“Yes, but you nearly scared me to death, standing out there all alone and fighting those things by yourself. Max, you could’ve been killed,” she said.
“I didn’t realize that everyone had retreated,” he said, looking at the crystal in his hand. It’s light glowed dim and he cursed, “I’ve almost tapped this one out there. That would’ve been bad timing to run out of magic on the battlefield.”
“You got lucky,” Britt said as he replaced the dimming crystal with a fresh one from his pouch. “How did you do that out there?” she asked, wondering how he could cut through so many giant hounds.
Without explaining herself further, Max understood what she was asking. “I don’t really know what I was doing or how I was able to do it, but when I press the crystal up against the blade, it can cut through them like they are made of air.”
Relaxing her shoulders, she said, “Your form still needs work.”
“I’m getting better. Didn’t you see me cut that one’s head off?”
“I saw you nearly fall over because your footing was bad.”
“Really? I thought I was doing a pretty good job.”
Britt shook her head, “You were, much better than most.” That got a smile out of him and she continued, “Let’s get back up there. With a sword like that, you could create a wall of dead fairnheir that could provide a barrier the others would have to climb.” She started to weave her way through the streets crowded with elves. They were seven rows back from the barrier the elves had created by standing eight across shoulder-to-shoulder, working to keep the fairnheir out.
“Wait,” Max said, grabbing her by the wrist.
Britt turned expecting he would want to kiss her or something.
Max pointed to the rooftop above them. “Just like Brookside,” he said and pretended to throw something.
“These homes are made of dried mud. There aren’t bricks lying around. And I don’t think there are innocent bystanders for you to hit with them,” she joked.
Max snorted, suppressing a grin. “That was pretty good,” he said and began searching for something.
“What are you looking for,” she asked, but he’d already moved back to a dead beast in the street. She followed him back to the beast where he gathered a bow and arrows from a dead elf. Together they pulled arrows from the dead beast’s chest.
“These will be better than bricks,” Max said.
Britt nodded and also gathered as many arrows as she could find. With three quivers full and nearly a hundred or more arrows between the two of them, Britt and Max made their way to the building at the front. Its dried mud walls were cracked. Thick bulges that hadn’t been rubbed smooth provided enough to grip so they could climb to the roof, or so they thought.
Max attempted the climb first but fell. Britt watched him try three more times before she said, “Climb onto my shoulders?” She bent over and Max awkwardly crawled up onto her shoulders. Britt teetered and swayed as she stood straight. Max tried to stand as well. She could see that he was using the wall to balance. Britt grabbed his calves to try to steady his balance.
Max stretched up toward the roof. “Just a little higher and I can reach a good spot.”
Britt straightened as best she could, trying to push up onto her tiptoes. Each time she tried, he failed to grab the hold he was reaching for. Suddenly she felt a tap on her arm and heard someone say, “I can help you get up there.”
“Good idea,” Max said, and Britt crouched so Max could climb off.
Britt saw a tall, dark-skinned elf move into position and motion for Max to climb on. She watched Max use the wall to balance while the elf stood. With both of them stretched as tall as possible, Max was just able to grab hold of the window ledge he was reaching for. Getting a solid grip on it, he pulled himself up, placing his knees where his hands were and finally moving onto the flat-topped adobe roof.
Max leaned back over the edge and dropped his arm down. “Come on, Britt, you’re next.”
Britt crawled onto the elf’s back and used the wall as Max had to balance on his shoulders. Walking her hands up the wall, she steadied herself while he stood. She had to step onto the elf’s helmet to reach the window ledge. From there, she pulled, and Max helped her onto the rooftop.
Standing above the ground fighting, she could see the entire scope of the battle. The elves and Rollo Islanders had walled themselves off in the streets by stretching out in both directions. She could see where the dragons had toppled homes and piled debris. None of the fairnheir or other creatures had tried to flank them, but when Merglan’s main army arrived, she knew they would be able to find a work-around. If the rest of the humans and dwarfs hadn’t made it to Aquina by then, they would be choked off and surrounded. In the front of their fortified shield wall, the bodies of the dead had piled up. Britt instantly realized the potential for the hounds to climb the bodies, jump onto the roofs or over the shields, and into the streets.
