by Duncan Lay
The remaining golden lights that had been Argurium the dragon stopped fading; instead they seemed to thicken, cushioned Merren as she fell, brought her to the ground safely.
She landed next to Martil and Barrett and stared at them in shock and wonder as the lights flared around them, bathing them in a golden glow, before vanishing.
‘Does that mean what I think it does?’ Merren said into the silence that followed.
Karia imagined the stone table rising up and crushing the Fearpriests beneath it.
‘Take this, you murbeling bustards!’ she shouted at them in her own voice.
But nothing happened.
She thought about it again, reached into the magic to make it happen—but nothing was there. Desperate now, she tried again and again, with the same result. Why wasn’t it working? Then she realised. She released the Egg and stepped back, feeling sick to the stomach. Argurium, the last dragon, must have died. She knew what would happen, Havell had told her often enough. There would be no more magic until the Dragon Sword pierced the Dragon Egg.
The Fearpriests were now advancing on her and she realised where she was, stopped grieving for the dragon who had been her friend and started fearing for herself.
‘Grab her!’ Horna barked.
Several Fearpriests pointed at her, but she dodged backwards, to a nearby table loaded with food.
‘There is no magic!’ one Fearpriest cried.
‘Then use your hands! She is just a child!’
Karia grabbed a spiky round fruit from a nearby table and hurled it at the nearest Fearpriest. Her days of playing catch and throw with Martil had trained her arm and the fruit vanished into the darkened space beneath the cowl. The Fearpriest howled and reeled away.
Another made a grab at her but she ducked beneath his arm and swung with all her strength, burying her small fist in his groin. With a shriek of pain, the Fearpriest grabbed at himself and fell to the floor. Karia leaped over his body and ran for the door. She did not know where she was going—just as long as it was away from here.
But Horna stuck out a foot as she raced past and she tripped, sprawling on the floor. Before she could regain her feet, a pair of guards burst through the door and grabbed her, although she struggled and kicked at them.
‘Let me go! Let me go!’ she screamed but they ignored her. ‘I want my dad!’
Horna looked around the room.
‘Brothers, I have no power. Do any of you?’
All looked around, all shook their heads.
‘What does this mean?’ one cried.
‘I do not know,’ Horna admitted. ‘But perhaps, after we sacrifice these three, the Great God will give us answers. Take them away. They shall go to the altar at sunrise.’
‘So we have until sunrise,’ Merren said. She was still shocked by her near-brush with death and what this meant for them. They had destroyed the Tenoch army but they still had to get into the city somehow—and they had less than a day to do so. ‘Nerrin, you have to get your men busy as soon as it gets dark enough that the Tenochs will be unable to see what you are doing. For if they work out what we plan, there is no hope for us—and no hope for anyone.’
Nerrin nodded sombrely. Merren had hurriedly explained her plan to get in through the river gates, by diverting the river and lowering the flow to the point where they could slip under the spikes put there to guard against such an attack. The Tenochs had created a maze of irrigation channels and reservoirs to divert the water for their crops and livestock. By diverting the river into those, as well as opening every sluice gate they could find, she hoped to halve the river’s flow into the city within a few turns of the hourglass.
‘Captain Martil and I shall return to lead the attack into the city. In the meanwhile, do what you can on the river,’ she told him.
As Nerrin hurried off to organise the men, Martil caught Merren’s arm.
‘Is this going to work? We have to get in there!’ he asked desperately.
She recognised the worry in his voice, for it reflected what she felt.
‘It has to. We have no choice,’ she replied bleakly. ‘Come on. We have a long walk ahead of us—and no prospect of magic to help us.’
They found the rest of the small army, minus the Elfarans, gathered at the main gates of Tenoch. ‘The Elfarans fell to the ground and vanished into dust in an instant,’ Sendric reported. ‘It was one of the strangest sights I have seen. It was how we realised the last dragon must have died.’
‘Time caught up to them,’ Barrett said.
‘Well, it’s catching up to us all, so we need to focus on the plan,’ Merren said tartly. ‘Our Magicians’ Guild which we brought across the sea because we thought they would help us get inside the city, is useless without magic. As are Milly and Kesbury.’
‘Well, the fact they cannot use magic proves one thing,’ Barrett said into the silence. ‘Natural magic and the magic from the Gods are linked somehow. While they are different in method and effect, they must come from the same source. It seems the magic came first, then the Gods, who are able to somehow appropriate the natural magic, convert it for use by their priests who are otherwise ordinary people, not like wizards such as myself, who are in tune with the magic that flows within our world.’
‘While I agree there must be a link between the magics, there is another explanation,’ Milly was quick to add. ‘That the magic, the world itself was still created by Aroaril. It is the dragons who are the key. Their presence allows people to use the world’s magic. And by people I mean wizards and priests. Without the dragons, there is no way for humans to access the magic—which is why we have no power now.’
