The Compass Key (Book 5) (23 page)

“It happens with less experienced griffins,” the orc answers, nodding his head. “They’re scared of getting tangled in the riggings. That was a danger in the early days of griffin riding, so they’ve pass down an anxiety about
large ships. If you try to go near one, you have to be either above it or below the railings. She’ll learn how to work around ships as you use her. Now, I need to get back on patrol.”

“Thanks, Culverk,” Delvin says with a short bow. He waits for the orc to be a distant
form before he turns back to Luke. “What do you think, Lucy?”

The half-elf flicks a pebble at his friend’s nose, skimming the left nostril.
“It sounds like most of the griffins won’t be a problem. Still, I need to find a way to mark the ships to make sure the young ones don’t attack the wrong ship. It would be even easier if I could make the chaos elf ships attract the lightning and not have to worry. Nyx told me that she’d be busy with the Compass Key, so she won’t be any help.”

“You ever fight during a lightning storm?” Delvin suddenly asks. He
walks in a tight circle with a smirk plastered on his face at a distant memory. “I mean, really fight outside in the middle of a storm.”

Luke thinks carefully and admits, “No. I’ve fought in rain
and with thunder, but never with lightning.”

“An unfortunate
event can happen if you’re fighting in a thunderstorm,” Delvin explains, drawing his sword and holding it above his head. “You have a higher chance of being struck by the lightning than if you were simply running through. I’ve seen it happen a few times over the years. This seems to happen mostly to spearmen who are holding their weapons high above their heads. The lightning is drawn to the weapon for some reason.”

“If I attach a spear to the crow’s nests of the chaos elf ships, the griffins can aim for those. Nobody goes into a crow’s nest when they’re docked,” Luke says, clapping his hands and flipping to his feet. “You really are a strategic genius, Delvin.”

“Eh, I get by.”

Luke is about to speak when an eruption cuts through the air and they see the crests of rolling black flames around Rainbow Tower. The sound of
erupting spells and clashing weapons are faint, but unmistakable. The children stop their game and face the tower even though they are too small to view the magic that those on the wall can see. Griffin riders are already flying over the area, but they refuse to get closer to the battle, eventually turning away to work on keeping people away from Rainbow Tower.

A loud, metal clang brings
their attention back to the wall and the guards rush to look for the source of the noise. Luke and Delvin rush to the edge of the wall to see a tall creature with shiny black and gold skin. The remains of a sewer grating are in its clawed hands, which are stiffly held out in front of it as if it’s stuck. The Magic Hunter throws the grating to the side as it glances up at the guards with six golden eyes. The construct is about to climb the wall when the sound of a kid screaming makes it pause. It turns to see a little boy staring at it, the child frozen in place by terror.

“I’m not waiting,” Delvin declares as he draws his sword and runs along the wall.

The warrior leaps off the wall as the Magic Hunter takes a step toward the child. He lands on the construct and feels hard metal when he expected flesh and bone. He hits it in the head with the hilt of his sword, the ringing echoing throughout the alley. The Magic Hunter’s arms spin back and grab him by the ankles to flip him forward. Delvin grunts in pain and stabs his sword into the Magic Hunter’s shoulder, a spray of oil striking him in the chest. It lets go of its attacker who scrambles away and gets to his feet.

“It looks like our enemies have a gnome inventor on their side,” Delvin mutters to himself. He glances over his shoulder to see that the child is running away. “I really need some help, Luke.”

The Magic Hunter’s chest opens to reveal three holes that spew jets of flame. Delvin dives to the ground to avoid the fire, the heat making him sweat. Spikes that are dripping with poison grow from its knees as the Magic Hunter leaps into the air. It drives down toward its target with its knees bent and seems to shift in the air whenever the warrior moves out of the way. It is about to strike when something rams it from behind and sends it hurtling down the street where it lands in a pile of garbage bags. One of the poison spikes grazes Delvin’s cheek and he immediately feels his body go cold as if ice is running under his skin.

