Cambien was leading the charge, his enormous wings beating the air until it thundered, the vibrations booming all around. In the distance, the opaleine of the palace walls seemed to glow, almost; the Pyros were channeling the energy of it to strengthen their forces, draining it of its power. Suddenly, the walls cracked, the sapphire veins dwindling to nothing but a deep, unsettling black. The spires crumbled, the battlements falling to dust, huge fissures appearing in the façade. As the cracks met, more pieces of the palace fell away. Seizing their moment, the Pyros hurled fierce beams of raw fire at the broken walls, razing it to the ground.
The rebels were screaming, trying to run, but the task force was upon them. Those who’d avoided the snow found themselves being blasted by pure anti-elixir, while those who tried to fight were met with guns and blades. Chaos reigned, the city a mass of swarming bodies.
I lifted my gaze to the video feed. The palace was a ruined mass of crumbling rock, with Cambien and the Pyros caught in the fray. Gianne and Brisha were also inside, somewhere. I hadn’t seen them leave, and there would have been no time for escape. I imagined Ezra had put them somewhere safe so he could use them as leverage later. He wasn’t the kind of man to kill such useful bartering chips.
A boulder of decimated opaleine collapsed from the lintel above the balcony, hitting Aurelius squarely in the shoulders. The force knocked him forward, and a trickle of blood fell from the corner of his mouth. He fell to the ground with a thud I could almost hear. He did not get up again.
Ezra, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen.
“Where is he?” I snapped.
“Do the Pyros have him?” Navan asked.
“He has to be in there somewhere.” Ronad peered through the windshield at the tangle of dragons who circled the crumbled palace. It looked like they were hunting, trying to spot their prey with their amber eyes. I knew exactly what they were looking for, the knowledge setting my nerves on edge. Ezra had managed to evade them.
We scoured the city, trying to pick out a familiar figure in the chaotic crowd. People were running everywhere, trying to escape the task force and the Regium citizens, who had emerged from their homes to bring justice down on the heads of the rebels. They didn’t seem to know what to make of the task force, but, right now, they weren’t the enemy. It was impossible to find one single face amongst them. He could hide in plain sight, and we’d never know he was there.
Nisha pointed at a shadow creeping through the darkness of the mountainside. “There!”
A small ship was speeding from the ruins of the palace, using the shadows as protection. The sleek silver was camouflaged against the stone, the reflection creating an optical illusion. I was grateful for Nisha’s sharp eyes.
“It has to be Ezra,” Jareth muttered. “Only he would seek to escape the destruction of his people, the ones who granted him this power. Only he would abandon them in their time of need.”
I nodded. “Bashrik, we need to go after him.”
“No problem,” he replied. “Ezra is escaping; we are giving chase. The rest of you keep doing what you’re doing. Lojak, you and Garrik are in command. I have to remove my side of the cloaking mechanism, but you guys should be fine now.”
“Copy that,” Lojak replied. “We’re done hiding, anyway. Time for a full-scale assault. You send word if you need assistance, and we’ll be right on your tail, okay?”
“Thank you, Brother. This is Bashrik checking out. I’ll keep the line open, but I might have to switch to long range, depending how far this bastard gets.”
“Understood.”
The video stream remained fixed on the unmoving body of Aurelius. Bashrik turned the ship around and sped after the retreating vessel. This had to be Ezra running to safety with his tail between his legs. Survival had always been his first instinct.
Chapter Forty
Cloaked once more, the ship flew after Ezra. From the thick blanket of snow that had fallen, and continued to fall, I was pretty sure he’d been caught in it, just like Aurelius. However, there was no way of knowing whether Ezra understood the full extent of what had happened. Aurelius had died under that boulder of opaleine, making me certain the anti-elixir snow was a success.
“We’ve got to make him pay,” I said bitterly, thinking of Cambien and the sacrifice he and his Pyros were making. A few had been crushed among the falling walls of the palace, and I didn’t know if they’d survive. Either way, they were fighting for us, and we needed to make sure their help didn’t go unnoticed.
