“I’ll take command of this,” Calu said. “You stay back for once, Mari. How many Mechanics do you think we need, Alain?”
“It has to be enough to slow the attackers, but not so many that the rear guard is slow to retreat and cannot escape,” Alain said.
“Twenty?” Calu suggested.
“I’ll ask for volunteers,” Mechanic Kasi said. “They’ll all have rifles?”
“Yes,” Calu said. “We’ll take up positions near the railyard and see how long we can hold them up.”
Master Mechanic Lukas held out a blocky Mechanic device. “You’ll need a far-talker. This is Guild junk, but it’s all we’ve got.”
“The attackers can listen in on those,” Mari objected.
“We’ll use a code like when we were Apprentices,” Calu said. “Let’s go, Kasi. I’ll be real happy to have something to do to take my mind off of other things.”
“I should—” Alain started to say.
“Uh-uh,” Mari said. “If I have to be smart, so do you. Stay with me. No matter what anyone says, I will not leave for the ships before we’ve gotten everyone else off safely.”
Alain had thought the activity around the Guild Hall had been moving quickly before. But now it sped up, everyone working at a frantic pace. The Mages could do little except occasionally make part of a wall vanish to ease the removal of large Mechanic items.
He felt the return of Alera and called. “Mari!”
She turned with a growing smile of relief as Mari saw that Alain was pointing to the north.
The Roc glided in very low, barely clearing the buildings about the plaza, and came to a long, stumbling landing that ended near the Guild Hall.
Alli as much fell as dismounted from the Roc, followed by Mage Alera. While Alli staggered up to Mari, Alera knelt next to the lowered head of her Roc. She placed both arms on the Roc’s neck, embracing it as the Roc rubbed her with his head.
The power put into the spell completely used up, the Roc disintegrated into a shower of dust that itself vanished before reaching the ground. Alera was left kneeling on the empty pavement.
Alain saw Mari wiping away a tear as she spoke to Alli. “How did it go?”
“No problem,” Alli said, sitting down heavily on the nearest step. “My legs are a little wobbly. You would not believe— That’s for later. The important thing is that when we landed on this side of the trestle we could see the smoke from the approaching train. Mage Alera put us down right on the edge, so all I had to do was get down, run onto the trestle, find the best spot, plant my charge, set the fuse, and run back.”
Alli inhaled deeply. “Which I did. The train was coming into sight when the charge blew and knocked half the trestle into the river.”
“Were we right?” Mari asked. “Was the Guild sending someone on that train to reinforce Edinton’s Guild Hall?”
“Judging from the number of rifles that fired at us as Mage Alera and I flew off, I’d say the answer is surely yes. We had a lot of bullets chasing us before that bird got us clear.” Alli looked around. “What happened to the bird?”
“It has gone,” Alain said. He walked to Mage Alera, hearing Alli asking another question of Mari.
“Where’s Calu?”
“Commanding the rear guard,” Mari said.
“He’s—” Alli threw up her hands. “Isn’t that like a man? You risk your life, so he figures he has to risk his life. What is the matter with men?”
Alain offered his hand to Mage Alera. “Let me help you stand.”
She looked up at him, impassive and tragic at the same time. “Help?”
“As you helped Mechanic Alli do what she must.” Alain got Mage Alera to her feet, not surprised to discover that she was completely worn out, having put what strength she could into keeping her Roc going as long as possible. He put a spare armband on her sleeve. “Do you see the Mages over there? You can rest among them. We will leave this city tonight on ships.”
“Is it worth it, Mage Alain? Is… helping… the daughter a path of wisdom?”
“It is,” he said. “May you soon ride Swift again.”
Alera looked at Alain. “You remembered his name. But he is even less than a shadow.”
“Not to one who believes in him.”
It was very late in the afternoon when Alain heard the rattle of Mechanic weaponry firing in another part of the city.
Professor S’san listened on a looted far-talker, then nodded to Mari. “Mechanic Calu says the Mechanics he is facing are professional fighters. He is not trying to defend any spot, but is only having his Mechanics take stands long enough to cause the attackers to have to stop and advance cautiously afterwards.”
“Alli will kill me if Calu is hurt,” Mari said. “Where is Alli?”
“With Calu,” Alain said. “She told me to tell you.”
Shaking her head, Mari yelled at those still working. “Drop anything we haven’t already loaded! Get the loads down to the dock and get yourselves and your loads onto the ship. Master Mechanic Lukas, inform Captain Banda that he needs to get all of our ships away from the dock as soon as possible, and have all of our boats waiting to take the rear guard and others to the ships.”
She paused. “Come on, Alain.”
Alain followed as Mari ran into the Guild Hall, moving through the hallways with the ease of someone familiar with the building. Reaching the Senior Mechanic conference room, Mari waved to the Mechanics guarding the door. “Get down to the docks.”
Entering, Alain saw most of the captive Senior Mechanics sitting against the far wall, looking subdued and dazed. “They’ve been kind of nervous around me for some reason,” Bev explained. “What the blazes is going on?”
“Mechanic attack force entering the city,” Mari murmured to her. “You and the other two in here get out, lock and bar the doors to this room, and head for the docks.”
“Got it. You’ve got something in your hair,” Bev pointed out. “Right there.”
Mari shuddered as she pulled out another fragment of dragon. “Don’t waste any time. I’m going to make certain no one else is left in the Hall.”
Alain followed again as Mari ran, stopping by numerous rooms to look inside and racing off again. She stopped to order the Mechanics guarding the Guild loyalists in the dining hall to seal the doors and then run for safety.
The far-talker Mari still carried began making noise. She listened, then shook her head. “Calu is falling back really quickly. He says if he doesn’t, the other guys will cut off the rear guard.”
They burst out of the front entry, Alain seeing that the sun had fallen so low that its rays were grazing the rooftops of Edinton. At the bottom of the stairs, Mechanic Bev waited along with several other armed Mechanics. “I didn’t get to go up against the dragon,” she said, “so I’m staying for this fight.”
In the midst of the erratic crashes of the Mechanic weapons, much louder now as the fight neared the Guild Hall, Alain heard a deeper boom.
“Alli must have set a bomb to slow them down,” Mari said. She ran, breathing heavily, to where the Edinton officials still waited. “Get out of here. Get all of the commons who aren’t already at home into shelter. If those Mechanic assassins see you they might kill you out of sheer meanness.”
“We’ll see you again, daughter!” one called as the officials took to their heels.
“Everyone else is heading for the docks,” Professor S’san said.
“Why are you still here?” Mari demanded. “Go!”
S’san hesitated, then nodded, joining the tail end of the fleeing procession.
Alain saw a patch of darkness appear on one side of the plaza, then moments later saw Mechanics wearing Mari’s armbands running toward them. “The attack comes,” he said.
Bev and the others knelt to aim their weapons, Mari standing beside Alain and counting as more Mechanics ran into the plaza, heading for the shelter offered by the Guild Hall. “Where are Alli and Calu?” she whispered.