“Here,” Luke says as he transforms back to a half-elf and bites the side of his hand. He holds his hand over Delvin’s mouth, pinning him down with his other hand. “My blood works like an antidote. It may be gross, but it’s all
we have. Just close your eyes and let me be the only one to suffer the visual memory.”

“No time,” Delvin groans. He leans up to suck the blood from Luke’s hand, cringing at the sweet taste. The cold feeling disappears and he gets to his feet as he hears the Magic Hunter freeing itself from the garbage bags. “It’s like sucking poison out of a friend’s wound
, which I’ve done far too many times. Can you get airborne again?”

Luke transforms faster than he ever has and grabs Delvin by the shoulders. They soar into the air as the Magic Hunter fills the street with flame. High above the construct,
the griffin lets go of his friend and gracefully flips around to catch him on her back. The armored warrior sheathes his sword and holds on tight to the beast’s feathers.

“We left the saddle on the wall!” Delvin
shouts, smiling at the strange look he gets from his mount. “Yeah, I don’t know why I said that either. We’ll go back for it later.”

The buzzing of metal wings can be heard moments before
the griffin veers to the side, a jet of flame barely missing her tail. Delvin looks back to see the Magic Hunter racing after them, its horn glowing a dull red. The construct fires a hissing net, but the more agile griffin makes a sudden turn to fly higher. The net crashes into a building and eats through the wall, revealing a startled family of elves.

The griffin
is turning back toward the mountain, hoping to get some help when the Magic Hunter picks up speed. It rams her in the side, the violent impact knocking Delvin off her back. With a high-pitched roar, she bites the Magic Hunter’s horn and dives after the plummeting warrior. She slams the construct into the roof of a building as she lets go of the horn and swoops to catch her lost rider. Delvin clings to the griffin’s fur and gradually climbs onto her back, both of them panting and watching the Magic Hunter return to the air.

“I’m holding you back,” Delvin says between gasps. He sees a spell slam into the side of Rainbow Tower and points at the damaged building. “I’d be more useful at Rainbow Tower. Build up as much speed as you can and go for the top of the tower
. I don’t need you to land. I only need you to fly straight for it, but maybe twenty yards above. Let’s say you’ve been a bad influence on me.”

The Magic Hunter is nearly upon them when
the griffin bursts ahead and races to the edge of the city. She wheels around without losing speed and feels her enemy pass by at an alarming speed. Delvin takes a deep breath as he slowly braces his feet on his mount’s back, his white-knuckled hands gripping soft fur. Taking his best guess at their speed and the distance to Rainbow Tower, Delvin leaps off the griffin. With the wind whipping at his face, the warrior hurtles forward and struggles to keep his eyes open to watch the tower’s roof get closer. He tucks forward to hit the stone and roll, but he keeps going until he crashes through one of the turrets. He is about to fall off the edge of the roof when the griffin flies by and sends a gust of wind that knocks him back onto the roof.

The noble beast
carefully watches Delvin wave and head for the door into Rainbow Tower, her concentration broken by the Magic Hunter moving into view. The construct fires another jet of flame that she rises over with a sense of casual boredom. She slows down enough to let the Magic Hunter pass underneath, allowing her to rake her front talons across its back. The sound of shrieking metal is the only thing the griffin accomplishes since the armor is too strong for her claws. She flies away from the Magic Hunter and circles back around while it turns in the other direction. The roaring beast spirals into the construct, denting its side and knocking it away. Retreating to a safer distance, she shakes her head to clear the ringing caused by the powerful impact.

“Its armor is too strong,”
the griffin spirit says.
“We need the others. A being like this requires a barrage. Put more distance between us and try to disorient it.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

The griffin circles around a tall building to try and confuse the Magic Hunter, which stays in one place instead of following. With a growl, she dives low and soars underneath the hovering construct. She flaps her wings and lifts above the buildings, getting high enough to maneuver without worrying about hitting anything. Through graceful dodges and elegant spins, the griffin makes her way to the mountain. She screeches at the other mounts that are waiting on the cliffs, all of them peering up at the noise.

