Emily was pulling the pack off yet another corpse to search for supplies when Mo and Ra finished up with their side.

Alex had been working on gathering up all the mounts and setting them free, but he must have finished because she heard his voice right behind her.

"So what's the plan?" he asked with that usual calm.

Mo's face was pale, and he was clutching his side as he spoke.

"We can't go back to the city. Hermes will be looking for you, and by now, he will know they failed."

Ra clenched his jaw as the thought of what happened again, and looked at Emily. She was pretty sure he was only keeping silent because he knew the odds, but he was not in agreement with his brother.

After what their people had done, neither of them was faring well. As far as they were concerned, this had been a betrayal of their duties, and it was not something either of them could forgive.

Alex sighed and shook his head.

"I don't think we have much of a choice. Our team is there. Kael can only protect them so much without a Shaman, right?"

Mo started to speak but held himself back when he realized he couldn't argue.

They had strapped the bodies of those they deemed honorable to the beetle mounts and sent them home, but those who had betrayed them would be left for the sands.

"Alexander, please understand you are both in grave danger. The Hearthkeeper might be able to protect us, but you two have to know Hermes will try again."

Emily let out a mirthless chortle

"Of course he will. If my first attempt failed, I would send another, and if that still didn't work, I'd come deal with it personally before they started making problems for me."

Mo bit the inside of his cheek.

"Why are you making jokes right now? We're in grave danger."

Emily shrugged.

Because I have to fight him, no matter what, whether it's now or later. But maybe we can catch him off guard. If we make a beeline for the city and cause as much noise as possible, it'll be a lot harder for Hermes to act freely.

As far as Emily was concerned, this was their best option. If they hesitated and let the Chieftain plan as he pleased, they would quickly lose their edge. Hiding only served to give him more time.

Alex was rubbing the back of his neck, but he seemed to nod at the idea.

"She's not wrong. We need to be decisive here. Even if all we have are accusations at this point, it will prevent Hermes from silencing us and stampeding any opposition."

Ra looked ready to leave right then and there, but Mo was still hesitant, so Emily gave him one final nudge.

"If he's decided to attack like this, then it could mean he's done waiting. Worse still, if it were me, I'd use this to make a move on the 'roots' themselves. And seeing as we can't get in contact with them, we need to get back sooner rather than later."

Moe's shoulders drooped, but he nodded.

"Alright, we'll ride for home."

Emily nodded and whistled for Cupcake. The beast had been resting during the fight and was still sulking, frustrated she hadn't gotten more of a chance to tear into their enemies.

Now she had more than enough energy and motivation to carry Emily. Once the decision had been made, they didn't hesitate to mount up and take off. Leaving the mass of courses where they had fallen.

Their journey had already been underway, and they weren't far from their destination. Which was probably half the reason they had chosen to attack when they did.

Emily kept a close eye on the horizon for any backup teams, but right now there were none.

Alex and the rest had to push their mounts to keep up with the rime wolf, but they still did so without hesitation.

At one point, Mo started to fall behind, so they stopped just long enough to give him a breather, and then they were back on the road.

Hours dragged by like stretched minutes, keeping them on high alert the entire time. The alternative was another ambush, and none of them could handle that right now.

All their concern turned out to be for nought because when the city came into view, she realized why they had had such a smooth trip.

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Emily frowned at the man-made butte.

Just as she had first seen, there were protectors outside, but the number right now far outstripped what she had seen before.

This time, ranks of fighters of all kinds encircled the city, making it almost impossible to approach without their blessing.

When she saw this, a deep, unsettled sensation spread over her.

Alex cursed and confirmed her suspicion.

"He's trying to keep us out. He could have already framed our loss of numbers as a mass murder event. He'll already be turning the whole place against us."

Emily pursed her lips.

"Will they believe him?" she asked, directing a questioning look at Mo and Ra.

The twins didn't answer, but their exchanged glances were not encouraging. No one with a brain should believe that Emily had attacked their people while her allies were still within the city, but she had a feeling it didn't matter. Not when Hermes controlled the narrative.

Mo grunted in pain.

"We aren't getting any closer than this."

Both Ran and Alex seemed to agree, but Emily bit the inside of her lip.

Judging by the numbers, there were at least five times as many warriors here as in their previous escort group.

Getting in through there was not possible.

It was also clear by the sudden changes in their formation that their Scouts had seen them coming. Even as small as their group was, they could not escape the higher-order skills of the Ashvali.

The groups of people turned to face their direction as if challenging them to come forward. They were minutes away from the sealed gate, but Emily had a feeling reason would not win the war today.

