But her people were a different matter.
As they walked north Sky spotted the imperial flagship at anchor. Was Ahala on that ship right now?
She pointed at it. “Why don’t you destroy it?” she asked Ceti.
“If we do, it begins the battle in earnest,” Ceti answered. “We need to delay fighting as long as possible while we strengthen the walls, melt more scrap metal for the cannons, and arm the citizens. There are also people looking for a secret way to evacuate the city.”
“So why doesn’t Makki attack right away?”
“Assaulting a walled city is always difficult,” Ceti said. “He likely wants to wait until he can minimize the casualties. Days being shelled by cannons might cause the city to surrender without a ground assault.”
Casualties. The Roman word must not translate exactly because it sounded like “chance death.” What an odd way to refer to warriors killed in battle.
Movement on the water caught her eye and she looked at the imperial flagship just in time to see a tiny figure jumping over the side into the river.
Ceti shook his head. “He’ll never make it in this current.”
“Well, rescue him!” she said.
“He’s not ours, Sky,” he said. “The imperials wouldn’t like us interfering with a soldier trying to desert.”
“It would seem to me that rescuing him means one more soldier for you and one less for them.” She sighed. “I don’t understand Romans.”
“Our people on the docks are cheering him on,” Ceti said.
She scowled. “I doubt he can hear them.” She tried to locate the swimmer in the waves. The imperials had launched a rowboat after their runaway. Finally, she spotted the swimmer, closer to shore than expected.
It was a spectacular effort. Sky sent up a prayer to the water gods on his behalf. If he made it to shore, she would convince Ceti to somehow help him escape his pursuers.
“Sky, we need to climb down now,” Ceti said.
“Wait.” She shaded her eyes from the sun. The swimmer had disappeared in the whitecaps. She sighed. “All right.”
They descended another set of stone stairs and were met at the bottom by an older Roman soldier. The graybeard saluted Ceti.
Sky cocked her head. These were Ceti’s men. He was their leader. Ceti must have at least the rank as a war chief. He had not mentioned that.
Behind the graybeard, a crew of men stripped to the waist dug at the base of a fallen section of the wall. The men were grimy with sweat and soaked to the knees in water. They glanced at her but did not stop their work.
Ceti turned to her and introduced the older man. “This is Godwin, my second. Excuse me, Sky, I need to talk to him.”
Godwin nodded politely. Sky stayed back as the two engineers bent their heads in concentration. Their language was indecipherable but not their gestures. They pointed to the fallen stone. Godwin shook his head and knelt at the edge of the water that had pooled on the ground.
So this wall had flaws after all.
It was being undermined by something as simple as water. That, Sky’s people knew well. No permanent villages were built in the Pahsayuk swamps despite how solid the land became in the winter. Water ruined every structure.
Ceti and Godwin walked toward the broken wall, carefully avoiding the pool of water. Sky noticed a system of ropes threaded through large wooden blocks that hung from a thing that looked like a giant crane. Another one of Ceti’s inventions?
Ceti finished his inspection and came back to her.
“What is that?” She pointed at the thing.
“It’s a type of rope and pulley system for moving the large rocks.” Ceti pointed to a rectangular bucket. “We put the stones in there and the combination of ropes threaded through the blocks help us move it easily.”
“Ah.” She frowned. It was likely not the time to ask for him to for a demonstration. He was more concerned with the current problem. “What is the source of the water?”
“A stream runs underground below this section, making it hollow underneath. There’s not enough bedrock to hold the stone’s weight,” Ceti said. “If we can’t repair it, it’s the first place the ground troops will attack.”
“You can’t brace it by using the walls on either side?” Sky asked.
Ceti smiled. “I thought we could. I ordered buttresses to be built yesterday. Those are supports that jut out from the wall. But Godwin says it’s not working because of the unsteady foundation.”
Sky knelt down and put a finger in the mud. This flowed out from the city but she suspected it didn’t end up in the ocean.
