitch in his chest belied Luna’s air of confidence. “I have an idea, born from my own inabilities, I’ll admit.”
A stream of power poured from her palm as she reached it to the sky, the moons’ beams craning down to meet it. She gave a yank, and the whips of light stretched out to grasp onto two of the jagged talons, melding with the ends. Coiling the lengths,she pulled them towards herself, fangs flashing as she gritted her teeth. A pulse, her clawed hands gripping both the rope of her magic and some other invisible thing she seemed to be crushing together.
Pulse, and the talons—nearly eight feet long—shrunk to half their size. Another, Luna grunting with effort, and they shrank again, and again, until they’d compacted to the size of her forearm.
Breathing heavily, wavering, she said, “I’ll take two. I can use them from a distance. Probably poorly, but better than relying only on close combat and a dagger I’m shite with.”
“Aye, like I said—fucking genius.”
Brand knelt, offering his hand. “Drink.”
She waved him away, drawing a hand across her forehead. “I’m not hurting. That wasmypower, and I am already replenishing. Save it for when I actually need it.”
He nodded, standing. “Vann, use your vines to take another. I’ll take the last. If you see a glowing patch of fiery light, that’s where you stab it.”
“I will command and fight from above,” Lyriat said, his wings flaring. “Brethren! Our forebears waged this battle once before and won! Use your wits, funnel the beasts to our Imperial Sons. You know what to do!”
He took to the sky, war cries following him up.
Brand had no idea what they were walking into, but still said, “One at a time, as best you can manage. We’ll split into groups, lead by myself, Magnus, and Vann. Overwhelm them. Confuse them. Use your power. Donottry to take one on alone. First Legion, to me!”
Scooping Luna up once more, he sprinted through the gates and down the high road, scores of raging Demons in his wake. Closer and closer to the sounds of fighting. Buildings had beentoppled, falling partway into the streets. Screams and shouts reverberated, the ground rumbling beneath his feet.
At last, they hit the square and its chaos.
The smell of rotting fish assaulted him. Brand counted eleven sea serpents, writhing from the beach and twisting between the surrounding areas. Their gigantic heads rose up, pointed teeth like daggers as they destroyed everything in sight with abandon.
