Blackstone (Book 2) (15 page)

While he waited on the men he called to come in, Hammon
turned and addressed Siobhan directly. “I will make sure that men are sent to
help Goldschmidt, now that I know we can defend Winziane without them. Do not
worry, Guildmaster.”

She bowed her head to him in profuse gratitude. “Thank you.”

“It will take me the rest of the day to gather everyone, I
think. Perhaps part of tomorrow as well. We still must finalize who I need to
defend my walls and who I can afford to send. But help will be on its way no
later than tomorrow afternoon.”

“My Pathmaker will be standing by, ready to transport them,”
she promised.

“Well enough.” Hammon stopped and looked at them, truly
looked, for the first time since they had come. “Thank you. For coming to tell
me about this, for staying to help me prepare, thank you. I could not wish for
better allies.”

The city was burning.

Smoke hung thick in the air, making it hard to breathe, and
the heat of the fires he passed were intense enough to singe the fine hairs
along his skin. Wolf felt as if he were fighting inside a roaring furnace. A
crowded furnace, at that, as people streamed past him, either children or
valuables clutched to their chest as they ran, frantic to escape the army
nipping at their heels.

Every enforcer and fighter from the guilds were doing their
best to keep the roads clear of enemies, protecting the people as they escaped
the city. Wolf stood firm with Markl on one side, Tarik on another, and they
efficiently cut down anyone that tried to fight them.

The defenses on the wall had fallen an hour ago, overrun by
sheer numbers. Ryu Jin Ho had pulled one miracle after another, keeping the
enemy just confused enough to buy them time, and they used it to get most of
the civilians out of the city before the eastern wall was breached. But even
their master strategist couldn’t keep the inevitable from happening. Wolf and
Markl, realizing what would happen, went out to protect people as well as they
could. The city might be lost, but the citizens of Goldschmidt could still be
saved, and that was what they focused on.

Word was spreading at the gates to run to Converse, that it
would be safe in Converse. Wolf prayed that was true, as they didn’t have any
other place to go. Not that was feasible to reach in one night. Darrens had
sacrificed some of his fighting force and diverted them, using them to protect
the roads so his people could reach Converse without being attacked. With Wolf
embroiled in one skirmish after another here on the streets, he had no way of
knowing if this plan had worked. He only could pray it had.

With a roar of anger, he used his iron hand to punch his
opponent in the jaw. The man’s eyes rolled up in his head and he sank
bonelessly to the ground. Taking in a deep breath, Wolf turned and checked on
the two men fighting with him. Their opponents were also defeated, crumpled up
on the cobblestone. Without someone demanding his undivided attention, he
realized that the surge of people had dwindled to a few stragglers, and there
wasn’t an enemy in sight.

“Are we done here?”

“Seems so,” Markl responded. He was leaning against his
crescent sword, face flushed and panting hard. The scholar had done well
keeping up with them, but he might be at his limit. He wasn’t used to fighting
for long periods of time after all. The fact he’d done it half the night
without complaint was admirable.

Tarik used his shirt sleeve to wipe the sweat from forehead
before saying, “What now?”

Good question. Wolf turned about in a slow circle, taking in
their area. Fighting the fires would be a futile effort on their part and he
wasn’t even tempted to try. They were on the western side now, as they had been
fighting and slowly retreating that direction, and were only blocks away from
the western gate. If there were no people left here to protect, or enemies,
then there was no reason to stay to his mind. “We might as well head to
Converse. No reason to hang about.”

Markl lifted his face to the sky. “It’s daybreak. Did we
really fight all night?”

Wolf gave him a feral smile. “Time passes quickly when
you’re having fun.”

“Of course you think fighting is fun,” Tarik snorted,
dredging up a weary smile.

They hadn’t actually fought all night. The attack had
started at midnight, the alarm sounding out, and then the battle was lost
somewhere around two in the morning. Wolf and the others had actually been
fighting about six hours. It just
felt
like they’d been fighting all
night.

Sweet mercy, he could use a drink and a hearty meal right
about now.

No chance of that, though. With a resigned sigh, he motioned
for the others to follow him, and started trudging for the gate.

