This Deadly Engine Read online

  Ravenlea said, “The center is weak. A dozen orcs are wandering in the smoke. Straight ahead.”

  I charged forward, swinging the axe…but hesitated just within the cloud.

  Perrin said, “This is not the time to have another argument. If we do not kill the orcs, they will kill us. They will invade your world. They will destroy mine.” He growled. “So if you think you are not up to the task, then step aside and allow me to do what is necessary. Again I say – trust me!”

  If Perrin assumed control, if I allowed him to go on a killing spree, would I lose myself forever?

  “They are forming a line,” Ravenlea said. Then she whispered, “I can see how fast their hearts are beating.”

  “Go now,” Perrin said as he forced us forward.

  In the end, the cyclops was correct. Yet I would remain in control. I would take full responsibility for my actions.

  Perrin laughed. “So long as we are together, you will never be in full control, and we will both be responsible for our actions. You are a strange man, Alexander.”

  To emphasize his statement, we ran faster. Even though they heard the axe coming, the orcs underestimated our speed and determination. The spinning chain sliced through swords and metal. Bodies piled all about.

  We emerged from the dissipating smoke and saw electric bolts dance across five orcs. A piece of a building dropped on two dragons. A blast of yellow light severed another creature in half. What looked like a blue rope wrapped around the last group of orcs. I saw flashes of blue whenever someone used magic.

  The freak army also appeared from the haze. Except for a gash in the side of the man with the metal plates on his torso, and a broken arm on the spider lady, most appeared in good shape.

  Before I thought we could do the impossible after all, new monsters appeared from around the last line of buildings. Cavendish and Ravenlea gasped. Even the Treyo Duthku swore in her native tongue. As for myself, I could only groan.

  A black metal creature moved towards us. A round head sat on top of a square body with wheels at the corners. Two eyes peered from a single slit across the front of the head. They grew brighter and smaller when they saw the army.

  A cannon swiveled around, below the head. It aimed for the center of the line – for me!

  Cavendish yelled, “Use the Ring, Ash! Use the Ring!”

  As Ravenlea squeezed my neck, I took the pink stone from the Ring of Seven Powers. I crushed it, and a haze surrounded us.

  The cannon fired with a rattling boom. The projectile bounced off the hazy film and exploded.

  Perrin did not need to tell me to charge, even though he did.

  “Use the green stone,” Cavendish said.

  I removed the stone and crushed it. A tingling moved through my hands, into my arms, then my torso, thighs, and feet. Muscles burned as if they grew larger within seconds, not unlike when they burned during the transformation.

  Using the power of increased strength, I punched the front of the war machine over and over. The metal gave way until a hole finally opened.

  “Let me,” Cavendish said. He threw one of his watches inside.

  The boom rattled the metal shell of the machine. Smoke poured from every crack, hole, and seam. The hum of the engine stopped.

  The freak army cheered…until another engine roared and another metal monster appeared from behind the disabled one. It pushed the first to the side with one clawed arm while reaching for me with another. My protective barrier kept the claw at bay. Gears screeched in its determination to break through.

  Yet another metal monster approached. This one had two guns on each arm. Both aimed for me. Before it shot, the two-headed man struck it with a bolt of electricity from a four-fingered ring on his right hand.

  The monster groaned as its engines sputtered…sputtered…then stopped.

  And at that moment, the true monster appeared.

  Frengarn moved in front of his mechanical minions and pointed to me. “Stop!”

  Perrin took over and said. “No, we are only beginning.” We readied the axe and adjusted our shoulders as the gnomes climbed down. “This is the day you and your ilk pay for every crime you have committed against my people. All of your schemes end here and now.”

  Frengarn regarded me with amusement. “You are too late, Perrin. You were too late the day Reganas Eight fell. There are forces in motion which you cannot hope to stop. But if you must try, then do so and give me the pleasure of finally killing you.”

  The cyclops scoffed. “You have tried so many times. Why do you think you will succeed now?”

  Perhaps Perrin and I had more in common than first appeared.

