“Where is the electrical field?” I asked Leap, leaning in so that I could pitch my voice as low as possible. It was hard to believe the guards patrolling the walls could hear us when we were still a good half-mile away, but I wasn’t about to doubt Leap. “Does it have something to do with those lights?”
He nodded. “They generate the field’s power,” he said. “Each one is a powered by a primal stone. You don’t see the field, but as you approach, you can hear it humming, and if something hits it…” he sucked in a breath. “Well, actually, you’re about to see what happens when something hits it.”
He pointed, and I sucked in a breath of my own as I caught sight of a flock of shadow creatures approaching from the west. They looked like large bats, with thin, leathery wings, and the screeches they emitted were so piercing that even at this distance, I had to clap my hands over my ears at the hair-raising sound.
I braced myself, ready for a fight, but the shadow creatures dove for the city. The moment they came within range, the force field flared to life, a dome of bluish-white energy that crackled and zig-zagged across the sky, frying every single creature that tried to penetrate it. The bodies were incinerated; the ashes whisked away by the brisk winds. I caught a whiff and a full body shudder wracked me as I smelled burnt hair, flesh, and the faint stench of black magic.
“Ireallyhope you’re right about that weak spot,” Einar muttered darkly.
Leap huffed. “Oh ye of little faith,” he said, but I couldn’t exactly blame Einar. Ireallydid not want to be fried to a crisp.
Studying the city again, I noticed that there was no road leading to the main gate. Instead, there was a platform built just outside the gates, that looked like it was meant for landings.
“How do you get in normally?” I asked Leap. “You know, if you’re not a criminal?”
“You have to ride the wind path,” Leap said. He pointed to what I could only assume was an air current, invisible to the naked eye. “Which only air fae can do. If you’re not an air fae, you have to be accompanied by one to even make it to the city gates.”
“Or you have to be a dragon,” Einar murmured.
“Yeah, but I don’t think we let you guys waltz through the door,” Leap said dryly.
“Definitely not.” Einar snorted. “We had to take out the towers anytime we attacked one of your cities, and you hardly have any natural resources of your own, which made it more trouble than it was worth most of the time. Domhain and Lochanlee were far more lucrative to plunder.”
“I don’t suppose your people ever considerednotresorting to piracy?” I asked sardonically.
Einar arched an eyebrow. “We might have, if your people didn’t refuse to trade with us. No, instead they sent air and earth fae into Hearthfyre’s mines so they couldstealthe primal stones and precious metals they used to barter with the fire fae for. We simply returned the favor.”
I opened my mouth, then shut it again. Einar was right. We could have traded with the dragons for what we needed. Of course, that would have required ignoring the fact that they’d genocided an entire portion of our race, but bringing that up would only start another fight, and we needed to stay focused.
We waited in silence until the sun set, and complete darkness descended upon the mountainside. The primal stones powering the electrical field blazed even brighter now that they were no longer competing with the sun, and I could now see the faint, glowing dome that protected the city.
“All right,” Leap said. “Let’s do this.”
He gave Cirra a pat, and she slowly glided forward, moving at the speed of a regular cloud so as not to draw attention. The three of us lay flat on her back as she puttered along, holding our breaths as we drew closer to the city. When we were about fifty yards away, I began to sense the low hum of the electrical field, and could feel the energy buzzing along my skin. The hairs on my arms raised in warning, and every muscle in my body tensed as they sensed the inherent danger.
We were nearly within range when I caught a flutter of movement to my left. “Something’s flying toward us,” I hissed in Leap’s ear. My heart pounded as it winged toward us—another shadow creature?
Leap glanced toward the flying intruder, and I saw the whites of his eyes grow wide in the darkness. “Faster, Cirra,” he urged. “We can’t risk using lightning or fire this close. The guards will spot us.”
I glanced toward the city to see a guard posted at the nearest tower, just twenty yards off from where Leap intended to land. He was looking into the distance, but if he glanced to his left, he would see us.
But the shadow creature was closing in, fast. It was an enormous bird, with a wingspan of at least twelve feet, and large talons that looked wicked sharp. It was more than capable of knocking us off the cloud, and we couldn’t afford another aerial battle. Not now.
Thinking fast, I conjured two ice stakes, drawing from some of Cirra’s moisture to make them. The cloud vibrated in protest, but I ignored her and flung the stakes in the flying monster’s direction. The creature let out a piercing shriek as the ice stakes plunged into its wings, loud enough to reverberate off the nearby mountains, and it tumbled from the sky.
The guards on the wall immediately snapped to attention, swinging their bows toward the sound and away from us. Cursing under his breath, Leap jumped off the cloud and caught an air current that carried him into the force field. He extended his arms and pulled the energy toward him, then made a ripping motion with his hands as if he were tearing a piece of cloth in half.
The energy field parted, and we darted through the opening on Cirra’s back.
“Come on,” Leap hissed, already running along the narrow path between the wall and the force field. We followed him to a section of wall that looked exactly the same as the others, and watched in bemusement as he rapped three times on a brick that looked slightly smaller than the others. The brick Leap tapped on receded into the wall, and several dozen others followed suit, creating an opening that revealed a dark staircase leading into what I could only imagine was an underground tunnel.
“What the name of the Radiants is this?” Einar asked, sounding as bewildered as I felt.
“A secret passage, duh.” Leap stepped through the entrance without looking back. “Come on, grandpa, before someone catches us.”
Einar and I exchanged dubious glances, but we followed Leap, seeing no other options. The bricks closed up behind us as we descended, leaving us in total darkness, and I snapped my fingers, lighting another flame at my fingertip so I could see where we were going.
The scent of damp water and sewage reached my nose before we reached the bottom of the stairs, and I wrinkled my nose. “I knew it,” I said as we stepped through a door at the bottom and into a sewer. Slime squelched beneath my feet, and my skin crawled as I heard rats scurrying around. A river of filthy water sluggishly meandered through the tunnel, and I was thankful it was dark so I didn’t have to see what might be floating in it. “This place is disgusting.”