“We will,” Navan promised.
As we soared over the icy tundra, trailing Ezra’s ship, a beep on the control panel startled us. A transmission was coming through. Bashrik opened up the comms channel, all of us bracing for the sound of Ezra’s voice. It was a shock when a very different voice crackled through the speakers, one I hadn’t expected.
“This is Kaido. Is Riley on board?”
Bashrik frowned. “Kaido? What the hell, man? You’re supposed to be back at the cabin, watching over the others.”
“Plans have altered.”
I moved over to the control panel so I could speak to him myself. “Are you flying Szayan’s ship?” I couldn’t see it, making me realize it was cloaked, but there was no other ship he could be using.
“I am.”
“Kaido! That’s supposed to be a field hospital, in case any of us get injured!” I thought back to the Draconians, knowing they’d need assistance soon enough. Once the dust cleared, we’d know who needed patching up… and who it was too late to help.
“There were no other ships at my disposal, and I had to come to you with the utmost urgency,” he explained. “Szayan is aware of the situation and agreed with my insistence. I will return with this ship as soon as I have experimented on you.”
“Now really isn’t the time, Kaido. If you hadn’t noticed, we’re kind of chasing Ezra down.”
“This cannot wait,” he urged. “We picked up a transmission from Regium and heard what happened. We realized the mission must have been a success, which makes my presence here all the more pressing.”
I glanced at the others. “What do you mean?”
“I realized the problem with the serum I gave you,” he explained. “You said you could not hold the gaze of the man you saw, correct?”
“That’s right.”
“It is because you are not strong enough, in your inferior human form,” he went on. “I have brought several serums to try, so that you may endeavor to delve into your visions once more.”
“Yes, but now isn’t the time!” I repeated, exasperated. “We need to get Ezra and kill him, before he can escape.”
“My point exactly. It is the perfect time, and is indeed the most necessary time for this,” he promised. “The first part of the process will assist you in your pursuit of Ezra. Please, allow me to administer it. I am most anxious for you to try it.”
“How can it help?”
He tutted. “It will make you a true coldblood, for a short time.”
I gasped. “What?”
“I have combined the wing-growth serum, using an old formula I discovered in my notes, with that of the power-up serum that you have previously ingested. It will not start the visions until I administer a second, backup serum. So, you will have the perfect opportunity to utilize these new abilities, while safe in the knowledge that they will aid you in our vision experiment later.” He paused. “Naturally, you will have to make quick work of Ezra. Otherwise, the serum’s potency will fade. I trust you can do such a thing?”
“Well, how long will I have, exactly?”
“Riley, you must know that these serums do not have a precise timer.”
“Give me a ballpark figure, then!”
“I do not understand. Ballparks are somewhat large, are they not? They bear no relation to time. How can I even begin to quantify a measurement like that into a completely different measurement, such as time?”
I shook my head. “I mean, give me an estimate.”
“Ah, I see. You will have one hour, give or take a couple of minutes, as soon as the first serum enters your system,” he replied. “The second, vision-inducing serum, will have to be administered within that hour. As to why I am not administering both at once, I will explain later. I hope you trust my work enough to know that my reasoning is perfectly understandable and has been thoroughly considered.”
“I have faith in you, Kaido.”
A short silence echoed.
“Kaido?”
“Thank you, Riley.” He sounded almost sad, as though he hadn’t heard anyone say that to him before. “Where shall we meet to perform the injection?”
Navan stepped in. “Wait until we’ve slowed Ezra’s ship down, okay? We’ll never win if we keep chasing him in circles; we need to get him on the ground, so we can fight face-to-face. I’m going to try something now. If we succeed, meet us on the ground and give her the serum then.”
“That sounds agreeable, though I do not like the idea of trailing you into battle,” he muttered.
