The darkness stretched on endlessly, until Aibek thought he’d lose his mind from the never-ending anticipation and anxiety, which the dark curves of the stairs only heightened. Finally, his right hand bumped against a door, and he paused. The man behind him didn’t stop soon enough but rammed his nose into Aibek’s shoulder.
If he remembered correctly, Aibek thought the door opened onto a wide ballroom, which would present few places to hide and could leave him and his warriors completely exposed. He rested his hand on the knob but listened intently for any sounds of patrols beyond it.
“What the hell is taking them so long?” Footsteps echoed off the polished floor, and the vaulted ceiling amplified the voice.
Aibek pulled his hand free of the door and pressed himself back against the wall, knowing full well that hiding would be useless. He focused on the sounds of approaching guards, trying to sort out how many sets of boots were crossing the stone floor. It sounded like three or four. Not a large number. He and his men could take them, if they had to. Before he could brace himself for combat, the door swung open and a tall man stood silhouetted in the doorway, his eyes just below Aibek’s.
Without giving the man time to sound the alarm, Aibek brought his sword up and slashed at the guard’s throat. His elbow crashed painfully into the staircase’s stone wall, but Aibek ignored the pain and rushed forward to silence the other two men in the room.
The string of a bow creaked behind him, but the wall would keep Marah from getting any kind of a decent shot. Aibek caught a glimpse of the soldier behind him when the man rushed up to attack the third guard beside him. Aibek felled his man and waved to the door on the opposite wall. They had to hurry. More guards would certainly be coming soon, especially since those last three had been so loud in their movements. Someone had surely heard them fall.
The others crossed the marble floor behind him, each stepping carefully to minimize the sound of their footsteps in the empty hall.
When he reached the far door, Aibek paused only long enough to listen for sounds beyond it. Hearing none, he yanked the door open and rushed into the wide passage. A thick tapestry covered the floor, muffling the sounds of their passing. Aibek led the others through the winding passageways until voices ahead brought him up short. He waved the others into a small room and pressed in close behind them, watching the hall to see who passed.
“We’re under attack! Make no mistake, they’ll be here to try to take back the palace any minute now. Man the doors. Make sure all the entrances are guarded.” The man’s voice echoed through the long hall.
“But sir, shouldn’t we see what’s keeping Brion and Dairre? They went up to check the roof more than fifteen minutes ago.”
Someone sighed and feet shuffled. “Knowing that lot, they’re probably having a smoke and a nap. No. Man the doors. Be prepared for an assault. The men are keeping the fighting to the walls so far, but they won’t stand long against those dragons. Once the army’s through, they’ll have this palace in their sights, you can be sure of that.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll watch the service entrance. You don’t think they’ll try to come in the front, do you? Those doors are too easy to barricade. If I were an enemy, I’d try the smaller doors on the sides or back.”
“You’re probably right, but we’ll keep all the doors guarded until we know what tactics they’ll use.”
“Yes, sir.”
Footsteps faded down the hall, and Aibek waited several minutes to be sure the guards were truly gone before he moved forward.
They turned down the next hall, moving ever closer to the chambers the king had once occupied. At the end of the hall, a cluster of men in city guard uniforms stood guard. One of them spotted the intruders and called out to his comrades.
Aibek rushed down the hall toward the men. They were deep inside the palace now, and Aibek was fairly certain most of the guards would be out of earshot, but he didn’t want to take unnecessary risks. The lead guard met Aibek with his sword raised and thrust it out low at the last second in an attempt to catch his attacker off guard. Aibek dodged right and parried the thrust, and the two moved in a slow circle in the center of the hall. A man fell beside Aibek with a dull thud after an arrow lodged in his neck, and one more followed an instant later.
The hallway erupted in a flurry of activity and metal. Aibek’s warriors attacked with all the pent-up energy of men who’d been poised for battle for many days. They quickly overwhelmed the guards’ defenses and in minutes all the enemy soldiers lay dead or dying on the plush velvet floor. The heavy wall coverings had muffled most of the sound, but voices called from further down the halls in answer to the guards’ initial cries.
