As the fire spread through the underbrush, drops of rain hit my flesh, but not before the first wave of guards rushed into the woods with their shields in front of them. Swooping down, I shut my wings and soared low across the ground as I sought to take out a row of the fighters.
I crashed into at least ten of them and flung them aside before they entered the trees. Further down the row of combatants, more gargoyles did the same, mowing them down before they caused any more damage.
Rising over the field, I prepared to attack again as the rest of the soldiers plowed into the forest, where the poltergeists screeched with glee. Their red eyes burned as they descended with their daggers raised.
The specters lifted and plunged their blades so fast I barely saw them rising and falling. Silver flashed, and blood flew as its coppery stench permeated the air and red bathed the earth.
More cannons boomed, and the balls streaked across the night before slamming into the woods and more amsirah. Screams resonated throughout the night as the burning trees crackled and rain pelted the earth.
My heart wrenched as trees broke and toppled with resounding crashes. Sparks flew into the air, the rain doused most, but some caught on the leaves or fell on the amsirah, who batted them out.
The trees’ echoing cries of anguish vibrated deep within me and blended with those of the amsirah falling beneath the cannons and soldiers. Poltergeists shrieked, trees crashed, and I descended on the next wave of guards, scooping up a few of them and tossing them into the flames.
Gargoyles did not like to kill, but we were good at it, and we would destroy anyone who threatened our realm… especially the forest. It was our home, our sanctuary, and as connected to us as we were to each other.
More shouts filled my head as my fellow gargoyles shrieked with bloodlust and suffering. I picked up more of the soldiers and tossed them into the flames; if they were going to set my home on fire, then they would feel its suffering.
As the forest burned and rain hammered the ground, I couldn’t believe what had become of our realm, the damage done to our forest, and the misery inflicted on Tempest’s residents. Things had never been perfect in Tempest, but they were far better than this.
I’d never thought I’d see the day when the woods burned, yet fires raged, smoke choked the air, and the trees and underbrush turned into an inferno as amsirah struggled to contain the blaze while also holding back the soldiers. Streaking through the woods, a black dog crashed into the shield of a soldier. The woman toppled back as the closest amsirah screamed and tried to run away.
“They won’t attack you!” Tucker bellowed over the rising cacophony. “They’re here to protect the woods! Stand your ground!”
Ellery had told us of this phenomenon happening the last time the forest burned, but it was surreal. The creatures of the woods didn’t work with the amsirah; they were natural enemies that created a balance needed in Tempest as they kept each other in check.
Despite that, more forest creatures emerged from the darkness and went for the guards. The Revenant Woods was fighting back against those seeking to destroy it.
Many of the amsirah seemed doubtful, but while a few opened portals and fled, most stayed to fight.
Rising high again, I prepared to sweep over the land once more as cannons boomed. I twisted out of the way in time to avoid taking a direct hit, but as I did so, an arrow pierced my wing and tore a hole through it.
Though it was small, the damage threw me off balance as wind whistled through the puncture. It took a few seconds to steady myself; by then, a new wave of combatants had infiltrated the forest.
Climbing higher, I took some time to reorient myself to the new feel of my left wing. Eventually, the hole would heal, but I didn’t have time to wait for it. Still, I had to make sure I could fly properly before returning to the battle.
As rain battered me, tornadoes decimated the field. Some of them tore up the earth as they churned toward the guards, while the ones created by the soldiers spun toward the woods.
Their roar was nearly deafening. They drowned out the booms of the cannons and screams of the dying while tossing those they encountered aside or sweeping them up into their destructive vortex and flinging them out.
Debris flew across the field, cannons upended, but the soldiers continued to defend their palace and the man controlling it… and them. The glow of the fires was diminishing, but they were lighting more torches and arrows. I didn’t know how much damage they’d do against the deluge hammering the land, but some of them stayed lit after entering the woods.
At the palace, gargoyles continued flinging guards off the roof or lifting them from the ground and throwing them into the walls. Not all the soldiers would die from the impact or the fall, but they’d be broken enough to be useless and easily killed later.
I’d never seen so much devastation, violence, or bloodshed in Tempest, and inwardly wept for the forest and the amsirah. Nothing should ever have to suffer like this.
Things weren’t perfect in Tempest when we protected it before, but they’d never been like this. These amsirah had paid dearly for their ancestors’ treachery against us; we never would have allowed things to get this out of control.
Now that we were free, we’d do whatever it took to make things right in Tempest again.
Once I was more confident in my wing, I swept back toward the field and dove down to capture three guards. I plucked them off the ground and carried them over the field to throw them at the soldiers below.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
Ianto
“We need more rain!” I bellowed over the cacophony of fire, screams of the dying, and the booms of the cannons.
The dreadful, whistling sound of cannonballs cutting through the air created a knot of dread in my stomach, but I couldn’t focus on them while trying to survive the flames.
