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“Bring it, Reaper!” The Irishman hurled his own with a speed I’d never seen from him.
Zara’s lightning deflected each of our shots, but was it striking more slowly? A dozen javelins flew, then two dozen.
Kentarch: “Seventy-six.”
Lark called, “Zara’s launching rockets!”
A multitude of bursts glowed from the copter’s launchers. Must be dozens. I told Joules, “We need your net of electricity!”
“Got it!” He took a deep breath and aimed two javelins, throwing them together. In the distance, they landed at the exact same time, sending up a vast barricade of sparking electricity.
I held my breath as the rockets neared . . . then reached his net.
One by one, they exploded in a fiery display. Zara fired again . . . and again . . . draining her arsenal.
When the barricade shut out every rocket, Joules yelled, “Who’s the MVP now, people?!”
Lark, Circe, and Evie cheered him on as Kentarch and Gabriel aimed their launchers above the barricade. Our own rockets would blast upward, then reacquire their target.
Kentarch: “Eighty-four.” Still no direct hit, but impulsive Zara had fired at least half of her rockets to weaken Joule’s barricade.
When its sparks tapered, he launched a second pair of spears. Sweat clung to his brow, and his body moved more slowly. Without his wall of electricity, we’d be annihilated.
Gabriel must have had the same thought. “As the classic song goes, it’s time for me to fly. I will soar well above Fortune’s lightning and deploy my net.”
I shook my head. “Hold, Archangel. Her defense is too powerful.” A fear scratched at my consciousness—one I’d worried about prior to the battle. I couldn’t even acknowledge it right now.
Gabriel’s hawklike gaze locked on his struggling friend. “He can only do this for so long.”
The Tower raised his chin. “I’ve got this, birdbrain!”
“Yes, but I can help.” In a strange voice, Gabriel added, “I’ll be back. Hasta la vista, baby.”
Even amid all this pressure, Joules cackled at his best friend, their camaraderie palpable. “Terminator? You’re the craic, you know that?”
When I tilted my head at the Angel in confusion, he shrugged his wings. “I have culture now, Reaper.”
“We’ll try another tactic first.” I turned to Fauna. “Release the wolves.”
“Got it, boss!” Her eyes pulsed with bloodlust as her pack sped from their cover toward the copter, howling aggressively. Lark had awaited this moment for years, and her wolves were the largest and strongest they’d ever been. She rapped her claws together with eagerness. “Your whirlybird’s going down, bitch.”
Suddenly her wolves stumbled, plowing into each other, whimpering.
“Ahhhh!” Lark screamed, holding her ears as she collapsed to her knees. “Zara’s blasting . . . something ultrasonic.” I heard nothing, but Lark and her wolves writhed on the ground.
Gabriel too muffled his hearing.
Damn it, I should have anticipated this!
Wincing with pain, the Archangel grabbed his net and bounded into the sky. He gave the Tower a salute with one wing, then turned to the task at hand.
“Birdbrain! Get back here!”
I called, “Wait, Gabriel, not yet!”
Evie peered up at the sky. “Aric, it’s too soon for him.”
I bellowed, “Gabriel, return!” Could the Archangel even hear me over that blaster?
When he flew on without looking back, I ordered the others, “Hold fire!”
Sol sagged as he set his launcher down. Kentarch too rested a moment.
I spied Gabriel through the clouds. He’d made it above the lightning storm, was straining his giant wings against the winds to maneuver into position.
We all waited, scarcely daring to breathe; Joules muttered a prayer.
Then Fortune’s approach slowed to a stop, the Emperor holding back as well. Was she trying to assist Gabriel’s air raid? “What are they waiting for?”
I’d just voiced the question when I heard something in the background. No.
Ting . . . ting . . . ting . . . ting . . .
The freeze appeared like an outward wave from Fortune, here to defend her—the fear I hadn’t wanted to acknowledge. She and the Emperor were unaffected, but the cold would kill us instantly.
“Get to the Chariot!” I grabbed Evie and sprinted toward him. He could ghost us until the front passed. “Form a chain.”
The freeze was a hundred feet away and closing in fast.
Joules ran to Kentarch, yelling, “Get down here, Gabe! Hie yer arse back here! Please.”
Would Gabriel hear the telltale sound of the freeze? Sense it nearing?
Still clutching her ears, Lark directed her wolves to retreat to the barn, but Maneater would never make it. Lark and the wolf loped toward the Chariot.
I helped Evie get to him, then grabbed Lark with my other hand while she kept hold of Maneater’s scruff. Joules snared Kentarch’s other arm, extending his free hand to Circe and Sol.
Fifty feet away.
The Chariot could preserve our lives, but not our weapons. “Sol, you must defeat the freeze. Our launchers will shatter, and we’ll lose the river.”
The Sun nodded. “I’ll do what I can.”