“Time’s up,” Aibek muttered. He planted his shoulder into the door the guards had been protecting and slammed his weight against it. Pain shot through his shoulder, into his arm, and across his chest. At that moment, he realized he had neglected to swallow the tincture. He hesitated but decided the time for secrets had passed.
He stepped aside, rubbing his shoulder, and let one of the soldiers take a turn at the door. Once he was clear, Aibek pulled out the vial and downed its contents in one swift movement. With nothing to wash down the bitter liquid, he gagged and made a face and tried to suppress a shudder when the foul substance slid down his throat.
A gentle hand settled on his arm. “Are you all right?” Marah’s lips were so close to his ear, Aibek could feel her breath ruffle his hair.
“I’m fine, I just didn’t expect it to be quite so heavy.” Aibek tried to force a sheepish grin, but felt his face contort into a grimace instead. His shoulder throbbed, so he rubbed at it and hoped that would convince her.
“Well, we need you strong enough to fight. Don’t get hurt on a door.” She tossed her long braid over her shoulder and strolled over to where three soldiers worked at forcing open the door.
One heartbeat at a time, strength suffused Aibek’s body, spreading like the warmth of a good brandy through his chest and into his arms and legs. He waited until his hands tingled with the tincture’s effects, flexed his fists, and took a position close to the spot where the door met the wall.
Aibek timed his movement to match the soldiers surrounding him but didn’t attempt to harness the tincture’s power. The door creaked, splintered, and crashed inward. He stumbled under the forward momentum and staggered several paces into the room.
* * *
Faruz leaned over the rail and surveyed the scene below. The Bokinna had moved the village so close to the forest’s edge that he could see the flicker of enemy campfires through the trees. Zifa put her arm around him and set her head on his shoulder.
“How long do you think they’ll wait?”
“I don’t know. Probably not long, if I were to guess.” He put his arm around her waist and pulled her close against his side. She’d refused to stay back away from the fighting when it began. She was carrying his child. The two thoughts warred in his mind, inducing a panic unlike anything he’d ever experienced.
He opened his mouth to beg her — again — to stay with Valasa, but a clamor rose from the enemy camp. Faruz frowned and leaned over the rail, straining to hear the words the soldiers were shouting. An arrow whirred past his head and he jerked back.
“Sound the alarm! They’re attacking!” He pulled Zifa away from the rail and pulled her toward the closest house, where they could regroup and make a plan. To his amazement, Zifa didn’t stop. She kept running, vanishing into the night’s blackness.
Faruz didn’t call after her, instead using the time to concentrate on the Bokinna. How fast could the dragons get to them?
He’d just opened his eyes when Zifa sprinted around the corner, holding his armor and the straps they used to keep their seat on the dragons. She’d already donned her armor, and the reinforced zontrec emblazoned with Nivaka’s new sigil — a dragon breathing fire above a graceful, smiling tree — fit her well. He wished the sun would come up already so he could see the contrast of the brilliant g
reen dye against her pale skin. He sighed and pulled her close for a quick, hard kiss.
He hadn’t even finished pulling his armor over his clothes when the dragons’ rumble first shook the boardwalk.
“They’re here! Let’s go!” Zifa pulled him along by his sleeve while he finished strapping his sword belt on.
“I’ve asked some of the dragons to light the camps on fire before they pick up their riders!” Faruz shouted over the clamor of shouting villagers and whirring arrows.
Enemy fighters had already flung grappling claws up onto the railing, and Faruz rushed to help protect the village from the onslaught while the others clambered onto their dragons behind him.
Villagers passed around pots of flame-proof salve that Valasa had made, slathering it over their faces and arms. Brilliant flashes of light illuminated the forest as the dragons made their strafing runs over the enemy’s camp, followed immediately by screams of terror and pain.
The man in front of Faruz froze, his eyes wide, his hands still clutching the grappling line. “Dragons?”
