Chapter 33
Levi practiced his scanning spell as they traveled, but they didn’t run into any more beasts like the kirin. Whether it was the cluster having cleared the forest or the scent of blood around the group, most creatures shifted to avoid them. Zuzan and Flix were calm, resting on Levi’s shoulders as they walked, and the pair settled in without complaint as they camped that evening.
The next day was a long hike, but a boring one. The estimate for how long it would take the reach the crash site was off—they found it just as the sun was beginning to set. The burned trees still smoldered and Levi was amazed the flames hadn’t started a forest fire. Every chunk of metal embedded in the ground had a ring of char around it; he couldn’t understand the phenomena, not until Tawny provided him a clue.
“Mana vapor burnout confirms this is the airship wreckage, though there wasn’t much doubt,” she murmured.
Levi looked over at the sober dark elf and then back at the debris; he remembered the green fog produced when the airships had exploded and the way it had created a storm in the sky—it didn’t take a great leap to realize the vapor clinging to the metal had scorched the land wherever it had landed. “So much for magic being cleaner than science,” he muttered to himself.
Tawny had changed clothing before they approached the debris. Her formal suit had been replaced with leather armor that hugged her figure and had engraved plates over vital parts of her body, and she also kept her wand out. She looked sleek and dangerous—Levi was a fan. Her face was composed as she turned to Elizabeth. “Ms. Zephyr, if you could give us a direction to head?” she requested.
Elizabeth looked anxious and out of place on this journey. She had seemed more depressed each time Levi had seen her; he suspected she felt guilty she hadn’t been able to assist in the fight against the kirin. She lifted her hands and began to draw in the air. Glowing blue lines trailed her fingers and she wove them into a maze of symbols that spun independently of each other. The disk of light was nearly as wide as she was tall by the time she’d finished, and when she whispered her incantation, the entire thing spun in a dizzying display of geometry as it came apart and spread out over the debris field like spider-silk. A single glowing disk remained in the palm of her hand, and she shifted what direction she pointed it in a few times, following some sign only she could read.
“I’m detecting a few life forms among the wreckage. The mana burning inside the brush is causing haze in a few areas, but I think I can guide us around them. The first is about a mile north,” Elizabeth said in her quiet, almost monotone voice.
The knights shifted to begin moving in that direction and Levi looked to Tawny. The dark elf nodded her head and motioned for Darren to guide Elizabeth, keeping her safe. Nox and Levi fell in on either side of the Crane students to provide an extra layer of protection, making Levi realize he didn’t like being separated from the people he cared about. He understood having to protect Elizabeth as she led them to survivors, but he’d have much preferred being able to talk with Nox or Tawny.
Zuzan chittered in his ear and rubbed her cheek against his face. “I hear you, it does smell here,” he agreed quietly. The squirrel chirped again, and then scampered down his leather coat to vanish into his breast pocket. She popped her head up to squeak before slipping down once more to hide. Levi chuckled softly—he couldn’t blame the squirrel for wanting to get out of the smell. The burnt ground gave off an acidic tang that seemed to stick to his tongue. Flix let out a series of trills and Levi reached up with his splinted arm, using his fingers to scratch the base of her skull beneath her horns. “Don’t worry, everyone gets knocked around in a fight sometimes. You did great! Those kirin were massive compared to you, yet you still got up and walked away without even a crack in your scales,” he reassured the dragonet. She chimed and rubbed her scaly muzzle against his jaw, which reminded him he still couldn’t explain the brief moments she took on a humanish form.
Recent events had derailed his attempts at researching the information in the library, and he finally decided he might need some help. He glanced over at Elizabeth and frowned. The Crane House student dominated the library, yet he couldn’t make up his mind on her behavior. He had a feeling she was being heavily influenced by the people in her House, and he didn’t want to risk Flix if it turned out her shapeshifting was something important. Especially with how much Darren seemed to rule Elizabeth’s life. His nondominant hand tightened around his cane as he contemplated Darren. Guy might be a huge asshole, but he can fight. He did better against those kirin than the professional knights did.
He realized he should be paying more attention to the scorched earth around them and sighed, his hand rising to adjust his glasses. Burnt trees and charred ground gave way to… burnt trees and charred ground. The land had been razed and aside from the chunks of airship they were walking around, everything looking pretty much the same. The crash had turned the site into an inferno and Levi had a hard time believing that anyone was alive. If he hadn’t had the princess stick her memory into his head, he wouldn’t have believed.
Then Flix let out a hiss and leaped from his shoulder. The dragonet spread her wings and began to flap rapidly. She gained air, only to loop and come down on wreckage that was still red hot. As she chimed, Levi caught what she was signaling and made his way over to the debris. He jammed the tip of his cane between the sheets of metal, then Nox grasped the shaft as he extended it a foot in length. Together they peeled back one of the panels and found a man in a military uniform beneath. The sailor was badly burned along one side of his body, but he was breathing. Flix chimed three times in succession before she hopped back onto Levi’s shoulder and curled her tail around his arm.
Elizabeth hung back; she was focused on her sensory spell, so Darren stood guard over her. Tawny knelt and began to trickle a healing potion into the man’s throat while Nox used her armor to safely push aside more of the heated wreckage. Levi was stunned to see that the knights ignored the man once they were sure it wasn’t their princess.
“We’re wasting time, leave him. The princess is out there and she needs help,” growled Sir Chambers, giving an impatient flick of his sword.
“What the hell is wrong with you? This guy is on your side! He was fighting to protect your princess!” Levi yelled. He couldn’t help it; he was sick of Chambers’ attitude. He realized his fist had started to tighten around his cane in outrage that the lion-headed knight was willing to toss this guy aside.
