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CHAPTER EIGHTY

TZAIN

“R ETREAT ! ” N ? O CALLS.

I join the maji as the Skulls make land. We race down the wooden pathways, heading back to the merchant quarter.

Planks fly as the Skulls’ carrier crashes into the docks. The bloodmetal tears straight through the port. It barrels through the fortified walls, destroying the specialized cannons and storage houses along the shores. Plumes of dust rise into the air as the carrier razes the port to the ground.

The Skulls leap from the edge of the craft, arms waving as they drop to the ripped earth. They raise their weapons into the air and shout. Red light surrounds their blades, feeding off their blood.

The carrier is only the first to get through. The ten remaining crafts follow in its path. With a mighty roar, thousands of Skulls charge at once.

The ground quakes with the force of their attack.

“Remember the plan!” Nao yells. The vineweavers and I follow her down the pastel-colored buildings of the merchant quarter. Tamers wait at the end of the dirt path, rose-colored armor sculpted to their bodies. My ears ring with their unified chants. Pink light surrounds their hands.

“?m? ogun igbó, ? dìde báyìí—”

All at once, wild ryders pour from the empty buildings, the same pink light swirling around their heads.

Countless panthenaires lunge forward, their dark coats glistening under the red moon.

A sea of rainbow-scaled serpents slides free.

Packs of gorillions rage across the dirt path.

One-horned cheetanaires bare their ivory fangs.

Na’imah leads the stampede, charging on the back of a black-tusked elephantaire.

“Attack!” Na’imah shouts. The animal infantry meets the first wave head-on. Serpents unleash their venom like darts. Panthenaire fangs sink into flesh. White-chested gorillions pummel Skulls into the ground.

At the next divide, Burners stand at the ready, marked by their gleaming red armor. When the retreating maji pass, the Burners strike. Their voices join together in unison.

“Iná jó, iná f3nká, iná jó, iná f3nká—”

Embers spark at their fingertips, floating through the cracks in the shops’ boarded-up windows. One by one, the buildings ignite, exploding like dominoes in a line.

The next wave of Skulls are caught in the blast. Fire rages through the merchant quarter as bodies fly.

“Tzain?” Kenyon calls as I round the corner. In an instant, I’m pulled into his arms. A moment is all we have in the chaos. The Skulls push forward in their assault.

Kenyon takes in the vineweavers, my shaved head, the bone axe tattooed across my abdomen.

“Go on!” He waves us all forward. “Soldiers are waiting in the marketplace!”

My chest heaves as we run through the city, fighting to reach its center. The number of Skulls multiplies at our backs. Maji and t?táns work together, launching new defenses from every checkpoint.

Grounders open up the earth, swallowing entire legions of Skulls. Welders launch columns covered in gleaming spikes. Bones crunch as they crush the Skulls into building walls.

Winders stand on deserted rooftops, generating powerful blades of air that cut straight through the Skulls. Cancers hit the enemy next, creating orange clouds of toxic gas.

When we finally make it to the marketplace, I find the entire area has been cleared out. Hundreds of soldiers gather together in rows, prepared to take on the remaining Skulls. Each wields new armor and shields carved by Welders to absorb the Skulls’ blows.

Metal barricades lie at the soldiers’ backs. Collapsed buildings arc around them, closing them in.

“We fight to the death!” a general shouts. “We fight till our last breath!”

Before us, the Skulls’ thundering boots crescendo. Their howls ring through the air. Someone tosses me and the vineweavers new shields. I release my bone axe, joining Or?sha’s last defense.

“For Or?sha!” The general raises her sword.

“For Or?sha!” The battle cry echoes from every soldier’s mouth. We all run forward as the Skulls spill into the alleyway en masse.

The air echoes with our clash. Metal collides with metal. The Welders’ armor withstands the brute force of the Skulls, giving my people a fighting chance.

A giant Skull runs at me, battle-axe raised. I lift my shield, absorbing the attack. The force reverberates through the hand-carved metal, sending shock waves through the air.

The Skull strikes again, and I spin out of his range. I grit my teeth as I cut down, chopping off his arm. With another pivot, I swing, slicing my blade across the Skull’s neck.

Two more Skulls enter my range. I roll across the floor, bringing myself to the ground. I cry out as I drive my axe through their knees. Blood sprays as they fall to the dirt.

Before me, a New Gaīan moves to restrain a Skull. Her vines snap around his wrists. But the massive Skull reverses the attack, latching onto the vines and dragging the weaver right in front of him.

I sprint across the field as the Skull lifts up his hammer. Before the Skull can attack, I hurl my bone axe in the air, striking him in the center of his chest.

Our battle rages throughout Lagos, from the battered port to the deserted marketplace. We fight with all we have, but no matter how many Skulls we defeat, more pour through the alleyways.

To my left, hammers catch soldiers straight in the chest, sending them flying into the barricades. To my right, a Skull seizes two soldiers by the necks. He squeezes them until they snap.

Another Skull knocks a line of soldiers to the ground. With a vengeful swipe, his glowing blade digs into their abdomens. The massive Skulls strike with no remorse. They cut straight through the seal of Or?sha across our soldiers’ breastplates, forcing our soldiers back.

Keep going! I will myself, pushing though my muscles’ burn. I don’t know how much longer we can keep up the fight. There’s no end in sight—

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The concussive force blasts through the air. It blows through the deserted buildings before us in a mere breath. I shield myself from the rubble that falls overhead. The clearing smoke reveals a full view of the sea.

The skies split open at the very seams. A rush of rain pelts from above. A string of lightning ripples through the red night from the east. The bolts dance above our heads in a vibrant blaze, golden lines crackling free.

Zélie…

I recognize her power. I feel her in the racing winds. My eyes sting as the shorelines of Or?sha transform. It’s like a hurricane is released over the seas.

Mountainous waves swallow the remaining carriers whole. The Skulls feeding into the alleyway are no more. Their bodies fly as they’re carried up, pulled into the raging storm.

I lift my face to the pelting rain, allowing it to wash the blood from my skin. I raise my axe into the air and roar.

The soldiers join me in full force.