She tried to smile. ‘Yes, but even if I had known, I would still have left the Falls of Iron. My sister’s son needs our help.’
‘Then let us find him.’
She turned from the red glow on the horizon and climbed up onto the harness, buckling the strap round her waist. Sanguino extended his great wings and rose into the night sky. He circled once, then surged to the north. He angled to the left and descended a little, soaring above a tall stone aqueduct that crossed the plain. Sections of it had collapsed, and fresh mountain water was pouring from the broken stonework. The miles rushed below them as Sanguino flew at his top speed, and Sable had to narrow her streaming eyes to see anything amid the wind that struck her face. She pushed her vision out, relying upon it rather than her physical sight, and scanned the tormented and broken countryside ahead of them. She found a battery of anti-dragon defences, but it had been abandoned, and the nearby barracks block was on fire, its roof collapsed. Slaves were roaming the fields, after having freed themselves in the chaos. They were trailing south and south-east away from the city that had kept them in chains for so long. To them, the waves and earthquakes had been a blessing, an act of god that had set them free. Corpses also littered the fields – those of slave masters and guards, cut down by their former chattel. Farms had been gutted, and every large barn was in flames, or had fallen to the ground in a heap of debris.
‘For years,’ said Sanguino, ‘I have wished to see Tordue suffer, but now that it has happened, I feel nothing but pity in my heart. I looked down, and glimpsed the hope and joy upon the face of a slave child, a child who will be dead before the sun sets tomorrow. The Ascendants must have known the pain their actions would bring, and yet they did it anyway.’
The city appeared in the distance, marked by the high cliffs of Old Alea. The promontory looked at peace, while flames were rising from the slums at its feet. Sable pushed her vision round the flanks of the cliffs, and saw the ramp. On the battlements above the gates, hundreds of soldiers stood ready next to their large ballistae, each pointing down at the approaches to Old Alea, while at the bottom of the slope, over a thousand armed civilians had gathered behind the shadows of a low wall, the place where Sable had seen Corthie and Van. An earthquake rumbled through the city as she watched, and more buildings crashed to the ground. The tremors were so violent that they reached the cliffs of Old Alea, and with a crack that split the sky, the face of one of the carved gods detached itself from the rockface and tumbled down. It struck the gardens below, exploding into a thousand fragments of sandstone amid a cloud of dust that spiralled up into the night sky.
Sable guided Sanguino along the route of the aqueduct, keeping low, and she turned her attention to the narrow path that snaked up to where the stone water-bearing channel cut through the wall at the top of the cliffs. Close to the summit were two men.
‘I see them,’ said Sanguino. ‘I assume the taller of the two is your nephew?’
‘Yes,’ said Sable, ‘and the other is Van, a former mercenary, whose loyalties now lie with all those opposed to the Ascendants. We shall draw attention away from their position, and cause some trouble elsewhere in Old Alea. The more soldiers we can pull away from the gatehouse and the Governor’s residence the better.’ She used her vision to look over the huge mansions dotting the high plateau. ‘Lady Felice’s old palace; that will do.’
She drew her vision in as the promontory rushed towards them. Sanguino banked to the left, following the line of cliffs away from the aqueduct, then soared up and over the walls. Soldiers were patrolling the streets, ensuring the large civilian population remained in their homes, and the dark red dragon was spotted within seconds.
Sanguino surged over the narrow terraced houses and wide, open estates until they reached the sprawling palace where Felice had her home.
‘Burn it, my love,’ said Sable; ‘burn it to the ground.’
‘With pleasure, my rider.’
Sanguino soared across the meadows and parkland of the estate, then opened his jaws. Sparks flew, followed by a great burst of dark flames, red, tinged with blue, and the central wing of the mansion exploded as it was enveloped in fire. Soldiers screamed as they fled the inferno, and Sanguino hovered for a moment, moving his head in a shallow arc as the flames spewed out of his jaws. A tall tower ignited, its stones glowing red, then it toppled into the western wing of the palace, driving through the tiled roof into the interior below with a crash that rang through Sable’s ears.
A few crossbow bolts whistled by them, and Sanguino lowered his gaze to the soldiers in the gardens beneath them. He opened his jaws again, consuming a dozen in a flash of orange flame.
‘That should do it,’ said Sable; ‘we have their attention. Ascend out of range.’
Sanguino beat his great wings and soared upwards, and Sable glanced down at the promontory. Soldiers were rushing towards the location of Felice’s mansion, along with companies of fire fighters and their water wagons.
‘Alright, back to the aqueduct.’
Sanguino banked and headed to where they had last seen the two men. A large, walled reservoir stood close to where the aqueduct pierced the walls, and Sanguino alighted onto the roof of a low building next to it. Sable unbuckled the waist strap and dropped down to the roof.
‘Fly straight up; I’ll contact you once I’ve spoken to Corthie.’
Sanguino tilted his head, then soared back up into the sky. Sable watched him for a few seconds, then climbed down from the
