Parsimonious Moondragon strode from Loxo's 'Quercus Antiquities' shop with a fistful of cash and a wide grin on his satisfied face. He stepped down onto the smart patterned stone walkway that circled the outer rim of the Eye and felt a shudder beneath his feet. He dismissed it as a loose cobble. He spotted a small café on the opposite side of the courtyard and trotted across to spend his well-swindled money.
He ordered the largest amberberry meatshake on the menu and was already sucking noisily on the striped straw as he weaved between seated customers to find a spot in the sunshine. As he reached the last vacant table, a steaming puddle of sticky white fluid blocked his path. He tried to tiptoe around when another large glob of the liquid plummeted from the sky and splattered across the stones, splashing his expensive boots and up his legs. A foul stench of rotting fruit and ammonia filled the air.
He gazed upwards curiously to spy what bird had made such a sizeable mess of his tailored trousers. The sky was filled with huge creatures locked in battle. Eagles and bats crashed into each other while the riders exchanged blows.
Some café customers had already clocked the aerial combat and were hurriedly finishing their drinks and taking for cover. Moondragon carefully folded himself under the nearest table and sat cross-legged, nurturing his shake in his cupped hands.
A hair-raising screech echoed around the Eye as a bat spiralled out of control and careened into the tables, sending bistro chairs and half-drunk cups flying. It narrowly missed the Emporium trader who almost choked on his straw. The bat's rider lost her grip of the creature and crashed through the window of the café. She stood, dazed, to be greeted by a frying pan that struck her in the face. Her nose erupted in an explosion of blood and she was slammed backwards into the cake display. The ageing pastry chef raised the skillet again for a second swing but relented. The woman was unconscious in the pavlova.
A second bat appeared in the square with two Sky Rats aboard, soaring around the edge of the courtyard, its wingtips grazing the rooftops of the overhanging buildings as it circled. The rider seated to the rear untied the neck of a large sack and deposited the contents. Cast iron balls rained down on the plaza. They bounced and skittered across the stones.
"Grenades!" shouted a street vendor, knocking over his stall as he dashed for sanctuary. He bumped into Columba who had darted out of The Pulverised Pigeon in response to the commotion. Columba tripped over one of the metal shells as they rolled towards his doorway. He fell onto the unforgiving cobble with a painful slap. "No!" he screamed from the floor. He struggled onto his elbows and belly-crawled to the security of the upturned market stall just as three grenades detonated, producing a huge ball of flame that engulfed the building and singed the maître d's waxed moustache. Columba peered over the collapsed kiosk at the remains of his beloved restaurant. Smoke was billowing through the shattered picture window and several tablecloths were smouldering. It was pulverised. Columba exploded with anger and shook his fists at the sky. "I am on your side!" he shrieked, before scurrying away in case someone might have heard.
***
"Incoming!" screamed a bat rider as a series of spinning, burning canisters whizzed past his ears. He gave a victorious sneer as none of the bombs hit him.
An ear-splitting screech filled the air as the Sky-shaking Thunders exploded. Rufus Quinn felt a wave of energy pulse through him with each explosion. He felt at his chest and groin. He was unharmed. He returned his focus to the battle and was surprised to see the bats scattering in all directions. They were out of control and could no longer function. They flapped violently and unseated many of their riders. Some bats hurtled into each other whilst a few were able to right themselves and head back, stunned and confused, towards the Ephemera.
"The bombs must disrupt the bats' echolocation," called out Quinn to the nearest Silver Eagle rider. He targeted the nearest disorientated bat and Battler's head crashed into its ribs, sending it spinning towards the lake. "Genius!"
Another flurry of bombs fizzed amongst the flying creatures and burst on cue, sending the bats into dizzying spins. Two unharmed bats, on the edge of the battle, stopped fighting and headed for Loxo. "Disable those catapults," ordered the lead rider and pointed angrily at the windmill towers. The second bat circled low around the closest tower, evading the threat from the launchers. The passenger reached into a shoulder bag and removed a small cast iron ball. He struck a long, coated match against the leather shoulder strap of the bag. The friction ignited the sulphide paste and he inserted the flaming stick quickly into a small hole in the top of the ball. He threw it towards the foot of the windmill. He repeated the process three more times before his partner kicked hard into the flanks of the creature and it climbed back into the sky.
Belinda spotted the bat as it fled. She ran to the platform edge and peered down to the ground. "Divine Fire grenades!" she yelled, pointing at the base of the windmill tower.
