Set in Stone (30 page)

Connor winced. He'd flown the Heatstone oven. He knew what that meant.

Verena shrieked as the force of the wind drove her across the width of the door and then through the open doorway. She disappeared into the dimness beyond, her arms and legs trailing behind as she flew into the manor house.

The flames had driven the army back, but also destroyed the barrier. Rory's force quickly regrouped, and soldiers began shouting, "Obrion".

Part of Connor wished they would back off, but they never would. They were angry. So was he. They would charge again, and this time nothing would stop them.

Not far from Ilse, Anika and Rory fought hand-to-hand at the base of the steps. She stood as tall as he, and the two seemed equally matched. Of course, Connor knew nothing of hand-to-hand fighting, but they both looked impressive, and neither one had yet gained an advantage.

As Connor watched, Anika broke with Rory and punched him hard in the chest. Rory staggered a couple of steps back but caught himself and grinned. He looked like he was enjoying himself.

Anika grinned right back and spread her arms wide. "Come. Wrestle again. I break your heart."

Rory laughed. "We'll see who breaks what." He launched himself at her again.

Not far away, Erich caught Tomas under the arm with a mighty blow that knocked him a couple steps back. Even as Shona leaped at Erich's back, the big Grandurian side-stepped, caught Shona's arm, and slammed her onto the ground. She struck with terrific force, and Erich stomped on her face.

"No!" Connor looked around desperately, filled with rage at the sight. He prepared to jump from the roof to join the impending charge, but his eyes settled on Donald's small pack he'd dropped before chasing after the Wingrunner.

Hanging from the belt was a small leather pouch.

Connor dove for it, drove his hand in, and felt powder.

He concentrated hard, willing the power into his hand. Warmth spread up through his arm and he laughed. Then he frowned as he realized the power felt wrong somehow. Instead of the insect-crawly feeling of the Curse he was used to, this power slithered up his arm like a breath of wind and filled him with boundless energy.

Suddenly he could not stand still.

Down by the doorway, Shona cried out in pain, and the sound drove away all hesitation. With granite-hardened muscles, he could help her.

Connor charged.

The world seemed to tip suddenly as he shot forward far faster than he'd intended. Instead of muscles turning leaden with deadly granite power, his legs burned with the need to run.

He moved way too fast. The shingles of the roof whisked past, and even as the truth dawned on him, he sailed out over the edge.

He hadn't absorbed granite. The pouch held some other stone, the power that fueled the Strider's super speed.

The image of the Wingrunner leaping off the roof and accelerating around the manor without injury flashed into Connor's mind, and he focused on running. He landed hard, and accelerated faster than he'd ever imagined possible. But his legs tangled and he toppled forward.

With arms and legs flailing, Connor fell into a wild somersault. He hollered with fear and tried to plant his feet to regain his balance.

It almost worked.

Instead of regaining his footing, Connor vaulted up into the air. He sailed right past Erich, who was fighting Tomas again, missed Anika by inches as she grappled with Rory, and cleared three of the four steps up to the doorway.

His leading foot caught on the forth step and he tumbled forward again, right at a very surprised Captain Ilse. The captain managed to twist, and Connor scraped along her side as he tumbled past and sailed into the darkness of the manor.

Where he plowed right into Verena.

She yelped as he collided with her. The two of them somersaulted back into the dim recesses of the large room and fell hard together, a tangle of arms and legs. They rolled over each other several times before they finally came to a painful stop.

Connor groaned and blinked against the sudden darkness, amazed that he hadn't died. Every muscle ached, and all of his exposed skin screamed from being scraped against the hard stone floor. He tasted dirt, and his ears rang with the sound of brass bells.

Something stirred under him, and only then did he realize he'd ended up on top of Verena. He looked down and their noses nearly touched.

Suddenly he became intensely aware of how they lay together, of her soft warmth, of her gentle, earthy scent, and mostly of her big blue eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness.

"Connor? Where did you come from?"

Her breath smelled sweet, like mint. The fact seemed ridiculously incongruent given the situation, and Connor couldn't suppress a chuckle.

Verena giggled, and that made him laugh harder.

She grinned, and her smile seemed to light up the room. "Get off and help me up."

Outside, Ilse shouted, "Verena!"

"Coming!"

Connor clambered to his feet and helped her to stand. "What are you going to do?"

"You'll see," she said with a sweet smile.

Then she punched him right in the throat.

Connor gagged, and even as his hands rose instinctively to his throat, she slammed her palm into his stomach. Despite the protection of his leather battle armor, pain exploded in his midsection, and his knees buckled. His eyes watered and his stomach lurched like he might be sick.

He fought to hold down the urge to vomit. He didn't think anything could come up with his throat jammed closed, and didn't want to find out what would happen if it tried. He gasped for breath and fell to one side, unable to move or to stand.

How could Verena hit so hard?

She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "I'm really sorry." Then she turned and raced for the entrance, pulling something from her satchel.

Outside, Obrioner voices rose into a crescendo of battle fury. The army must be starting the charge that would sweep Ilse's tiny force away for good.

Verena stopped in the doorway and tossed something to the right, and then something else to the left. Connor's eyes were blurred with tears, but they looked like small stones.

A frightening rumbling sound, followed by startled cries of alarm sounded from outside. Somehow the rumbling sounded familiar, but Connor could not place it. His mind was fuzzy from lack of air.

He was just thankful Hamish hadn't seen him get beat up by a girl.

Silhouetted in the doorway, Verena shouted, "Now!"