  The cyclops’ hatred for the orc ran so deep that he would willingly sacrifice us if it meant killing Frengarn. Perhaps we would do that very thing, but our primary goal remained the destruction of the new Gateway. We could not forget that in the fog of battle.

  Frengarn spoke loud enough that his voice echoed through the building. “We have met unforeseen resistance. Accelerate the invasion.”

  Horns blared from the room behind Frengarn. Orcs always blew them before a major battle.

  Cavendish moved beside me. “We have to close the Gateway. It’s the only way—”

  “I know,” I said as the back wall of the building groaned and cracked. A shower of splinters and boards flew through the air as an assortment of magical-realm beings appeared – orcs, trolls, giants, black-banded cyclopes and elves, lizards, and even some gnomes. Frengarn encouraged them forward.

  Cavendish, Ravenlea, the Treyo Duthku, and I hesitated even as our army charged. While the sheer volume of the invading army deserved a bit of awe, the magnificence of the object behind it overwhelmed any such reaction.

  A thirty-foot tall and fifty-foot wide Gateway beckoned. Its milk-like membrane pulsed with streaks of red as it stretched and contorted in a dozen places. The shapes that took form made the gnomes cry out as they hid behind my legs. Figures ‘popped’ out of the Gateway as even more started the transition from one world to the next.

  Dragons, a dozen of a size that rivaled the first ones we saw in the room, cried out as they paused to adjust to the change of worlds. On the back of each sat an elf, a Ghiren Karken, who directed the mighty creatures.

  Frengarn called out, “Destroy it all! Destroy everything in your path!”

  The dragons responded by unleashing a wall of flames.

  The Misters held up a cloth that quickly stretched and expanded until it created a barrier between the army of freaks and the coming inferno. The edges smoldered from the onslaught of heat. The enemy broke through the bottom.

  Perrin charged. We swung the axe and cut two orcs in half, then spun to face the next pair.

  Others followed our lead. Fights raged across the City as we fought for the future.

  Pops sounded in quick succession from the Gateway. A company of Thrander Riders – dwarves who sat on wolf-like creatures with fur so long that it gave them the appearance of floating when they moved – appeared.

  The dwarf with the gun for an arm yelled. He stepped forward and shot two riders. When he paused to reload his gun, a Thrander grabbed him in its powerful jaws. It bit the dwarf in half.

  The Treyo Duthku blasted the animal with a bolt of light that ripped into the creature’s chest, then upward into its rider. She yelled as if she finally understood the gravity of the situation.

  Pop after pop after pop sounded as more and more orcs entered the world. The elf tore into them with bolts of magic. The sheer violence with which she dispatched her enemies made even Perrin, who had witnessed many gruesome acts, draw back.

  Still, for all of the elf’s efforts, the flow of orcs continued.

  Cavendish said, “They will overwhelm us unless we destroy the Gateway.” He pointed to the right. “There’s an opening!” He threw a watch, which exploded and released a thick cloud of smoke.

  “Go,” the elf said. “I will keep these disgusting creatures distracted.”


  As Cavendish ran for the cloud, the smoke swirled. A dragon appeared. It sniffed as if it sought the gnome’s scent, then turned towards him.

  A swing of the axe separated the creature’s head from its body. The head rolled to a stop at Cavendish’s feet as the body fell with a thump.

  Cavendish visibly shivered.

  Unfortunately, the axe’s chain slipped from its track. Rather than take precious time to tend to it, I threw it down. I unsheathed the Sword of Laggin, then snatched Cavendish and Ravenlea up. We charged into the smoke.

  From the right, Frengarn said, “Keep moving. Do not let them stop you or slow you.”

  More pops sounded from the Gateway. A chorus of cries and screams arose from outside as the invasion reached the Expo proper.

  Cavendish pointed. “Through the veil. We need to take out the coils as quickly as we can.”

  The three of us stepped through The Misters’ barrier. My own had begun to fade, along with my increased strength. So I should not have been surprised to meet Jandorsi – the same cyclops who threatened me in the ‘Myths and Legends’ exhibit, the same despicable creature who haunted so many of Perrin’s dreams in his early slave years.

