Ventus by Karl Schroeder

Karl Schroeder / Ventus / Page 534
the Winds now was idiotic.
Armiger didn’t care. There were people he felt for in the
palace. He would surely survive this assault, but he doubted he
could save them--at best, he could probably escape with
Megan, but Galas was the queen bee, the attackers would
swarm her the instant they glimpsed her. No, it was better to
annihilate Lavin’s forces using the Winds, and hope that they
left the ordinary stone and wood of the palace alone.
He read the situation from the semaphores again, and
made his decision. The chaos of battle was reaching its peak.
Under its cover, he would be able to spirit Megan and Galas
away from this place. If all went according to schedule, the
Winds would arrive after his escape and pin down Lavin’s
forces, giving Armiger and his people time to complete their
escape.
He ran for the keep. Missiles rained down into the
nearby tents of the refugees. Armiger tried not to think about
their fate, or that of the men on the battlements who were
fighting and dying to ensure his escape.
"There is a way," said Enneas. He began pulling down
rocks with his good hand. "See there? That crack?"
They had all the lanterns here now, and everybody who
could be was crammed up against the rock fall. Lavin focussed
on breathing deeply to still his claustrophobia. He was afraid
he would have an attack of his old vertigo here, and that was
the worse thing that could possibly happen.
The little chink Enneas had found looked impossibly
small to get through. The old robber picked up one of the
lanterns and stuck his arm in it, then twisted to peer after it.
"Yes!" he shouted excitedly. "I can see right through."
"We can’t get through that," grumbled somebody.