"We need another plan in. Are there any backdoors we could make use of?" she asked.

Both Mo and Ra looked hesitant.

"There are, but if they are expecting us, then we can be certain they will be blocked."

Emily glanced up at the brilliant sun beaming down at them and back at the rest.

"Well, since they are making such a show of it, shall we give them something to look at?"

Alex got that suspicious look.

"What are you thinking of doing?"

Emily shrugged.

"Dunno, but it will only work with three of us, one will have to stay behind."

She expected them to argue with her, but to her surprise, Alex just shook his head.

"Count me in, but it's between the two of you how you want to do this," he said, looking at the brothers.

Mo and Ran glanced at one another, and Ra stepped forward.

"My brother will find somewhere to lay low and rejoin us when he can."

Emily pouted, feeling left out.

"You guys aren't even going to ask what my plan is?"

Alex snorted.

"You probably wouldn't tell us anyway, so it's best to just go along with it. At least then I can protect your back, not to mention I can tell you what a bad idea it is."

Emily couldn't keep the smile off her face.

"Glad to see you're finally coming round. Now both of you come here."

They did, but not before Mo and Ra said a final goodbye. It was clear that one brother had sustained wounds that would take a long time to heal, but that shouldn't stop him from surviving the desert; he was born here after all.

"Leave your mounts and only grab what you need," she said, as she gently dug her hands into Cupcake's fur and lowered her head beside the beast's ear.

"Alright, girl, we're going to push our luck here, you ready?" she asked.

The Rime wolf shook her coat out as if to say 'duh'. Even though she could feel a tepid excitement coming from her.

Once Alex and Ra were behind her on the saddle, she cracked the reins. Taking off directly for the frontline.

Cupcake took off at a low trot that quickly developed into a full-speed rush. Each step impacted the sands, sending clouds of dust backwards.

Emily drew vitality from her chest and plunged it into the connection between the beast and herself.

The rime wolf howled and stepped into the sky, her paws impacting the air with a ripple of crimson.

Their ascent was quick and intense, pushing them all down into the saddle. Emily had to strain her neck to look up as the force tried to press it back.

Alex grunted while Ra let out an uncontrolled hoot of laughter.

The distance between them and the Ashvali shunk, but Emily kept pushing them further into the skies.

Every jump from Cupcakes' powerful legs shrank the lands below. Going over the dunes and buttes alike.

The higher they climbed, the lower the temperature grew, as winds buckled around them until she pulled at the reins.

All at once, Cupcake stopped, hovering in the air, with a wide stance.

Below, the hoards of men and women craned their necks and up squinted into the light while searching the sky. Emily had placed the sun at their back for this very reason.

Without the air rushing past, it was quite peaceful up here.

"Alright, we're up here, but the doors are still closed. What's your plan now?" Alex said, his voice coming out in ragged pants.

Emily glanced back at them and grinned like it was the night before Christmas.

"Now you hang on and don't let go no matter what," she said.

Her tone must have alarmed Alex because his pupils grew three sizes, and his arms clamped down around her waist.

Emily giggled and had Cupcake plunge back towards the earth.

Wind whipped past their ears once more, but now with the assistance of gravity, they turned into a small, hurtling cannonball.

Descending directly towards the city.

Blood streamed around them as Emily shaped it into swirling ribbons, making them look more and more like a red meteor hurtling toward the earth. Even as they fell, she strengthened their protective screen. At the same time, she wrapped every one of them in a Vital shell. There were a couple of shouts down from below, but they were too late, and only a few attacks were even shot in their direction. Of those, none managed to pierce even the outer layer.

As their speed increased, Emily sharpened the front of their charge into a pointed hammerhead.

She aimed carefully because if she missed this, even with all her precautions, it would hurt.

As they fell, she only had one target in mind.

One of the obsidian 'windows' that covered the butte. These shoots normally let light in through the top of the city, and while they were strong, they were also quite brittle.

So when Emily aimed straight for one of the larger glass skylights, she launched the heavy attack ahead of them.

It accelerated and crashed into the top of the city with enough force to make the surrounding rock tremble. But that was not all, the obsidian was unable to handle the concentrated attack at a single point and collapsed inward like a house of cards. Cupcake went tearing through the opening, hopping from each falling shard of glass to the next, as they descended into the city below

By the time they crashed into the top of a rooftop, Emily looked up and took in the sights. Unfortunately, Alex's fears turned out to be true because when she took it all in, what she found was a city on fire, or more accurately, one portion of the city. The roots were where she had spent most of her time inside the city, were on fire, and waves of fighters stood in a standoff against the Shamans.

Blood points: 728

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