“Hey, with your fighting skills, you might actually be able to help us against Ezra,” Ronad said, his tone a little sour. Evidently, he was recalling the last time we’d experienced Kaido’s ninja skillset, when he’d snatched us from the North and stolen us away to the South. Either that, or he was trying to cover something else—a quiet knowledge that he didn’t want to share. Out of everyone, he was the only person who didn’t seem surprised by Kaido’s arrival. Was it part of the puzzle? I still couldn’t tell.
“I would prefer not to, but I will if you require it. I have been trained in a way you have not, which may offer an advantage. I will endeavor to do what I can.”
“Thank you, Kaido,” I said, shooting a warning glance at Ronad. He shrugged innocently.
“It is my pleasure.”
“Oh… Kaido?”
“Yes, Riley?”
I gulped. “Does the serum you’ve made contain any stimulants?”
“The wing-growth and the strength serum have not adversely affected you before, so I do not believe they will exacerbate your problem with substances,” he said bluntly. “The vision-inducing serum has also not proven harmful. Botanicals are nature’s medicines; they will not damage you. I believe in their ability to work for good.”
Bashrik snorted. “I think he’s forgetting sarafim cane.”
“What other people choose to do with nature’s miracles is none of my concern and does not lessen the wonderful abilities of flora and fauna,” Kaido shot back. “Sarafim cane can be used for good. The universe is simply full of idiots who wish to manipulate their brain chemistry for the worse.”
“Thank you for your help, Kaido,” I repeated. “We’ll meet you on the ground. Keep close to us, okay?”
“I shall.” It sounded like he’d cut the transmission, but his voice echoed through the speakers a minute later. “Might I suggest you utilize what is left in your sprayers to dampen Ezra’s engines? If enough is sucked into the turbines, you will short the circuits.”
“An excellent suggestion, my son,” Jareth said unexpectedly, a look of pleasant surprise on his face.
“Thank you, Father.” With that, the transmission ended.
“Could that work?” I wondered, keeping an eye on the ship ahead of us.
Navan nodded. “It might.”
“The physics make sense. That isn’t Kaido’s scientific forte, but he rarely gets the math wrong,” Bashrik replied.
“Then what are we waiting for?” Nisha boomed. “Let’s short his damn circuits!”
Bashrik smirked as he punched the ship’s engines, powering us forward to catch up with the vessel that was racing away. Ezra’s ship was small and didn’t look particularly armed. Evidently, he hadn’t had much time to pick a better one. Hopefully, his haste would work to our advantage. Although our ship didn’t particularly have weapons either, aside from two meager side cannons and the newly attached sprayer mechanisms, it was much faster than Ezra’s.
Within five minutes, we were bumper-to-bumper with him. I could see that his engines were struggling, thin wisps of black smoke filtering out. Maybe we wouldn’t need to use the sprayers after all. Bashrik forced us forward, hitting the back of Ezra’s vessel with a clank. It bobbed in the air, lopsided, but continued on across the barren wasteland. Bashrik hit it again, focusing on the rear turbines. This time, a chunk of metal fell to the ground below. Thicker wisps of smoke emerged, a few sparks flying.
“Hit him again!” Jareth howled, caught up in the excitement.
“Yes, Father,” Bashrik replied, with an amused grin. He powered the ship forward, the curved front thudding into Ezra’s vessel so hard that we all jolted forward on impact. Navan reached out to grasp me, pulling me back into his arms. I smiled, watching through the windshield as the whole right-hand engine dropped off, plummeting from the sky. The left sputtered awhile, before the entire ship began to tumble, spinning through the air and heading for the wasteland.
A perilously short distance from the ground, Ezra leapt out of the hatch and flew toward the safety of the forest, landing in a clearing before heading into the dense brush. We pursued him, landing nearby and sprinting from the vessel. Bashrik and Jareth remained behind to watch the ship, and at Ronad’s curious insistence, Kaido set down a moment later, rushing down the gangway with a large bottle of serum in his hand. While Nisha and the others headed for the spot where Ezra had disappeared, I hurried to meet Kaido, taking the serum from him and lifting it up.
“You sure this is safe?”
He frowned. “Of course I am sure. I am a professional.”
