The Veil (68 page)

Something hit overhead and there was a shuddering explosion as one of the jets was plucked from the sky. It banked wildly and then came down at a sharp angle, smashing into the ground and going up in a ball of fire that tore outwards towards us. Everyone parted, galloping around the smouldering remains of the airship. As we passed by the devastation, I saw the charred bodies of the Umbra soldiers scattered among the wreckage.

I raised my hand and closed a fist, signaling everyone to rejoin formation. We kept riding around at the curving angle, trying to put ourselves behind the advancing Umbra forces. The war machines were so big up close it felt like we were mice scurrying beneath the feet of gods.
We can do this, we can do this,
I repeated over and over as we pushed ever closer to the battle. It was only when we had drawn well within deadly range of the fight that I saw that I had made a dreadful mistake.

“No!” I cried.

Appearing on the horizon from the northeast were reserve Umbra forces. 

They were smaller units, armoured vehicles and tanks that moved with incredible agility, growing ever bigger by the second as they neared. I stared around at the others who were faithfully following behind me.
What have I done? We’ll never make it past without them spotting us!

I snatched up the Biomote and scanned the screen, searching for something,
anything
that we could use as salvation. My trembling fingers frantically tapped on the screen, zooming in and checking the surrounding landscape. And there, sitting right among the line of cliffs on the display – not two miles ahead of us – was the only chance we had to survive.

The Citadel of Blackened Bones.

I signalled for the others to follow me as I altered my direction, heading straight north. The shuddering explosions of the fierce battle thundered around us, making the vibrations run from the ground all the way up to my fists as they clenched at Picera’s reins. A hundred yards away one of the spider tanks staggered backwards, its metal surface smoking from a number of devastating attacks to its hull. It stepped right into our path and we had no choice but to go underneath it. My stomach clenched in fear as its multiple legs stamped down hard enough to send cracks sweeping along the compacted ground as it struggled to stay upright. The tremors shook me to my bones, and when I glanced over my shoulder, I saw with shock that one of the Vengeful’s horses had toppled over. The boy fell from his mount and rolled hard along the dirt. A looming shadow appeared over him as I saw one of the tank’s gargantuan feet stamped down towards him.

Oh god!

Mikey jerked Leyina to the left and leaned right over, snatching the boy’s outstretched hand and heaving him onto the Unicorn’s back. My heart was in my mouth when the base of the huge leg smashed down, missing the pair by a few yards.

The horse wasn’t so lucky.

I swivelled my head back around and weaved Picera underneath the giant tank. Its underbelly was a mess of exposed circuitry and wires, which released plumes of acrid black smoke. I kept dodging the stamping legs – which mercifully were slow enough for us to judge where they were going to land. As we neared the end of the massive war machine, I could hear a deafening siren blaring from within and the huge vessel started to wobble on its legs. One of them gave out and the tank staggered as if it were drunk.

It’s going to fall!

I turned around and screamed a warning as loud as I could, but my voice was swallowed by the tumult. My expression must have been clear enough because everyone cracked their reins hard and we tore out the other side of the tank, just as it teetered and collapsed like a dying creature. A grey wall of dust surged behind us, carrying so much power it scattered us like leaves on a breeze. I flipped right over Picera and landed on my back, skidding along the dirt for a dozen yards. The Unicorn tumbled towards me, and I moved my head a second before she slammed down right where it had been. There was a loud crack and the Unicorn gave a pained scream.

The dust plumed around me, stealing my vision. I clambered to my feet and ran in the direction that Picera had fallen. When I found the Unicorn she was lying on her side, her body rising and falling rapidly. As the dust cleared, I saw the full extent of her injuries and a stifled sob escaped my throat. 

Her horn was broken.

It had snapped in two pieces and was already starting to turn from a brilliant white to a dull grey. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered, placing a hand on her neck. She gave another scream and her eyes rolled wildly around. 

“Scarlett, we have to go!” shouted Sophia above the noise. I glanced around and saw that the others had all found and climbed back onto their mounts.

“I-I can’t just leave her like this!”

“You have to!” yelled Mikey. He pointed to the Umbra vehicles, which were fast approaching on the horizon. “If we stay here, we’re all dead!”

“I can’t leave her like this. I won’t!”
I raised a hand up to the sky and shouted as loudly as I could, signaling my soaring Gargoyle. “Carry her to the citadel!” I turned to Mikey. “Get your Protector to help!”

A second later both of the stone creatures swooped down and gently scooped up the wounded Picera into their claws, carrying her towards the citadel in the distance. I picked up the broken horn and fixed it to my belt. Sophia rode over and held out a hand; I grabbed it and she heaved me onto Freyala’s back.

“Go!” I shouted.

Sophia cracked the reins and moments later we were once again riding across the flatlands. The battle raged on, giant Ion beams that missed their targets screaming past and tearing chunks out of the cliffs we were heading towards. Behind us, countless numbers of the hulking tanks and landships exploded in torrents of fire, shuddering to the ground. The evacuating soldiers that parachuted from the doomed machines were reduced to particles by the deluge of gunfire, or crushed beneath a thousand of tons of metal when they landed.

The Citadel of Blackened bones grew larger – a looming mass of dark spires that stretched up towards the sky like a cluster of colossal stalagmites. All the while the reserve forces grew closer, their giant wheels creating a veil of dust around them. It was an entire convoy – easily three hundred vehicles – each with the firepower to rip us to pieces in seconds if they noticed us. Nervous sweat poured from my brow, making my red hair cling to my face in thick strands as I clutched onto Sophia’s waist and silently willed us to move faster.

After what felt like an eternity we reached the citadel. The foreboding structure loomed above us like a solidified shadow, towering over a thousand feet into the dark sky. Arching windows and gigantic crackling torches encased the building, and a set of sweeping black steps led up to massive iron doors.