“Why do you suppose they attacked at midnight?” Tarik mused
aloud.

“Sound thinking on someone’s part,” Markl responded grimly.
“It gives them the element of surprise, which they used very well to get past
our defenses, and it also cuts off the chances of us using Pathfinders to get
help in here. If we’d been able to get fighters in from Winziane, or Converse,
we might not have lost Goldschmidt.”

Yes, it had been sound thinking on someone’s part. If Wolf
ever met the man that thought of it, he’d make sure to reward him appropriately
with an iron fist in the man’s gut. Markl was right. If they had just been able
to get help in here, they might not have lost the city. Now they were faced
with the daunting task of having to reclaim it, if the invaders chose to stay
here.

Even if they didn’t, they were faced with the daunting task
of rebuilding it.

The sun steadily climbed in the sky so that by the time they
had reached the gate, dawn had passed.

To his relief, most of the people were gone already, the
road clear, with only the defenders of Goldschmidt still straggling out of the
gate in pockets here and there. Wolf counted faces as he saw them, relieved to
see that most of his friends had survived the night, and troubled by the ones
he didn’t see. He could only hope that they were the ones chosen to go ahead.

“Where is Ryu Jin Ho, do you suppose?” Markl asked, as if he
suddenly remembered the man.

“Probably with Darrens and his family. They would have
retreated ahead of us.” Tarik rubbed at the back of his head, looking ten years
older. “Protocol says they are the first to get out of the city if something
goes wrong.”

Made sense. Wolf trusted that they had protected their guest
well but even if they didn’t, Ryu Jin Ho could handle himself. He would go
looking for the man once they reached Converse though.

From their left, a voice hailed, “Markl! Wolf!”

Rune? Wolf turned to look, raising a hand to shield his eyes
from the morning sun. Sure enough, the boy was running toward them in a fast
sprint. As he got closer, the smile of relief was obvious on the boy’s face to
see them hale and hearty. He slid to a stop in front of them, eyes taking them
in from head to toe. “What happened? I could see it from the edge of the path.
It looks like half the city burned last night.”

“It did,” Markl responded hollowly. “They attacked at
midnight.”

Rune’s face went pale. “What?”

Wolf didn’t have the words or the heart to tell the tale, so
he let Markl do it. Tarik piped up with a comment or three in the telling, but
Rune asked no questions. He just listened with sad eyes and an occasional nod.

“So we were too late,” Rune summed up quietly.

“Not so,” Markl denied. “We at least got the people out. We
can always rebuild the city, and the Hall.”

Rune’s body went taut, and his eyes flew up to Markl’s face.
“The Hall is gone?”

“Burned to the ground.” Wolf somehow managed to say this
levelly but what he really wanted to do was scream and rage. Do something that
would relieve this ache in his chest. The Hall had been more of a home to him
than any other place and seeing it burning in front of his eyes last night
would likely haunt his dreams for many years to come. “We saw it last night.”

Rune’s eyes went bright with unshed tears. Words seemed
beyond him.

Markl stepped forward and grabbed Rune’s shoulder. “Rune.
What about the rest of the guild? Are they coming right behind you?”

Visibly gathering himself back together, Rune nodded
confirmation.

They were? That wasn’t good. Wolf glanced back at the city
uneasily. The army might still be somewhere in the middle of Goldschmidt, busy
looting, but that didn’t make this section any safer. “Rune, get the path to
Converse ready. We need to leave as soon as they get here.”

“Tarik,” Markl added, “Help me pass the word to anyone left
that we’re opening a path toward Converse. Maybe we can get the rest of them to
safety that way.”

“Good thinking,” Tarik approved. Turning on his heel, he
trotted toward the nearest group, calling to them as he moved.

As everyone moved off, Wolf stood sentinel, one eye on the
Winziane path, the other on the gate. He didn’t want to be caught off guard by
a sneak attack from behind.

In bare minutes, he saw his guild come in through the path,
their forms hazy at first before becoming more distinct. The path was barely
closed before Siobhan hopped off, her red hair blazing in the morning sun. She
seemed to be looking for him, as the moment she spotted him, she took off in a
fast sprint.

