Siege of Night (14 page)

Others fled to their homes, telling their children they wouldn’t be opening the shops for several days and would probably just stay home for a while—harmless exaggerations meant to spare children the horrors of impending reality—then trying their best to dodge all the curious questions children ask when they know something is wrong, but just don’t know exactly what or why.

Many neighbors decided to consolidate their efforts by moving multiple families under one roof. Every little sound coming from the barren streets sent the men running to get their swords, only to stare at the front door for the next hour. Waiting for the unimaginable horrors to break it down and slaughter everyone was almost certainly worse than the real thing could ever be. The whole city was on edge now, and tortured imaginations combined with haunting fear can break anyone’s mind.

Large catapults were wheeled down the empty streets toward the front wall, along with wooden logs and other materials to reinforce the gate. The scene was completely surreal. A handful of brave locals did remain in the streets, asking every soldier that walked past if the Dronin were really coming. Of course, the only response was for them to go back to their homes and barricade every entrance. This response was as good an answer as any.

But not all the shops were closed this day. The blacksmiths and fletchers were working around the clock. Although time was running out for blacksmiths to make any more swords or armor at this point, they did help the fletchers by making as many arrowheads as they could. Arrows were going to be the key for this battle. Melee combat would be a desperate last resort. That meant the enemy had breached the city, or was at least on the walls—a last stand, to be sure.

The fletchers worked furiously with the yew and oak being carted into the shops as fast as possible. Every goose feather that could be found anywhere in the city was being rushed to them. They would require three evenly sized feathers per arrow for the flight to be precise.

The one advantage they might have was the well-known fact that the Dronin did not use heavy armor; therefore the more complicated bodkin arrowheads used to pierce heavy armor would not be needed. Not needing to make the complicated arrowheads would save time, and every second was precious.

* * *

Azek gazed out into the blue sky. Only a white, puffy cloud hung here and there. Perched high on the front wall with his arms folded over the stone rail, the gentle breeze felt good as it dried the sweat running down his brow. Taking a deep breath, his gaze swept over the grassy field. A man with bright green clothes was walking across, around three hundred yards out. As he marched along, he continued to place small white flags into the ground. When finished, he waved his arms frantically and ran clear off the field.

“Ready, men,” called Azek as he raised one hand into the air. The men at the front of the wall notched arrows and drew back their bows. The line of men behind the first did the same, although they had no way of firing with the others blocking their line of sight. Quivers of arrows were attached to the wall at their feet, so all they had to do was reach down and grab one. “Fire!”

The first line of men released a stream of arrows high into the air but immediately sidestepped while quickly notching another. The men directly behind them stepped up into their spots and let their arrows fly, then sidestepped as well. Basically, two archers continued to sidestep each other in a constant circle as they shot, so the time it took for one man to notch an arrow—about a second—was spent by the other sending his into flight. The result was a nearly endless barrage of feathered spears that darkened the sky. “Time,” yelled Azek as he raised his hand.

The archers halted and lowered their bows. If all those arrows had hit actual enemies, their casualties would have been catastrophic, but that was never the true intent of this drill. “Anthony, how many?” Azek called out to the short, stout man with long blond hair.

He fumbled around his many pouches before pulling out his looking glass, and then proceeded to sweep the field. He hiked the whole length of the wall, peering out over the flagged area, which now resembled the back of a porcupine. Then, lowering his looking glass, he glanced toward Azek. “Sixty percent, sir,” he said in a deep, low voice that just didn’t seem to match his short stature.

“What?” the captain yelled. “Only sixty percent cleared three hundred yards?” A crew was already sweeping the field, trying to gather as many arrows as possible. Almost all were still good, given they had only pierced soft grass. Azek kicked the side of the wall hard, making a loud
clang
with his metal boot. “They will be here in a matter of days!” he shouted as a pointed finger jabbed the air in front of the face of each archer. He spun quickly, turning his back to them, and began talking to the wind.

“There is so much more at stake than your own lives. If we can’t hold them here...” He turned to face them once again. “Will we perish? Yes.” Azek was simply stating what everyone was thinking. He paused a moment as a few of the men swallowed hard. “But so will our wives. So will our daughters.” His voice began to gain strength with every word. “No quarter will be given to our sons, brothers, sisters...our mothers!”

Bows began to click against the ground as the men were getting worked into a frenzy. Primal instincts were stirred by the harsh reality. “They are not coming here for riches or glory. They want to take our lives, the lives of our families, of our queen! Well, I say we return the favor. Let the barbarians see—no, let them feel—the wrath of Taron!” The yelling and shouting went on for several minutes as archers pumped their bows in the air.

“Archers ready!” Azek called out once more with a hand raised in the air. Men masked with determined scowls notched their arrows and raised their bows. “Fire!” They rotated in their tight circles as arrows took flight once more. The sky rained death as the men howled with every arrow released. “Time.” The men stopped, many taking deep breaths, bent over with their hands on their knees.

Azek just shot a look at the short blond man. No words were needed as he took out his looking glass and walked the length of the wall once more. He then turned to Azek, eyes bulging as if he had seen a ghost. In turn, Azek’s eyes narrowed, clearly not in the mood for the man’s stalling. “A-a-all of them, sir!”

Azek allowed himself a subtle, tight smile, one you would have to be looking for to even notice.
Well done, men
.

