I stood rooted on the spot, staring at Fyren as he vanished in a streak of white fire. My lips were parted, but no sound came out. Shouts, screams, and explosions rang all around us, but they failed to register. Even when R’lissea chased after him, I couldn’t acknowledge her farewell.

"Xiviyah!" Luke shook me, gentle but firm, snapping me from my stupor. "We need to move fast. Every second that passes is another second they have to prepare for us."

"Right, sorry!" I threw one last look at Fyren right before he vanished over the wall, and then ran to Fable, climbing onto his back.

The great wolf rose and bounded over the wall in a single leap. Luke left the ground, flying directly alongside us.

"Where are we headed?" he yelled over the roar of the wind and nearby explosions.

I shook my head, pursing my lips as I looked out across the city. The mountains formed an overbearing, curtain-like backdrop, making the city seem smaller than it was. Dozens of keeps dotted the streets and markets, rising from business and residential blocks like weeds in a lawn. People scattered everywhere, screaming in fear as they fled from our shadows. Many had collapsed, though whether unconscious or just overwhelmed, I couldn’t tell.

Everywhere I looked, shockwaves and currents of mana muddied the air. But all of them came from the other direction. The exact opposite direction we were headed.

"There’s only one ninth-level," I whispered, my gaze coming to rest on a fortress built directly into the mountain on the edge of the city.

"That’s where Gayron went," Luke said. "This Lusha must be hiding her aura, hoping we won’t find her."

"That means she’s well protected," I said.

He shot me a look as if that were obvious. "Yeah?"

My cheeks colored, and I hurried to explain. "No, because she’s not casting a high-level spell. So she’s confident that whatever defenses she has are sufficient, even after seeing the forces we brought."

"Are you sure she’s seen us?"

"We used a ninth-level spell. There’s no reason to assume that a ninth-level mage wouldn’t have come with us, so they’re likely overestimating us already."

His expression turned grim. "I see. But if they have enough firepower to threaten a ninth-level being, they won’t be able to hide it so easily. Should I grab one of them?" he asked, gesturing with his sword to the panicked streets below.

"No time. Fyren and the others won’t be able to hold on long. We can only hope Jackal finds that ward in time."

"Then don’t blame me for this," Luke said.

He raised his sword, channeling his mana. A black magic circle unfolded overhead, rapidly spreading until it overshadowed the entire city. The air thickened, growing foul and oily. Countless threads of curse magic descended, drawn toward souls like leeches. I shivered as they enveloped me, wrinkling my nose in disgust. Adaptive Resistance flared, consuming them, but the people below weren’t so lucky.

The curse blanketed the city, creeping into the alleys and sinking through walls. Souls flickered and dimmed as they clung to them. Everywhere, people slowed, their flight turning to a sluggish crawl. Many staggered and fell, writhing on the ground and clutching their heads. Their struggles weakened as more curses accumulated on them, draining the light from their eyes and the color from their skin.

"Luke!" I cried, twisting at him in horror. "What are you doing? They’re innocent! We can’t hurt them to force the church to reveal themselves!"

"Relax," he said, channeling even more mana into the curse. "The church isn’t going to come out and protect them. They’re using them as shields. That’s why they’re here in the middle of a city in the first place. Besides, remember when they slaughtered all those ’innocents’ in Blacksand? That was just to hide an inconvenience. What do you think they’ll do to protect the world barrier?"

"Then why–" 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

He turned, his eyes narrowing, and a vicious smile spread across his face. "Found them. Come on."

He darted away, and Fable gave chase. I gripped Fable tightly as the city blurred beneath us, the mountains rapidly drawing near. I fought the urge to squeeze my eyes shut and duck my head, forcing myself to face the rushing wind and speed. The city was strangely quiet, the screams fading away as the explosions fell behind us.

But as I looked around, I was struck again by how many forts, walls, and walled barracks there were. I would have understood it if they were new or under construction, as it would turn the entire city into a veritable fortress against invaders, but now that we were among them, it was obvious they’d already seen use, or at least, had fallen into disrepair. Half the walls were crumbling, with bits of rubble piled against their base, and some of the smaller fortified buildings had been converted into shops, restaurants, and even private residences.

"Luke, what’s going on?" I cried as we caught him.

"It’s a weak curse. It’ll cripple their muscles, but most of them will shake it off in a day or so. Curses are hard to resist, so they’ll keep almost everyone out of our way. Almost everyone," he shouted back.

My eyes widened as I came to the realization of what he was talking about, and I looked again at the streets. There were only a few patches of movement across the entire city, where soldiers stumbled through heaps of unconscious townsfolk. Every person who managed to remain standing was at least fourth level.

"I felt a massive part of my curse go inactive over here. That means someone’s resisting it. A lot of someones."

Luke slowed as we reached the foothills, covered in sprawling manor grounds and a few fortifications. I turned to look at a half-collapsed tower as we flew by, spotting a faded sigil carved over the rusted, half-raised portcullis hanging over the gaping hole where a pair of heavy wooden gates had rotted and collapsed. There was something familiar about it. A chill ran down my spine and tail, but I couldn’t remember why it unsettled me so. The memory felt hazy, one of the ones that had never fully recovered from Port Vesna.

"There," Luke said, pointing to a small keep embedded in a rocky granite cliff overlooking the city. There was little more than a courtyard exposed, surrounded by four towers and a gate, with a few buildings snugged up against the mountain within. Another heavy portcullis covered a yawning man-made cavern leading into the mountain. Unlike the ruins littering the city, the stonework glowed with enchantments, and the steel gleamed brightly, polished and well-maintained.

A flash of light caught my eye from one of the towers, and I cried out. Fable, sensing my distress, dove to the ground, while Luke cut upwards. A beam of molten light sliced through the space where we’d been flying, charging the air with the heavy scent of ozone, making my hair stand on end. Mana surged all around us, concentrating in a score of locations as mana cannons revealed themselves, already fully charged. Not just from the keep ahead, but from a half-dozen seemingly abandoned forts, towers, and alcoves cut into the mountain itself. I had just enough time to shout another warning before the city exploded with blinding streams of light, converging on us from every direction at once.

Fable hit the ground hard, smashing through a noble’s manor, obliterating the main lobby with the force of his landing. He lunged through the front wall just as a lance detonated behind us, sending a shockwave that slammed into us from behind. Shrapnel whistled through the air as the entire manor collapsed, pelting my wards and Fable’s hide. I cried out, holding onto Fable tightly as he accelerated, literally outrunning the expanding explosion of glowing light. I looked behind as it faded, my heart skipping a beat at the crater where the manor had once stood.

"Eighth-level," I whimpered, shuddering again. Adaptive Resistance had taken the shockwave, but I wasn’t entirely sure it would hold against a direct hit. My wards would, but there was no way I had enough mana to spare repairing so much damage over and over.

More lances struck the ground around us, tearing gaping holes in the hillside. Fable wove between the blasts, before suddenly lunging backward. I screamed at the sudden reversal, every bone in my body aching at the whiplash.

We struck something. Hard. There were screams and the shriek of twisting steel, and the crunch of breaking glass. A sudden, blinding light enveloped us, carrying the fury of a mana cannon. When it faded, I finally opened my eyes, looking around the broken ruins of a tower. Fable shook fragments of bone, armor, and shattered crystal from his paws, letting out a low growl as he scanned the surroundings for his next target.

"We don’t have time for this," I whimpered, soulcasting a healing spell to soothe the pain. "Please, get to that fort. We have to hurry!"

He whined in acknowledgment, and before I could catch my breath, we were headed back into cannon fire.