The dragonriders still battled overhead and Merglan’s army still stood en masse across the field. To her surprise, Britt saw most of the demons and monsters that had initially attacked were now moving back toward the rest of their army. We couldn’t have scared them off? she thought, looking down the line of shields. She saw Natalia and Nadir on roofs at the other end of the ranks. Warrior archers were climbing up to join them.
Light flashed in the dim afternoon light to her left. She spotted Inama and Evans who had taken places on rooftops down the line as well. We can beat the fairnheir back, she thought, seeing the crystal bearers wreak significant damage among the tightly packed beasts below. Max shot arrows down into the beasts. Britt ran to his side thinking she’d tell him to use his crystal’s energy while they were grouped together so tightly but remembered that the fighting had only just begun, and he’d already used up one of his three crystals. The shields are holding and he’s saving his energy, she told herself.
She then took notice of Natalia and Nadir’s tactics and stepped to the edge of the roof. She leaned over, shouting for all archers to climb the buildings if they could. At first nobody looked up, but as she continued to shout down to them, more and more looked up to see her and Max. Soon the message had been spread to the rest of the elves in the streets and archers found ways to climb atop the buildings.
Britt could see the positive effect of this strategy. Soon they were pinning the fairnheir to the dirt. She looked past them and noticed dragons flying toward them. Until now, the dragons had been fighting the riders in the distance. She’d thought they’d been dealt with, but now could clearly see several dragons had broken away from the others and were headed right for them. “Max!” Britt shouted, getting his attention.
He stepped back to let an elf take his place. Britt pointed to the dragons flying lower over the plains to the north headed directly toward them. Max reacted instantly. He shouted over the fairnheir, trying to get Evans’ or Inama’s attention. The dragons would reach the north side of town first. Britt joined in his shouting.
To their surprise, Evans heard them. He looked at Britt and Max, who pointed dramatically to the north. Britt saw Evans glance in that direction and visibly jump when he saw the dark red and brown dragons flying at them. Now Britt saw that a dragonrider trailed them but was too far behind to be immediately helpful. The dragons were going to reach the elves before the rider could stop them.
Britt watched as Evans tried to get Inama’s attention. They only had a few moments to spare before acting in defense. “He needs help,” she said. Max looked at her and Britt said, “You have to help him.”
Max took the crystal and gripped it in his palm. He strung an arrow, holding the sapphire in his arrow hand.
He’s going to try to use the arrow like he did his sword, she realized. But he doesn’t know if that will work. What if he can only do that with the sword?
The dragons leveled off just outside the city. Evans’ crystal glowed as he prepared to use a powerful burst of magic. Max held the bow string against his cheek, taking aim at the steady flight of the dragons. Britt heard his bow snap and saw the blue hue of the arrow’s shaft streak across the sky with more speed than she thought possible. Any non-magically powered arrow would’ve fallen short, but Max’s enhanced bolt streaked toward the dragons. Britt saw the arrow burst into an electric shower of light as it smashed into the dragons’ energy shields. A moment later a bolt of magic shot from Evans’ arms, hitting the red dragon’s back and taking off its wings. The dragon fell from the sky onto the plains outside the city, but the brown dragon continued forward, locked onto its targets.
Britt held her breath as Max strung another arrow. She could see the dragon’s chest glowing as it readied to unleash hellfire on them. As the dragon’s mouth began to open, she heard the twang from Max’s bow. The arrow flew faster than the previous one, charged with energy from the crystal. It disappeared into the dragon’s mouth. The dragon’s head went limp and it pitched toward them. Britt thought she would have to jump, but the large body dropped quickly. The dragon collided with the building just down the line to the left, the building where Evans had been standing. Britt’s ears were filled with Max’s screams as a cloud of dust plumed in the dragon’s wake.
Max jumped off the roof, landing between the elves in the street who hadn’t seen the crash from behind the houses. Britt clambered down off the roof to follow him, shouting, “Max, wait! Max!” She trailed him to the base of the wreck were elves were scrambling to their feet.
The dragon’s crumpled and contorted dead body spread across the building and into both streets.
“Evans!” Max shouted, madly climbing through the rubble toward the dragon.
Britt scrambled after him, trying to calm him down. As she came upon the dragon where Max was frantically throwing aside blocks of thick, dried mud, Britt noticed the arrow sticking out of the back of the dragon’s neck, just below the skull.