‘But if Aroaril is the Creator, surely He would allow His priests to still use magic, dragons or no dragons…’ Barrett argued.
‘Although the plan was for Martil to use the Dragon Sword on the Egg right away. Perhaps there was not supposed to be this pause. Or perhaps we were supposed to use this time to reflect on the magic in our lives, and how lucky we are to have such a gift,’ Milly snapped back.
‘Enough! We can worry about this if we survive this next day,’ Merren silenced them.
She looked around and while it looked as though everyone had an opinion they would like to offer, none were prepared to interrupt her. So she explained how they would use the river to get inside. ‘We must hope that our work this morning, healing those Tenochs and telling as much of the city as we could reach that we were here to free them, will mean the ordinary people will stay in their homes. If so, all we have to do is seize the gates and the Temple.’ She paused then and looked around. ‘But if they fight against us, then we can show no mercy. The fate of the world rests on our shoulders. We cannot fail. Captain Martil, High Chief Sacrax and I shall lead the Derthals into the city to seize the Temple. A company of Rallorans, under Lieutenant Dunner, will open the gates from the inside, to allow Captain Nerrin and the other Rallorans to seize the northern gate. Meanwhile, Captain Kettering and a company of men will go in through this archway here and open the main gate for Captain Kay and the rest of the men to take. Almost as important is taking Gello. Alive or dead, I want him. Once the gates are secure, send as many men as you can spare towards the Temple. Taking the gates will mean nothing if we cannot seize the Temple and take back the Egg.’
‘What about Bishop Kesbury and myself?’ Milly asked.
‘And me and my wizards,’ Barrett pointed out.
‘Magic does not work. You would be safer staying out here,’ Martil suggested.
‘But what if you succeed? If you restore the dragons, magic will work again. If you have not dealt with every Fearpriest by then, you shall need help,’ Milly pointed out.
Merren nodded. ‘Agreed. You three shall come with us, given that we shall be trying to wipe out the nest of Fearpriests. Fernal, Tiera and the rest of the wizards will help Kay with any Fearpriests that may remain by the main gates.’
‘And I?’ Sendric asked.
‘You shall stay here.
You shall hold the gates while Kay and Kettering bring the men to the Temple.’
‘And what about you?’ Sendric rumbled. ‘Surely it would be better for you to stay here, in safety, rather than heading into the very heart of the evil?’
Merren shook her head. ‘It is my responsibility to see the Egg returned and the world saved.’ She glanced towards Martil. She hoped he would control himself but neither really knew how he would react once in the city—especially if something had happened to Karia. ‘And there is another responsibility as well. None of us want another Bellic but neither can we fail. If we have to fight our way to the Temple I want none to mistake it was by my orders. Now, we have no more time for discussion. Kettering—yours will be the hardest task of all. The river level will drop here later than at the north gate. We shall leave it as long as we dare but it may be that the guards on your gate are alerted by fighting from within the city.’
‘Whatever happens, we can handle it, your majesty,’ Kettering said grimly.
Merren smiled. ‘I know. And, if the worst should happen, know that I could not be more proud of every man and woman here. We have been sneered at and spat on, called butchers, drunkards, criminals, chocolate soldiers, peasants and goblins—but the fate of the world rests with us. It could not be in better hands. I want you all to know that.’
She looked round their faces and felt a shock of horror at the thought that they might fail. After all they had been through, after all they had suffered, it would not be fair. But life was not fair.
‘Aroaril be with all of us,’ she said.
‘What is happening?’ Prent demanded, when Gello returned to the main gate of the city.
‘Onzalez is done for but we are safe,’ Gello said with a wink. ‘After all, you are one of them, on their Council. They do not fully trust us and have set the other Fearpriests here to keep an eye on us. But with the magic gone, they need us. All we have to do is wait. My cousin can do nothing. If she tries to get over these walls we shall slaughter them!’
‘But what of the magic disappearing?’ Prent whispered. ‘Do you think that means the Witch Queen was right, it is somehow connected to the Egg we took?’
Gello paused for a moment, then shook his head. ‘She was trying to trick us. Besides, Brother Horna will get all the answers for us at sunrise.’
They had to walk around half the city to reach the north gates, where the Rallorans waited. And they had to do it without the defenders on the wall seeing what they were up to. Martil had not liked the idea of stumbling around in the dark but they had Sacrax and his Derthals with them, who could find their way easily.
‘Sacrax is delighted his warriors have been chosen to take the Temple.’ Martil smiled as they followed behind the Derthals.
‘It was not to find favour with him,’ she replied. ‘In the dark, it will be easy to confuse friend from foe. But the Derthals will not make that mistake. Anyone who is not a Derthal must be an enemy. It could be a decisive advantage.’
Martil nodded. ‘What about you? You gave a fine speech but is it also that you think I shall abandon everything to rescue Karia?’
‘There is a little of that,’ she admitted, then caught his arm as he turned away. ‘But the real reason is because I am afraid that something might go wrong. And, if the world is about to end, I want to spend my last moments with you.’
