‘Set the screen up over there,’ said Marsila.
Together they pulled the bundles of wicker and branches that they had gathered through the Portal and assembled them to make a screen. It was a rough affair but the best they could manage with a limited supply of resources. They plugged what gaps they could and covered the thinner parts of the screen with their blankets and bedrolls. Then, in a final act of crude engineering, they lashed additional guide ropes to the frame and weighed the base with the few boulders that were close to hand. When they had finished they were presented with a screen that although ugly to the eye would at least shield the glow of their Will from the land below.
Or, in any case, that was the theory.
‘Good enough,’ said Marsila. ‘That’ll have to do.’
Charlie eyed their creation with some misgivings. It appeared quite patchy and at this height they were very exposed to anyone looking up from below.
‘Do you think it’ll really block all our light?’ she asked.
‘Probably not,’ said Marsila with a shrug. ‘But we’ve done the best we can and there’s nothing else for it but to press on. E’Jaaz, are you ready?’
‘To roll the dice? Always.’
Marsila turned to Nibbler. ‘Hatchling?’
‘I’m ready.’
‘Charlie?’
Charlie felt a flutter of nervousness but she swallowed the emotion. ‘One thing’s been bothering me. If we do open the Gateway won’t all those Stomen be able to get into the Winged Realm? Won’t that be a problem?’
Marsila and E’Jaaz chuckled.
‘No, Charlie, that won’t be a problem,’ explained E’Jaaz, clearly appreciating the opportunity for a laugh in this otherwise sombre moment. ‘Any Stomen stupid enough to jump in after us are going to get their eyebrows burned off.’
‘And their weapons turned into slag,’ added Marsila. ‘The Winged Ones can manage all of those soldiers and Shades and more without breaking a sweat. All we have to worry about is getting that Gateway open. Any more questions or are you good?’
‘I’m good,’ said Charlie, glad to put the last of her doubts aside. ‘Let’s get this done.’
‘All right, people,’ said Marsila. ‘Triad up.’
Standing behind the screen, they summoned their Wills. Marsila placed the map on the floor in front of her and as an afterthought weighed down its corners with pebbles. Giving it a moment’s study, she grunted once she was certain she had committed what was required to memory.
‘First temple coming up,’ she said.
She wove her hands in a figure of eight and tore open the first Portal.
‘Flare,’ said Marsila, and punched a pillar of Will directly into the temple beyond.
Charlie and E’Jaaz copied the motion. The temple erupted in a kaleidoscope of light, filling it to the brim before bursting through windows and doors out into the night.
‘I can see it!’ shouted Nibbler, who was standing to one side of the screen and now hopping up and down in excitement. ‘I can see it, it’s awesome! It’s making the walls of the temple glow.’ Putting E’Jaaz’s telescope to his eye, he squinted at the distant building. ‘And the Stomen are going nuts too. Oh, it’s great. It’s working!’
‘Very well,’ said Marsila in a calm voice at odds with Nibbler’s. ‘One temple down. Time for the next.’
She closed the Portal, only to re-open one a second later into a similar-looking building.
‘Flare,’ she instructed.
Charlie and E’Jaaz complied so that this temple too seemed to burst with golden light.
‘Awesome,’ said Nibbler, his eye still pressed firmly against the telescope. Unable to control his excitement, his tail began to swish from side to side.
‘Next,’ said Marsila.
They shattered the calm of the third building with their flare.
‘Good, let’s move on,’ said Marsila.
Building a rhythm, the three Keepers began to pick up speed. Their Portals opened into temple after temple and at each they sent a spluttering, sparking wave of Will flaring through. Sometimes they would open into an empty room and at others they would disturb slumbering Stomen or basking Shades. These would scream and shout as the unexpected bursts of light took them by surprise. After a while the bedlam in the temples grew to the point where, even when there was no Portal open, they could hear the faint curse and panicked scream of the distant enemy reaching them from afar like the sound of waves.
Marsila, unable to contain herself, actually grinned. ‘It sounds like the first part of our plan has gained momentum. Time to press on with the next and push our foes while they’re still reeling.’