  He stood between us and the Gateway.

  He slapped the flat of his sword against his palm. “Come to challenge me at last, little one? Do you think you are strong enough to kill me?”

  The memory of the sting of his lashes on my back remained strong.

  I told Perrin, “We can do this.”

  The cyclops answered, “He…is…strong.”

  “And we are better. As you said before, we are hardened veterans of war, not scared slaves. Think of him as nothing more than an overgrown orc, one who needs to be put in his place.”

  Jandorsi continued to grin with his half-scarred mouth. “Are you still frightened, little one? I beat you to within an inch of your life many times. Now, I’ll take that last inch.” He charged.

  Perrin made us step back.

  I said, “Face him. Now. Here is your opportunity to show him who is the better cyclops.”

  We barely blocked Jandorsi‘s first strike. The monstrous cyclops struck again, using his advantage of strength to keep us on the defensive. He hummed with joy as if he already knew the final outcome.

  The Gateway continued its popping. The room brightened considerably when the dragons broke through the far wall and allowed the Expo lights to flood us. Streaks of red and blue danced across Jandorsi’s helmet.

  The cyclops’ blows stung my hands and arms. He forced us back, step-by-step. Perrin whimpered. “He is too much.”

  “Fight!” I said. “I am trusting you. This is why you are here. So damn it all and fight! We will not be defeated.”

  Not yet. Not this way.

  We locked blades with Jandorsi. Cavendish and Ravenlea slipped behind him. The gnomes ran for a glowing coil in the right corner. We needed to keep Jandorsi distracted so they could—

  A dragon swept down and barely missed snatching both of them into its mouth. It circled to try again.

  By the Seven Hills, they will not be eaten.

  “Give it all we have,” I said to Perrin.

  The cyclops roared as he put all our strength into pushing Jandorsi away. We succeeded in making him stumble. His expression of surprise made Perrin laugh like a child.

  Rather than gloat over such an achievement or press our advantage, however, we ran towards the silent death – the dragon. The last time I had tangled with the creatures in close combat, I had skin as tough as lead. Even then, their flames and saliva burned me, though at a slower rate. While a cyclops’ skin acted the same as human skin, I would not let a dragon eat my friends. I told Perrin, “Let me.”

  The dragon swooped in. I took hold of the edge of its wing with my left hand. The creature swung around as it reached for me. I grabbed its snout with my right hand. Though my wounded side protested, I twisted and let the creature’s momentum carry it into Jandorsi just as he regained his feet. The dragon’s anger drove it to lash out at the nearest victim. It bit deep into the cyclops’ shoulder.

  Jandorsi growled as he snapped the dragon’s neck. A grimace of pain replaced his confident grin. He dropped to a knee.

  Seeing his age-old enemy fall filled Perrin with satisfaction. We started towards him to finish our fight when Cavendish scampered past and yelled, “Look out!”

  Having been the target of too many explosions, I did not hesitate to follow. I shoved Jandorsi over as I ran by him.

  A boom sounded and smoke filled the air.

  The gnomes and I stopped to watch as the membrane of the Gateway shuddered. Yet it continued to pop as more of Frengarn’s army appeared.

  Cavendish said, “The next coil…”

  The explosion earned us the renewed attention of Frengarn, who directed one of his mechanical vehicles to us. The machine’s engine roared as it turned. A cannon swiveled around.

  I grabbed the gnomes by their coats and ran as the gun fired. The ground exploded behind us. Dirt and concrete peppered my back.

  “To the other corner,” Cavendish said as he gestured in that direction.

  I ran in a weaving pattern to try to keep the gun one step behind. “This is similar to the escape from Chen’s—” Something struck from the right. I toppled to the floor and spilled the gnomes.

  Jandorsi rolled on top of me. Several cracks lined the glass of his helmet. He grabbed my throat with his good hand and squeezed.

