The Dragon Chase: A Tale of the Everburning City

Chapter 17: Amelian

On both sides of the Causeway, the fields were still burning, which was almost as dangerous as the Gloamtaken. She glanced down, at the patches of fire and the billowing smoke, and shook her head. If they could survive that trip, the Gloamtaken could follow.

"Burn me," she thought.

At least she thought it was only in her head, until Valen turned to her, raising an eyebrow. "Ma'am?" he asked.

She shrugged, as Valen fell into step beside her. Quietly, to avoid being overheard, she explained. "All my options end with us dying. I keep hoping there's something I've overlooked, some better plan that could get us out of this mess. But there isn't anything, is there?"

"No. But I am impressed," Valen admitted. "You're still thinking about winning."

"Surviving," she corrected.

"It's the same thing, in this case," Valen insisted. "Your head is in the present. You're focusing on this moment, what you can still do. Most people tend to visit their regrets right now, instead of their duty. Believe me, I've seen it happen."

She nodded, as they marched along. Every hundred yards, they passed an exhaust port, and each felt like a small accomplishment; another few minutes of life they managed to keep from the creatures coming towards them.

Suddenly, from behind them, a scream pierced the night. Impossibly loud, and distant, it had a low and guttural tone that no human could have made. To Amelian's ear, it sounded as if the Gloam itself was howling in rage, just beyond the wall.

As if that scream were a command, the distant Gloamtaken charged with a new, terrifying fury, faster than Amelian had ever seen them move. Their terrifying trample did not even spare their own number, some of whom were lost as they fell, swallowed beneath the multitude behind them.

"No," Valen said, in a conversational tone, as if they were simply sitting for coffee.

"What?" Amelian asked, confused.

"The question you'll ask in a minute. Where you ask if anyone has ever heard that before. The answer is no," Valen explained.

"I don't give a speck of ash right now, Valen," Amelian hissed. "Mia, thin them out. Barnes, on my left. Valen, my right. And feel free to give ground. Half our problem is we have too much Causeway."

"Aye, ma'am," They all said. There were no salutes. Every one of them was watching the approaching horde intently, as they moved into their positions.

Mia stepped forward, and shot four bursts of bright-blue flame into the crowds, sending several reeling and halting groups of the creatures in her tracks. As they advanced another dozen steps further, she finished reloading, and hammered the creatures with another volley.

The first two creatures that reached their formation both rushed Valen, who casually waved off her assistance as he sidestepped the first, letting it run into his sword, and pushed it into the other. As both creatures fell to the ground, he followed with a quick thrust of his sword, and neither creature rose.

Mia stepped back to reload, and several more creatures rushed towards them, converging on Samuel, who wisely backed up to give himself a little more space.

Amelian darted forward, and managed to catch one of them with a strike to the side, beneath an outstretched arm. It tumbled to the ground as the others ran past, and didn't rise.

She followed the creatures, as the first reached Samuel. The leader rushed him, and received a swift sword thrust through its chest, from the collar-bone down, and collapsed to its knees.