What am I to do but send these children into battle with nothing more than barely sharpened spears and the hopes of the foolish youth? I must cheer them on so they don't turn back but it will be me who buries their bloodied bodies in the ground while my general prepares the next slaughter.
— War is a Cruel Master (Act 3, Scene 8)
As the people in the village had said, the tree was impossible to miss. Linsan and Brook spotted it after cresting over a hill about ten minutes after leaving town. It stood at the edge of a fallow field at a T-intersection ahead of them. A large canopy cast the entire junction in a pool of shadows. To their surprise, the rest of the tree was also dark with black leaves that fluttered frantically as if it was in the middle of a storm. It looked out of place, like it was in a different world compared to the bright, sunny day that lit up the world around them.
Brook looked nervous. “That looks…”
Linsan couldn't tear her eyes away either. “… scary? I… I…”
The buggy slowed down minutely. “… yes. Are we sure?”
Linsan swallowed and winced at her suddenly dry throat. She could feel tension crawling along her shoulders. “We should probably hurry.”
Brook winced and accelerated.
It took them another five minutes before they could pick out details. What Linsan thought were leaves were actually thousands of crows perched on bare branches. The gnarled, twisted limbs were angled in unnatural ways with the wood forming loops and whorls like no tree Linsan had ever seen. The fluttering came from the crow's wings. They weren't beating but there were so many of them, she half expected the murder to tear the tree from the ground and carry it away.
She clutched her violin case tighter and stared.
“Blessed Couple,” whispered Brook as she careened to look at it. “That's creepy.” Her eyes were wide and her gloved hand squeaked as she gripped the steering wheel tighter.
As the vehicle closer, Linsan noticed there was no noises coming from the crows. That many birds should had been audible over the engine noises but she couldn't hear anything besides the crunch of dirt underneath the buggy's tires and the soft sounds of their increasingly stressful breathing.
Linsan whimpered softly. “Why aren't they making any noise?”
Brook released the accelerator and the engine grew quieter.
Straining to pick out any sound, Linsan couldn't hear anything.
Brook started to reach for her window but then pulled her hand back. Her eyes were wide as she gripped the wheel and tapped the accelerator, sending a rumble of power through the buggy. She steered to the far side of the road until the thick tires were catching on the grass and rocks on the side, then cut across the last twenty feet of the corner to take the opposite side of the road. With only a single look in the rear-facing mirror, she slammed her foot into the accelerator and the car lurched forward.
Linsan clamped her hands over Brook's drinks and braced herself. The power of the buggy drove her book into her seat. Closing her eys, she tried to prepare herself for the fight. It was hopeless to even imagine how the next hour would pass; they were going blindly into a battle with nothing more than untried skills, a few hours of practice, and the hopes of the foolish youth.
She glanced at Brook. Seeing the dark-haired beauty's face twisted in a scowl, Linsan knew the same doubts and fears were crossing Brook's thoughts. But neither could afford to turn back anymore. They had to do their best to stop the murderers and recover the violin.
When they reached a broken-down windmill, Brook turned hard to the right and followed the road. The car roared as it covered the distance. The large tires caused the entire carriage to bounce against the uneven ruts.
“Just like we practiced?” asked Brook through clenched teeth.
“Yes. Fast songs, work on the beats. Focus on the man with the guitar since he's the leader.”
“His name is Tilbin. This better work.”
“It will,” Linsan said, not entirely sure of herself.
It took a few minutes before they saw the blue barns along the horizon. Linsan smiled grimly.
Then she caught sight of the main village roofs off to the side. There was a line of trees that separated it, but she could pick out the main building between the trunks. It was pathetically close, maybe a quarter mile from where they started to the barn. “Damn the Couple!”
“What!?” Brook glanced to the side but then snapped her head forward to keep the car on the road. She did a double-take.
“That's the village! It's right next door. Those old bastards sent us the long way around—!”
Brook slammed on the accelerator and the engine's roar became a high-pitched scream. Needles on gauges rose rapidly, dipping into the bright yellow areas before plunging into the red and clicking against little rods that indicated their limits.
Behind them, various high-pitched whistles rose up and a deep rattling shook the vehicle.
Linsan braced her foot on the dash of the buggy and retrieved her violin. She quickly tugged it out and stowed the case behind her. Just outside of her window, she could hear the wind whistling against the side of the buggy as the vehicle ripped down the road.
