The Fate of the Dwarves - By Markus Heitz Page 0,146

magic powers and sent a red lightning bolt through the window toward the swiftly approaching creature.

Her attack hit home!

The magic energy shattered the creature’s face and part of its neck, and its flight ended in a series of erratic swoops as it entangled itself in the cables holding the gondola aloft. Now the fortress soldiers could use their long-range ballistic weaponry.

The cabin was suddenly jerked upwards with a clank and then came the sound of ripping and tearing. Next moment, they were falling toward the lake.

“Stop!” Rodario yelled, petrified, trying to grab hold of one of the supports. “Coïra! Do something! Brakes! We’re falling!”

The cable car turned and Rodario caught sight of the injured creature following them, its talons at the ready.

“Forget what I just said: Make it go quicker. Quicker! Now!” Rodario shouted, falling against Mallenia and yelling in her ear. “The beast is nearly on us!”

Tungdil was on the first fishing boat with Slîn, Balyndar, Ireheart and ten of the Zhadár, heading for Lakepride with all sails set. They witnessed exactly what was happening four miles away.

Slîn looked back at the small fleet of boats carrying the Black Squadron and the rest of the Zhadár. The villagers had agreed to take the dwarves over to the island when they heard the names Tungdil and Boïndil, and when the monster turned up they put on an extra burst of speed. “Coïra won’t have any experience yet as a maga.”

“But I’m glad we’ve got a maga we can even consult,” responded Balyndar. “I was shocked to hear of the queen’s death.”

Boïndil hopped impatiently from one foot to the other. He felt extremely uneasy being on the lake and had no wish to know how deep it was—only the thinnest of planks separated him from the water. He wanted to start fighting, but how could he do that stuck on this barge? He had not the faintest idea what kind of creature it was that was attacking the cable car. “What on earth is it? It’s not a dragon,” he said to Tungdil.

“I’m trying to work out whether it’s good or bad.” Tungdil stared fixedly ahead and saw the red flash aimed at the creature; the dying monster was tangled in the cables. “Lohasbrand won’t have sent him. Dragons don’t tolerate other monsters in their kingdom. He would have killed this creature himself if it had turned up in the Red Mountains.”

When the cable snapped and the car started to fall to the lake, Ireheart cursed out loud. “Now we’ve lost that maga, too. It’s enough to drive you mad!” The fortress in the lake was shooting tiny black clouds of arrows and spears.

“She should be able to save herself. If she can’t do that she’d be no use to us against Lot-Ionan either.” Tungdil sounded detached.

The flying beast had tugged the cables away on both sides as it flapped its wings helplessly, cutting itself on the ropes. It screamed and reeled after the cabin, as if it wanted to tear it apart.

“Maybe the queen should start doing something?” Ireheart sounded doubtful. “They’re about to crash.”

At that moment the monster completed a final erratic lurch through the air and disappeared head first into the open shaft, streaming with blood and spattering red on the walls.

“Ugh, that’s what I call an unlucky turn of events.” Ireheart could see that the gondola had stopped, mid-fall, and was now swaying like a pendulum, swinging toward then away from the pillar that supported Lakepride island. “Look, one of the ropes has held firm!”

Tungdil grimaced. “I’d also prefer it if the maga actually did something. I’m not convinced of her competence.”

Ireheart was about to say something when a mighty explosion occurred.

A bright green column of fire erupted out of the shaft, blowing the whole construction up to the skies. The dwarves thought they could make out shapes of people, remnants of catapults, parts of the roof, some wooden beams and other bits and pieces hurtling through the air, driven by the force of the blast. The spectacle was accompanied by a whistling screech, the walls of the shaft glowed first red then white from the extreme heat, and then the waters around the area began to boil and steam rose up in clouds.

Another blast. The flames died down, only to be replaced by a ball of light directly over the opening to the shaft.

Below, far down on the bottom of the lake, there was a silvery flash and a circle of shimmering fire spread out. The