“I remember, yes. The frameworks are similar at all the shielder locations.”
“They’re conduits that assist the artifact in sending its power out in all directions to activate the shield around the entire island.”
“So, they’re necessary.”
“To provide the kind of coverage we need, yes.”
“It sounds like we need to put the shielder back in the same place it came from then,” Syla said. “At least for now. In the future, maybe a new chamber and framework could be made, but…” She spread her hands, not certain if that was true. They hadn’t yet moved the shielder on Castle Island because the chamber—all of the chambers—had been made by the gods and were part of what protected the artifacts.
“The stormers know where that chamber is,” Tibby said, “and it’ll be a lot harder to guard than the one right under your castle.”
Syla started to nod in agreement but paused. “That might not be true. I know Vorik was following you and Fel and saw where you went underground, but he’s the only one, right? Lesva was busy, er, torturing me.”
“Vorik probably told his people all about it,” Fel grumbled.
“I suppose he could have reported the chamber’s location, but he also might not have. After the shielder was gone, would there have been any point in him drawing a map for his people?”
“I would prefer to place it somewhere thatnobodyknows about,” Tibby said, “but the framework was undamaged there, so it does make the most sense, at least for the time being. Assuming the dragons and stormers haven’t found the chamber in the weeks they’ve had access to this place. If they have, they could have sabotaged it.”
“We closed the hidden door before we left,” Syla said.
Actually, it had magically closed itself after they’d removed the shielder and walked out.
“Yes,” Tibby said. “Let’s hope it has remained closed.”
“Dragons ahead!” a crewman called from the crow’s nest. “Four of them are flying this way. Fast!”
Soon, everyone could see them, a yellow, two grays, and a green. None carried riders.
Stormer allies or wild dragons, Wreylith?Syla headed for the weapons platform.Do you know?
Those four are aligned with the stormers. I have not seen wild dragons for a week or more. The island has been over-hunted, so it is less of a draw now for those who do not have political reasons for being here.Wreylith managed to convey a telepathic snarl of condemnation with the last words,politicalin particular.
Syla lamented that evenoneof the Kingdom islands had becomeover-huntedand hoped that enough animals had managed to survive to repopulate the various species.
“I’ll take care of them,” Syla said firmly as Wreylith launched into the air. “Keep sailing toward the island, Major.”
“We will.” Hixun’s tone suggested he’d never intended to turn aside. He ordered men to the cannons.
A nearby ship was already opening fire.
Syla’s people were determined. Good. So was she.
Two more dragons flew out from behind the volcano and headed toward them. Syla climbed onto the weapons platform and rested her hands on the marks. The magic flared to life, tingling under her palms and filling her with energy, but an image also came to her. As she had seen once before, a vision showed the platform on which she stood as a reservoir with magical energy inside. Last time, it had appeared to be two-thirds full. This time, it was only about one-fifth full, and nerves twanged within her gut. How many shots was that? She didn’tknow, but she would have to be careful and make each one count.
Focusing on being aware of the sea, the rails, and the sky in her peripheral vision, as Vorik had once suggested, Syla willed the first projectile to launch. Without hesitation, it flew toward the yellow dragon in the lead.
A screech sounded, and the creature banked and flapped its wings hard, trying to escape. But the projectile arced to follow it, then slammed into its backside. Silver light flashed as it struck hard enough to send the dragon target tumbling tail over head. Once its momentum faded, it plummeted into the sea.
On the decks of the nearby ships, cheers went up. Someone cried, “Queen Syla!”
The remaining dragons slowed their approach, but Syla didn’t relent. Without pausing, she launched a second projectile. Normally, she would be content to let enemies live as long as they stopped attacking, but her team couldn’t have dragons harrying them as they tried to place the shielder. She needed to either kill their enemies or convince them to leave the island.
The second projectile sped toward one of the gray dragons, but lightning flashed in the dark clouds around the volcano. A white branch of electricity shot out from their stormy depths, extending miles to slam into the projectile. It exploded, startling Syla and making her wince and look away from the blinding light.
The cheers and calls fell silent.
Syla wiped her damp palms on her dress, reminding herself that something similar had happened before. Their last big battle had been during a storm, and lightning had struck a projectile that had been targeting Jhiton and his dragon. That storm, however, had appeared much more natural.