* * *

“
Eric...Eric
!” came the faint voice from far away. He blinked once, twice, before his dark eyes fluttered open. The land seemed to be trembling like on the thrall of an earthquake until his recently opened eyes fell on the source of his disturbance. Jade, mad with fear, was shaking him back and forth while incessantly screaming his name over and over. He began to sit up, but the throbbing in his head made him think better of it. He immediately lay back down.

“Oh, thank the gods you’re all right,” Jade gasped as she cradled his head on her lap and rocked back and forth.

Jacob peeked over, looking down on his fallen friend from an inverted angle as he said, “What happened? One minute you were riding just fine. The next, I saw you grab your head and slouch over. I tried to ride up on you as fast as I could, but I was too late. You tumbled right off the back of the horse.”

Eric was finally able to sit up now. He shook his head a few times like a dog as his curly hair flipped back and forth. “I’m not sure,” he said at last. “I remember riding along just fine, then I started to feel...strange. My head began to hurt, and—” His blood froze as the hostile image flashed through his mind once more, only this time it was just the memory itself, which was still bad enough. “I saw him,” he said as he stared off at nothing, he eyes going out of focus.

“Saw who? What are you talking about?” asked Jade in a near panic.

Eric suddenly leapt to his feet. “That demon was in my head!” he exclaimed as he clenched his fists. “I saw him clear as day. That face, those eyes—it was Dragot. He has somehow figured out a way to get into my mind!” He shook his head again, still hurting from the fall off the horse as well as the mental intrusion.

Jade stepped in close to him. “If this is true, then we have to get you back to Berkeni as soon as possible. Look, these horses are strong. They can carry two of us easily.” Eric had only just begun to voice his protest before she cut him off again. “We can’t risk you falling off the horse again.
I
can’t risk it. You are riding with me!”

Eric certainly saw the logic in her words, not to mention arguing with Jade could only end one way. He might as well save himself the headache and hop on her horse.

“Smart move,” said Jacob as he flashed his friend a wink. After giving the extra horse a slap, sending it back toward the forest, they were off.

Even carrying two, the strong horse didn’t show any ill effects from the added burden as they streaked through the field. It must have been so used to carrying the much larger crytons that even two humans were not all that difficult.

The lands of Tarmerria seemed calm and quiet as they sped along. Over hills, through grassy fields, not a single sign of life appeared to be anywhere. War was in the air, and even the animals could sense it. The world of humans had been very active lately, and even the monsters of the lands could feel the prickly energy.

As if humans didn’t have enough enemies already, they were now campaigning against one another. The many eyes lurking about planned to just watch...

Chapter 10

The sun beat down on the engineers as they worked feverishly though the final calibrations on the catapults. Luck was definitely going to play a role, but best not leave any more to chance than was necessary. Men were hard at work in multiple shops, chipping away at large stones then heaving them back on the scale for what seemed like the hundredth time. Each stone had to weigh exactly one hundred pounds; no more, no less. This was imperative for each projectile to cover the exact same distance and flight trajectory.

Three catapults had been set up near the front wall. Each one was unable to pivot freely, seeing as how this would only lead to blind shooting and wasted ammunition. Instead, each was fixed with three separate rotating positions: left, right, and center. They could not be steadied anywhere in between. This was where the “lookers” would have the opportunity to prove their worth.

Lookers were simply gifted men who saw the world differently than others did—special mathematicians who held rare abilities when viewing distances and such. This handful of men stood on top of the front wall, watching and waiting.

When the catapults were all set to their left notch, Azek lowered his hand and watched the heavy stones travel over the wall. The lookers watched as well and then trekked slowly across the wall, all the while taking mental pictures of the stones’ flight. The lookers walked toward each other then passed each other on the walkway until each was on the opposite side they had originally started. The entire journey was spent blinking constantly, making them appear to be quite unstable.

The exact same pattern was repeated for notches two and three, or rather, center and right. After each flight, the lookers walked the length of the wall, masked with their crazy expressions as they blinked incessantly. Then that was the end of it. They had memorized all possible flight patterns and would recognize exactly when to use each during the heat of battle.

The fact that five lookers would be roaming the walls during battle was nothing more than a precaution. Only two would normally have been needed, except for the cold fact that they probably wouldn’t all survive. If one fell, there would be four more to take his place, and so on. They would be given swords as a last line of defense, but fighting was never meant to be their primary job.

Given that the sounds of battle would drown any and all verbal communications, they would be using simplistic hand signs. The lookers would point to the catapult to be used, raising one, two, or three fingers to determine the left, center, or right notch, then a lowering of his hand meant “fire.” It was really quite simple. They couldn’t match the Dronin in arms, but proper strategy could never be underestimated.

After watching the lookers prepare, Azek leaned hard over the stone edge of the wall. The direct sun heated his face, making the gentle breeze feel almost cold when it picked up now and again. He gazed out over the green field. It was completely empty and seemed so peaceful. He watched a flock of black birds flying overhead in an uneven arrow formation. Taking a last deep breath, he turned his eyes to the blue, nearly cloudless sky.
I’ve done what I can, my lady
.

* * *

“We’ve made it,” Jade joyfully whispered in Eric’s ear as the cream-colored outer walls of Taron came into view. They had only needed to camp once, and even that was only for around six hours before jumping back onto the marvelous beasts. The horses had easily kept a breakneck pace for two days, never once showing any signs of tiring. Even the one now carrying two riders displayed no signs of fatigue.

Jade had insisted that Eric ride in front of her so she could hold onto him if he had another episode. Thankfully it never came to that, as he seemed fine the entire trip. Although the decision to ride together had been made out of necessity, neither could deny they enjoyed being so close to one another.