He had no intention of losing this battle—at least, not the one in the air. He only hoped the wardens had enough weapons to hold off the attack on the ground.
He only hoped Blaine wasn’t caught in any of the bombs.
Honovi shunted that thought aside, knowing better than to dwell on things that weren’t immediately before him in a situation like this. Right now, he was pushing to get and stay above the last airship, trying to orient their position in the sky. It meant working in partnership with his navigator, and he was thankful it went smoothly enough for them to finally gain altitude.
Honovi scanned the horizon as crew members shouted back and forth on the open deck. The radio crackled, coordinates spitting out of the speaker from one of the aeronauts. The navigator checked against their position in the sky before saying, “Plotting vector.”
He listened intently, guiding the airship back into another dive, less steep this time. The cabling stayed taut, the frame of the airship pulling against the balloon as Honovi piloted them toward the enemy. Flashes of light spat through the air, but the other side’s Zip gun couldn’t angle high enough to reach them. Honovi adjusted the angle of their descent slightly, letting the navigator guide a path through the sky.
TheCelestial Sprite’s portside turret guns started firing, the gunners more maneuverable than the one at the fore. Honovi dropped the airship with a quick change of the ballasts, bringing them alongside the other airship’s balloon, the length of three airships between them in the sky. It was still close enough for their gunners to focus fire on the other airship’s engine as Honovi banked to keep them circling so the enemy’s engines remained in view.
He held position, braced against the pull of gravity as the gunners kept firing until the engine exploded. Then Honovi yanked on the controls, guiding the airship higher in a bank that would bring them back around.
“Let’s hope they don’t have any anti-airship guns,” Caoimhe said in a grim sort of voice. “I’d feel more comfortable dealing with those weapons with a squadron of aeroplanes to assist than just one airship.”
“It’s difficult to transport heavy artillery up the trailing edge of the Eastern Spine. Whatever they hauled up here, I think they focused more on the lake rather than the sky,” Honovi said, thinking about the submersibles encircling the Warden’s Island.
“I think we should do something about that.” She clicked the radio on again, steady on her feet. “All right, let’s focus on dropping some bombs and give the wardens aerial cover.”
Honovi piloted them back toward the island, hands steady on the controls, eyes on the horizon, the sound of war in his ears. They were closing in on the shoreline at an angle, their bombers confirming readiness over the radio, when some of the submersibles began to dive rather than remain, leaving soldiers on the shore.
The bombs didn’t reach them first.
Starfire did.
It erupted along the ramparts and spilled over the side, racing like a prairie wildfire toward the soldiers still on the shore and the submersibles in the shallows. It moved like a living thing, stealing ground and taking lives in seconds. The glare of it was nearly as bright as the sun above, dangerously beautiful and elegant in its destruction. The only thing left behind when it recoiled back like a wave leaving the shore was blackened earth that glinted like glass.
Caris, Honovi realized in that moment, was a weapon unto herself.
Eleven
CARIS
A line of tithes rushing down kept Caris pushed to the right as she reached the last landing. Looking up the stairs, she saw a tall, burly warden standing guard at the open vault doors above, bellowing at the tithes under his watch. Ksenia and Nathaniel were in front of her, but only Nathaniel looked behind him to make sure she was still with them.
“What’s going on?” Ksenia demanded.
“Soldiers on the shoreline and in the sky. We’re under attack,” the other warden said.
Ksenia swore and sprinted up the last set of stairs. Nathaniel reached behind for Caris’ hand, and she took it. Together, they made it to the top, Caris’ calves burning from all the stairs they’d taken at double time. With the ground no longer muffling the sound of attack, she could clearly hear explosions happening around them in the fort.
“Keep the vault open and funnel the tithes and any wounded below. Have you heard from the governor?” Ksenia said.
“No, but any capable wardens are to man the wall.”
Ksenia nodded, wand already in hand. “I’ll make my way to a defensive station.”
“What about us?” Caris asked.
“Stay below.”
Caris stepped around Nathaniel, trying to keep her voice steady. “We can help.”
“Caris, no,” Nathaniel protested.
“You’re no soldier,” Ksenia said.
Caris raised her hand, palm up, spreading her fingers. She reached for the aether and called forth a spark of starfire, the brilliant heat of it forming above her palm. “I know I’m not, but I wield starfire.”