She gasped as her heart pounded in her chest. The violin strings hummed underneath her fingers, the warmth of the Sterlig giving her strength and a sense of calm despite her anxiety. “Work on the beat, work on the beat,” she whispered.
“I'm going to bring the Glasscoaster around to use it as a shield. Try to block off their escape. Use it until we can get our bearings. You go after the guitar, I'll cover. You lead.” Brook's words were curt with her concentration.
Linsan's chest hurt. “Count the music coming in?”
Brook grinned, her eyes scanning back and forth on the road. Her dress ruffles fluttered with every bounce of the road but she kept it moving forward. “Third bar, start with the drinking song.”
“My Lady of the—”
“Yes!” Brook rolled her eyes and smacking the steering. “Is the name that important right now!? How can you remember all that?”
Linsan grinned. “Been living it all my life. A thousands songs are stuck in my head.”
“Just keep it fast and hard. The milk song next, and if we are still fighting, then go into that anthem we only tried twice.”
“Slap,” Linsan said with a nod. She double-checked her bow. Taking a deep breath, she made sure she was braced and brought the violin up to her chin. It was going to be cramped playing in the Glasscoaster, but they had to come out swinging.
“Okay… we're coming around the corner.”
Linsan threw herself into the rapid bars of My Lady of the Dark Unders, a drinking song that ended with a powerful beat to simulate a fist fight in the song. Both of them thought it would be perfect with Brook's concussion blasts. The rich sounds of her violin filled the cramp quarters of the buggy.
They reached a curve that brought them toward the barns. The wheels of the buggy shuddering and bounced as Brook took it hard; the back of the buggy drifted to the side before Brook straightened it. With the straight line, Linsan could see a wood, post and rail fence surrounding the yard around the barns.
“Brook?”
“Not a problem,” Brook said through gritted teeth. “Just brace for it.”
“It's a fence!”
Brook smiled. “Trust me on this. It was just like the one I drove through when I stole the Coaster from Far.” Linsan barely picture Brook's sisters, Mabil and Farerin, but she didn't remember which one was Farerin.
Then move caught Linsan's attention. Ahead of them, the man wearing a duster and the wide-brimmed hat trotted across the yard. It was Tilbin, the leader of the trio of killers. Even from a distance, she could see his guitar swinging slung over his shoulder as he hauled what appeared to be bags toward his own vehicle.
Compared to Brook's Glasscoaster, Dukan's Black Thunder was a startling different vehicle. It looked low to the ground with the seats near the back third. The front half was mechanical ports and gears and pipes. Behind the seats were two large boilers, one mounted over each of the doubled back wheels. With the trunk lid open and sticking above the tanks, it made the car look like a cat stretching out with its rear rising up.
Tilbin threw the bags into the trunk and said something.
Gabaw stood up from the far side of the front, his head popping up over a hood over the left side of the car. He looked directly at Linsan and Brook, then did a double-take of his own.
“Shit!” snapped Brook, her foot thumping against the pedal already driven into the floor.
He slammed the hood shut with a shout. Then he stumbled back to the other side of the while waving his hands and gesturing toward the buggy.
Tilbin's head snapped around to stare at him. He clearly swore and then turned and yelled back himself. Linsan couldn't hear the words over the roar of the engine, but they were clearly panicking.
“He saw us!” snapped Brook. She kicked the vehicle but it wouldn't go faster. “Shit! Shit!”
Gabaw got into the passenger side and slammed the door shut. The Black Thunder's roof was pulled back, leaving it open air. She could see him digging down for something.
The third of the men, Mayforn, raced out from one of the barns. He held up his pants with one hand and had a single bag in the other. Whatever was in it was bulky but light, causing the contents to snapped back and forth with every step. He raced straight for the car, but didn't throw the bag in as much as carefully set it even with his bare ass sticking out.
Linsan's heart skipped a beat. The care Mayforn took implied the item in the bag had worth. “That's Palisis, it has to be.”
The three killers quickly slammed hoods down and doors closed before tumbling into the car. In a matter of seconds, Mayforn was in the driver's seat and a cloud of white steam burst out of the back of the car.
The massive plume rolled across the ground, jetting across the rough ground in waves of white pressure.
Gabaw hiked up his pants and jumped into the driver seat.
“He's about to release the valves,” Brook said. Her lace gloves tightened around her steering wheel. “We aren't going to get fast enough to block them in.”
“How?”
“The Thunder has two pressurized tanks to get it moving quickly. Otherwise, it's too heavy to move without a horse. Those are going to set off and the entire thing is going to lurch. I just… need to stop it!”
