They stared at each other.
Sable put a hand on her hip. ‘So, I’ve finally found you at last, nephew? Better late than never, I suppose.’
Corthie grinned, then wrapped his wide arms around her and squeezed. ‘Auntie.’
Sable pushed him away with a laugh then glanced at Van. ‘I hope you’ve been looking after my sister’s boy, and not leading him astray.’
‘Not at all, Sable,’ said Van. ‘From what I’ve heard, it seems that you’re the bad influence.’
Sable squinted at him. ‘Have you been smoking keenweed? Have you got any?’
‘No.’
‘Are you sure? You look… unusually alert.’
‘I’ve had a dose of salve.’
‘Ah. I see. Well, I’m glad you’ve taken something; we have a lot of work to do.’
‘How did you get here?’ said Corthie.
‘Never mind that for now. I’m guessing our priority is to obtain a Quadrant, so we can escape from Lostwell?’
‘Aye; that, and to take down as many gods and Ascendants as possible. And, we need to help Belinda.’
‘If she wants to be helped.’
‘I’ve heard from lots of people that you two hate each other, but Belinda is like a sister to me.’
‘It pains me to hear that, nephew.’
‘I guessed it might. My plan was to attack the gatehouse from the rear, and open the gates. There are hundreds of armed Blueflies and… whatever the others are called.’
‘Bloodflies and Blue Thumbs,’ said Van.
‘Aye, them. There are hundreds waiting at the base of the ramp. If we can open the gates, they’ll flood into Old Alea, and we might have a chance of getting inside the Governor’s residence. That’s where Belinda is, and the gods’ Quadrants will be there too.’
‘And the Sextant,’ said Sable. ‘If we can take that with us, we can stop the Ascendants finding our world. I like your plan, Corthie; I’m sure your mother would be very proud of you.’
‘Come on,’ said Van, shaking his head. ‘How are three of us going to storm the gates? Even from the inside, they’ll be heavily defended.’
‘Sable has battle-vision,’ said Corthie.
‘Even so. We haven’t a chance. Maybe we should just try to sneak into the residence. Sable and I both know the layout well.’
‘You’re right,’ said Sable, ‘except for one thing – there are four of us, not three.’
Corthie frowned. ‘Do you mean Belinda?’
‘No, not Belinda.’
Sanguino, descend to me. Land by the banks of the reservoir.
‘Who else is here?’ said Van. ‘Have you brought another all-powerful Holdfast?’
‘Not quite. He’ll be with us in a moment.’
The two men glanced at each other, then their eyes widened in alarm as a huge shadow appeared overhead. Sanguino landed a few yards away, tucked his wings in, then extended his neck towards them.
‘You called, my rider?’
Corthie staggered back. ‘You have a dragon?’
‘I’m his rider; I don’t “have” him, or, at least, we have each other. His name is… Sanguino. What do you think of our odds now, Van?’
‘I would say,’ mumbled the mercenary, as he stared up at the dragon, ‘that they have improved considerably, ma’am.’
She laughed. ‘Don’t call me “ma’am.” Well, not unless you want to. We’ll follow Corthie’s plan. Sanguino and I will deal with the gatehouse, while you two make your way to the Governor’s residence. Don’t try to get in until the gates of Old Alea are open, and then we’ll join you. We’ll stay outside, causing a commotion, and you get a Quadrant, and Belinda too, I suppose; but please, I implore you, be wary of her. Once we’re all out, Sanguino can hit the western tower of the residence, where the Sextant will be, and destroy it, if we can’t take it with us.’
‘That all sounds fine,’ said Corthie, ‘except for one point. Blackrose tried to burn the Sextant in Fordamere, and it was completely undamaged. I don’t think it can be destroyed.’
‘Damn it,’ Sable muttered. ‘Alright, that part of the plan we may have to improvise. If I need to talk to you, I’ll land and speak to Van.’
‘Can’t you talk to us from the air?’
‘No. I need my powers to fly.’ She turned towards the harness. ‘Good luck, boys. See you at the residence.’
Sanguino ascended back into the night sky.
‘Keep to the walls by the south side,’ she said. ‘There are fewer soldiers guarding that stretch.’
‘I shall, my rider. Why did you tell your nephew that you needed powers to fly? The opposite is true; I need you.’
‘What is it with dragons and their obsession with lies?’ she said. ‘What I said was technically true; if it weren’t for my powers, then I wouldn’t be able to fly on your back, so I wasn’t actually lying.’
‘You were defending me; you didn’t want them to pity or mock me.’
‘My truth is open to interpretation.’
‘Your entire relationship with the truth troubles me at times.’
‘Just concentrate on the job at hand. If we survive, we’ll have plenty of time to philosophise about the nature of truth.’
Sanguino banked to the left, following the wall as it turned north. The battlements over-looking the ramp were packed with soldiers. Most were gazing down at the city, but several caught sight of the approaching dragon. Some were trying to reposition their ballistae to meet the new threat, but the machines seemed to be fixed to aim down towards the ramp.
‘They are at our mercy,’ said Sable; ‘show them none.’
‘Yes, my rider.’
Sanguino unleashed a long burst of flames as they soared over the line of battlements. Soldiers fell screaming, engulfed in the river of fire as it consumed the walkway atop the walls. The large gatehouse was halfway along the stretch of battlements. It had a roof platform filled with ballistae, and Sanguino rose up and delivered another volley of fire, incinerating everything. He hovered for a moment, turning his attention to the courtyard directly behind the gates. Some soldiers were fleeing, but others were trying to organise a response, and several crossbow bolts were loosed at the dragon. Sanguino