She opened another Portal and this time jumped into it, landing in another temple. The others joined her. With fists blazing, they ran through the temple, then leaped out of the windows and doors to land amongst the enemy who were loitering outside around a campfire. They pummelled and kicked the surprised soldiers, knocking them from their feet. Nibbler unleashed gusts of flame and Charlie, flowing from K’Changa stance to stance, darted here and there, dropping foes as fast as she could.
‘Enough!’ said Marsila after less than a minute had passed.
The group of companions retreated into the temple, leaving the Stomen dazed and confused. Tearing a fresh Portal open, they dived through to land in yet another temple. Surrounded by haloes of Will and wrapped in grim determination, they ghosted from location to location, harassing and striking the enemy. And as cries and shouts of alarm continued to ring around the land Charlie and her companions began to grin in triumph.
They could feel the cogs in the wheel of their plan turning.
Momentum building, they pressed onward.
28
Winged Delight
‘They what?’ cursed Stones.
‘They’re everywhere!’ cried the panicked solider. ‘They pop out of the air and rip our formations to shreds! They’re unstoppable, they’re –’
Stones’s fist smashed into the soldier, sending him flying across the length of the courtyard. ‘Idiot,’ rumbled Stones. ‘We have no time for warriors who cry in the heat of battle.’
Stix looked every bit as displeased as his brother. He snapped his fingers at one of the men guarding the great doors. ‘Remove that,’ he pointed at the unconscious soldier, ‘and send for someone else. Someone who can report without crying like a little girl.’
The guards dragged away the snoring soldier. Moments later a Shade appeared. Hugging the shadows, it cautiously made its way towards the Delightful Brothers.
‘Report,’ snapped Stix.
‘My brethren have received mixed information,’ hissed the Shade. It remained in the shadows and was careful to avoid getting too close to Stix and Stones (proving that it was wiser than their previous visitor). ‘In the last hour, between thirty and forty of the Winged Ones’ temples have been struck but details are haphazard at best. Some have reported seeing only the glimmer of the Keepers’ Will, others give claim to seeing entire buildings shining with light. Rumours and tall tales aside, there has been definite contact with Keepers. Intelligence is not clear or precise regarding the numbers involved but we believe there are between five and eleven Keepers involved in these attacks. We have not yet been able to pin them down.’
‘Why not?’ rumbled Stones.
‘Their tactics have changed. It is they who now ambush us. They strike quickly and melt away before we can bring our full weight of numbers to bear.’
‘You cannot corner them inside the temples?’ asked Stones. ‘Can you not overwhelm them while they are constrained by walls and hem them in?’
‘That tactic worked before but not any more.’ The Shade bristled with agitation. ‘They move differently. Swiftly and with purpose. They no longer use their Will to shield themselves. No longer do they stay in one place. They are like quicksilver. Fast. Dangerous.’
Stix looked to his brother.
‘Eleven Keepers,’ he said. ‘Does t
hat sound likely?’
‘No, it doesn’t,’ said Stones. ‘I think it’s just the original three playing games with us.’
‘Hmmm, my thoughts too, brother.’ Stix looked at the Shade. ‘You. Show us which temples have been hit.’
Hissing, the Shade unhappily made its way into the light to stand beside a Stonesinger’s three-dimensional map. Doing its best to keep one eye on the brothers, it began to mark locations on the map. ‘Huh,’ snorted Stones as he watched the Shade work. ‘They still keep to the southern border of the Winged Mount.’
‘That they do,’ remarked Stix. ‘Nonetheless, it would be wise, would it not, brother, to congregate our forces around all of the temples? North and south?’
‘Of course,’ agreed Stones.
‘North and south it is. You!’ His thick finger pointed at a guard. ‘Send messages to the captains that they are to distribute a further two squads to all temples within a two-mile circumference of the Winged Mount. I want a Stonesinger at each temple too.’
‘Yessir!’