“I’ll be right back.” She ran up the steps to the top of the wall and looked out over Mannahatta. The East River churned in front of her, swollen from the spring thaw. She couldn’t resist looking for the escaping swimmer but saw no sign of him or the rowboat. Perhaps they were hidden by the docks.
Her gaze focused on the Great Pond just north of Manhatos. There was the answer to the water problem.
Behind her, she heard Ceti’s footsteps. He was not quite stomping but clearly seemed annoyed.
“I love escorting you, Sky, but I must get to work. Stay here, if you like.”
“Listen, I have an idea. The stream under your wall runs to the Great Pond, yes?”
He nodded.
“My mother would say that the god of the Great Pond is attacking you.” She smiled.
“There’s a god in there?”
She nodded. “It is the size of three men and has great sharp teeth bigger than a person’s hand. We don’t dive in the Great Pond. We only fish there if absolutely necessary.”
“That sounds like some sort of shark, not a god,” Ceti said.
She shrugged. “Call it what you will. It’s real. But that is not your problem right now.”
“No, the problem is that the thaw caused the underground stream that leads to the Great Pond to swell.” He turned. “I have to go now.”
“Listen.” Such impatience. “This will help you. I remembered a tale from three generations ago.” She leaned against the edge of the wall. “I don’t have time to tell it properly, so forgive its lack of grace.”
“Go on.” He gritted his teeth.
He would thank her once she finished.
“South, along the coast, a Roman fleet landed. Word had been sent to the tribes in the area to beware of them because of what happened when Manhatos was settled. Your people took slaves. They took children as slaves.”
He looked away from her. “I know. I’m sorry. Go on.”
“The tribe kept careful watch on the Romans’ ships off their coast. When the ships dropped anchor and soldiers came ashore with weapons and armor, the local tribes were ready.”
“Your people defeated a Roman army?”
Ceti’s disbelief was clear. She scowled. “This is a tale. You must learn to hear them properly.” She took a deep breath to let her annoyance flow away. He didn’t understand she was trying to teach him something and he was in a hurry. “The southern tribal leader left a clear path for the Romans. The ground seemed steady, so they took it, thinking my people were fools. The path was a trap. The tribes had diverted the local streams into the area.
“The Roman soldiers became stuck in the mire. The warriors picked them off with arrows and spears from a safe distance. Not one was killed. The Romans lost nearly everyone,” Sky said.
Ceti’s eyes widened. Now, he understood.
“Do what they did. Lure Makki’s men this way. They’ll be stuck in the mud, as those soldiers were stuck.”
He grabbed her shoulders and kissed her cheek. “Sky, you’re a genius!”
“I remember tales. Everyone should.”
****
Sky explored the ruined wall as Ceti and his crew set to work on their new task of enlarging the hole to get water to flow more freely to the area.
Ceti tried to keep an eye on her when he wasn’t pulled away by the work. It was inevitable that Sky’s curiosity
would get her in trouble. However, right now, she seemed content to watch them work.
“How do we cover the water up?” Godwin asked.
“We collected much wood to build the ballistes and onagers,” Ceti said. “Go send someone to get the pieces we rejected for being too rotted. We’ll use them to cover the hole.”
Godwin nodded. “If we dump dirt over the rotted planks, it’ll disguise it perfectly.”
“Exactly.” Ceti clapped Godwin on the back. While his second sent some of the crew to retrieve the planks, Ceti ordered the others to dig small channels down the hillside. They could do the same as with the hole: get the water running swiftly, cover it up with rotted wood, and disguise it with mud.
Perfect. Sky, I could kiss you. For many reasons.
He turned, looked for her, but she was out of sight.
Now where had she gone? He took a few steps and looked down the hill. She’d walked about halfway down in a direct line to the docks. Maybe she was curious about the fate of the man who’d deserted the imperial ship.
Ceti tensed and moved to follow. Whatever she was curious about, she’d gone far enough.