Faruz simply nodded and cut the line above the man’s hand and watched as the rope and man fell together toward the hard, rocky ground.
“I’ve got this,” a man behind him shouted. “Your dragon’s here.”
Faruz stepped back and bowed slightly to the villager, though he didn’t look up to see who it was. “You can hold them. We’ve learned a lot since the first time.”
He didn’t wait for an answer, but sprinted off toward the Square, the only open area in the village large enough for the dragons to land.
“Gamne!” He grinned at the sight of the dragon that had become one of his dearest friends. “Did you get a chance to light some fires?”
“No,” Gamne answered glumly. “Bokinna send me straight here for you while others have all the fun.”
Faruz scrambled onto his back. “Don’t worry, buddy. You’ll get your chance.” He pulled the straps tight and glanced around for Zifa. She was almost finished strapping herself onto her dragon.
Gamne swung his head around to glare at Faruz, who stifled a sheepish laugh. “Let’s go!” he shouted, loud enough for the people below to hear.
The dragon leapt into the dark night, leaving the shouts and screams to fade into the forest below. He glanced around for Ahren as Gamme lifted him out of the village. He hoped she’d be close enough behind him to keep Zifa safe.
“Let’s give the villagers a little more time, shall we?” Faruz shouted to Gamne. The dragon didn’t look at him but dove into the forest’s cover. The village came back into view, but before Faruz could make out anyone on the rails, the dragon let loose a blast of flame that lit the attackers’ ropes, axes, and ladders on fire and left the enemy soldiers burned and screaming. Those who weren’t in the direct line of the flames scattered like flies when the dragon pulled up to come around again.
“To the clearing!”
The dragon rumbled a complaint but did as Faruz said.
Heavily armed villagers, elves, and dwarves were already pouring onto the battlefield from the forest, and enemy soldiers met them as they emerged. Neither group bothered with forming into lines.
The night’s inky blackness made it hard for Faruz and the other dragons to distinguish friend from foe. Tents and supplies burned bright against the moonless sky, providing the only light for the battle.
Gamne swooped toward the ground for another run at the camps, but this time, something flew at him when they drew near. The flash of light blinded Faruz for a heartbeat, making it difficult to guide the dragon away from the flaming projectile.
“Did you drink your seeds?” Gamne asked as he pulled up. “Can you see what they’re doing?”
Right. The tincture. In the rush to prepare and join the fight, Faruz had completely forgotten it. He pulled a vial from beneath his shirt and downed the bitter liquid in a single gulp.
Almost immediately, warm strength flowed through his arms and legs and enhanced his vision and hearing. Below, men stood beside the fires, lighting arrows on fire and aiming up at the dragons. He squinted, searching for a familiar face. Sure enough, he spotted Kaskin standing with a group of soldiers, talking and pointing up at the circling dragons.
Faruz took comfort in the fact that Kaskin hadn’t joined them on any training days, so he had no real idea what the dragons could or couldn’t do. Still, the fact that he had betrayed them by joining the enemy galled Faruz more than he’d like to admit.
“Can you take them out?” He shouted to Gamne. “Maybe we can come around behind them?”
The dragon bobbed his head once and changed his course. Gamne’s sides swelled beneath Faruz’s legs as the dragon drew in as much air as he could hold in preparation for the strafing run. They dropped low to the ground and sped closer to the traitor and his companions, but Faruz froze at the scene before him.
The forest’s citizens had already reached the camp and were fighting hand to hand against Kaskin and the other soldiers.
“Don’t burn them!” Faruz shouted. “Those are our men! Get me close – like we practiced!”
Gamne let out his breath a little at a time, releasing a steady flow of smoke from his nostrils. Instead of using his firebreath to burn the camp, the dragon dropped lower to the ground and allowed Faruz to swing his long blade toward the unprepared enemy. Two men fell in one swing of his longsword. Gamne followed up on the blow with a well-placed swing of his massive tail, taking down the rest of the men gathered around the campfire.
