Jason Cosmo: Hero Wanted

Chapter 13

At the pinnacle of the Sun Palace was an observation deck enclosed in a dome of transparent crystal. It provided an unobstructed view of Rae City and the fair green countryside beyond. From here, Queen Raella commanded the defense of her capital, issuing orders with calm firmness amid a swirl of alarmed soldiers and servitors.

Hundreds of winged marauders swarmed around the city towers. I studied one of the demons through a spyglass as it swooped down to street level and gleefully impaled a fleeing citizen with a flaming trident. The winged marauder was an orange, scaly, man-shaped creature with the head of a jackal, a long spiked tail, and membranous, fan like wings. The rest of the horde was of the same breed, all armed with tridents, large metal hooks, or bags of ceramic grenades that exploded in bursts of green flame when hurled to the ground.

"From the direction of their attack, I'd say they gated in north of the city," said Merc.

"What do you mean?"

"Only a transdimensional gate from the Assorted Hells could bring so many demons to Arden at one time. I wonder if someone has found the Horn of Hockessin?"

"At the risk of sounding completely ignorant-what is a Horn of Hockessin?"

"A magic horn that summons demons. It was created by Hockessin the Unclean, the greatest demonologist who ever lived. He was so powerful and so wicked that even the Dark Magic Society feared him. The Demon Lords themselves paid him homage, for he knew their darkest secrets and hidden weaknesses. Which raises the question of who is behind this attack."

"Whoever has the Horn of Hockessin?"

"Maybe. A Demon Lord could open a gate by his own power. With effort, the Society might summon such a horde as this, even without the Horn."

"Didn't you tell me that Raelna is a blessed land, protected from demons?"

"There are always loopholes."

"Or plot holes."

"That too."

Rae City's defenders battled the marauders with an assortment of advanced weapons. Set on tower roofs were one hundred batteries of automatic arbalests, called acks. These were large, powerful crossbows that cocked and loaded themselves after each shot. An ack could fire ten long, steel-tipped arrows in as many seconds. Each ack unit was manned by a skillful crew of four. The gunner, seated in a reclining chair, sighted his target through the scope and pulled the trigger. Two more strong men wheeled the turntable on which the gun rested, always keeping it aimed in the right direction. They pushed to and fro, changing direction or making a complete circle as needed, all without looking up. Through long training or sheer instinct they knew which way to go. The fourth man rode on the platform and fed belts of arrows into the weapon. The main crew was supported by additional spotters and runners who brought up fresh belts of ammunition.

The ack crews brought down many of the winged demons-it is hard to miss a bright orange target-but could not hit them all. Bomb-throwing marauders disabled several ack emplacements. Others were overwhelmed by squadrons of demons that swooped below their plane of fire, then swarmed up to attack the crews with hook and trident.

"Why isn't AMOK engaged?" demanded Raella.

"Unknown, Your Majesty!" said Lord Hawkinstern.

"Find out!"

"What is AMOK?" I asked Mercury.

"Automated Magical Object Killer. A system Raella's technomancers dreamed up to protect the city from aerial attacks. It cost millions to develop and is supposed to automatically destroy every airborne attacker in range."