‘They will,’ said Rael.
At that moment the bronze tubes loosed their fireballs. They sailed high over the battle lines, curving down to strike the wall at three different places. Stone ramparts were smashed, men hurled to their deaths. A gaping crack appeared and a section of wall fell away some 300 yards to Rael’s right. Peering over the battlements Rael saw the Almec engineers re-calibrating their weapons. Now all the fireballs rained down on that one spot. The 40-foot-high wall withstood twelve of the explosions. Then it collapsed, creating a 30-foot gap through which the enemy could invade the city.
Rael shouted instructions down to Goray and Cation below. A wagon was hauled into place and twenty men rushed forward to unload it. The bronze Sunfire from Serpent Seven was carried, in sections, up to the ramparts. Four soldiers hefted the base and gear wheels and these were set on a platform alongside Rael. Then the barrel was strapped into place, and lastly Rael and Cation connected the golden wires from the power unit. Rael swung the Sunfire to point at the earthworks barrier which preventec the Luan from flooding in the rainy season.
The machine began to vibrate.
Rael glanced nervously at the line of Almec firing tubes. They were silent for the moment, but engineers were recalibrating three of them. Rael knew that within minute; fireballs would be hurled in his direction. ‘You’d better get back,’ he told Mejana. ‘We will be the targets now.’
She shook her head and stayed where she was.
The Almec army was marching forward in a broad line towards the hole in the city wall.
The Sunfire ceased vibrating. Rael sighted the weapon on one section of earthworks and, closing his eyes, pulled the firing lever. The massive bolt struck the earthwork;
For a moment nothing happened. Then, deep within the barrier the bolt exploded. An enormous cloud of dust and earth billowed up. The freed waters of the Luan began to pour through the gap, gushing down over the plain. The power of the river tore away a 60-foot section of the barrier and the flood began.
The Almecs continued to march. The water flowed over their feet. Holding their fire-clubs high the advancing soldiers came closer and closer to the gap.
Rael swung the Sunnre again. ‘Lift the rear,’ he called out to Goray and Cation. With the barrel resting on the crenellated battlements the two men, and three other soldiers, grabbed the rear section and lifted it high.
To Mejana their actions seemed almost comical. Thousands of men were about to attack them and the Avatar General was wasting his time with a single weapon. Even if he struck the advancing lines it would kill perhaps twenty men.
Two fireballs were loosed. They sailed high then dropped towards the battlements. The first thundered against the ramparts, sending a tremor along the wall. The second flew over the defenders, crashing against the roof of a warehouse, and setting it ablaze.
Rael put his hand on the lever of the Sunfire and looked down on the men splashing their way towards the city. Mejana came alongside him.
‘What is it you are planning?’ she asked him.
The vibration in the weapon ceased. ‘Close your eyes,’ said Rael softly. Then he fired the weapon.
The bolt flashed down, missing the first line of marching soldiers and striking the water behind them. Mejana opened her eyes – and saw the horror that followed. Blue sparks rippled out from the point of impact, dancing across the water. Hundreds of Almecs began to jerk spasmodically. Blue flames spread over them. Their clothing caught fire, their weapons discharged. Everywhere men were dying. The advance faltered.
‘Give me one more! Just one!’ shouted Rael, gazing up at the skies.
Three more fireballs exploded close by. Mejana was hurled from her feet by the blast. Dazed, she struggled to rise. Two of the Avatars were down, their white cloaks blazing. Pendar, pulling off his own cloak, ran to them, smothering the flames. Rael rose up alongside the Sunfire. The left side of his face was horribly burned. With a grunt of pain and effort he swung the Sunfire. ‘Someone lift it!’ he shouted. Cation, Pendar and Mejana ran to him. Together they grabbed the rear and hoisted the Sunfire high. Rael pulled the firing lever.