Luke and the griffin curse in unison
when the Magic Hunter swoops low toward the mountain. A yellow mist pours from its back, creating a trail of noxious fumes that brings tears to the griffin’s eyes. Her head is swimming as she watches the other griffins retreat into the mountain, their screeches and retching filling the air. Unable to clearly see where she is going, the nauseated beast turns to the docks and is soon soaring over the open ocean. Diving low, she ducks her head into the water to clear her vision.

The Magic Hunter slams into
them, its horn piercing her shoulder and driving her under the water. Wings and limbs thrash in the ocean while the construct holds her down. Out of desperation, Luke transforms and pushes himself off the horn, but continues to hold onto the machine. He breaks the surface to take a deep breath and feels a clawed hand rake across his chest. The half-elf is struggling to keep his head above water when a compartment opens in the Magic Hunter’s forehead. He sees a collection of eight violet gems set in a circle, their glow steadily increasing.

“Oh for the love of Gabriel,” he mutters.

Luke lets go of the horn and draws his sabers while his body sinks under the water. He gets them up in time to block the beam of magic, which pushes him deep beneath the surface where the Magic Hunter can no longer see him. The construct waits patiently for the forest tracker to return, its eyes scanning the ocean for signs of its target. The Magic Hunter darts into the air to return to its masters, but it pauses for a brief moment when it senses powerful magic in the area.

“
Stop wasting time and get back here for repairs!” shouts Nyder over an intercom on the machine’s head. The Magic Hunter makes a final scan of the ocean and slowly makes its way back to the dock.

*****

“How many damn barriers are in this tower?” Trinity growls as she blasts away another spell-locked door. She watches the unharmed portal bounce down the hallway with a look of brewing rage. “I need another way.”

The sound of shuffling feet and sniffling catches her attention, causing a victorious grin to play across Trinity’s lips. Without a sound, she steps into the hallway and slowly makes her way toward the noise. The existing shadows bloat and twist around her body to keep her hidden from view. She reaches the far end of the hallway by the time she hears the noise coming from behind a closed door. Trinity gently pushes the door to find that
it is locked. She fights the urge to blow the door off its hinges and settles for picking the lock by transforming one of her nails into a narrow piece of metal.

With a loud creak, the door swings open and
the chaos elf faces seven apprentices, who are rapidly chanting. She cocks her head to the side as a ball of lightning appears in front of the white-cloaked casters. One of them looks up to steal a peek at her, but quickly stares back at her feet when the spell nearly collapses. Trinity leans in the doorway, watching them intently and wondering why they are still trying to cast their attack spell.

“I’m already in the room,” she
says, startling five of the apprentices. With the casters rattled, the lightning spell quivers and drifts toward the intruder. “You seven put this pathetic chunk of ball lightning together? I suggest all of you quit your studies if this is the best you have.”

Trinity is
calmly reaching out to crush the sparking spell when the hair on her arms sticks up. Caution takes over and she puts up a protection barrier a second before the ball lightning explodes. The force knocks her against the far wall and she falls to her knees, steam wafting off her body. The apprentices are prepared to fight until Trinity laughs and gets back to her feet. She fixes her ebony hair and pulls out a cloth to polish the gems in her palms, their luster only slightly damaged.

“I apologize. That was impressive and would have knocked me out if I didn’t protect myself,” she admits with a grin. She snaps her fingers and all of the apprentices are slammed against the walls and ceiling. “Now, I want to get to wherever Nyx is hiding. I sense that she’s far above me and I don’t want to waste any more time blowing up doors. So, tell me how to get through the barriers.”

“We don’t know how,” an elven girl says, her voice shaking with fear.