Evie Wister stopped loading the catapult and sprinted for the scaffold. She leapt for the pulley rope. Her weight dragged a bundle up towards the platform whilst dropping her through the centre of the rig. She landed awkwardly and barrel-rolled under the structure. She ran to where Belinda was pointing frantically and found four potato-sized metal balls nestled against the stonework. She picked up the nearest grenade and dropped it immediately as the red-hot metal scorched her fingers. She bit her lip with the pain. She knelt and tried to extinguish the grenade by blowing through the hole, but the match was wedged in tightly. It was no use. She dashed from the windmill, heading towards Loxo's left ear. She stumbled into the thick cartilage that connected the ear to the head. She slowed her breathing and steadied herself against the enormous ear lobe. She closed her eyes and pressed her hands against the skin, slowly circling with her palms as she whispered quietly, instructing the beast.
The ground trembled as Loxo responded. His trunk arched upwards, and he sprayed an intense burst of water over his head at the windmills behind his ears. The grenades fizzed and sputtered as they became flooded and were washed away in a torrent of water that gushed down the sides of Loxo's neck and tumbled into the lake.
The Sky Rats looked on with disbelief. "Change of plan!" hollered the lead rider and directed his bat into a kamikaze dive towards the windmill. "For His Imperial Majesty!"
The creature smashed into the catapult bucket, snapping it clean away from the arm and sending it crashing through the scaffold rig, obliterating the structure. The bat lay comatose among the debris. The two Sky Rats staggered out from the rubble into the arms of waiting villagers who attacked and detained them. The second bat spun downwards like a juggernaut and annihilated the remaining catapult, taking the scaffold rig with it in a shower of splintering wood.
Evie wailed as she watched the bats destroy their only weapons. She covered the short distance to assist with the detention of the dazed and bloodied Sky Rats. She grabbed one of them and searched through his clothing. She wrestled his shoulder bag over his head and delved deeply inside to discover a bundle of matchsticks. She jogged to the base of the destroyed scaffolding and grabbed a sack of canisters.
"Belinda!" she called upwards. The young girl was hanging precariously on to the damaged platform. Four villagers had managed to stretch one of the windmill sails into a taut square beneath the teenager. She swallowed hard and let go. She plopped onto the canvas without injury and rolled to the edge to join Evie on the grass.
One of the bats was stirring.
"Ready to face the enemy?" asked Evie with a determined look. She thrust the bag into Belinda's arms and pulled her towards the bat.
***
Loxo issued a deafening trumpet call, energising Donta and Pumilio into action. The elephants squirted powerful jets of water at the airship, attempting to flood the cannons. In between sprays, they swatted at the nearest bats with their trunks.
More Sky Rats had been ejected from their bats. The riderless creatures flittered back to the Ephemera and disappeared through a circular opening in the hull.
Clavis Majstar targeted the airship. His unit kept the bats occupied for the most part, but two bat riders spotted him leaving the fight and gave chase. Majstar guided Audax who skirted over the surface of the balloon. He scrabbled desperately at the material. The bats snapped at his tail feathers forcing the bird to abandon his run. He shot up sharply to escape their snarling jaws before spiralling downwards beneath the Ephemera to shake them off. A cannonball fizzed through the air between them and spooked the bats, one of which gave up the chase. Majstar controlled Audax expertly among the cannon fire but could not dissuade the second bat from its hunt. He yanked on Audax's feathers and the Silver Eagle arched his back before beating his powerful wings and driving skywards towards the nose of the airship to attempt a second run.
Audax's powerful talons stretched as he slashed at the material. It had to work. Just a few more seconds. Clavis looked over his shoulder and saw the Sky Rat whooping with delight as his bat ripped at Audax's tail, tearing several feathers free and drawing blood. Audax screeched in pain and ascended to evade the attack. Neither Majstar nor his eagle noticed another bat approaching from above. Its passenger leapt from the rear of the creature, performed a forward roll and lunged for the bird. He grabbed Majstar as he tumbled past, hauling him from his saddle. The two men plummeted through the air and crashed onto the envelope of the balloon. Audax screeched in terror and retreated as the bats flanked him and drove him away from the Ephemera.
Majstar tried to stand but the balloon sagged under his weight. The Sky Rat pounced and sat on his chest, winding him and crushing his lungs. The pirate grabbed at his throat and squeezed. Majstar's vision blurred and stars sparkled in front of his eyes as the Sky Rat's grip tightened. With his last effort, Clavis reached for a cleaver hooked to the Sky Rat's belt. His fingers wrapped around the handle and, as his world was turning black, Clavis Majstar swung with all his remaining strength and drove the blade into the neck of his assailant. The hands around his throat relaxed and he gratefully gulped down mouthfuls of air. He blinked as his vision returned. The Sky Rat's shocked face stared sightlessly back at him before he slumped across Majstar's chest.
Majstar was dragged off the balloon envelope by the weight of the dead Sky Rat. He scrambled hopefully in mid-air and his hands grabbed a rope dangling from the rigging. His palms burned and his shoulder dislocated from the arrested fall. Majstar swung freely from the end of the rope until his body slammed into the quarter deck. His momentum smashed him through the decorative wooden railing and deposited him on the worn deck boards. He blacked out as a shard of wood impaled him below his ribs.