Rapidly losing any semblance of control, Linsan cradled her violin and braced herself. “Are you going to crash?”
A wild smile gave an answer Linsan dreaded.
“Is this going to hurt?” she whimpered.
“Probably.” Brook suddenly looked around the cabin and then toward each side of the car. “I'll hit on my side, back of the car. It might knock Daddy's off angle and they lose control. Even if they get away, it might break something more important. The Thunder is a lot more fragile than this buggy. That's why I stole it.”
Linsan stared at the wild look in Brook's eyes. She whimpered and braced herself the best she could, cradling her naked violin and bow in her hands.
She noticed that Brook tapped the steering wheel with her thumb. She still kept the beat. Inspired, Linsan used her own finger to pluck out the song they had started. The tinny sound bounced around the cabin.
Brook smiled as her tapping grew more confident.
In the briefest of moments, Linsan heard the beat of the song match the throb of the engine.
“Brace!” screamed Brook.
The buggy slammed into a fence. The entire chassis shuddered violently as the wooden rails snapped in half.
Brook twisted the steering wheel hard to the side. Her feet slammed against the pedals in a rapid-fire beat of her heels against the metal.
The acceleration drove Linsan against the car door. She let out a cry of surprise as she slammed one hand against the dash and the other to the violin. Her song ended with a screech of her fingers scraping along the strings.
The buggy twisted to the side, then the engine began to rise in pitch as they slid sideways toward the front of the Black Thunder.
Just as the two cars met, a powerful boom exploded from the back of the Black Thunder.
One moment it was there, the next there was nothing but white clouds.
The blast cracked the Glasscoaster's windshield. One of its headlights snapped off, bounced across the suddenly warped hood before smashing against the glass.
More cracks snaked across their vision for only a heartbeat before it shattered. Shards of glass tumbled into the cabin of the buggy. Sharp edges caught Linsan as she yanked the violin away from the cascade but most of them just tumbled to the floor without cutting her. The cloud from the Black Thunder rushed through the cabin, scaling Linsan before it blew through.
The buggy heaved to the side, then thumped back to the ground.
Linsan froze in dazed shock. Her vision was blurry as she tried to take in all that had just happened.
“Shit on their skulls!” screamed Brook, apparently unaffected by the collision. Her boot punched the accelerator and the buggy shot forward while fish-tailing violently.
The pressure driving Linsan into the seat was terrifying. She pawed helplessly as she struggled to focus.
“Are you with me, Lin?” Brook said with a hint of fear in her voice.
Linsan grunted as she shook her head to clear her vision. She looked out so see the world racing past her in a blur but she could focus on the insides of the cabin. The grasses on the sides of the road were nothing but smears of color as the wind whistled against the door.
The Black Thunder raced ahead of them, belching out steam as it bounded along the road. The left tire rattled like a snake's tail and streamers of steam poured out of ruptured vents on the opposite side.
“He got the charger off. I need you now!”
Linsan whimpered but the tone of Brook's voice and the closeness to the murderers forced her to push her thoughts aside. She grabbed her bow and twisted her body so she could play without glass digging into her legs.
With the wind plucking at her hair and instrument, she struggled at first but she knew the song. The rapid, sharp tones rose up and the air around her shimmered. She focused on the energies, feeling how they rolled over her skin and warped the air. With a flex of her power, she used part of it to deflect the wind ripping through the ruined windshield and gave them bit of breathing room.
Tilbin stood up from the back seat of the Black Thunder. His hat was missing. With a cocky smile, he brought his guitar in front of him and slammed down on the strings.
The air around him ignited into flames. The musical notes hung in the air for a moment before forming into fireballs that launched themselves at the Glasscoaster. Each one was the size of a large man's fist but they moved unnaturally as they curled toward them.
“Linsan!”
“Got it!” Linsan accelerated her own play, shaping the notes of her song into tendrils of force. The rippling of song and magic snapped forward like a whip, tossing the fire to the side where they exploded into the field. A crescendo came up. Knowing the beat after it, Linsan formed it into a sharp point of pure energies.
Right at her moment, Brook released the steering wheel and slammed her hands together. The concussive blast exploded from her palms. It launched the remains of the front windshield away from them. Twisted metal and glass along with Linsan's magical attack became a wave of destruction.
Tilbin stumbled back as he was peppered by the attack. Glass cut at his body, tearing into his duster and nicking his ear. A length of the windshield frame tore a gouge out of one of the Black Thunder's tanks.