I smiled. “That’s good enough for me.”
Squeezing my eyes shut, I downed the contents of the bottle until there was nothing left. It tasted sour and unpleasant, a strange tingling starting at the back of my throat. Kaido watched me closely, his eyes examining me. It made me feel as though he hadn’t been entirely truthful about the serum’s safety. Then again, Kaido wasn’t a liar.
“Do you feel anything?” he asked.
I nodded, something firing through my veins with a liquid heat. It was sharper than adrenaline, the sensation tinged with pain. “It’s starting. You should wait with the ships. Keep them safe for our return.”
“I will not, Riley. My skills will better serve you on the field of battle, and if anything should go awry with the serum, I have the reversal mixture on my person. These ships are locked—they do not need a sentinel.”
“In that case, we better get going,” I urged, handing the empty bottle back to him. He slipped it into his back pocket, and without another word, we took off after the others. The serum would soon start to take its full effect, and I wanted to be face-to-face with Ezra when it kicked in.
As I ran for the nearby forest, the changes began, crashing down on me. My muscles felt like they were ablaze, straining and seizing beneath my skin, while my eyes stung as everything around me grew clearer. My mouth felt dry, my teeth itching, my throat scratchy. I felt like I could hear every leaf rustling in the trees and smell the grassy aroma of the undergrowth. My ears echoed loudly, the pulse of every tiny noise amplified ten times over, making me wince. Kaido held me up as I staggered, his strong grip keeping me steady.
“This will pass,” he promised.
I nodded, unable to squeeze a word out. The worst part was starting. Behind my back, underneath my shoulder blades, the bones cracked and stretched, making room for the wings that didn’t belong there. I stumbled again, kneeling on the ground while I pushed through the agony of it.
“Are you able to continue? I can return you to the ship until the worst of it is over,” Kaido offered.
I shook my head, gripping his hand and pulling myself to my feet. “I’m okay.” This time, he didn’t shy away from the physical contact. If it served a functional purpose, it was fine.
As I reached the tree-line, the sensation of liquid fire in my veins turned cold. I peeled away the gloves of my suit, the Vysanthean chill no
longer troubling me. Beneath, my skin had grown cold and ashen, morphing into that oh-so-familiar gray tone. I wondered what I looked like, but it wasn’t as if there was a mirror handy. Instead, I tapped the sides of my canines to find that they’d lengthened and sharpened—they weren’t exactly fangs, but I had a feeling they might come out if someone made me mad.
“You look like one of us,” Kaido observed.
“Let’s hope I have the strength of one of you.”
“I have administered just the right dose,” he replied. “You will have our strength.”
When we caught up with Navan, Ronad, and Nisha, who were lingering in a smaller clearing of the nearby forest, their expressions morphed into masks of shock.
“What the—?” Nisha barked in alarm.
“Kaido’s serum,” I explained. “Means I’m not floundering out here while the rest of you take him on.”
Navan lifted my chin and placed a delicate kiss on my lips. “I think you look beautiful, no matter what species you’re trying to imitate. It’s definitely unsettling, though.”
I smiled nervously. “If it sees me through this fight, I’ll be glad of it. Although, I have to admit, I never thought the day would come when I’d turn full coldblood.”
“Have you misplaced Ezra already?” Kaido asked, looking around. “That is most careless of you.”
“Do you hear your strange friend? What are you waiting for?” Ezra’s voice taunted from the shadows of the densely packed trees.
I glowered toward the sound. “Says the coward hiding in the trees. What are you waiting for? Why did you run, Ezra?”
“I really hate having to go through the hassle of putting myself back together again after dying. If I stayed, I knew I’d end up getting ripped up by a Draconian or crushed by falling opaleine. So, I made a choice. Thought I’d zip back to the North to watch the dust settle, from my favorite spot on Brisha’s old throne,” he shouted back. “That way, I get to stay in one piece, and when it’s all over, I can return triumphantly to reclaim the rebel victory. I’ll pretend I was there all along—no harm, no foul.”