Fire Prince

  **

  The doorway to the strange plane had been open for two weeks. The major work on the flagship was finished save for the new boom. The woodworkers had finished furnishing it for installation. The deckhands hooked the boom up to the crane. Pria and another officer sent powerful streams of water from the sea through the paddle wheels. The wheels turned the gears turning the winch. The line went taut and the boom rose.

  The Brothers were back investigating the new plane. Lin’s mages continued to study samples of the black sand while Qin’s marines surveyed the landscape. The plane was unsettlingly empty. The portal apparently had opened to the most unremarkable plane ever discovered.

  “How far did your scouts go?” asked Lin. The Brothers stood over the piece of parchment that was to become the master map of the new plane. Qin sighed, “Fifty miles in each direction.” The map bore only two markings, the portal site and the small hill.

  “We’d make better use of our time trying to map the waves,” grumbled Lin. Qin shrugged; he looked up towards the portal. It flickered. Qin asked “Did you see that?” Eyes wide with terror Qin grabbed his brother and began running towards the portal. “It’s closing!” Qin shouted at the camp around the portal. “Get to the other side now!”

  The marines and magi looked confused at first; then the portal began heaving violently. This was all the confirmation they needed; they sprinted towards the doorway to Pelagos. “Get back to Pelagos the portal is shutting!” yelled Qin at his marines still littered around the edges of the camp. It was too late. The portal collapsed.

  In Pelagos the portal contracted and then disappeared. Admiral Moro could see the streaks of energy shooting from the portal from the bow of the greatship. “Oh no,” he said to himself. He ran towards the gangplank connecting the ship to the docks. The portal collapsed.

  Pria heard the implosion and turned towards the portal site, it was vacant. A new portal burst open, replacing the old one. The blast sent a shockwave through the harbor. Pria and her crew were knocked down by the force. Screams emanated from the portal site. “Marines get to the portal site now!” Pria ordered.

  Rage Fiends poured from the new portal. Hundreds crossed through in a surging wave before the new portal imploded as quickly as it had appeared. The doorway shut and the Rage Fiends hacked through the small company standing watch at the portal site.

  Pria sprinted the half mile to the site with her marines. “Form ranks here!” she yelled. Reinforcements from the other ships trickled in as the news of invasion spread. The Rage Fiends reached their hodgepodge formation. The first line of marines crumbled to the demons. They swung their rusted bastard swords wildly.

  Their attacks were frenzied and uncoordinated. “Draw them in and focus your efforts on one at a time,” Pria commanded with authority. The light rapiers of the marines could hardly pierce the thick leathery skin of the fiends. More reinforcements from the docks arrived.

  “Lady Pria, my men will secure the right flank; the magi are assembling now,” shouted a marine officer as he ran off with his company to the right edge of the portal site. Pria conjured a large sphere of water and used it as a shield, hurling back any of the demons who broke through the line. The magic was exhausting.

  Another company of marines arrived with the magi, the reinforcing company went left and the battle was now contained to the portal site. The magi arrived leaving a thin string of mages leading towards the water’s edge. The mages began funneling seawater towards the battlefield.

  The line of water reached Pria’s forces. “Open fire!” she shouted to the mages. The water coiled up over the marines. The mages sent torrents of water into the Rage Fiends. Demon after demon was smashed by the deluge. The marines advanced, slitting the throats of the downed monsters.

  The warriors of Pelagos continued until the portal site was cleared of the enemy. Squads of marines dispersed into the island to hunt the few stragglers. Pria led her warriors despite the taxing effort of battle, “Gather the wounded; set up the triage back at the docks.”

  “Find Admiral Moro, we need to set up defenses in case the portal reopens,” Pria saw the panicked runner coming from the docks.

  “Lady Pria! Lady Pria!” he shouted.

  “What is it?” she asked, seeing the despair in his face.

  “Admiral Moro madam… he’s dead, he was crushed by a fallen boom when the portal exploded,” gasped the runner.

  Pria’s eyes lost focus. The commanding confidence in her voice dissolved, “What have I done?” She sat down. Guilt overwhelmed her. She had killed her greatest mentor.