Chapter Eight Hundred And Twenty Seven – 827
The monstrosity raged, the sheer force of its voice alone enough to make Alister's bones ache. Others aboard the skiff fell back, and not for the first time. Blood ran down the ears of those whose eardrums hadn't already popped, and others abandoned their grasp on the straps and ropes to hold their stomachs or else vomited on the deck. It was a heinous sound, but it only intensified as the mages attacked.
Bastards. They need to leave!
The Tower mages swarmed aboard their Manaships, attacking relentlessly despite Atar’s incendiary offensive. His boyfriend speared through ship after ship, the white flames of his Urge burning hotter than any of their wards—yet more arrived, hot on the heels of the fallen. They charged inward, bypassing Atar to bring their power to bear on the Beast below.
They paid the price.
Arms of purple-flesh and midnight scales met each and every ship that came within reach. Blue-white lightning danced across prow and mast while red-gold flame devoured hulls by the handful. Manaship after Manship burst between the indelible grip of the Beast, leaving cracked debris and bloody remnants as the only reminders of their charge. Until even that turned to smoke and was consumed.
Passengers yelled and Alister stumbled as the skiff tilted back. They came close to the Beast’s claws, but as always Elowen somehow managed to keep them just ahead of its grasp. The ship groaned, sails snapping as they billowed with conjured winds that spun in cyclonic circles around the thing’s malformed head.
Alister peered outward again, channels aching and ears ringing as he tried to find some trace of his friend. There was little definition to its head, just a pair of burning blue eyes like foglamps settled atop a screaming maw of endless teeth.
We can't get close enough. He gestured, pushing Mana out of his left palm. “Greater Force Shielding!”
Sheets of blue force rose up around the starboard side just as a series of stone blades slammed into them. Mages in dusty brown robes drew abreast, their Manaship dwarfing Tern’s skiff as they hollered the names of their spells into the sweltering sky. Alister didn’t bother to listen; the fools had designated them as much a threat as the Beast itself, and it was pissing him off.