Wolf more or less knew what her reaction would be, so he sheathed
his sword and held a hand out, ready to catch her. In the next moment, he had
an armful of woman, her hold tight around his neck. For just that moment, he
buried his face against her hair and breathed her in. Losing the Hall last
night had put a little scar on his heart, but he could live through that. The one
thing he couldn’t ever bare to lose was in his arms. As long as she was fine,
then he could face the world.

“Injuries?” she asked, the word muffled against his
shoulder.

“None,” he denied, relaxing his hold on her enough that she
could draw proper breath.

“Markl? Ryu Jin Ho?”

“Ryu Jin Ho we think is safe with Darrens. Lost track of him
during the night,” Wolf admitted. “Markl’s fine. He’s getting the stragglers
ready to go to Converse.” From the corner of his eye, he saw Sylvie hop off the
wagon and go hunting for Markl, who was visible off in the distance.

Siobhan finally relaxed, no longer standing on tiptoe, and
put enough distance between them that she didn’t have to crane her neck up to
look him in the eye. “Converse?”

“Everyone fled there,” he explained simply. “Winziane wasn’t
hit by these rats, I take it.”

“No, they weren’t even aware of what was going on. It was
quite the task explaining it all to them. Guildmaster Hammon is putting
together men now and has promised to send them to us directly. I suppose I need
to send someone back with the message that he needs to send them to Converse,
not Goldschmidt.” Her eyes tightened in pain as she said this.

“Go to Converse first, talk with Darrens,” Wolf advised.
“There might be more to tell Hammon than you know at the moment. No reason to
run our Pathmakers ragged hopping back and forth when one trip will do.”

“Good point.” Siobhan turned her eyes toward the city,
although from here all she could see was the grey walls and smoke billowing
toward the sky. “Wolf…dare I ask….”

He knew what she couldn’t say and spared her the mercy of
forcing it out. “The Hall is gone. Burned to the ground.”

Siobhan’s eyes closed in a pain, a keening cry caught in the
back of her throat that never made it out. It was the most agonized expression
on her face that he had ever seen and it made his heart wrench and a murderous
rage fill his gut.

“I take it we’re too late,” Grae said, coming up to them in
a quick jog. “Wolf, you look fine. Where’s Markl?”

Wolf didn’t take his eyes from Siobhan’s face. As he
watched, she took in a deep breath, eyes still screwed shut, her chin lifting.
She forced every bit of agony down, pulling on a mask of neutrality, forcing
herself to set those feelings aside so that she could face the present. He did
not underestimate just how much strength that took, to put emotions that strong
aside. Looking at her now, it was like nothing was seriously wrong that she
could not fix.

He fell in awe of her all over again, like he had ten years
ago, at their first meeting.

Jaw set, she turned to Grae and said in a remarkably steady
voice, “Markl is fine. He’s gathering up the stragglers. Grae, everyone
retreated to Converse. Get the path ready to go.”

“Rune is doing that,” Wolf informed them both. “Hyun Woo?
Cha Ji An?”

“They stayed behind to help Winziane put together some help
for us,” Grae responded, eyes roving over what was left of Goldschmidt. “They
did all of this in just one night?”

“They’re still at it,” Wolf denied darkly. “Which means we
need to get out of this area. Now.”

Grae’s eyes widened. “Oh. They’re still here?!” Swearing, he
spun on a heel and took off in a mad sprint back to the carts, calling out to
people to quickly move to the other path, the one that led to Converse.

Siobhan shook herself, visibly gathering her wits, then
turned and followed after Grae. Wolf went more slowly, still a wary eye on the
city, as he didn’t trust anyone left in there now.

The carts were quickly moved to the other path, the people
left were loaded on board, and Grae made all the preparations necessary to open
the path. Wolf was the last to join them, but as there was no room left on the
carts, he had to walk on the stones with his own feet. Tran was right in front
of him, also choosing to walk and let someone else ride.

With a slightly blue haze of light, the path opened,
obscuring the area around them and making it a blur of colors. Wolf was just as
glad that he no longer had a clear view of Goldschmidt. Seeing the ruins of the
city made him almost nauseous with grief.