The villagers dodged the dragon easily, but Kaskin and his friends hadn’t been so lucky, Faruz saw when he looked back. Kaskin lay bleeding by the fire, and the three men he’d been talking to had all fallen, as well.
Faruz let out a whoop in celebration at the tiny victory, but his spirits fell when the dragon flew higher and he saw the battlefield laid out beneath him.
Everywhere he looked, men and women fought desperately against enemy soldiers who were bigger, stronger, and faster than they were. Several of the enemy fighters stumbled and staggered between combatants. One fell over without a villager even nearby.
“Good, the fairy wine is working.” He nodded and twisted on his seat to get a better view of the fighting near the forest. Before he could bring the scene fully into focus, an emrialk’s scream split the night.
Everyone on the field below froze in unison. Faruz couldn’t remember ever hearing the beasts so close to the forest’s edge before. Another shriek announced a second emrialk somewhere further north than the first.
“Oh, this is bad,” Faruz told Gamne. “I don’t suppose the Bokinna can control them, can she? Or reason with them? Help us somehow?” His voice rose with each question.
Gamne went quiet for a long moment and Faruz waited while he asked his deity for help. An eternity passed before he swung his head around to meet Faruz’s gaze with a wide green eye.
“Bokinna say they are creatures of forest, but they not obey her. They obey themselves.”
Faruz cursed. His mind drifted back to Aibek’s wounds from the emrialk he had encountered on his way to meet the Bokinna the first time. Aibek had assumed that the creature was protecting the Bokinna, and no one had disagreed with him. Apparently, they’d all been wrong. His stomach sank at the realization that the enormous canines could rip through the battlefield below, and there was nothing he could do to protect his people from them.
Time stood still. Faruz spurred the dragon into motion and swept along the treeline. He couldn’t see the dreaded beasts, but their cries persisted. He had to find a way to keep them from leaving the forest and joining the fray.
* * *
Brilliant lamplight blinded Aibek, and he stood blinking and struggled to make out the room’s contents. The tincture helped his eyes adjust an instant before an axe would have collided with his forehead. He ducked under the strike and brought his sword up, catching his attacker in the gut and nearly cutting the man in two.
Aibek lowered his sword and bro
ught his head up, scanning the room in an instant. His heart sank to somewhere near the soles of his boots. The room was full to bursting with soldiers, most with Helak’s insignia on their shirts, rather than the familiar dragon and moons of the Xona guard. He cursed under his breath and stepped further into the room to allow the rest of his team to enter. Only a long, narrow table separated his warriors from the enemy men.
It took a moment for the scene to fully make sense in Aibek’s mind. These men were dressed in soldiers’ uniforms, but none wore armor. Their hair hung loose to their shoulders, and only a few had weapons close to hand. To his right, a pile of shields, swords, and spears leaned against the wall where they’d be easy to grab on the way out the door.
His sword sagged in his hand. Aibek hesitated, but the men behind him pushed him forward and flooded into the room.
“Wait!” Aibek’s voice boomed in the close room, echoing off the bare walls and stone floor.
Kai shouldered his way up to stand beside Aibek. “We need to attack now, while we’ve got them off-guard. Don’t give them time to recover.”
“No.” He gestured to the weapons piled beside the door. “I won’t murder a room full of unarmed men. But I can’t leave them to attack us from behind, either.”
“What’s your plan, then? I don’t see a third option.” Kai shook his head and raised his sword.
Aibek froze, his gaze landing on a metal ring inset into the floor. “You there,” He pointed to a soldier standing beside the ring. “Pull back that rug.”
The man did as Aibek instructed, revealing a trap door wide enough for two men to stand atop.
“Open it,” Aibek commanded, relief flooding his chest.
The trap door opened in a cloud of dust and creaking hinges. It clearly hadn’t been used for many years. Pitch darkness yawned up through the opening.
Aibek suppressed a smile. “Are any of you injured? Bleeding?”
The cornered soldiers glanced around, and the one who had opened the trap door answered, “No, we haven’t seen any battle, yet.”
The Nivaka Chronicles Boxed Set Page 83