To Be Grand Maestro (Book 5) (61 page)

Joel pulled back on the control grip and the manta shot up faster than anything he could liken it to, breaching the surface on the instant, and by the time he leveled off they were fully out of the water and way up into the dark and cloudy sky. Instead of dropping like a rock, as he expected, the fins were behaving like wings. Through the sheets of rain and thundering lightning, he manipulated the grip, managing to slow the descent and glide like an albatross back toward the surface. He dared not take the time to wipe the nervous perspiration saturating his brow.

Hosea evidently chose not to let the opportunity go to waste because the tail lashed around and a bright red stream of flame shot out, hitting the freighter broadside, and setting on fire everything from that point to the stern, all before Manta Two splashed back into the water. Joel was thrown forward by the impact and only the strap had kept him from being impaled on the control stick. Then a deep thump and a minor shock wave announced the explosion of the trinitrotoluene in the ballista bolts. He quickly levelled off and headed upward and back around, fully expecting his crewmates to chastise him for the uncontrolled ascent and rough splashdown.

“Nice shooting!” Sorel exclaimed. “Now, it’s my turn,” he added and sent a wall of water at the freighter Joel had designated to be number seven.

“I was expecting a hard drop, not a gentle glide back down toward the channel. Since our pilot kept us aloft so long, I figured, why wait till we splashed down, so I took the shot,” Hosea replied. “The return to the water was a little violent but worth the opportunity to take out that freighter.”

The captain turned his ship into the wave rather than take it broadside and the vessel rose up and took a soaking as it crested the wave, but survived. “Sorel, you started the spell too far back,” Joel commented on the execution, and then maneuvered the manta underneath the vessel.

Sorel sent two beams of light into the hull. Wood splintered apart and the waters of the Channel did the rest. “Does that satisfy you?”

“It certainly does,” Joel replied, “But the job is not over.”

“True, we got eight more to go,” Sorel said with a grin and plenty of enthusiasm.

Hosea let the tail crescendo to the talking for him. He sent a beam of energy shaped like a corkscrew whirling at freighter nine, boring a hole through its hull, and then whipped the tail around and sent a barracuda-shaped spell that raced through the water and tore the rudder off freighter ten, and a second one that went right through the bow below the waterline. Both ships slowly sank while the storm raged above.

Joel brought Manta Two closer to the port side of the next freighter, angled up forty degrees, and then Sorel cast his spell, sending a huge volume of water up, and the giant wave flipped the ship to starboard, with its masts and sails crashing into the deep. It now floated bottom up.

Hosea sent a beam of light from the tail that gradually broadened until flashing on the underside of a freighter sailing a thousand strides away and up forty-five degrees. The brief contact was enough to cause two thirds of the bottom to fracture and shortly thereafter break apart. He blasted apart two more freighters before that one completed its journey to the bottom.

Joel brought the manta ahead of the second to the last remaining freighter, which was fleeing north, and then waited beneath the waves for his prey to pass. Timing would be critical, and the forward crescendo operator would be criticized if he missed after Joel went to the trouble of setting up this shot for him. Just before the vessel reached the strike zone, Sorel sent a wave rising up out of the water and it came crashing down on the freighter amid ship. Masts snapped, sails collapsed, and the Demfilian deathtrap exploded in a black cloud of wood and various bits of unidentifiable matter.

“That is what happens when those teardrop-headed bolts are not properly secured,” Joel stated.

“Yep,” Sorel responded.

“It would seem so,” Hosea added his agreement. “Our last target is several thousand ship lengths away and clearly trying to put as much distance as possible between us and it.”

Joel shifted the grip down and to the right, banking the manta in a slow turn in the direction of their prey, and then sent just enough life force energy into the CAPU to swim the ray right under the ship. “Who wants to ..?”

The tail slashed right and left with a sustained beam, slicing a wavy line through the keel as if it was a long block of cheese, and thus breaking in pieces the backbone of the ship. Hosea actually did seem to prefer letting his crescendo do the talking.