‘Wait!’ roared Stones. ‘I have not finished yet. I want a further four divisions of equal strength standing ready at the four compass points. Instruct them to be ready to move fast. When we finally corner our visitors they will be the anvil that we crush the Keepers against.’
The unfortunate guard mustered the courage to ask a question. ‘And, er, sir? The hammer will be …?’
Stix and Stones stared at him with unflinching yellow eyes.
‘Us, of course,’ said Stix and bared his teeth in a feral smile.
‘Go,’ said Stones. ‘See it done.’
‘Yes, sir.’ The guard disappeared through the door.
‘Why would you send my brethren to the north?’ asked the Shade from the safety of the shadows. ‘It is clear the Keepers seek something in the south. Why not squeeze all our might where we know they are going to be? Our lord would not be pleased if he thought you were making foolish mistakes.’
‘Your lord took us into his employ on the merit of our accomplishments,’ growled Stones. ‘Foolish we are not.’
‘Only a fool would think to look in the direction that the enemy wants us to,’ said Stix. ‘A wise hunter knows to spread his net far and wide.’
‘We know that the Keepers are growing desperate,’ said Stones, adding the weight of his words to his brother’s. ‘They still have not found what they require otherwise they would be long gone by now. It is just as obvious that this wave of attacks is a ruse to divert our attention.’
‘How do you know that?’ asked the Shade. It had moved through the shadows so that its voice now came from a different part of the room. ‘How can you be so sure?’
‘Because it is exactly what we would do if our positions were reversed,’ said Stix. ‘So until we know precisely where they aim to be we will watch and cover all the options. And besides, little shadow, what are you worried about? We have more than enough manpower to cover all the temples.’
‘More than enough,’ said Stones. Darting forward, he plunged his hand into the darkness, then pulled it free to reveal the Shade wriggling and writhing at the end of his arm. He stared menacingly at it with his cat’s eyes until it settled into a submissive stillness. ‘Tell your brothers and sisters to do as they are told. Tell them that when it comes to catching and skinning a Keeper, no one knows how to do it better than a Delightful Brother.’
Stix came to stand by his side. They watched as the Shade, cowed, slunk from the room.
‘To the skies?’ said Stones.
‘To the skies!’ agreed Stix with a predator’s grin.
They strutted through the Embassy of the Winds, and out into a poorly lit courtyard. Large things, half seen, half hidden, coiled restlessly in the shadows. As the Delightful Brothers drew near, the sound of scales rasping against the courtyard’s walls grew. So too did the clicks, hoots and whistles of the waiting beasts.
Grinning like two wicked children given presents that they did not deserve, Stix and Stones headed towards the shadows that hid their impatient mounts. They clambered into their saddles and, gripping the reins, shouted, ‘Hup! Hup!’
Arching their backs and unsheathing their wings, the two Stowyrms burst into the sky. In a blur of dragonfly wings and gnashing teeth, they writhed their way higher and higher into the moonlit night. The only thing left in their wake was a stirring of wind and the echo of Stix and Stones’s unpleasant laughter.
29
One Last Push
Even though they were back on the chilly slopes of the Winged Mount, sweat coursed off the three Keepers. For the last hour they had worked tirelessly. They had opened countless Portals, jumped through dozens of temples and ambushed scores of Stoman soldiers. And after all their hard work they sported new injuries: a dark bruise coloured Charlie’s jaw, a line of blood from a near miss ran across E’Jaaz’s cheek and Marsila favoured her right wrist after further damage to her already injured left. Nibbler, however, seemed as spry as ever and had had the good luck to avoid all injury.
‘Think we’ve done enough?’ asked E’Jaaz.
‘With the number of Stomen at that last temple? Yes, I certainly think so,’ said Marsila with a smile still bright on her face. ‘Let’s take a look, shall we?’
She moved round in front of the screen, then crouched down, swung her legs out and sat herself right on the edge of the precipice. The others, still buzzing from their last encounter, quickly joined her. Together they looked out across the night-time landscape.
