Lord's Fall (Elder Races #5)(46)

The Power came from one of the Deus Machinae. Someone was wielding one of the God Machines.

The damned fools were doing it again.

Pia.

He flung himself forward, hurtling through the sullen, deadly night.

• • •

“Are you saying we can’t break through the fire?” Eva demanded as she stared at Miguel.

“That’s what it looks like,” he said. “Leaving the building shouldn’t be an issue. All the exits are useable. The problem is leaving the area. That blaze is going like gangbusters and it doesn’t seem to matter that the forest is damp. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it’s been burning a while, couple days at least. That blaze looks mature.”

“So we hit the river below the falls,” Eva said. “And swim past the line of fire.”

“Not a good option,” Miguel said. “Some f**kers on the other side of the river are shooting at the swimmers, and we don’t have time to send someone to take them out.”

Linwe sobbed softly and covered her face with both hands, and James started swearing, a low vicious litany.

Pia said, “That leaves only one way to go, unless it’s blocked off too. The crossover passageway.”

She knew just exactly how Dragos would spell ballistic. It began with a capital I’m going to kill somebody so f**king dead for this, and well, after that point, it didn’t matter if you spelled the rest of the word right.

Eva snapped out several swear words as she drew her sword. “This smells like a setup, but it doesn’t sound like we have any choice and the fire can’t last forever. We make for the passageway, and we keep Pia surrounded. Johnny, take point, and James and Andrea, take either side. Miguel and I will bring up the rear.”

Pia took Linwe by the arm. The Elf looked at her blankly. She had gone into shock. Pia told her firmly, “You’re coming with us.”

“I should do something to help,” Linwe said.

“Right now, staying alive is what helps,” Pia told her.

“Enough,” Eva snapped. “Move, everybody. And don’t engage with anyone if you don’t have to.”

The smell of smoke grew more intense as soon as Johnny opened the door. They slipped out of the apartment and worked their way through the building. Pia kept her grip on Linwe’s arm, carrying her crossbow one handed.

Elves ran down the halls, shouting to each other. James pressed against Pia’s shoulder, forcing her and Linwe against the wall, but nobody paid any attention to their group. They worked their way down a flight of stairs and the sound of fighting grew louder. When they pushed outside, it was like stepping into a scene from hell.

Towering golden red flames crackled and roared in the Wood, throwing great swirling spires of glowing sparks into the sky, and acrid smoke blanketed the scene in swathes of hazy white that blurred details and gave the scene a nightmarish quality. Heat throbbed against Pia’s skin. The fire would reach the building soon.

She could see a patch of the river, which looked blacker than ever, its surface covered with dancing red light. The heads of a couple of swimmers speared the surface until crossbow bolts took them. More Elves ran past them, and clusters of people dotted the clearing, fighting savagely.

Just as Linwe and Johnny said, they were fighting each other. Pia couldn’t make sense of it, and she saw the same incomprehension on the faces of the others.

With a sharp gesture, Johnny led them to the path that would take them to the crossover passageway. Pia’s grip on Linwe’s arm slipped away as they jogged, but she saw that the Elf had come out of her shock somewhat and stayed with the group.

The path twisted and suddenly they came upon a large group of Elves engaged in an intense battle. A clash of Power swirled dizzyingly in her mind like fierce lights and glistening black. Pia glimpsed Calondir in the thickest part of the fight, wielding a bright silver sword, his expression stern and deadly. Blood streamed down one side of his face.

Johnny spun and pushed at her. “Turn around,” he said. “Go!”

“There’s nowhere else to go,” Pia told him, even as Eva and Miguel pressed up behind her, urging her forward.

The fire advanced behind them all, driving them to the clearing. The forest on either side of the path was dense with shadow and hellish light, and for a moment the group was all in a tangle. Somebody struck her ribs with an elbow, knocking her crossbow out of her hand. She had no idea where Linwe had gone.

Because Johnny was facing her, Pia saw the battle spill toward them before he could. She called out a sharp warning, and Johnny pivoted, and then he engaged in a sudden sharp flurry of movement. James lunged forward too, and the world turned into a grunting, churning mess of a melee that she couldn’t track . . . goddammit, she was no good at any of this war shit. . . .

Eva grabbed her from behind and bodily yanked her back from the fighting. Beside them, Miguel flung out a hand, fingers splayed, and he said, “Lux.”

Power flew out with the word, and the area filled with brilliant light. For a few moments everything was clearly illuminated. They were much closer to the passageway than Pia had thought. Not only did she see Calondir, but she saw Ferion too. And Beluviel stood in the group that faced them, her eyes great hollows of darkness in her perfect face, her hair bound back and a sword in one hand.

Wait. Was Beluviel fighting with Calondir and Ferion, or against them?