<> said the soldier. <
?aka dashed to another mobile cannon in the hangar. With smoke from the wheels he drove out of the hangar and chased his targets. Now it was just about getting Sunset of the Gods back and obliterating its drivers. Whether the cannon survived or not.
Lily dashed to the border with Angelo and Ursu holding tight to their seats.
“Who was that?” said Angelo.
“I think I’ve heard about him. General ?aka,” said Lily.
“Who is this general ?aka?” asked Ursu.
“Our intelligence says he’s the most experienced security officer in Ni?fanat’s army,” said Lily. “And the most cruel.”
“Wonderful, the fattest bear in the army is after us,” said Angelo.
“Let’s hope we’ve lost him,” said Lily.
Just then they heard a noise behind them. Angelo turned around to get a better look.
There he was. General ?aka just as Angelo remembered him. This time on some kind of machine of his own.
“You know what, Lily? I think we haven’t lost him at all,” said Angelo.
?aka’s machine vomited a series of spark bullets. Lily tried her best to avoid them, but it was getting too hard. Angelo tried shooting his crossbow. No quarrel however could penetrate ?aka’s windshield.
“Take the wheel! I have an idea,” said Lily.
“Who? Me?” said Angelo. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
“Trust me,” said Lily.
“Alright, your call,” said Angelo.
Lily jumped out of the driver’s seat. Angelo took the steering wheel.
“Where do I drive?” asked Angelo.
“Roughly in the direction we’re going already. But watch out for the barrage,” said Lily.
?aka was shooting without stopping. Angelo drove on a slom path to dodge as many bullets as he could. Lily meanwhile tried casting a spell.
“Kakāsujā a? sakkani kim imkejā, tātāka?i men un min pajakellejā!”
“What did you do, sister?” asked Ursu.
“You’ll see,” said Lily.
Suddenly out of everywhere came thick dark clouds. They gathered right between the vehicles and obscured the view.
“Alright, quick, turn the cannon back!” Lily said to Angelo.
“But it’s got no energy if I understand this screen,” said Angelo.
“Doesn’t matter, turn it!” said Lily.
Angelo complied and turned the cannon’s dish towards ?aka’s vehicle. Or roughly in the direction he thought ?aka was in.
“So what now?” Angelo asked.
“Now we wait,” said Lily.
In a split second ?aka started to shoot again. There were more and more sparks flying at Twilight of the Gods. Some were even hitting the dish.
“That doesn’t sound good,” said Angelo.
“No, no, no, that’s what I wanted,” said Lily.
“What?” shouted Angelo and Ursu.
“Watch the power gauge, Angelo,” said Lily.
Suddenly Angelo saw something unbelievable. The dial on the power gauge began to go up. Bit by bit, but the power was growing.
“How is this happening?” asked Angelo.
“This thing loads by absorbing the enemies’ magical attacks,” said Lily. “Now watch the gauge carefully. Tell me when it’s around twenty percent.”
As more and more sparks hit the cannon’s dish the gauge rose more and more. Soon it got close to the first of four small lines dividing the gauge.
“How’s it going? I can’t hold the spell for long,” said Lily. She indeed was losing strength and concentration. She knew that the shot from the cannon had to be fired soon.
“I think it’s ready,” said Angelo.
“Good. I’ll take control over the cannon,” said Lily and climbed to a seat behind the dish.
The clouds dispersed and ?aka saw the cannon was turned towards him. Lily corrected it to aim precisely at ?aka’s vehicle. Right at the press of the trigger Lily knew that she would hit.
The shot from Sunset of the Gods was more bright and loud then Angelo or Ursu could expect. The path became red from the fsh. The bang knocked some trees over. General ?aka’s vehicle was directly hit. There was no doubt that it couldn’t survive. Its fragments mixed into dirt and the driver was paralysed on the ground. The chase has ended.
Just then Angelo saw the fence that separated Ni?fanat’s and Omiāk’s parts of the city.
“Brace yourselves,” said Angelo.
Everybody hid behind the steering console and Angelo sped up. The cannon broke through the wires effortlessly.
Sunset of the Gods was back in the hands of Omiāk’s people.
“Is it over?” said Ursu.
“Yeah, it looks like we’ve won,” said Angelo.
“Not yet,” said Lily.
Angelo and Ursu looked at her with eyes wide open.
“You’re saying there’s something else to do?” asked Angelo.
“Yes, there is,” said Lily. “Treat it as a request from me.”
“Okay, so what do you want me to do?” asked Angelo.
“Let me and Ursu overload the cannon,” said Lily.
“Excuse me, what?” said Ursu.
“Trust me, I believe this will put an end to the mafia’s rule,” said Lily with confidence.
Ursu didn’t know what to make of her sister’s assurance. To be honest she wanted to get out of this pce as soon as possible and never come back. At least as long as the mafia ruled. But what if it really was a step in that direction?
“It’s fine with me. Just make it quick,” said Angelo.
“So what do you say, sister?” said Lily.
“Alright,” said Ursu. “But I do not think I know any spells that could really help you, so you will have to load the weapon yourself.”
“OK! No problem!” said Lily. “Angelo, could you look at the bar? Tell me when it’s full.”
“Yeah, alright,” said Angelo and took a sandwich out of his backpack. He suspected it would take long.
Lily began shooting the cannon’s dish with her gun. Each spark that hit it made the bar move up a little bit. Soon Lily ran out of ammunition, so she began casting various spells. The greatest effect seemed to come from summoning lightning bolts.
Ursu still had no idea what would come from Lily’s pn. But seeing her sister giving her all into overloading the cannon she gained some confidence in it. Maybe it really will py its role in the downfall of the fairy mafias.