“You Defense guys are greedy,” Sorel called to the rear. “You were assigned one ship to kill, not seven. Those were supposed to be mine.”

“I’ll not argue that point,” Hosea said, without apology or any sign of contrition. He did a good job and had a right to be satisfied with his work. “I can hardly wait to present the battle report of this encounter for assessment.”

“Why is that?” Joel inquired while angling the manta around in the direction of the Seaspout.

“Are you kidding?” Sorel asked. “You set a new record for speed and actually flew this sweet ride in the air.”

“It was only for a brief time,” Joel said, as the distance between Manta Two and the schooner shortened. He drank from his canteen, quenching his thirst after driving the CAPU so hard.

“Yes, but it was a controlled flight. Up till now the only people able to achieve that are on the other side of this war and they do so in skyships,” Hosea responded.

Joel had to admit the experience of actually gliding the manta in the air was thrilling, but the brief flight in the sky added no military value to the encounter. That ship could have been sunk from under the water and without exposing the manta. The rays were still the biggest and deadliest secret in the Atlantan Guild’s arsenal. “We will report what happened and leave it to the Conductors and our Maestro to decide if my misjudgment of speed resulted in a good move or I just got lucky because you are quick at focusing potential.”

“Joel, I just received word from the Seaspout,” Jerremy’s voice came into his head. “The strangest thing happened to them in the middle of a raging storm and while being surrounded by enemy vessels, a sea monster arose from the depths, breathed fire on one ship, stirred up massive waves, and utterly destroyed the freighters. It was apparently difficult to see through the pouring rain but Algernon, my friend, described the beast as a giant sea bat. Thanks for helping.”

“Hosea is happy we just added ten more ships to our tally,” Joel replied. “And I am pleased to have arrived on time. In fact, we set a record but that will be in the battle assessment and you can read all about it then. For now, know that we will shadow the Seaspout from beneath the waves, and see that the ship arrives in Brenten.”

“The Atlantan Guild’s only link with Serinia is through the Lobenian court and so we must do what we can to preserve that tenuous connection. I think they will be valuable allies once Daniel reaches the point where he can trust the man who wears the pyramid ring,” Jerremy sent, with a strong sense of self-confidence and surety. The man had a high opinion of his opinion and sometimes it was actually warranted.

Joel peered through the image above the observation window, preferring a clearer view of the schooner, while taking a few moments to think about the Grand Maestro. “You are probably correct about Serinia, but it will be a sun blighted day in mid-winter on the top of frozen Mount Filia before Daniel Benhannon will trust Efferin Tames.”

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Daniel stared at the image on the table in the conference room at Shantear. The city of Kay Toll, as seen through the eyes of one of Simon’s nocturnal scouts, seemed at peace this warm summer night. Queen Gloria ruled two kingdoms from the castle stronghold in the sprawling capitol, located on the north bank of the Kayen River with the Serinian Channel on the west.

“Is the Queen in residence?” Daniel asked, not that knowing one way or the other would stop him from going forward with the plan.

Sherree, Jeremiah, Samuel, and Simon stood to his left while Sero and Carlos were over by the door. Leah was currently fighting off another attack at the Northland holding and the war in Lobenia still raged even at midnight. The fighting in Aczencopa and Cenkataar was worse, even with Accomplisheds from Aakadon now actively engaged in combating the Serpents, finally. Daniel felt it was about time the city of the Aakacarns joined the struggle.

Van Joppa and his allies took all of the southern coastal cities away from Van Kestrel and were slowly advancing toward LyVak. Circles of one hundred, Grand Circles was the term Samuel reported them to called by the enemy, were teleporting randomly all over the world, flash raids that ravaged cities for a brief time and then disappeared. These were happening even in Ducaun. The ISIG’s growing network of scouts was getting better at reporting the raids, enough to engage the Aakacarns at least half of the time. Tarin Conn and his allies were winning in many areas and the tide of war seemed to be flowing with them. Daniel hoped to change that and soon. The Chosen Vessel was not guaranteed victory, only a chance at it, and the odds were not looking good at the moment.

