“That wasn’t in any of the reports I’ve seen,” Nidina said from where the four crouched on the roof of a two-story building.
“Funny, you’d think at least one or our spies would mention the mile-wide metal fortress they built around the temple,” El monotoned. “What the Blaze were they doing here? Drinking coffee and taking art classes?”
Black metal lined with electrum surrounded the Ember’s temple and reached for the sky, the only place in the city the snow wasn’t falling. Massive walls at cascading heights lined with cannons glistened under the cone of sunlight, the temple visible through a wide arch at the end of a weapon-lined avenue.
“I… don’t get it,” Nidina answered. “You’re right, there’s no way our spies could’ve missed that. It would’ve taken years to build. Just look at the size of it! The temple is a dollhouse in comparison.”
“Heavily armed too,” Dayne added. “I count at least fifty cannons on this side of the fortification alone. And spaces for more. As big as that is, it isn’t finished yet.”
“They look like the same kind of guns that golem we fought in Guld had,” Laze said.
“And I think we all remember the firepower those were sporting,” El said.
“I guess this explains why we didn’t see any soldiers on the way here,” Nidina said. “They must’ve all been called back to man that monstrosity. Do you think the citizens were all brought in there as well? How could it even hold them all?”
“That street leads right up to the temple. We could enter there… if we could get past all those guns,” Dayne said.
“I’d ask if our spies had any intel on alternative routes,” El said, and looked sideways at Nidina. “But I don’t think that’s an option if they didn’t even tell us this was here in the first place. Seriously, how did they miss this?”
“They must’ve been compromised,” Nidina finally said. “We only had a handful here, the rest had been found, and it was impossible to get more in once the tunnel became one-way. Guld must’ve been feeding what they wanted us to know the whole time. Maybe a few kernels of truth to keep us from getting suspicious.”
“So, that means there could be a lot of other things going on here we don’t know about,” El said.
“There aren’t any clouds above the temple, or the fortress for that matter; is that because of the Ember?” Laze asked.
“Must be,” El said. “And, Dayne, back to your point, I think it would be suicide to go for the temple down that street. They must’ve designed it like that for worship, but it’s probably riddled with traps along with the weapon embankments.”
“So, how are we going to—” Nidina started, but a bright orange flash to the west lit up the snow and drew everybody’s attention.
“What the Blaze was that?” Laze asked. “Did the fighting start?”
“No explosions,” Dayne said. “That was something else.”
El looked from the west, to the fortress, then back to the west. “How do you think they’re powering all those weapons, Nidina? Could they be using the Ember?”
“Using it directly? Blazes no. That would be sacrilege,” she said, then paused. “Well, that’s what our spies told us. So, I guess it could be possible.”
“We don’t use the Pyre like that,” Dayne said. “I don’t even know if we could.”
“I agree,” El said. “So, that flash might have something to do with how they’re fueling all those weapons. If we can disable that, getting the Ember might be that much easier for us.”
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“Or for anybody else who shows up,” Laze agreed.
“Not like we can mount much of an attack on that by ourselves anyway. Let’s go,” El dusted the accumulated snow off her shoulders—so odd it hadn’t melted—and then shuffled over to the opposite end of the roof. Still no sign of… anybody. They hadn’t even seen movement near the fortress. “Clear,” she said, then jumped off.
Her flame armor absorbed the force of her landing, melting snow around her feet in a flash, and she took one more look up and down the street while the others joined her.
“Same order?” Dayne asked.
“Don’t think it matters at this point,” El said. “We’ve walked almost fifteen miles straight into the heart of the city, and haven’t seen a single person.”
“Can we fly then?” Nidina asked. “I’m getting pretty tired of walking.”
“Not yet,” El said, and thumbed over her shoulder back toward the massive fortress. “If they really have developed magic that senses heat, we don’t want to attract that thing’s attention.”
“Do you think they’d really open fire on their own city?” Nidina asked.
“Might be why they evacuated it,” Laze said.
“Yup. And whatever that flash was, it didn’t look too far. Just a little more walking,” El said, and started down the street to her right.
“You promise?” Nidina asked from behind her.
“No,” El replied with a smile to soften the words.
They walked in silence after that, the odd column of sunlight on their right like the eye of a hurricane, and came to a twenty-foot stone wall fifteen minutes later.
“I think the golem forge is on the other side of this,” Nidina said.
“It’s the first real wall we’ve seen,” Dayne said. “We can probably get a look inside from one of the roofs across the street from it.”
“Let’s do it. Short burst only,” El said, walked to the nearest building, and then leapt up to the roof with the briefest ignition of her wings. Landing, she turned and surveyed beyond the wall while the others joined her.
“Hard to be sure with the snow,” Laze said. “But, I don’t see anybody. We sure this is where the flash came from?”
“They could still be making golems,” El replied. “They know we’re coming, one way or another.”
Another flash from within the storm, so bright the four had to shield their eyes and turn away.
“That one was definitely closer,” El said. “We’re going over that wall. Keep your eyes peeled. Don’t be complacent just because we haven’t seen anybody yet.”
El stepped forward and briefly ignited her wings a second time, sending her arcing over the wall to land in the knee-deep snow. The other three landed beside her almost immediately, and they plowed their way to the nearest building to peek around the corner.
Square structures, each at least fifty feet tall and of some dark stone, flanked streets just as wide as the buildings were tall. Huge, closed doors stretched all the way to the roofs, but the snow lay undisturbed as far as she could see.
“These buildings must be where they make or store the golems,” Nidina said. “This might be the best opportunity we’ll ever have to learn the secrets of how they do it.”
El eyed the falling snow, scanning for movement. Nidina had a point. “That flash might answer the question for us too,” she said. “If it doesn’t, we’ll get into one of these on the way back.”
Nidina nodded. That must’ve been good enough for her.
El gestured with her hand to the other three, then ducked around the corner, sticking close to the wall and jogging down the street as best she could in the deep snow. How deep would it get if it kept falling? Would it bury the entire city? The entire nation?
Reaching the next intersection, El checked left and right, just falling snow in both directions, then ran across. She paused at the next wall until the others caught up, then continued along.
Another flash, this one so bright it tinged the entire world around them orange, and simply turning away wasn’t enough. The light reflected off the snow like a million mirrors, and El was forced to squeeze her eyes shut and bring her arm up to shield them.
“Burn it, that’s bright,” Laze hissed. “What the Blaze are they doing back here?”
“No burning idea,” Nidina said. “But did you hear something that time? I thought I…”
“Like a steak sizzling on the grill?” Dayne said.
“Careful, or you’re going to make El hungry. We all know what happens when she gets hungry,” Laze said.
“Shush, you,” El said and rubbed her eyes to clear her vision. “I heard it too...”
THUMP
The ground shook and the falling snow seemed to shiver in the air.
“What the…?” Nidina asked.
THUMP
“I don’t…” Laze said.
THUMP
…
THUMP
…
THUMP
Whatever it was, it was regularly spaced and…getting stronger?
THUMP
…
THUMP
El shuffled to the corner of the building, ducked low, and glanced around the corner.
THUMP
Just snow? What was…
THUMP
A shadow in the falling snow, not even a block away, quickly resolved, and El found her eyes going up, and up, and up to the top of the massive golem walking down the street.
