if she did not act now, Kylon was going to die.
They were all going to die.
“Azaces,” said Caina. “Follow me.”
He looked at her, nodded, and picked up the amphora in one hand.
Caina ran towards the struggling Immortals, the Subjugant Bloodcrystal low in her left hand. Azaces followed, his face tight with pain and exhaustion. Both Malcolm and Nerina ran after him, which was probably bad, but there was no time to tell them to turn back, and they would be no safer anywhere else. The nearest Immortal cut down one of the Undying, the withered corpse crumbling into transmuted sand, and raised his blade to kill Caina.
She slapped the bloodcrystal against his chest.
There was a flash of green light, and the Immortal simply fell over. The bloodcrystal had stolen away his life in an instant. It was the fastest Caina had ever seen anyone die. The Subjugant Bloodcrystal pulsed with green fire in her hand, its hideous aura sharpening, and Laeria’s gloating whispers grew louder in Caina’s head. Her stomach twisted, and she wanted to throw up.
Yet she pressed deeper into the fray. Before the Immortals realized what was happening, she killed a dozen of them, the crystal’s cold touch stealing away their lives. The Immortals started to turn, facing the new threat, and Caina killed five more in that instant, bringing her within a few yards of the catapult. Rolukhan stood atop it, exchanging spells with Annarah, his face twisted in a snarl of inhuman glee and fury.
“Azaces!” shouted Caina.
Azaces raised the amphora over his head. In the same moment, an Immortal stepped behind him, scimitar drawn back. Before Caina could shout a warning, the Immortal drove his scimitar into Azaces’s back. The Sarbian warrior let out a strangled, gurgling groan, and dropped the amphora from his hand.
It spun end over end, tumbling across the floor.
Nerina screamed, and the Immortal who had stabbed Azaces fell, one of Nerina’s crossbow bolts jutting from his neck.
The amphora hit the floor lid-first and bounced. By some miracle it flipped and landed upon its base, rocking back and forth, its broken lid gone. Within Caina saw the crimson Hellfire, its glow brightening as the elixir reacted to the air.
It was going to explode.
Caina didn’t know if Hellfire could destroy a Subjugant Bloodcrystal, but she was standing close enough that she might find out in the instant before she burned to death.
###
Kylon killed another Immortal and saw Caina standing a few feet away.
He didn’t know how she had gotten so close, but an aisle of dead Immortals marked her passage. Azaces collapsed behind her, Nerina and Malcolm standing a few yards away. Directly in front of her an amphora rocked upon its base, an amphora surrounded by gathering arcane power, an amphora filled with glowing red liquid…
Hellfire that was about to explode.
Suddenly Kylon knew what he had to do.
He seized the handle of the amphora with his free hand, drawing upon all the strength of water sorcery as he spun. Caina shouted his name, but he kept moving, even as he felt the sorcery within the amphora reach a dangerous level.
A flicker of crimson flame appeared in the lip of the amphora and Kylon flung the container like a discus. It shot over the melee and towards Rolukhan atop the catapult.
It missed him entirely.
It did, however, shatter against the catapult’s arm, spraying crimson liquid all over the arm, the rest of the catapult, the surrounding Immortals, and Rolukhan himself.
An instant later the Hellfire exploded in a snarling column of crimson flame.
The blast of hot air struck Kylon across the face like a fist, and he stumbled back, trying to keep his balance. Caina’s right hand curled around his arm, and he was vaguely aware that she had her left arm thrust out, trying to keep the bloodcrystal away from him. It must have made for a comical sight.
A hideous scream rang out, and Kylon saw a shape wreathed in crimson flames leap from the burning catapult. Rolukhan staggered back and forth, pawing at himself, horrible screams bursting from his throat. The fire should have killed him. It would have killed most men, but the nagataaru was regenerating his wounds, keeping him alive as the Hellfire chewed into his flesh and turned his robes to ash.
Rolukhan slammed into the railing, still screaming, and lost his balance.
Thalastre’s murderer fell with terrible shriek, plummeting into the cylindrical shaft.
Right towards the Hellfire engine.
###
“Oh, no,” said Caina. “No, no, no.”
She dashed forward, looking over the railing just in time