Her true test began now.
44COUNTERSTRIKE
“We have incoming!” Badal shouted over the wind as they soared above Kin’jal territory. Clouds obscured the moonlight, darkening their surroundings, and Vir wondered how the pilot flew the Acira without Prana Vision.
“What’s wrong?” Vir asked.
“Aciras on our tail.”
“Kin’jal?”
“Likely.”
“Why? I thought you said they were expecting us.”
“They are! Doesn’t mean they won’t pick off as many of us as they can.”
Great.
Vir supposed it made sense. Kin’jal had to have a plausible alibi in case they ever got flak for allowing the Order to steal their demon prisoners. If they injure or kill some raiders, they can at least claim they did everything they could.
The raiders had stopped only twice on their way to Kin’jal. Once, for rest, and the second to obtain precharged magic orbs from their agents. Though none of the raiders were mejai, anyone could activate C Grade precharged orbs. Just that it was impossible to precharge an orb in the Pagan Order, so they’d had to land in Rani to collect them.
“Kin’jal combat air patrols operate in groups of three!” Badal yelled above the wind. “Keep your eyes peeled. We’re moving to engage.”
“Engage? How?”
As far as Vir knew, Acira lacked offensive capabilities of any kind.
Badal retrieved a crossbow from a holster down by his ankles. “Can you use one of these?”
Vir nodded. Riyan had trained him in a variety of weapons. While he’d spent little time on bows, crossbows were far easier to operate.
Badal handed Vir the weapon and retrieved another, which he loaded up.
“Fire on my mark. Aim to harass, not kill.”
Vir kept his eyes peeled for any sign of other Acira, but all he saw were the ones behind him—the other Pagan Order Acira.
It was only when Arc, Ember, and Wind Blade spells hurled from the clouds and the pilot threw the avian beast into a dive that Vir spied them. Though Prana Vision’s resolution was poor at long distances, Acira were large beasts. The signature grew brighter and brighter as they approached, and Vir locked on with his crossbow’s sights.
Vir dug his boots into his stirrups as their Acira rolled to avoid their enemy’s spells. It wasn’t just them, either—several Acira dove, while the ones not being targeted climbed, seeking higher vantages from which to bombard the enemy.
The pilot juked the beast, narrowly dodging an Ember spell. An enemy Acira emerged from the clouds on a collision course.
“We’re going to crash!” Vir yelled.
“We won’t. Hold your fire,” Badal ordered.
Vir couldn’t have shot even if he wanted to. Maintaining a lock on another moving target proved far more difficult than Vir anticipated. Though he tried to compensate for the movement of their Acira, his aim was thrown off whenever the beast flapped its great wings, buffeting the riders.
The enemy drew closer, and Vir braced for a midair collision. Even if he had to bail, Light Step would soften his blow. He’d grab Badal before jumping off, but the pilot would have to fend for himself.
Vir made to unhitch himself when a rain of arrows descended upon their enemy like a cloud, forcing the opposing Acira to spiral into a dive.
“Brace yourselves!” the pilot shouted, diving after them without even a moment’s pause.
Their Acira folded its wings, plummeting at an incredible rate that made Vir’s dinner threaten to come back up. Never in his life did he imagine a beast traveling so fast. The wind, which was loud before, deafened him, blowing his cheeks back, and it took all he had just to keep his eyes open.
No wonder the pilot’s wearing goggles.
It was terrifying… but if he was honest, also a little fun.
He really knows what he’s doing, Vir thought with a pang of envy. He wanted to be the one executing death-defying stunts in midair.
A wild grin crept up on his face, and Vir thought he could get used to the thrill of flight.
Their enemy, perhaps assuming the Order demons weren’t that crazy, opted for a saner, safer dive. The distance between them rapidly closed, as did the ground, which rushed up under them. Vir didn’t think they’d catch their prey before they crashed.
“Fire!” Badal ordered, and Vir complied.
Badal’s crossbow bolt shot forth, but a last-minute juke by the opponent’s pilot set it sailing harmlessly by.
Vir’s aim, however, was true, and his bolt sank into the rump of the Acira. His attack was followed by four more bolts from the others, one of which clipped the beast’s wing, causing it to screech in pain and abort its dive.
“Were you aiming to hit its vitals?” Badal asked, panicking slightly.
“Definitely not. I just can’t aim that well when we’re moving so fast.”
The demon nodded. “It should be fine. This one is retreating. Two more to go.”
An Acira tumbled from the sky, and Vir watched with horror as it plummeted lower and lower… and crashed with a sickening thud.
Badal looked on with concern, worrying it might have been an enemy Acira.
It was worse—it’d been one of theirs.
“Ally down. Descend and secure a perimeter!” Badal ordered the pilot, signaling nearby Acira to do the same. “We’re going in.”
With two enemies still in the air, half the Order Acira remained airborne to pursue them. The Order had the benefit of numbers, but Kin’jal had mejai aboard and had to mind where they shot, lest they land a lethal blow.
It was the only reason the Kin’jal Acira even stood a chance. They knew the Order wouldn’t harm them.
“The Acira’s dead,” Vir shouted as they descended. Prana Vision showed no life at all from the beast. “Too far to tell if anyone’s still alive.”
Vir unhitched and jumped off, Light Stepping to absorb his impact before Leaping to their downed ally.
It was a gruesome sight. The Acira’s head had hit the ground first, and its neck was clearly broken. It lay upside down, pinning the Order demons under it.
They’re alive! Vir thought, rushing up to them. Alive, but unconscious. He couldn’t be sure how bad their injuries were until they’d been freed, but Vir didn’t worry himself with things he couldn’t control. Instead, he got to work, cutting the rope that bound the riders to their dead beast.
Badal landed and came running over. Vir hailed him, but stopped when he saw a jet of red fall from the sky.
“Badal, dodge!” Vir roared, pointing up.
Badal hurled himself aside and dove into a roll, just as the Ember spell landed, setting the tall reeds nearby ablaze.
Vir pushed against the Acira with all the force he could muster, even Empowering his arms and using Leap, but the beast simply wouldn’t budge. Vir could hardly believe such a heavy animal could lift itself off the ground.
A rod of ice plunged into the ground a few paces away, forcing Vir to scan the skies for more.
The Ember spell from earlier acted like a beacon, lighting up the downed Acira, and more Ember and Icicle spells quickly rained down. Whoever the Kin’jal pilot was, he was doing a great job of avoiding the dozen Order Acira who heckled him, providing his mejai ample opportunity to rain fire on them from above.
Ice and Fire magic not only had the longest range of the orb-based affinities. When fired this way, they could be launched from miles above. Gravity pulled them down, drastically boosting their range.