We all ground to a halt and I jumped from Freyala’s back, sprinting up the stairs and signaling for everyone to follow. The team jumped from their Unicorns and horses and grabbed their reins, pulling them up the steps as fast as they could. The Protectors hovered just above us, carrying the whinnying Picera in their huge claws. I glanced to the east and saw that the new arrivals were less than a thousand feet away.

If the doors are barred then its over.

I had no idea what was on the other side of the citadel as I rushed up the stairs and I didn’t care. All I knew was that I had to get everyone away from the devastating battle as soon as possible. Even if the Umbra didn’t kill us outright, there was no way they would just let us go, and that would mean the end of our mission.
I can’t allow us to fail. I made a promise. I owe it to Gabriella. I owe it to everyone.
I slammed my shoulder into the doors, pushing with all of my strength.

They didn’t budge.

“Help me!” I shouted. The others sprinted up the stairs, and soon five Guardians, sixteen Vengeful, and one Lightwarden were heaving against the doors, straining with every single muscle. There was a loud groan and then the barriers gave way, releasing a rush of dusty air as the doors opened. I glanced over my shoulder. The vehicles were less than five hundred feet away.
All it takes is for one of them to look up at the citadel entrance and we’re done.

“Inside!” I commanded.

We ran backwards, snatching Unicorn and horse reins and tugging the frightened animals across the threshold. Mikey and I signalled the Protectors and they flew through the opening. As soon as everyone had made it inside, we turned and pushed against the doors, closing them with a loud
thud.
A large iron bar was set to one side. Lightwarden Udan, Aran and I grabbed it, slotting it across the entrance and barring it shut. I let out a gasp and slid down the door. Sweat streamed down my face as I stared down at the floor. We all stayed silent, waiting for the inevitable pounding on the door, the signal that we had been discovered.

It didn’t come.

“They’re going past us towards the battle,” breathed Sophia. She was peering through a narrow window that stood at the side of the doors. She turned and gave a smile. “They didn’t see us.”

There were a series of relieved sighs and then I gave a humourless laugh as the insanity of what we had just survived hit me. Outside, I could hear the overwhelming example of the Ageless War continuing to rage on. The sound of exploding shells were muffled through the thick walls of the citadel, but with each nearby blast the building shuddered and creaked, sending down showers of dust from above.

No one said or did anything for a while – it was clear that everyone just wanted to take a moment to appreciate the fact that against immeasurable odds, we were still alive. Then I remembered Picera and stood up, looking properly at the place we had found ourselves for the first time.

The interior of the citadel was cathedral-like. It was also beyond sinister. Dark vaulting covered the tall ceiling above our heads and was filled with hanging spikes that resembled giant hornet stingers. Deep troughs lined the outer aisles of the vast nave, filled with a bed of crackling flames. Flickering torches – fixed to the walls by dark, protruding candelabra – provided the rest of the building’s light.

Supernatural flame, or is someone home?
I thought, stepping forward.

It was only when I moved closer that I discovered that the torch holders were actually severed skeletal arms, the scorched bones ending in fists that clutched around the bases of the torches. At that moment a horrified, dawning realisation poured over me as it became apparent that
everything
was coated in the bones of the dead, just like Aegis Caria had forewarned. A shudder ran through me as the ghastly sight reminded me of Sinner’s Vault, the now defunct prison where I had spent two awful days during early Vampire life.

This place is sickening.

The Protectors had placed Picera down in a domed apse-like area at the end of the long nave. The surface of the large domed ceiling depicted the Six Dragons, led by the Dragon God who bathed the screaming masses below in its fiery breath.

“Everyone break apart into smaller teams and search this place,” I commanded. “Make sure that we’re alone. If you do see or hear anything, shout as loudly as you can and we’ll all converge on your position. Vengeful, that includes you.”

There were sounds of agreement and then everyone peeled off in groups, heading through various archways that led to different areas of the foreboding structure. I paced down the centre aisle between spiked pews that were coated in old blood. I reached Picera and the emotions washed over me again. She was in a bad way. Foam frothed around her mouth and her eyes had turned from aquamarine blue to a bloody red.

Pulling the broken horn out of my pocket, I crouched down and tried to press it against the broken stump, hoping – even though I knew it was pointless – that it would somehow reattach itself.

“A Unicorn cannot survive a broken horn,” said a voice next to me. I turned and saw that Aran had appeared next to me.

“I know…I just feel so guilty,” I confessed. “I made us travel in this direction. We should have waited for the battle to be over.”

“In the opinion of Aran the battle taking place outside of the Citadel of Blackened Bones will not conclude for many hours. Huntmaster Scarlett Reid made a decision that whilst creating risks, benefited the overall mission. Leaders are created to make the difficult decisions that others cannot. Aran believes that the choice of action chosen was the correct one.” For a moment it looked as though Aran was going to place a hand on my shoulder, but then she redirected, placing it on Picera’s neck instead.

“This animal is suffering. As there is no chance of recovery, a swift death would be the prudent option.”

Tears stung at the corners of my eyes. “I know.”

“Aran can perform the action if Huntmaster Scarlett Reid would prefer not to.”

I shook my head and pulled a gun from my belt, loading a diamond bullet into the chamber. “No, this was my fault. I’ll do it.”

Aran nodded and then stepped back. I stroked the pained Unicorn’s neck and head with my free hand, feeling the soft-as-gossamer hair against my fingers. I heard the sound of hooves behind me and saw that the other Unicorns had walked up the aisle and were standing in a cluster, watching. I froze for a moment, expecting an attack, but their eyes stayed turquoise and calm.

They understood.