We had been flying for several hours and I felt badly for some of the other Mageia, including Vlakas, who weren’t enjoying the flight like I was. Several of them had been puking their guts up since we had started. Probably something to do with our different affinities, but being surrounded by so much air invigorated me where it weakened others.
After about nine hours, the vehicle began its descent, much to the relief of the four Air Mageia I saw managing the flight. They had powered the trip alone, and I knew they had to be exhausted. At least they’d get to rest nearby following their trip.
The vehicle landed, the back hatch opened, and we were ordered out. Each Hoplite was clothed in the same uniform. We wore gray and black camouflage tactical pants, a black t-shirt with the Alexandrian logo embroidered over the heart and a gray tac vest.
It was late afternoon, the sun beginning to cast shadows as it settled in the west. We had landed in a courtyard of what appeared to be some kind of abandoned city. Around us were buildings taller than any I had ever seen. They were taller even than the skyline of Alexandria, but they were dilapidated. Some had holes in them, some were skeletons of their original forms. Ivy grew up some of the walls and grass forced its way through broken concrete, the flora reclaiming the land. There was an air of desolation here. I could see a line of mountains in the distance, their peaks capped with white. Snow? My mindsupplied the word, but I’d never seen snow before, so I was only guessing.
In the center of the courtyard lay a pile of black backpacks. We were each ordered to pick one up before we lined up in front of the air vehicle.
“Hoplites,” the Tagmatarches bellowed. “Good luck! No retreat!”
“No surrender!” We responded in unison. He and the other Elusians filed back into the vehicle, and we watched as the craft levitated into the sky.
Everyone stood frozen for long moments after the vehicle departed, each of us eying each other cautiously. No one seemed to want to be the first person to move. It occurred to me that this was the first moment of freedom any of us had really experienced since we had joined the Legion.
We couldn’t just stand there forever, though. I moved forward and grabbed Vlakas’ arm.
“Let’s go,” I said quietly.
Before Vlakas could respond, the silence around us was broken with the hiss of an incoming fireball.
I threw an Air shield over our heads and felt the heatwave strike ahead of the explosion. Others weren’t as fast, and I heard screams as the burning pyroclastic material took some unprepared. Trust a Fire Mageia to be impatient to start killing everyone. I saw Astor, a blond water Mageia become a human torch under the onslaught.
V stood, frozen, staring at Astor’s burning body.
“C’mon!” I yelled at Vlakas, grabbing his arm, and dragging him away from the impact site.
We had begun planning our strategy almost from the moment Vlakas had been inducted. Separate from the pack. Find shelter. Find water. Find food. Neither of us had expectedthe other Mageia to turn on each other so quickly, though. So much for our plan of working with the others.
“There!” V said, gesturing toward a building we’d spied as we’d approached in the air vehicle. I nodded.
“That’s a good one,” I agreed.
I saw Mageia scatter, some heading towards the remnants of larger buildings to the east, some running parallel to us and others in different directions. I’d considered taking to the heights, but while it might be good to learn the lay of the land, our survival was going to depend on multiple factors, including finding food and water.
The building I led us to was low, nowhere near as tall as some of the skeletal forms surrounding us, but it looked like it was attached to some kind of culvert system. Fresh water would be vitally important to our survival in the upcoming days. More important even than food.
I felt my feet skid on a patch of ice that appeared out of nowhere under me. Since it was way too warm for frozen anything, it meant one thing: an attack. Vlakas grabbed me as I slid and threw up an earth shield between us and the Water Mageia who had been pacing us. The sound of ice shattering on his shield was ridiculously loud.
“Bastard,” I muttered. “Thanks, V,” I said, dodging between columns and skidding over low-lying brush.
We made it to the door of the building, but try as I might, I couldn’t get the metal door to move. Damn the gods for making me tiny!
“Here, let me,” Vlakas said. I stepped back and let him work, throwing up an Air shield around us. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him place his hands over the door handle. The metal began to smoke and move under his touch. This was a power V hadn’t shared with anyone but me. He could heat metal and stone, almost as if he could use both Fire and Earth at thesame time. Of course, that was impossible, though memories of what Kyris had told me tickled in the back of my head.
After a moment I heard a screeching noise as he forced the door open, and we plunged forward into darkness.
We sealed the door behind us, Vlakas using his Earth powers to make the concrete almost melt around the door.
The room was dark, a few windows high along the walls let in a small amount of light, but they were too small and too high for anyone to easily enter. The whistling sound of fireballs, the crash of ice, and the dull thuds of earth projectiles faded behind us.
I looked around the room. There were huge piles of debris everywhere. Some seemed to be piles of metal and stone. Others looked like aging plastic. Many of the glass windows were shattered, greenery forcing its way through the openings into the room.
We made our way deeper into the building, picking our way through hallways, our flashlights the only thing driving back the gloom.
“Any idea where we are?”
“A building?” he deadpanned.
