The Clan of Outcasts [Season 3]

Part 39: "Bring An End"

The Roque, East of Gybralltyr City

The Roque was a scene of blood, bandages, beds and more people and activity than it had seen in a decade.

The shielding runes laid by the Nysir siblings held strong, admitting no one but those in the company of their friends and allies. The Great Hall held row upon row of cots, full of wounded soldiers waiting for Brinley and Tessa to come and tend to them. Injured and disabled soldiers entered, shuttled in with the assistance of Quilla and Nyella, while restored and rejuvenated soldiers took the underground passageway back out to the forest to rejoin the fray.

A thudding sound like a furious hailstorm rattled the roof, and Tessa glanced up warily. "What is that?" she whispered.

Brinley saw the flutter of small, dark wings and heard the ugly croak. A thought from her, and Bronn charged up the stairs with a heavy bark, charging and swiping at the crows that had somehow slipped inside.

"How did they get in?" Tessa demanded, but Brinley could only shrug.

"My guess is that they must have worn down the defenses at the very top of the building, and they can slip through the chinks one at a time, since they're so small."

The lady of the Roque shivered as she finished bandaging a soldier. "If only Polaris were here," she whispered. "I hope he can fend off Mallory and get back in time."

Denahlia stirred and sat up in her bed, ignoring the bursts of odd colors over her vision, and the pain lancing through her arms because of the damage to her implants. "I've got to get out there," she muttered to herself.

Tessa rushed over and stopped her from rising altogether. "You're not going anywhere!" she said. "You haven't fully healed yet."

The former Hunter groaned. Neither Tessa nor Brinley understood the technology so closely integrated with her body. They could clean and patch up wounds, but without electricity, they couldn't restore her implants. She flopped back with a sigh. "At least when the implants were in my eyes, I could still use my body!" she complained.

Out on the rooftop, Seline darted back and forth on her powerful white wings, slashing and batting at the intruding crows. A few had slipped past her reach, but she had no doubt that the others would take care of them. At least these ones weren't turning into vicious armed men as soon as they landed; she figured it must mean that the power to shapeshift resided with Mallory alone, and that without her focus and direction, the crows stayed crows, although they fought with beak and talon as well as they could.
The forces on the battlefield clashed again, but this time, Seline watched as thick walls of ice grew and partitioned off areas of the wide grassy plain, often with enemy soldiers trapped inside. She could sense the magic spells being cast by not just one, but two Mages, further away, perhaps defending the Gate. Thick bolts of lightning ricocheted through enemy soldiers in bright spiderwebbing patterns. Seline drove away scores more of the squawking, dark birds, but their activity had only attracted the attention of more swirling hordes, as the trapped soldiers turned into birds and flew toward the vulnerable Roque.

"Someone help!" Seline called out, willing the request out to any Gifted who could hear her and respond.

The lightning streaked closer to her, but Jaran wouldn't be able to strike at them from a distance. Seline felt dozens of tiny, sharp talons grip the tops of her wings, as fierce beaks pierced the membrane through her protective feathers. She recoiled with a pained cry as the weight of them cost her altitude. She was going to fall down the front of the building, if they kept tugging on her in this way.

"Seline!" Jaran called out from below the Roque. "I'm coming!"