Brook grabbed the steering wheel and wrestled the car back under control
Linsan grinned at their triumph.
He came back without his cocky grin and blood dripping down the side of his face. With a glare, his hands raced along the strings, sending off riffs faster than she could see. More fireballs formed around him but they didn't shoot forward.
Linsan worried as she tried to catch his song. It sounded familiar, but the instrument and the wind made it difficult to identify. She focused on her song and used it to form protective energies in front of them.
“Not much more, your magic is making it hard to see the road.”
“Hard to play in here,” Linsan gasped. Her hand guided the bow as she watched more of the flames gathering behind him. Her elbow struck the door and she had to skip a note to recover. “Very cramped. Ready?”
She focused on turning the defensive energies into another attack. “Three. Two.”
Tilbin grinned and his teeth shone. He punched down on his strings.
Mayforn surged up from the driver's seat. The Black Thunder swayed back and forth. He slapped his hands together and then threw them apart. As he did, a barely perceptible wave of force struck the fireballs.
Accelerated by Mayforn's magic, the flames shot out in all directions faster than Linsan could track. They streaked through the air until ricocheting off rocks, branches, and the ground before spearing toward the Glasscoaster.
Linsan could tell that the fire bursts were acting like sound waves. They were reflecting off surfaces but everything was moving too fast for her to observe in details.
Even the tiny distraction was enough. The first blast smashed against the hood of the buggy, dragging her attention back to the fight.
Seeing more bursts barrelling toward them, she played as quickly as she could. Her bow vibrated shrilly as she knocked aside as many fireballs as she could, but it felt like using a spoon against a flood. Her sonic whips tore out chunks of the ground and scraped both the Glasscoaster and the Black Thunder.
“Fuck!” screamed Brook. She slapped her hands together, using her blast to blow away the ones screaming toward the open windshield and the front of their vehicle.
Neither of them were able to stop the ones that came from the side and top. Bursts of heat and fire scorched the air, setting fabric and hair aflame. The impacts shook the roof and bounced the buggy along the ground.
One hit the side of the door and bent the frame against Linsan's leg. She only had a second to register the pain as she held her violin to the side while smacking at the flame that ignited her clothes.
Next to her, Brook did the same. Every beat against her body sounded like a drum, an impact of something far heavier as she smacked and beat the flames out of her clothes. But her impacts also snuffed out the fire from both of them. She tossed her flaming hat out the door.
Linsan saw more fireballs coming. Twisting her wrist, she jammed the rest of her violin against her neck and drew the bow along the strings frantically. A few scattered notes escaped before she realized the song was wrong. She switched to Rider in the Storm feeling it was the right tune for the fight. The dark tones filled the cabin, bouncing off the roof and warping the air.
“I don't know that song!”
Linsan's brow furrowed into a scowl. It was wrong, the song needed more room than the tight confines of the Glasscoaster. Even without a windshield, there was too many surfaces cramping them. The sound needed to blossom and fill a room, not bounce against metal only inches away. She needed to hear it, she needed to move to summon the energies. “Damn, I can't play that.” She shifted back to a different song.
“What was that? Go back! I felt power there! That's what we need!” Brook yelled over the wind.
“The right song, but I can't get it off.”
“Why not!” Brook's voice had a shrill tone over the din.
“Not enough room. Too cramped.” Linsan wasn't entirely sure how to describe the feeling in her gut.
“Brace!” Brook twisted hard on the steering wheel and the vehicle bounded off the road.
A gout of flames exploded where the buggy had been.
The thick tires of the vehicle took the uneven ground easily. The wheels seemed to turn sideways along a dry field before Brook swerved it back toward the road.
Linsan tried to keep her bow on the string, but despite the buggy's suspension, the rattling made it impossible.
“How much room?” Brook said as she weaved the buggy around fireballs exploding around them. Chunks of scorched dirt and rocks peppered both of them. “The roof?”
“I-I think so.”
Brook grinned. “Grab the wheel and hold tight.”
“What!? Are you kidding—!” Linsan's heart almost burst out of her chest in fear.
“Grab it!”
Linsan snatched the wheel. It jerked and bounced in her grip like a furious beast. It twisted hard as the deep furrows on the ground were transmitted through the steering. She dropped her bow and the violin into her lap as she clamped her other hand on it to steady it.
Brook grabbed something between the seats. Her seat fell back and she dropped with it until she was lying on her back. One knee rose up to brace against the dash as her other clamped down on the accelerator.