Godwin tapped him on the shoulder and asked a question about how many channels to dig on the hill. Ceti turned to point, using his hammer for emphasis. When he looked back for Sky, she was all the way down at the base of the hill.
What are you doing, princess? Get back here.
Between this and standing on the top of the wall, she must be determined to drive him crazy.
As if his worst fear had been made real, a man from the direction of the docks came into view, shouting at her.
Against all reason, Sky started running to him.
Vulcan’s forge!
Ceti scrambled down the hill, still grasping the hammer he’d used to demonstrate his plans to Godwin. He shouted at Sky. Curse the woman. Though it was completely predictable that Sky would run toward trouble rather than away from it.
The man collapsed at Sky’s feet. Sky knelt down, hugged him, and whispered something into his ear.
That made no sense. Why would she comfort a stranger? Why would a stranger seek her out?
She comforted me when I fell from the tree.
But she’d been in her home then, not a strange place.
He reached Sky at the foot of the hill, his chest heaving from running, and sweat running down his back. He bit back a curse, fighting his anger and confusion.
“Sky? What’s wrong? Who is this?”
The man wore a slave’s leather collar and he was completely soaked. He must be the deserter from the imperial ship. Now Ceti could understand why Sky would want to protect the slave but not why this escaped slave had run to her.
“Why did he come to you?” he asked.
The slave was curled into a ball, his head buried in his hands. Sky rubbed his back and made soothing noises like those used for a child.
“Ceti, he’s one of my people,” she said. “He needs my help. He needs our help.”
Her jaw was set, her eyes glared at him and one of her hands was clenched into a fist.
“He’s one of you?” Ceti asked. “How? He’s a slave. Look at his collar.”
“I will rip that collar to shreds.”
Ceti wondered how much it would cost to buy the man, then set him free. Whatever it was, paying the price would be easier than trying to steal the slave away or reason with Sky.
“I’ll make sure he’s freed. Come, we need to get back inside the wall quickly, Sky.” The last thing he needed was a confrontation with those imperial soldiers from the rowboat. They needed to delay the inevitable battle. Ceti certainly didn’t want to start it over an escaped slave.
He heard boots pounding against the packed dirt. He turned and saw three armed soldiers charging them. The night watch had been alerted already? Wait, no, these were imperial soldiers, likely the retrieval party from the rowboat.
Fuck. The last thing we need.
“Get back from our slave,” shouted the lead imperial. He wore a centurion’s shoulder knot. “Don’t interfere.”
I already have. Ceti drew his short sword and his hammer. He had no shield but the hammer would do to protect his other side.
Sky straightened. “Order them to stop, Ceti.”
“They’re not my men,” he said through clenched teeth. Did all Roman uniforms look alike to her? “They’re with Makki’s legion.”
This one must be a valuable slave for them to send men from the ship after him and risk a confrontation. Makki wanted delay as much as Tabor did. Stifling the curse that was on the tip of his tongue, Ceti stepped in front of Sky as the three soldiers drew closer.
“Stay behind me,” he said to her. “They’re far better armed than you are.”
She drew her belt knife. “He’s Turkey clan. They’ll not get him back without a fight.”
Volcanoes could not have spewed forth more heat than Sky’s anger. Yet that wouldn’t be any help against three well-trained legionnaires. Ceti shouted for help again, hoping Godwin and the crew heard him. He planted his feet, raised his sword to cover his chest, and braced for attack.
Chapter Sixteen
The centurion reached Ceti first and attacked, stabbing at Ceti’s unprotected thigh.
Ceti knocked aside the thrust easily. Fool. The centurion should have waited for the others so they could overwhelm him with group strength.
Ceti pressed his advantage, swinging his hammer to drive the centurion back. His attacker sidestepped and the movement put him off-balance. Ceti used his greater strength to reach out and slam his hammer into his opponent’s helmet.
The clang of metal rang out. There was an awful squishing sound. The centurion collapsed, like a puppet with his strings cut.