  I could…not…breathe…

  I tried to grab his throat, but his arm was just long enough to keep me away. The only part I easily reached was his face shield. I punched it once.

  The cracks grew larger.

  I punched it again.

  Cracks grew larger still.

  I punched it over and over…yet each time my punches grew weaker.

  “Keep going,” I said to Perrin. “Do not give up. Do not give in.”

  We reached back once more. The room dimmed. The sound of the battle turned to a whisper.

  One. More. Hit.

  I punched the glass. It broke, letting my hand through. The sharp edges ripped at my arm. But I suffered the pain for the end result.

  I poked Jandorsi in the eye.

  The thought of such a terrible wound made my own eye ache in sympathy. No cyclops deserved to endure such a humiliating blow…save for Jandorsi.

  The cyclops released me. He howled and covered his eye.

  An explosion to the right reminded us of the approaching battle machine. Its shadow stretched long.

  A streak of fire shot into the eye slit on the machine’s dome. Another followed. And another and another. The Misters pointed a piece of triangular glass which glowed yellow. The fire bolts shot from the top.

  Yells arose from inside the machine. A door on the side opened and several orcs spilled out. Flames followed.

  The un-manned machine turned in a circle.

  The orcs ran, yelling about ammunition exploding. At the same time, Cavendish and his lady ran by yelling about the coil exploding.

  I stood, but Jandorsi grabbed my foot. The cyclops laughed as he watched with his blood-shot eye. “Neither of us will—”

  Two booms sounded simultaneously. Heat and shredded metal erupted from the machine and the Gateway coil.

  I turned away in time for searing hot pieces of metal to rip into my back. They felt much like Jandorsi’s lashes. Or Aimee’s bombs. And like those times, I had to push onward through the ensuing pain. Too much depended on me.

  As the air cleared, I turned to the Gateway. The membrane stretched when another wave of dragons passed through.

  For a moment, the Gateway pulsed as normal. But ripples moved through it as the bottom edge collapsed. A dozen dragons cried out in extreme pain. The milky membrane did not pop this time. Rather, it made a sickening, splotch sound, like when a spoonful of pudding hits a wood floor. The membrane disappeared, save for a long, jagged sliver no wider than a gnome.

  Th
e portal’s collapse sliced one dragon in half. Another’s head fell from its neck. The only survivor lost its back legs and writhed about, spewing flames across the building.

  The sound of rage rose above the roar of the consuming fire. Frengarn stood in the middle of the room. He turned around until his eyes settled on me. He pointed.

  “I think this is when we leave,” Cavendish said as the magical army swung towards us.

  We turned to flee to the Expo grounds. My back ached and bled, and so did my hand and side. Yet we had disrupted Frengarn’s invasion.

  And we lived to see the first goal completed.

  Perrin said, “But the danger grows.”

  Indeed. And I had to wonder – could either world still be saved?

  Chapter 13

  We emerged from a devastated City of the Future and found the Expo changed from a celebration of wonders and possibilities into a world of death and nightmares. Dragons circled above. Some released their fiery breath onto the land of wood while others challenged airships ill-prepared for a battle. Bright, colorful lights were no match for fire, though they managed to blind a few of the creatures. On the ground, giants smashed anything in their path, including booths, carts, and people. Orcs killed anything that moved.

  I spoke in a whisper, “What…have we done?”

  Cavendish said, “The better question is what have we kept from happening? Imagine if Frengarn’s entire army had made it through that portal? We would not have a prayer of a chance. Now?” He took a deep breath. “Now we keep them from carrying out their orders – destroying everything in their path.” He motioned to the right, where the last of the army of orcs, lizards, giants, and a handful of dragons emerged from the ruins of the City. At their head stood the mechanical monstrosity of Frengarn. He motioned for the others to follow him.

  Cavendish tugged on my leg. “We need to regroup. We cannot win against so many with so few. We need to find the rest of our forces.”

  “Twenty remain,” the Treyo Duthku said as she limped towards us. “The two-headed man rallies them at the entrance. They search for Frengarn.”

  I said, “Then we—”