Connor squinted at her and decided he should have shot her, not the rock. Maybe in the knee. That would've hurt a lot.

The Wingrunner whipped past, little more than an impression before he was gone again. Connor forced himself to his knees despite the roaring pain in his gut, and cringed at what he saw outside.

Long earthen walls ran out from the manor house, boxing in Rory's army like a herd of sheep.

They didn't seem to care and, led by the two Fast Rollers, continued their charge. As one, they lifted their voices and their swords, and came on like a flood.

Ilse and her men could not hope to stop them this time.

Soldiers fell screaming from the ranks, but the army did not falter under the fresh missile barrage.

Erich tackled Tomas, rolled over him and, using their combined momentum, launched Tomas out toward the advancing army.

Shona, who had regained her feet, shouted in victory and raced past Erich. Her face was caked with dirt, and blood seeped from her nose, but she sprinted up the steps, right at Captain Ilse.

Ilse sidestepped Shona's lunge and shoved her right into the door post. It cracked, and the heavy door sagged on its hinges. Shona bounced back, and before she could recover from the shock of the blow, Ilse grabbed her arm and yanked her around in a tight circle.

Shona shouted a curse as Ilse pulled her off her feet and sent her rolling down the steps. Erich caught her by the back of her battle leathers, spun again, and tossed her into the air. She crashed into Tomas, who was just staggering to his feet.

The army had nearly reached the two, and the sight of the charging, unstoppable force filled Connor with wild elation. Despite all of Ilse's tricks, she was about to be overrun.

Erich threw himself to the ground right behind Rory just as Anika pushed him. Captain Rory stumbled and tripped over Erich. Erich kicked him in the face and then grabbed his arms. Anika grabbed his feet and, even as Rory struggled mightily to free himself, they tossed him like a sack of grain.

He landed in front of Tomas and Shona just as the army reached them. The entire group came on, a wall of steel that would trample Ilse, her small force, and probably level the manor house.

Verena had descended the steps to the low mound of earth where she faced the charging army alone. They were barely twenty feet away, closing fast. They'd never fall for her cute routine. They'd crush her.

Even though she'd just beat him up, Connor couldn't help shouting hoarsely, "Verena, get out of the way!"

She glanced over her shoulder and gave him a dazzling smile before turning back to the onrushing army . . .

. . . and dropping a stone onto the mound of earth.

Connor shouted, "No!"

A wall of earth erupted up out of the mound. It spanned the entire area between the first two walls she'd summoned, and shot up at a low angle. It slammed into Rory, Shona, and the other soldiers and tumbled the entire army back like rag dolls.

Connor winced. Shona was having a really bad night.

Then he frowned as the army kept tumbling and sliding back and back away. They should have stopped already.

They didn't. The entire army kept sliding, arms and legs flailing on the smooth surface of the hard-packed ground until they slid right off the southern end of the plateau onto the gentle slope beyond.

The entire battlefield between the barn and the carriage shed glistened in the bright light, like ice on a sunny winter's day.

Verena gave a little hop and clapped her hands together like a little girl who just crushed her first spider.

Beyond the edge of the plateau, a single bugle call rang out.

Ilse raised a fist in triumph, "Well done everyone. Scouts, monitor troop movements. The rest of you, prepare secondary measures."

As soldiers scattered to their various assignments, Ilse turned toward Connor. She took a step toward him, but Verena raced past her to Connor's side. She pulled his arm over her shoulder and helped him to a nearby bench.

She smelled so good, and it felt wonderful to hold her like that, with her snuggled in so close to his side. For a second he forgot she'd punched him out in the first place.

"Are you all right?" Verena asked, real concern in her voice.

Connor glared. "I can barely move."

"Whew! I was worried I might've hit you too hard. That move causes permanent damage sometimes."

"You hit me plenty hard enough, thanks."

She eased him down on the bench, and Connor released her with mixed feelings. Part of him wanted to punch that cute face, but part of him wanted her to sit beside him.

A soldier brought a torch to illuminate the room, and Ilse moved to join them. This part of the manor house was as plain as the north end was ornate. This was the side where work was done. Six storerooms emptied into this big room, while wide stairs led to the lower levels crowded with soldiers' barracks and slaves' quarters, more storerooms, and various cellars. Three entire levels were carved into the plateau underground.

Verena plopped down on the bench beside him and took his hand in hers. She had tiny hands that were surprisingly warm. She looked right into his eyes.

"I didn't want to hit you, honest. It's just, I had to break that assault before anyone got hurt."

Connor barked a laugh. "You almost killed me, and from what I saw, you hurt just about everyone." In his mind, he again saw Shona and the entire army tumble back off the edge of the plateau, helpless to withstand Verena's single dropped stone.

"Well, I mean not seriously hurt."

"People might have died out there."

"Oh, I doubt it. Everyone tried to be careful."

Connor snorted.

Verena clapped her hands together and made a little squeal of delight. "Wasn't that incredible?"

"Not really."

She gave him a little push. "Don't be so sour. Sure it was. I mean, I hope no one got hurt too bad, but I've never worked that exact combination before. I bet they were surprised."

"And sore." Connor tried to see past the cute face, filled with childlike enthusiasm. "How did you do it?"

She grinned and squeezed his hands. "It's so exciting. It's an entirely new branch of Building. We don't even have a good name for it."

"You shielded the doors?"

She nodded.

"You made wind, and fire, and . . ."

"Yes!" She suddenly leaned in and kissed his cheek. "I love it how smart you are. No one else understands me."