Ceti had no time to enjoy the quick victory. The other two soldiers attacked together, forcing him to backpedal to avoid their sword thrusts. He twisted sideways, swung the hammer again and landed a glancing blow on chest armor of one of the soldiers.
It was enough to send the man to his knees.
Ceti bit down on a scream of pain as the flat of his remaining opponent’s blade bashed his left hand. His hammer slipped through his numb fingers and fell to the ground. He barely got his gladius up in time to block the next thrust at his neck.
Oh, fuck. He’s as tall as I am.
Out of the corner of his eye, Ceti saw Sky grab the downed centurion’s sword. She jabbed at the soldier on his knees. The assault caused the man to lose balance further and she followed through by stabbing his neck.
Blood spurted from the wound. The soldier fell to the ground with a gurgling noise.
Reminder: never get Sky angry.
Ignoring his comrade’s screams of terror, the last standing soldier gripped his gladius with two hands and rushed Ceti. Ceti countered the thrust, but he stepped wrong in the loose sand and went down to one knee.
His opponent raised his gladius for a downward killing stroke. Sky screamed with anger and, gripping her borrowed sword with two hands, swung at the soldier’s midsection.
The soldier jumped back, swearing.
Ceti’s work crew swarmed the soldier and dragged him to the ground. Ceti raised himself to his feet, blinking, realizing how close that had been.
“Sky!”
“Here.”
She stood there, still holding the sword—now dripping with blood.
“Put it down. We’re safe.”
She nodded and lowered the sword.
“Are you hurt?”
She shook her head. Relief washed over him.
Ceti knelt over the downed centurion he’d hit in the head with the hammer. No movement, no breathing, only the stillness from death.
I killed him with one blow.
Thank Vulcan that he’d thought to bring the hammer today. Ceti looked to the side. The soldier Sky killed lay in a pool of his own blood.
“You fucking assholes,” the surviving soldier said. The work crew held him by both arms. “You m
urdered an imperial centurion. For a slave! You’ll hang for that. You’ve no right.”
Godwin slugged him in the mouth. The soldier shut up.
Fuck. Ceti didn’t care about the soldier’s weak threat, but he realized now that he’d struck the first blow in the war between Manhatos and the Empire.
So much for delaying the battle.
Tabor would not be pleased. Yet there had been no choice.
Ceti brandished his sword at the imperial soldier. “Why in the name of Vulcan’s hammer would you bother to leave your ship to retrieve a slave?”
“The slave belongs to Makki’s personal assistant, Ahala. He ordered us to get his property back.” The soldier looked at the repair crew. “Ahala will kill you all for this.”
“No one’s going to die except you if you don’t shut your mouth,” Godwin said.
The soldier spat out blood on the ground. “You’ll see.”
Godwin cocked his arm to hit the soldier again. “Let it be,” Ceti said.
He looked around. The fight had happened in a little dip at the bottom of the hill. It was just low enough to block the sight of anyone looking from the direction of the docks. No doubt that was the reason he hadn’t seen the imperials until almost too late. Anyone on the wall near them would have seen the fight but the people up there belonged to him.
If they moved back behind the wall, it would take time for the rest of the imperials to discover what happened to their escaped slave and his pursuers.
“Godwin, take two of the crew, escort this man to the guardhouse on the wall, and lock him up,” Ceti ordered. “The rest of you, grab the bodies and bring them up the hill.”
Ceti retrieved his hammer from the ground. “Sky, you and the slave follow me.”
“He’s not a slave,” she snapped but did as he asked. She put her arm around the escaped slave’s waist as they walked up the hill, whispering what sounded like encouragement to him.
Ceti was almost jealous. Who in Minerva’s name was this boy?
When they were on the city side of the wall, Ceti finally felt somewhat safe. He turned to Sky.
“Sky, you said this former slave is one of you. Who is he?”
“He’s one of my tribe and was taken from our lands against his will when he was just a boy.”
Eagle of Seneca Page 19