"Fire the emergency thrusters before those ironclads blast us out of the sky!" Silas screamed as a massive iron cannonball tore through the upper rigging.The wooden deck lurched violently. Shards of oak and frozen canvas rained down on the surviving crew as the main cargo airship surged upward out of the shattered mountain peak. All around them, the peaks of the northern range were crumbling into white powder, but the sky above was even more dangerous. Fifty giant royal ironclad warships hovered in a tight, deadly circle, their heavy brass cannon barrels glowing red in the bright sunlight."They have us completely surrounded, Silas!" Lyra shouted, grabbing the wheel as a second volley of explosive shells detonated twenty feet off their port side. "The main balloon cannot take another direct hit!""We are not sitting here like ducks!" Silas roared, stepping into the captain's spot on the raised quarterdeck. He grabbed the brass speaking horn and jammed it against his mouth. "All hands

"Catch the rope or the sky takes you!" Marcus screamed as the deck flipped completely on its side.Wind roared like a dying dragon. The broken airship plunged nose first through the burning clouds, screaming toward the dark earth below. Flames licked up the shattered timbers, turning the deck into a sliding slide of grease, blood, and fire.Lyra slipped off the broken railing, her hands flailing wildly in the empty air. "Marcus!" she shrieked, her voice swallowed instantly by the roaring gale."I have you!" Marcus roared.He forced his mind past the blinding agony in his skull. The midnight light in his left eye burst into a wild, jagged flare. Dark liquid shadow shot out from his outstretched palm, splitting into five thick, whip like tethers that cut straight through the rush of wind.The shadow tethers wrapped tight around Lyra's waist, snapping taut with a loud crack. The sudden jerk pulled her upward, her boots slamming hard against the tilted surface of the main cabin door. Marc

"Throw down your weapons and kneel before the bone circle, or these spears will end your bloodlines right here!" the tribal chief roared as her warriors closed the ring.Marcus dragged himself in front of Lyra, but two heavy bone spears slammed into his chest plate, pinning him back against the wet mossy roots. A third warrior kicked the broken dagger out of his hand, sending it skittering across the dark forest floor."Do not strike him!" Lyra shouted, stepping straight into the path of the spears. She held up her bare hands, displaying the faded gold crest stamped into the leather of her inner cuff. "Look at this mark! I am Lyra of the House of Vane! My ancestors stood beside your elders when the first threshold was sealed!"The female chief stepped out from the shadows of the ironwood trees. Her hair was woven with small white teeth, and her face was covered in thick silver paint that outlined a sharp, terrifying jawline. She leaned down, her sharp gray eyes scanning the crest on L

"Look at the open gap under its chin and strike!" Lyra screamed, pulling a small silver alchemical whistle from her pouch and jamming it against her lips.She blew with all her strength. No sound came out for human ears, but a high, vibrating wave of invisible sound sliced through the arena air.The Ironwood Behemoth froze mid strike, its massive bone claws shaking in the air. It shrieked in sudden pain, shaking its horned head violently as the ultrasonic frequency slammed against its sensitive eardrums. It turned its four glowing red eyes away from Marcus, searching wildly for the source of the painful noise."Now, Marcus!" Silas shouted from the balcony above. "Get your legs clear!"Marcus did not waste a single second. He braced his arms against the hard stone floor, planted his elbows, and shoved backward with everything left in his chest. His boots scraped hard against the rough granite block holding his legs. Leather tore, pain flared through his knees, but he wrenched his feet

"Take cover behind the rocks before the barrels go off!" Marcus roared as a heavy hail of lead bullets tore through the burning trees.Lead slugs smashed into the granite boulders, sending sharp stone chips flying across the dirt trail. Behind them, the long line of nomadic wagons carrying the bone tribe's elders and children screeched to a halt. The horses screamed in terror as waves of orange fire licked at the wooden wheels."The alchemical wagons are heating up!" Lyra yelled, crouching behind a fallen log while shielding her face from the blistering wind. "If those jars of volatile powder catch fire, the whole hillside will detonate!""We cannot fall back!" Toby cried out, his bow pulled tight as he aimed through the thick smoke. "The gatling guns are blocking the upper slope! We are trapped between the fire and the bullets!""Marcus!" Chief Kaelen shouted from the middle of the convoy, holding two frantic horses by their reins. "The path ahead is a solid wall of burning oil! The