Chapter 56 - Shocking Developments

  I grabbed an extra tight hold onto Alex, and we were as ready as we were going to be. With a quick flex of my Will, I activated my Flight again, and we shot upward into the sky. Behind us, dozens of Peristera lifted off, as well. They winged their way skyward, following close on our heels.

  It felt damned good to be doing something again! My battles in the wee hours of the morning had been a powerful step forward, but it wasn't enough. So long as these lobsters, or Karabos, or whatever they were calling themselves, were continuing to invade and devastate my home city, I wanted to be on the front lines, fighting back.

  I decided to start with the tower they'd set up in the old North End. The Karabos had taken over a big plaza up there as the site to build their tower. It was less than a minute away by flight, and I saw it almost immediately after we took off.

  These towers just looked strange. They were like a cross between something constructed and something that had been grown. Parts of it looked like they were built from stone or metal, but other parts look like shell, seaweed, or some other organic compound. Whatever the Karabos construction style could be called, it was very different from the way we humans did it.

  The bright blue orb at the top of the tower was probably the strangest thing about it. It reminded me a little of the glowing balls I'd seen at their underwater base when I attacked it, but these were more than twice the size. Weirder still was the way liquid poured out of the sphere like it was the world's biggest fire hydrant. I had no idea where the stuff was coming from. My guess was probably the ocean, but given that magic was involved, who knew? The Karabos might well be creating new water via magic. If they did that enough, would it eventually flood the whole planet? We were in new territory with new rules, and none of us had the handbook—but I was willing to bet our enemies probably did.

  "Alex, any suggestions?" I asked as we approached the tower.

  "Smash it? I feel like that's probably the best call," Alex replied.

  "Got it," I replied. I scanned the ground near the tower site. The Karabos had seen us coming and were reacting to set up a defense. “I’m going to have to set you down before I hit the tower. I don't want you to get squished while I smash the thing.”

  "Over there!" Alex called out, pointing.

  I followed his finger. The building he picked out was short enough that he could still fire at the ground with his spells, but high enough that the Karabos would have a difficult time getting to him. It was the right mix. I angled down toward it, gently settling onto the roof and releasing Alex.

  "Stay safe," I told him.

  "I'm more worried about you than me," Alex replied.

  I shot him a grin that was probably cockier than I had any right to, but I was feeling good. Pouring a little more mana back into my Flight spell, I rose into the sky once more. Down below, the Karabos fighters had rallied around their tower. They knew they were in trouble. They knew we'd come for them. One fired an Ice Blast in my direction, but I dodged easily. A second one lined up a spell, so I slipped sideways to avoid it and narrowly dodged a small bolt of lightning.

  Good to know that these guys had more than one type of ranged attack! The Lightning Bolts traveled a lot faster than the Ice Blasts did, so they'd be more difficult to dodge. I would need to watch out for both.

  The Peristera swooped down, dive bombing the Karabos ranks. They jabbed at the ground-based enemy with long spears and a couple of them cast Lightning Bolts or Gust of Wind spells, further sending the enemy into disarray.

  It was time to act. I darted downward, pouring on all the speed I could muster. The whistling of the wind as it slipped past my ears turned into a high-pitched whine as I streaked directly into the glowing blue orb. The thing shattered the moment I made contact. Magical energy exploded outward, sending me flying back. Below the orb, the rest of the tower shattered from the top down, like a series of explosions had gone off inside it. The pavement beneath the tower cracked and split as the spell's backlash tore it to pieces.

  I was sent flying a couple dozen feet and smashed into the wall of a nearby building. Seconds later, I crashed a second time, this time into the pavement. Still stunned from the triple whammy, I sat up, shook my head, and struggled my way back to my feet, worried that Karabos warriors would be all over me any moment. It turned out, I needn't have worried.

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  The same blast that sent me flying tore apart the Karabos ranks. All of them who had been within a dozen feet of the tower were dead, torn apart by the blast. Even those who had been farther away were injured, lying stunned on the ground. The Peristera had known what I was up to and flew clear, but even a few of them looked like they'd been knocked about a bit, buffeted by the winds created in the explosion.

  There were still two more towers to deal with. Taking down one was only the start. I took off and and landed lightly on the rooftop beside Alex.

  "Ready for round two?" I asked.

  "You could leave a little bit of work for someone else, you know," Alex replied. "But yes. I'm ready."

