Page 60 of Memory of Ashes

“Oh…”

“What is it?” Emin stood behind her.

“Something that shouldn’t exist. Something terrible.”

They all stood gaping as the beast was released from its cage. It stood sniffing the air, blinking as it adjusted to the sunlight after its confinement. Then it charged.

It rushed straight at the gates. The city walls shuddered beneath the impact of the enormous horned creature. It slammed itself repeatedly against them. The gates trembled, weakening with each hit.

“What is that?”

“I don’t know what they call it, but it looks like it’s going to break the gates!” she cried. The enemy gathered behind it; they’d stopped attempting to climb the walls and just watched. The beast was going to break through the gates, and they were just going to walk into the city.

“Give the order to drop the bomb,” the emperor said.

“You have a bomb?” Amelia asked, stunned.

“Chrysonium,” he said. “Its power is endless.”

Where had they been testing them? “Is that safe to use so close to the city?”

“If you hadn’t noticed, we’re about to be overrun with murderous fae!” he yelled. “This is a last resort. If we don’t stop them now, they’ll be through those gates.”

It was the first day of the battle, and they were already using their biggest weapon. Amelia shook her head in disbelief. This couldn’t be real.

They were going to die.

They watched as soldiers loaded large round containers onto small catapults and aimed them towards the beast and the enemy.

“Fire!”

The bomb was launched at the enemy as the soldiers on the wall took cover. There was a blinding flash of blue light, and the world shook as men screamed.

The force of the explosion knocked Amelia onto the stone rampart, filling the air with dust from the ground. Her ears rang as the vibrations echoed beneath her. She scrambled up, the white haze fading from her vision.

Fae littered the ground like debris, and the beast lay on its side.

“It worked! Aim another!” the emperor ordered.

The next bomb was released. Amelia took cover this time.

The rest of the enemy army stayed back, watching.

The men cheered.

“I told you we had a powerful weapon!” The emperor bragged.

The dust settled, and the cheering stopped. They rushed to peer over the wall.

The beast had risen. A gaping hole had appeared in its side. Fallen fae began to get up, some of them missing limbs, others dragging their half-blown torsos along the floor.

They watched in horror.

“What in the gods’ name is happening?” Emin cried. “That is unholy!”

Amelia looked at the rest of the fae army. They also stood unmoving.

“Why aren’t they dead?” someone shouted.