I’d lost sight of Atlas and the others.Nothing would prevent me from freeing Cillian and Torgrin, so I turned Nightmare towards the commotion, pushing through those trying to escape the deadly fireballs.
Out of the chaos ahead, Braya’s blood-smeared face appeared.She yelled above the noise.‘Come!I need your help!’
I looked at where she was pointing.The smoke cleared momentarily, and I could see several men in robes on the wall with two long iron tubes cradled in tripods.
A robed figure stuffed one of the tubes with an iron ball and powder.Another figure turned the tripod to the left.They inserted a piece of rope into the hole and lit it.It took seconds for the rope to burn down and then a resounding boom filled the air.A fireball flew high into the sky and dropped incredibly fast.Several Ephemeros soldiers close to the gate went flying backwards.
The Order had to be stopped, or we wouldn’t get the gate open.
I rode alongside Braya, and we stopped at the wall where a rope hung.I got down from Nightmare and followed her, scaling the high wall.
We climbed unnoticed, thanks to the chaos created by the dragon fire below us.When Braya reached the top, she disappeared over the side.I reached the parapet and saw her crouched down beside the wall.There was an Ephemeros soldier dead at our feet,an arrow in his chest.It must have been his rope we had climbed.The plan to send people over the wall had not gone well.
‘We need to destroy both cannons at the same time,’ Braya whispered close to my ear.
I gestured to Braya, signalling that I would take the iron weapon she called a cannon on the right.She nodded, pointed at the cannon, and then at the inside of the city wall.
I nodded.I would use my shadows to Weave the cannon high enough to get it over the side and into the city below.The most I had ever lifted before was a wine barrel and Braya, both much lighter than a solid-iron cannon.
Staying crouched and out of sight, Braya moved left, and I crept to the right.I stopped when I was close enough that my powers could reach them.I waited until the men had reloaded the cannon.As soon as the rope was lit, I raised my hands.
Shadows coiled around the weapon, lifting it into the air and causing one of the robed men to topple off the side of the wall.The floating cannon stunned the other man, freezing him in place.
I had little time, as the rope was nearly burned down.My hands trembled as I used the Darkness to throw the cannon over the side of the wall, ensuring I aimed it at the king’s soldiers inside the city gates.
I ducked low as the explosion sent heat and stone flying back at me.The robed man hadn’t taken cover in time, and he was now lying facedown, unconscious or dead with a large head wound.
When the smoke cleared, I saw Braya had got the second cannon hovering, but it wasn’t high enough to make it over the parapet.
I ran to the other side, jumping over the two dead men Braya had disposed of, to find Braya’s nose and eyes were bleeding profusely with the effort of raising the cannon.The rope was lit and if she didn’t get it off the parapet soon it would explode, and we would both die.
I focused on helping her, allowing the dark shadows to coil around the iron.Braya dropped to her knees in relief, and my shadows lifted it over the side.It was too late; the cannon blew up before hitting the ground, and I had to dive on top of Braya as half the parapet was taken out.Rock flew in every direction, some hitting the back of my head.I saw specks of light, and Braya’s concerned face blurred before me.I was still dazed when I felt her pushing me off.
‘Are you okay?’she asked.
‘I think so.I’m still alive.’The ground beneath us shuddered, and Braya’s eyes widened.The wall was going to collapse.‘You need to get off this wall now!’I yelled.
I could go down and find Atlas, or I could cross into the city on my own.I didn’t want to waste more time finding the others to regroup.Cillian and Torgrin were so close.
I returned to the rope and retied it so it fell down to the city.‘Tell Atlas I’m headed to the castle.’Braya got to her feet and nodded.
I jumped.The rope burned my hands through my torn gloves, but I needed to get down fast so Braya could use it.I waited until she pulled the rope back up before I turned away.
There was a lull in the fighting as the king’s soldiers and robed figures scrambled away from the swaying wall.I hoped Braya had made it off in time.
The wall collapsed, dry and brittle, crumbling into a cloud of grit that choked the air.Shadows moved through the haze – General Toro’s soldiers poured over the jagged remains, boots crunching on stone, their war cries slicing through the chaos.
I left the commotion behind me, following an unobstructed path into the city.
CHAPTER 37
Irushed down the empty streets as people sheltered indoors.They pressed their faces against the paned windows as they tried to see what was happening.
The absence of Merrick and the king overseeing the city’s defense could be interpreted as arrogance or cowardice.Our fight was not with the people of Capita, but they did not know that.
Making my way to the stables, I used the passage Mae had shown us.I dropped into the kitchen grain storeroom to see pots left cooking on the stove and food set out on cutting blocks, the servants having clearly fled in a hurry once the fighting had entered the city.
Nobody emerged to stop me as I hurried down the stairs to the dungeon.The steps undulated before me as a wave of dizziness hit.I leaned against a damp, lichen-covered wall, waiting for it to pass.I felt the large lump on the back of my head, and when I drew my hand away, it was covered in blood.
