‘Sorry about the weight,’ Corthie said to the gelding. ‘It won’t be for long.’
He jabbed the horse’s flanks with his heels, and the gelding took off, cantering along the street. Corthie guided it between the piles of debris, away from the coast. They reached a wide, level road, and Corthie urged the gelding into putting on some speed. It burst away, racing over the cracked and sodden paving slabs. Ahead, a crowd of survivors was gathering, and Corthie veered away from them, taking the gelding down a succession of side streets. Some were blocked with fallen buildings, but they had gone more than a mile before he heard the rumble from the next wave begin.
‘One more effort,’ Corthie whispered to the gelding; ‘you can do it.’
The gelding was tiring, but it must have sensed the approaching wave, because it managed to pick up its speed again, it hooves clattering off the surface of the road. It settled into a gallop, tearing along the length of a street as the roar grew to a crescendo behind them. They reached a thick line of debris blocking their way, and the gelding slowed as Corthie looked for a way through.
‘That line,’ said Van; ‘that’s as far as the last wave got.’
They dismounted, and picked their way through the mountain of debris, Corthie leading the gelding by the reins. On the far side was an old earthen embankment that had supported a carriageway, and they climbed it. A quarter of a mile to the east was the edge of the city, and beyond stretched the fields of Tordue. They gazed in that direction for a moment, then turned. From their vantage point, they saw the third wave strike. It was lower than the first two had been, and by the time it got close to where they stood, the water barely reached its previous furthest point. A small crowd gathered on the embankment next to them, and everyone watched in silence as the wave rolled up to them, then receded again.
‘Thank you,’ said Van. ‘I thought we were finished back there.’
‘We’re far from finished,’ said Corthie, stroking the gelding’s flank.
Van glanced at the beast. ‘Kelsey told me that your people were horse-lovers.’
‘It’s been a while,’ said Corthie, ‘but you never forget.’
‘What now?’
Corthie turned to him. ‘Now, we go to Old Alea. It’s time to make those bastards pay.’
Chapter 24
Pig Iron
F alls of Iron, Western Khatanax – 3rd Kolinch 5252
The sun was low in the western sky when Sable told Sanguino to begin his descent. It had taken far longer to fly from the Catacombs to the Falls of Iron than she had expected, and she imagined that Blackrose would have a few words to say about that. Sanguino circled over the ruined town, its buildings flattened by the Ascendants almost four months previously. Remnants of the castle still clung to the cliffside, and Sable told Sanguino to land by the forecourt, which was mostly clear of debris. The dark red dragon brought his wings in and extended his limbs as he landed.
‘There’s plentiful water by the river,’ said Sable, as she climbed down to the ground. ‘It’s very close, so you should be able to fly there on your own.’
‘Then I shall drink, my rider,’ he said, and took off again.
The other dragons were beginning their descents, and Blackrose was the next to land.
‘You told me that the journey would take three hours,’ she said to Sable, her eyes burning. ‘That felt more like six.’
‘Yes. Sorry about that. I might have misjudged the distance. Anyway, we’re here now. Sanguino’s gone to get some water from the river.’
‘I shall do the same.’
Maddie and Millen clambered down the leather straps from the harness and landed next to Sable, then Blackrose ascended back into the sky. Rather than land in the forecourt, the other three dragons followed her to where the waterfalls cascaded down the steep cliff.
‘Six hours on that damn harness,’ said Maddie, as she walked with a limp. ‘My bum is killing me.’
‘That wasn’t the fault of the harness,’ said Millen.
‘I’m not blaming you; I’m blaming Sable.’ She glanced around. ‘The Falls of Iron? I didn’t think I’d be seeing this place again.’
‘It’s a dump,’ said Millen.
‘It used to be quite beautiful,’ said Maddie; ‘all these cute little white houses. It’s a shame what happened to it. Can you believe the Ascendants destroyed an entire town?’
‘They poisoned the farmland too,’ said Sable. ‘Nothing will grow here for centuries. It’ll be swallowed up by the Shinstran Desert in a while.’
‘So, this is where the ton of gold has been stashed, eh? Why the Falls of Iron? Were you ever here?’
‘This is the first place that Karalyn, Belinda and I travelled to after leaving Gadena’s camp. I was only here for a month or so, long enough to see Belinda set off to the salve world, and then Karalyn sent me to Alea Tanton to find a Quadrant. What I remembered most about it were all the caverns burrowed deep into the cliffside. Even back then I thought they’d make a good hiding place.’
Ashfall swooped down and hovered over them. ‘Humans,’ she said, ‘Broadwing has told us that he thinks something is wrong on the coast, so I am going to investigate.’
‘What could be wrong with the coast?’ said Millen.
‘He doesn’t know, but says he could feel vibrations coming through the air from that direction. I will be back soon.’
She beat her wings and surged off to the west.
‘That was weird,’ said Maddie.
They all squinted into the direction of the setting sun, but the shore was too far away to be able to see anything. A large number of birds were in the air, but no people could be seen anywhere across the barren lands surrounding the town.
The other dragons returned from drinking at the river, and they all
