Spear of Destiny James Baldwin (free romance novels .TXT) 📖

in her Inventory and nodded. “This is a job for multiple Aetheric specialists.”

“You can’t fix it?” I asked.

“Not without cooking my brains like a boiled pudding, no.” The woman dropped her hands. She wore two magic channeling gauntlets. One was sleeker and more streamlined; the other heavier, with large banded reservoirs for mana. “What I can do is create a counter-storm. The counter-storm will temporarily abate the Weirding we see before us. But I will not be able to hold it for long.”

I narrowed my eyes, squinting at the horizon. “How long?”

She sighed. “Perhaps ten minutes. Fifteen, if I don’t run out of mana or sheer physical energy.”

“Then ten minutes is what we’ve got. All we really have to do is get her out of there.” I rolled my neck, glancing back to the armada. We had twelve ships: my pair of Bathory-class, the Lockhart and the Campbell; two new Destroyers, the Salamander and the Gae Bolg, plus Lord Soma’s personal fleet. Mounted underneath us on the keel of the Salamander was a huge brass contraption that resembled a cross between a church organ and a missile battery. Large thin-walled pipes flowed up and around a graceful feminine torso, the housing for the mana that fueled Archemi’s first [Symphonic Array]. Rin had shown me a recording of it effortlessly demolishing a derelict building. Now, we were going to see if it was capable of demolishing the world record holder for ‘Biggest Maggot’ on Archemi. Both the Gae Bolg and Soma’s flagship, the Aspern, had similar weapons equipped. All the ships were loaded with cannons and mortars, and as much ammunition as we could carry. The crews were lean, with no other troops on board. There was a good chance we would lose several ships.

“Eight hundred yards!” The ship’s watchstanders bellowed back to the rest of the crew. “Ease to hover!”

“It is time, my lord. Go to your dragon and prepare.” Szonja straightened, looking steadily out across the shimmering desert. “When you see the storm abate, move as fast as you can. I will give everything I have for king and country, but I am only one woman, and this is a powerful force we are seeing here.”

“Understood. And if you feel like you’re about to blow a gasket, stop immediately and we’ll call a retreat. I’m not about to lose one of the best mages in Myszno to an overgrown caterpillar.” I gave her a brisk nod, checked all my battle operation windows, and opened up the group chat with Suri, Rin and Gar. “Salamander to all stations, Szonja is about to work her magic. All ships ready to flank. We have to hit this bitch where it hurts and we have to get it on the first try. The Voidwyrm won’t give us a second chance.”

“Roger that, Aspern on standby,” Suri replied crisply. “Our Symphonic Array is all warmed up and ready to fire.”

“Copy that, Gae Bolg armed and in position, standing by.” Gar’s radio voice was as clear and calm as Suri’s.

“Yeah! We’re down here with the Symphonic Array, and it’s looking great! Aboard the Salamander, I mean. Copy?” Rin stammered, her voice bubbly and nervous all at once.

“We’re really gonna have to teach you how to do battlefield comms someday, Rin.” Suri’s tone warmed with gentle humor. “Good luck, Hector. Try not to kill yourself.”

“No guarantees,” I replied. “I’ll bring you back a souvenir if I end up buying a farm.”

Gar let out a harsh chuckle. “Hah! Go get ‘em, ace.”

The three of us were spread over the largest ships in the fleet—the ships leading the maneuvers that would partly encircle the sandworm and start firing on her once Karalti and I led her from the storm into the open battlefield. Assuming we weren’t eaten.

“Okay, Tidbit. We’re up.” I jogged back down the ship’s deck toward my dragon. “You ready?”

“Sure am.” Karalti unfolded from her dragonloaf position, getting to her feet. She linked her fingers and stretched her wings out, casting the entire stern into shadow before she beat them stiffly against her ribs. “A boss that’s a hundred and two levels higher than me? No sweat.”

“A hundred levels higher than you, but the same level as our armada if we all work together.” I bounded up to her back and swung myself down into a kneel between her shoulders. We were full up on potions. I had healing and stamina draughts brewed for Karalti as well, three 1-gallon jars of each stowed on her saddle. There was little question that we were not a high enough level for this boss fight, and if we got caught on our own against the sandworm, we were dead. I had vivid, unpleasant memories of watching its laser beam cut Karalti’s shadow copy in half. “I saw what the Symphonic Array did to that building in Litvy, though. Blew it fucking sky-high. We’ve got this.”

“Yeah! Team Karalti! Now with extra singing!” Karalti reared her head and roared, her voice blasting through the air like a clarion. It was a signal to the ships—and to Szonja, who rooted herself in her magic circle at the front of the ship, and began to cast her spell.

Karalti bellowed again as she launched from the stern, swooping into the hot desert air. She barrel-rolled under the Salamander, beating her wings only once she had the room to wheel and stretch out. I checked over my shoulder to make sure we were below the level of the ships—and out of the line of fire of the Symphonic Array. The way the pipes were arranged, they projected sound in a very narrow band. Unless you were in its line of fire, you heard nothing but a faint HMMMMM. If you were in its line of fire, well… you probably heard that, but louder, as the weapon turned you into a fine pink mist.

“Let’s run over