It was aglow with thousands of lights. There were hundreds of campfires and a multitude of flickering torches held in the hands of the enemy. From where they sat, up on the Winged Mount, it was like watching a swarm of fireflies.
‘Wow,’ breathed Charlie. ‘That’s a lot of Stomen.’
‘Let’s have a closer look through that looking ’scope of yours, E’Jaaz,’ said Marsila.
E’Jaaz passed it over and Marsila pressed it to her eye.
‘Hmmm … I’d say that we’ve succeeded in our task. Here, take a look.’ She passed the telescope to Charlie.
Charlie peered at the large temple that was their goal. It was easy to pick out. Bedecked with lanterns and illuminated by great fires, it was like an island of light amidst a sea of darkness. Large carvings of Winged Ones, far bigger than those at the other temples, graced the exterior walls. It still rippled with activity – Charlie could see ranks of organized Stomen and Rhinospiders congregated around the building like spokes gravitating towards a central hub – but it was evident that it was far less populated than it had been in the daytime. Far, far less.
Looking at it, Charlie felt a mixture of emotions. There was no denying that she was excited. All their hard work over the past couple of days had led them to this. The Winged Ones’ Gateway lay in the temple below and if Charlie could open it then all her ambitions would be realized: peace in Bellania, the end of Bane and the return of her parents. But beneath this heady wave of excitement coiled an uneasy sense of doubt and worry. Could they make it? Would this really work? What happened if something went wrong? Everything she cared about depended on their success. The more Charlie thought about it, the more her doubts grew. Scowling angrily, not at the Stomen below but rather at herself, she forced her pre-fight nerves aside and did her best to ignore them.
‘How are we going to do this?’ asked Nibbler. ‘Are we going to charge in like we did at the other temples?’
‘No!’ said E’Jaaz. ‘Definitely not. With the amount of manpower still down there we want to sneak our way in and avoid fighting until the last minute. If we can pull this off without having to fight for every inch I’ll be a happy man. Marsila?’
‘I agree.’
‘Charlie?’ asked E’Jaaz.
‘Uh, yes,’ she said. ‘I’m always in favour of being sneaky.’
E’Jaaz looked back at Nibbler. ‘Hatchling, got any concerns about going in quietly?’
‘No. I like sneaky as much as the next man
.’
‘Glad to hear that,’ said E’Jaaz. ‘Now let’s put our heads together and find a way into that temple.’
30
Last-minute Plans
Kelko marched through Deepforest. Sic Boy, the big beast of a dog, ghosted ahead of him, blazing the way. The border, where forest met Great Plains, was his goal. At his side, spread out in a long ribbon, were lines of soldiers, predominantly Tremen but there were also squads of Humans and Stomen. The arms and armour were mismatched. There were the spiked bark suits of the Shoud’iar Tremen, the polished wood plate armour of the Eastern Tremen, the stone shields of the renegade Stomen and the polished-blue chainmail of the Alavisian and Alacornian Humans who had survived and managed to flee the conquest of their native lands. There were wooden swords crafted by treesinging, stone maces and warhammers crafted by stonesinging, and mundane weapons created through forging and blacksmithing. But as mismatched as the soldiers looked they were made uniform by the colour they wore: the turquoise of the Jade Circle.
Kelko grunted and hefted the Brambleaxe that rested in his grip. Glancing down, he could not help but admire the cruel-looking weapon. Double-headed, its two half-moon blades caught the light and spearing between these was a huge thorn that did service as a central spike. Living up to its name, a wealth of smaller but equally sharp thorns erupted from its main shaft. Truly, it was a thing of beauty. Just as truly, it was a thing of barbaric viciousness and part of Kelko was ashamed to carry it. He was not a man of war and hated the fact that he would be forced to act like a butcher before the day was done.
Gritting his teeth, he swallowed and forced saliva down his parched throat. Then he pushed past the last line of trees to stand at the edge of the Great Plains. The advisors that Lady Dridif had loaned him took up positions on either side. Shielding his eyes from the setting sun, he squinted westward.
Blood and Fire (Book 3) Page 13