The knight’s lips pulled back and he let out a deep rumble as he flashed his fangs at Levi. His arm flexed and his blade tip came up to point in Levi’s direction. Levi wasn’t sure what Chambers planned to do, but Nox stepped forward and slammed a boot into the ground. Her armored figure lit up with a crimson glow and a massive shield of energy covered her forearm as her free hand dropped her visor down. Levi felt his own energy swell and knew power was spiraling rapidly around his cane as he prepared to send the knight on a trip into the sky.
“Enough! This is an embarrassment to the Costilian Empire. Sir Chambers, I was told your military never left a soldier in need on the battlefield, and that you were honorable people. Is this how you demonstrate that honor? You abandoned wounded sailors, and now you threaten the people aiding you in your quest?” Tawny demanded, tone cutting. She hadn’t looked up from the man she was working on, and Levi saw that she was wrapping his limbs and side in the same glowing bandages Elizabeth had used on Darren. The dark elf had blood and charred skin stuck to her hands, yet she didn’t hesitate in her mission to help the downed sailor.
The knight snarled, but he backed down. His ears flattened into his mane, then he spun away from them as he callously ordered his men to prepare to move out. The lion didn’t seem inclined to help the downed soldier, even after being rebuked. Levi kept a wary eye on him.
“Levi? Be careful antagonizing the knight, he is far more powerful than he lets on,” Tawny warned quietly.
“Alright, fine. Just pisses me off that he doesn’t care about his own people,” Levi said. His attention went to the injured sailor, and he saw that Tawny was creating a stretcher to float the figure behind herself. She had lifted him onto one of the torn sheets of metal and used her wand to trace lines of power onto it. Her eyes flashed as she looked at the knights, and she turned her nose up at them.
“As it should. Disdain for the people under your command is both foolish and cruel. A commander like him will find himself abandoned when he needs his soldiers the most,” she predicted.
Levi nodded, taking in what she said while they began to move again. It isn’t enough to lead your people with authority—you have to show them that you’ve got their back if you want them to have yours. If this guy was my boss I’d leave him for dead in a heartbeat, he thought. Then he dismissed the thoughts and focused on heading toward the next life sign Elizabeth was detecting. The half-fae seemed to be holding up better than she had when they were out on the walls; he didn’t see any signs of the sweat that preluded her collapse this time. He wondered if the fact they weren’t waiting for a horde of Horrors to drop down on them made the difference for the woman.
It was dark by the time they reached a patch of charred ground that looked familiar to Levi. He glanced at Nox and saw she recognized the place as well. Levi focused on his cane, then whispered a quiet incantation to set a ball of light hovering over the tip. It wasn’t hard to hold his cane up like a torch and provide the light they needed to search by. Flix was asleep on his shoulder, so he debated seeing if she might pick out the cave the princess had crawled into. He didn’t have to—Elizabeth pointed straight to it, and as they approached he saw signs of Horrors having torn apart the ground all around it.
A shimmering dome of pale gold covered the entrance to the cavern, and when he looked he saw the charred remains of several Horrors that had attempted to breach the barrier. His light hit the shield and cast a glow across it that blocked their attempts to see through it. A woman’s head peeked through the barrier before he had a chance to try knocking it down.
“Sir Chambers? You came! Thank goodness. I was worried that Father wasn’t going to send anyone to save me from this barbaric place!” Princess Veronica announced as she stared at them. Green hair fell all around her head in a messy tangle and dirt was smeared across one cheek. The cavern ceiling was low enough that she had to crawl to step out of it, and when she did Levi saw the girl wasn’t particularly tall. Her eyes were almost the same color as her hair, and she brushed at the remains of a torn dress that had seen better days. “It certainly took you a while to get here,” she stated.
Levi’s eyes narrowed as he looked at her. Something about the girl made him want to turn around and walk away. Perhaps it was her voice, or the way she seemed to expect them to save her. Tawny was drawing four wounded men behind her, yet the princess hadn’t spared them a glance. She hadn’t even asked about the crew of the ship, just complained that they had taken too long to reach her. He wasn’t at all surprised when Darren stepped up to give the girl a drink of water from his canteen. She flashed him a winning smile and Levi’s stomach turned. The sheer arrogance in front of him made him nauseous.
“Princess, we came as soon as we could. These students from the Academy assisted us, and unfortunately the lack of professionals did slow us down. We have instructions to bring you back to the school. Your father’s airship was forced to retreat at the presence of a Major Horror, but our communications assure us he’ll be returning soon with a proper escort,” the knight rumbled out.
Levi was once more tempted to blast the man. My friends and I have to save your fucking life, drag our asses out to get your princess, and you’re blaming US for slowing you down? Son of a bitch. Levi’s eyes started to glow enough for him to see the crimson light reflected on his glasses. The light seemed to draw the princess’s attention and she turned to look Levi in the face. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened in shock.
“You dare to bring a demon into my presence, Sir Chambers! Have this foul creature disposed of at once!” she ordered. The spoiled brat threw her hand up and pointed a finger straight at Levi and he blinked in surprise.
Flix’s head rose on his shoulder and she released a warning hiss. Zuzan’s head stuck out the breast pocket of his coat and the sleepy squirrel chirped in confusion at the noise. Levi tightened his hand around his cane and prepared to summon his power if anyone made the wrong move. He didn’t trust these imperials as far as he could throw them.
“What the hell are you talking about?” he demanded.
That was when all hell broke loose.
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