“Duck your head!” Her voice barely carried over the wind howling through the cabin.
“What are you do—!”
“Get your head done and don't let go!” screamed Brook. She clamped her mouth shut as she pulled her hands back while glaring at the roof of the Glasscoaster.
Linsan let out a cry and buried her face into Brook's dress. She clamped her eyes tightly together as she strained to keep the wheel steady.
She felt Brook pull her hands apart and then there was a explosion of sound and pressure as her concussion blast exploded inside the cabin. Metal screeched out painfully as the force drove the buggy into the ground. It rattled violently as the undercarriage was dragged along the furrows. The ground felt terrifying close as every ridge, rock, and root shook the entire vehicle.
Then, the Glasscoaster launched itself into the air. The sudden slack in the steering wheel and suddenly missing vibrations was even more terrifying.
Linsan ground her face into Brook's lap, unwilling to look to see what was happening.
Brook's hand smacked against the back of her head, pinning her face against the fabric of her dress.
The steering wheel suddenly became easier to control and Linsan realized that Brook had gripped it with her other hand.
The Glasscoaster slammed into the ground again, bouncing to the left and right as Linsan rattled in her seat. The firm pressure against her head kept her pinned as she flailed around for something to brace herself.
Her violin and bow slid off her legs.
Blindly, Linsan grabbed them and held tight.
Brook's fingers tightened in Linsan's hair as she pulled up and pushed Linsan back into the passenger seat. She had an almost insane smile on her red face as she reached back to grab her seat and the release. Pulling both, she yanked them into place, sat up straight, and took the wheel with her free hand. She stopped only to bat Linsan's hands away before she regained control of her vehicle.
Linsan looked around with curiosity and fear. Then she realized there was nothing above her, no metal or wood. Just bright blue sky and passing tree canopies. The pillars that had kept the roof above them were nothing twisted metal and sharp edges.
“Enough room now?” Brook twisted the wheel to avoid a fireball. Her jaw tightened as she smiled broadly, then twisted the buggy back onto the road. As soon as the thick tires got purchase, the Glasscoaster lurched forward.
Linsan stared in shock for a moment, then looked over her shoulder. They were already beyond Little Rock village and heading toward Fanasis Village. The Black Thunder was easily a few chains ahead but apparently out of the range of Tilbin's fireballs.
Hope filling her, Linsan set the violin back into place and ran a quick trill along the strings. The sounds no longer bounce against the surface and she could feel the emptiness she needed for the song to be used to its fullest. “Ready!”
“Now, let's get these cow shits!” Brook whooped as she kept her eyes and the buggy on the road. “What's my part?”
Linsan realized she didn't know how to communicate the needed parts of the song. She had the skill to instinctively know how the music would flow, but Brook was just learning. She could memorize songs but didn't understand enough to adapt to something new. Linsan frowned even as she started the first bars of Rider in the Storm. The punchy song started quickly. Her bow and fingers were a blur as her mind raced ahead for the best places for Brook to join in and how to tell her.
As she concentrated on the much faster tune, she heard other rhythmic sounds that were close to the rhythm and speed of the music. The loudest was something in the buggy's engine, a piston or gear that made a rapid tick. It was faster than she normally played, but the sound was steadily measuring out time despite the buggy's bouncing and swerving.
Linsan concentrated on the ticking, using it to quicken her music until she was using the car as a metronome. The strings were singing in her ear, the air boiling with her power as the bow rang out. Energy crackled along her body, standing the hairs on end and lighting dancing along the metal surfaces of the coaster.
“Give me a beat, Lin! You need me!”
Linsan tried to speak, but the notes faltered. Rider in the Storm had always been a more complicated song. Feeling the power behind the rhythm, she could tell why but it made it impossible to explain the song.
Remembering how Brook tapped the steering wheel, Linsan got an idea. Turning her back against the still hot door, she bent her leg and jammed her foot against Brook's thigh. She used her other knee against the center console to keep herself pinned in place despite the bouncing vehicle.
Brook let out a yelp and looked shocked. Her leg clenched against Linsan's thigh.
Linsan yelled. “Your beat is the fifth tap!” Even speaking caused her drop a few notes and she inwardly cringed at the sudden loss in power that surrounded her.
Brook shook her head. “I need that leg!” She grabbed Linsan's ankle and hauled it up to pull the heel into the valley between her thighs. “Stomach!”
Linsan gave Brook five quick thumps with the side of her foot. Her shoe left marks against Brook's dress but she didn't think either of them would care.