  I scooped him up and we took off again, angling for the second tower. The Peristera took flight behind us, following close in my wake. This next tower was on the Greenway, a large park the city built right where the highway used to be. Now, what had been a series of grassy lawns for kids to play in and families to enjoy was a rapidly deepening lake. If we didn't put a stop to this soon, there wasn't going to be a city to save.

  As we approached, I started looking for some place I could set Alex down. We really needed to get him his own flight crystals, so he wouldn't need me to transport him. In the meantime, this would have to do. There had to be some place down there that would work as a good overlook point...

  "Castle, watch out!" Alex cried.

  I'd been paying too much attention to looking for a low roof for Alex and not enough focus on what the enemy was up to. Like with the first tower, as soon as they saw us coming, they’d rallied into a defensive ring around it. This group started firing off spells as soon as we approached. I dodged the first two Ice Blasts easily enough, but the third spell coming our way was a Lightning Bolt. There wasn't any time to get out of the way.

  I pivoted in mid-air, placing my back between the bolt and Alex's body. The spell struck me full on, slamming into the small of my back.

  All my muscles locked up. It felt like I was clenching everything all at the same time. I might have blacked out for a moment or two, because the next thing I knew, we were plummeting toward the ground headfirst, leaving a smoky trail behind us in the sky. Alex screamed something into my ear, but I couldn't spare the attention for whatever it was. I needed to get us stabilized again. I needed to fly!

  My Flight power re-engaged and caught us just ten feet above the pavement. That had been way too close for comfort!

  "Holy shit. Cutting it a little close there, aren't you, Castle?" Alex replied.

  I flew us back up a bit higher and then streaked sideways through the air to throw off the enemy's aim. "Yeah, that officially sucked. Are you alright?"

  "I feel like I've been playing around with an electrical outlet and a couple of butter knives, but I'll live," Alex replied. "You took most of that impact. How are you feeling?"

  I set both of us down on a nearby rooftop, then sank to my knees, panting. Alex looked on, concerned, but I waved him away with a hand.

  "I'll be alright. Just need a minute. Shit, those spells hit hard! What tier was that, anyway? Three? Maybe four?" I asked.

  "Oh, no. That was tier one, buddy. I think you need to make sure to avoid getting struck by lightning, from here on out," Alex said dryly. "It seems like Natural Armor doesn't provide a whole lot of protection against getting shocked to death."

  "Tier one? Seriously?"

  Alex just nodded. "I mean it, Cameron. Be careful out there.”

  "I'll do my best, but those towers need to go down."

  "No argument from me. Just watch your back, yeah? I'll give you cover from up here, and the Peristera are already doing their part, too."

  I looked over the edge of the rooftop and saw he was right. The Peristera escort we picked up was already harassing the enemy defensive force, but there were too many Karabos. Our friends were going to be overrun if I didn’t get out there, so it was time to get back to work. I shook off the last of the lingering tension from the electricity strike and took off again.

  Alex was right, though. It was time to fight smarter, not harder. This time, instead of diving directly at the tower, I swung down to the street level and picked up a big Toyota SUV. Hefting it over my head, I lifted back off again, flying upward until I was about a hundred feet above the park.

  The Karabos saw me flying toward them, even at that altitude. Their response was immediate. Most of them started ignoring the Peristera as best they could, focusing their spell attacks on me instead. But as high as I was, the Ice Blasts couldn't even reach me. The Lightning Bolts were getting that high, but I had plenty of warning they were on their way. Even as fast as they moved, with my agility, it was like the attacks were telegraphed a mile away. I simply slid sideways to avoid them.

  A few seconds later, I hovered directly above the enemy tower. The Peristera saw what I was up to and flew clear, scattering in all directions. Once they were enough out of the way that I knew they'd be safe, I dropped the SUV. It plummeted straight down and struck the tower almost perfectly atop the glowing blue orb. The resulting explosion was suitably cataclysmic. Chunks of tower shot out in all directions, decimating the enemy force. Some of them survived, but dealing with them wasn't the mission. Not today, anyway.

  Today, we still had one more tower to take out. What was it Thornbill had said? Destroying the towers wouldn't shut down the spell entirely, but it would disrupt it enough that the Karabos would be forced to take further action. Take out that third tower and they'd be forced to bring in the big guns to face us.

  Then, all we had to do was beat them, and we'd save the city.