“We believe she is in route to Trevica but have not as of yet determined her exact location,” Samuel answered the question.

“We could destroy the entire city,” Jeremiah stated, evenly, and without giving any sign whether or not he approved of the option. The Conductor merely voiced a fact.

Daniel pointed at the map. “Here at the port where the Kayen meets the Channel are three heavy cruisers; those are to be destroyed in the raid. There, on the north end of the city is the home of the Fon Kayan Royal Legion and it will also be a target. The castle walls need to come down, Royal Guardsmen will likely die, but I do not want the residence touched. The domestic staff are to be unharmed if we can manage it.”

“I will lead the team to take out the ships,” Samuel voiced his assigned task.

Jeremiah eyed the three dimensional map. “I will lead the raid on the Royal Legion.” He confirmed his role.

Sherree took hold of Daniel’s hand. “That leaves Daniel and me to take down the castle walls.”

“Along with me, Sero, and Carlos,” Simon spoke up as if making sure he was not being forgotten.

Daniel nodded affirmatively to his wife and smiled at his Chief Aid. “You know I was planning on you conveying us there and that those two go where I go no matter what.”

“Assemble your teams,” Sherree gave the order. “The raids will commence at half past the twenty-fourth mark.”

“It will be as you say, First Lady,” Jeremiah replied and then stepped out the door. The snap-crack of displace air announced his conveyance elsewhere.

Samuel gave a nod of respect toward Daniel and then replied. “It will be as you say, First Lady.”

He also stepped outside the door before casting Conveyance. Carlos and Sero came forward and Daniel cast, Find All, added a Da Capo, and then summoned and held the potential for Shatter. “You do know where to place each of us?”

Simon shook his head as if he did not believe such a question would be asked of him. “Yes, Maestro, I will place you outside the wall, not in it.”

“I meant, north, south, east, and west. Thanks for giving me a concern I did not have until now,” Daniel responded.

“Don’t mention it,” the Chief Aid replied and then the entire group was swallowed up in darkness.

Daniel arrived on the west side with his back towards the Channel, about a thousand paces away and behind some trees and hedges. He was facing twenty cubits of embankment upon which stood the wall, fifty cubits high. The massive limestone blocks were cut from a quarry and fitted perfectly atop one another. Through Find All he sensed men patrolling the broad walkway above and groups running to a central point on each wall, no doubt attracted by the sounds of displaced air. He also sensed Jeremiah and his team at the fortress housing the Royal Legion and Samuel with his team at the naval yard. Simon was within the castle towards the rear, a location not discussed in the meeting. Over a hundred thousand people lived in this city and most of them were asleep, which was also why Daniel never considered destroying the entire city. There were also millions of rats and other critters and flying things, some of which were linked to Simon, Samuel, and Jeremiah. The greatest risk to the success of the mission, and the resulting personal harm that could befall each member of the assault force, were the thousands of enemy Aakacarns within a few spans of where Daniel now stood. Timing was critical and any delay could prove deadly. He cared less about his own safety and far more for the well-being of Sherree and those who had come here at his command.

Arrows and spears rained down from the crenellations and a shaft ripped into the lowered hood of Daniel’s blue silk cloak, none of which could stop what was about to happen. He raised the diamond-bladed crescendo, focusing through the amplifier, and rainbow light fanned out from the tip, cutting a wide swath of destruction along the base of the wall. Cracks ran up and out, spider-webbing in the limestone blocks, which began crumbling under the massive weight of the unbroken stones above. The upper portion came toppling forward. He could sense the same happening at the other three assault points and the destruction of ships at the port and the legion fortress. Men screamed as they fell from the walkway above. Daniel spotted a clear area in the street several blocks away and conveyed there just before the huge squared stones came crashing down where he had been standing. The possibility of being buried did not bother him as much as the enemy Aakacarns stirring from sleep, which they were doing. He sensed groups of them converging, which meant traveling circles would soon be formed with the intent of teleporting angry Accomplisheds into the fray. It was time to be gone, but he could not leave yet, not until the others finished their chores.