Without warning, a wall of green erupted down the line of scuttled ships. It started at the edges where the bay met the cliffs, leaves exploding from the sunken runners as a line of oak trees sprouted from the raised seafloor. The trees spread across the bay like green fire, their canopies popping open like paper lanterns before Josef’s eyes until a wall of dense foliage cut the bay off from the sea.
But as the trees’ growth slowed, the sound of splitting wood grew louder than ever. Josef scowled, confused, and then a flash of motion pulled his eyes north, toward the first palace ship, and he gaped in disbelief. The grounded ship was moving, its enormous hull rising up as graceless as a bull on its hind legs. Soldiers slid off the decks as the front half of the ship’s hull rose out of the water, pushed up by an enormous tangle of tree roots. The same thing was happening to the second palace ship on the other side of the bay. The tree roots dug under the ships’ broad bottoms, forcing them up until their noses were in the sky. Finally, with one last, enormous crash, the two palace ships slid backward, off the roots, out of the bay, and into the ocean. They landed in the open sea with a crash, both ships slamming into the water and then sinking almost immediately as the ocean surged in through the shattered hulls.
But that was all Josef saw. The moment the palace ships were dislodged, the trees surged in. Huge oaks shot up like arrows to fill the gap, branches exploding from the trunks as the new canopies spread until the ocean was completely obscured behind a wall of solid green.
The men in the water, those who remained after Banage’s fire bird, swam frantically to the line of trees and began to climb, picking their way through the branches and throwing themselves into the ocean beyond in a desperate attempt to escape. Banage watched their struggles with a smile before turning to Miranda.
“Well done,” he said, helping her back to her feet. “I’m going to provide some cover. Lend me your mist?”
“Of course, Master Banage,” Miranda said, reaching to touch one of her smaller stones. It flashed blue the second her fingers passed it, and Josef smelled the clean, predawn wetness of a mountain valley as a thick mist filled the air. Meanwhile, Banage rubbed his fingers against a white stone set in a thin band on his wrist, and a second smell, salty and cold, joined the first as a thick sea fog rose up from the bay. Fog and mist rose together, intertwining and expanding until the bay vanished beneath a thick, gray blanket. But the fog wasn’t finished. It spread up the stairs, around the tower, and along the cliffs, spilling up the mountain toward the mainland. By the time Miranda and Banage finally stepped down from the sea wall, the entire island of Osera was shrouded in cloud.
“That should buy us a little time,” Miranda said, glancing at Josef before her eyes darted to something over his shoulder. Josef turned to see his soldiers standing on the storm wall behind him, staring in amazement at the two wizards who, in a little under five minutes, had completely reversed Osera’s fortunes.
“Not much time,” Banage said. “The fog gives us cover, but they don’t need to see to launch war spirits. Frankly, I’m surprised Osera isn’t knee-deep in them already. We need to speak with Queen Theresa immediately.” He turned to the gathered soldiers. “Who’s in charge here?”
The men looked at each other, and then at Josef.
“I am,” Josef said with a sigh.
“Don’t be absurd,” Miranda scoffed. “I don’t know what kind of scam you people are running, but we don’t have time for your games. Where’s the queen?”
“In the palace,” Josef said coldly. “Won’t do you any good, though. Queen Theresa is dead. I’m king of Osera now.”
Miranda’s face went very pale. “If you think for one moment I’m going to buy that load of—”
“He’s speaking the truth, ma’am,” one of the soldiers interrupted, standing a little straighter.
Miranda blinked. “You’ve got to be kidding!” she roared. “Do you know who this man is? He’s a wanted criminal! A thief! A bounty hunter, pride fighter, and right-hand man of the most notorious—”
“That’ll be enough,” Josef said, putting enough edge in his voice to ensure that it really was enough. Miranda snapped her mouth closed, but her scowl only grew deeper.
“How are you king?” she said at last.
“Because my mother was queen,” Josef answered, turning around and walking toward the tower. “And as I said, she’s dead. Now come on. If our time’s limited, I don’t want to waste it on things that don’t matter.”