With a smile, Brook nodded. “Got it!”
Linsan concentrated on the song again, tapping her foot against Brook's stomach as she measured out the beats using the engine noises.
Brook squirmed, her legs flexing as she nodded in time with the music. Then her hands tightened as her timing adjusted slightly, meshing perfectly with the engine's thumps. Her nods came precisely at the right moment Linsan needed her to clap.
Turning her attention back to the song and away from the moving vehicle, Linsan gathered up more power. She concentrated on keeping the bow racing along the melody and her foot moving as she felt the energy dancing around them.
The first moment came right as the buggy hit the road. Linsan tapped against Brook's stomach as the music rose into a crescendo.
A second tap.
Everything slowed down, moving to the pulse of sound and energy.
The third tap.
Brook's legs tightened in anticipation. Her fingers clenched the wheel and then relaxed.
The fourth.
Linsan ripped through the chords. Around her, the maelstrom shot out in a spiral of energy that lit up the sky with blue streaks. It surrounded them in a cloud of ripping air and the sharp taste of magic that defied the wind blowing past them.
Then the fifth.
Brook released the steering wheel, lifted herself up from her seat, and then clapped her hands together with all her might.
The concussive wave exploded in a tsunami of brilliant blue, sucking the maelstrom into it. It tore up ground in a flash before rising up to come down like a hammer against the back end of the Thunder. The force sheered off one of the tanks before crushing the metal into the ground.
Linsan's foot slipped down her thigh and she had to drag it back into place as Brook settled back into place.
Tilbin stared in shock, the wind whipping at his duster. Then he peered over the edge of his vehicle at the damage.
One of the tires on the side had been ruptured but the Black Thunder had two tires on each side on the back and the other looked undamaged. The missing tank had ripped open the side of the trunk and a single bag hung of the ragged hole. It had the distinct shape of a violin fluttering as it bounced.
“Palisis!” Linsan whimpered but kept playing.
Tilbin grinned as he reached down to snatch it. He tossed it into the back seat. It bounced off the back of Gabaw's head.
“Again!” snapped Brook. “Keep playing!”
Without saying anything, Linsan started into Rider in the Storm again. The energy quickly gathered around her.
Playing his guitar, Tilbin sent fireballs racing toward them but Brook dodged out of the way.
Linsan was jerked to one side and then the other as the car weaved between the fire bursts. She arched her back to clamp her heel her against Brook's thigh to keep it in place. Her bow sparkled with energy with her notes. Each one danced off the string and rose up like embers in a fire to accumulate in the gathering maelstrom.
The beat came up.
She lightly tapped her foot into Brook's belly. In the corner of her eye, she watched as Brook's lips pressed into a thin line as she prepared to attack again. Linsan could feel the muscles tensing.
One tap. Then two, three, and four.
“Hammer them!” bellowed Tilbin. He leaned back and slammed his hands down across his guitar. The power chord rose up in a column of flame and heat.
Gabaw surged out of his seat. He spun around and braced his knees against the seat.
Linsan tried to rush the notes before their attack but Tilbin had somehow known the timing of her song; he must had learned it from the first time Linsan played it and identified the best time to respond. It was when they were the most powerful but also the most vulnerable to his attack.
The flame pillar gathered in Gabaw's hand. When he brought them down in a double-fist punch, the fire left a streak that traced his movement in brilliant white. Both Gabaw's hands and the fire formed into a large, hammer-like bullet that smashed into the ground right behind the Black Thunder.
The ground in a hundred foot circle exploded into a column of fire and stone. Heat tore out of the earth and rocketed up, picking the front of the Glasscoaster and flipping it backwards.
Brook's scream was lost in the roar of fire magic and searing winds.
A sickening feeling caught Linsan as she stared in shock as the front of their car was forcibly pointed towards the sky. The column of fire was already blossoming into a mushroom-shaped cloud above them. Fire boiled in the spreading smoke and dirt. The heat tore at her skin.
A blink later, and she was staring at an upside world. The ground was now above her, but too far away. They were easily a dozen feet above the ground and still moving forward from their momentum. A moment later and they sailed over the crater.
Heat beat against her body, stinging her nose and throat as smoke blinded her. Blindly, she grabbed Brook with one hand and wrapped her other arm around the Sterlig. Unsure of what direction she had to brace for an impact, she curled up as tightly as she could around both and held her breath.
And then, the car struck the ground inside the crater. There was only a millisecond of crunching metal, snapping rods and Brook's screaming before everything ended.