He was silent for a moment. ‘I am in control of my anger,’ he said slowly. ‘I thank you for that. It makes it twice you have saved me from myself. But perhaps we should wait until the night is over before talking about such things. You have to keep your mind clear of distractions.’
‘Well, you are a distraction right now!’ She poked him.
He grinned. ‘And to think, a moment ago you wanted to spend the rest of your life with me!’
She laughed then.
‘Sssh!’ a nearby Derthal hissed.
That was it. It was all she could do not to double over and keep laughing.
‘Why is that so funny?’ she wanted to know, almost hiccuping with the effort of keeping her laughter in.
‘Close to battle. Everything is funny then, when it could be the last time you laugh,’ Martil whispered.
‘I can’t stop giggling though! What can you do?’
‘I could kiss you to keep you quiet,’ he offered.
She was tempted but managed to regain control. ‘Save that for later,’ she suggested.
‘As long as there is a later.’
That stopped her laughter.
‘There will be. I cannot believe it can end badly,’ she murmured.
‘This is not a saga. This is real life. It could end very badly,’ he warned.
She did not feel like laughing after that.
25
Karia was given a small stone cell in the depths of the Temple, one of a whole row. She knew Ezok and Onzalez were there somewhere, mainly because she could hear Ezok whimpering and weeping. He was not the only one. At least half-a-dozen other men were either crying or begging for mercy.
There was little light in these cells, but she did not feel like sleeping. She knew Martil was out there, knew he was coming for her, but she was afraid. So afraid. None of Barrett’s exercises were of use in this cold, damp stone prison that stank of fear and worse.
All she could do was wipe away the tears.
Dunner and a squad of Rallorans, who were all slightly damp, met them with a grin.
‘It’s working, your majesty.’ He saluted.
‘Show me,’ she ordered.
They did not want to go too close to the gates, which were lit by a score of torches. Their lights showed there were plenty of defenders over the gate itself, although the walls to either side seemed undefended.
‘Fools! They’re destroying their night vision. They’ll be lucky to see the ground in front of the gates,’ Martil said scornfully.
‘Good,’ Merren said grimly.
But the light from the torches did show the spikes that served as a barrier under the river archway. Normally they stretched the height of a man under the surface but they were clearly visible now.
‘As the river level drops, we are able to block its flow, divert it even better into the reservoirs and irrigation channels the Tenochs prepared for us,’ Nerrin reported. ‘Just a little longer.’
Merren looked up at the night sky.
‘We all have to go soon,’ she warned. ‘We only have until sunrise.’
Kettering and his company of men stripped off armour and clothes, all bar a loincloth, and went down to the riverbank, where they covered themselves in mud, trying to disguise their pale skin and shape by stuffing long reeds in their hair, or down their loincloths. They had been concerned about the strange, giant reptiles with the teeth they had seen further down the river, but obviously those had learned to stay away from the city.
‘Just make sure it’s a reed, not a snake,’ Hawke told Leigh, who was particularly enthusiastic about stuffing plants into his loincloth. ‘The snakes here, if they bite part of you, that part falls off.’
‘No!’ Leigh stared at him in horror.
‘Don’t worry, man.’ Hawke grinned. ‘It’s only a concern if you’ve got something worth keeping, like me.’
‘Well, obviously it’s not your wit,’ Leigh told him.
‘Quiet! And hurry!’ Kettering told them.
‘I shall lead the men into the city, Captain,’ Sendric announced.
‘Are you sure, Count? It could be dangerous to be the first inside,’ Kay tried to warn him politely.
‘Captain Kay, on the other side of that gate is the man who had my daughter raped and murdered. You knew my daughter, did you not? Would you stand by or would you want revenge?’
‘Well, of course…’
‘Good. Let that be an end to the discussion.’
‘I think we are ready,’ Dunner reported. ‘I sent two men into the river to test it—you can stand now, and wade beneath those spikes.’
‘And on the
other side of the wall?’ Martil had to ask.
‘The river bank has been strengthened by stones and bricks. You can climb out easily enough.’
‘Then we should go,’ Merren agreed. She did not want to wait any longer, because it was almost too much to bear.
Martil led them into the river. As Dunner reported, the flow was slow, the water only reaching their thighs. Dunner’s Rallorans were without armour, as was Martil, while Sacrax’s Derthals never wore armour.
‘Stay close to me,’ Martil whispered to Merren, as he helped her into the water.
With Martil in front and a cluster of Rallorans clustered protectively close, she waded through the river and under the archway. Huge stone spikes, jagged and threatening, stained by the water and with weed hanging off them, hung over her head. It seemed almost unbelievable that nobody had noticed the river flow had almost stopped but the huge city was dark and quiet—the only lights were at the gate and around the giant Temple pyramid. Everyone was locked up tight for the night—whether this was usual or because of the Fearpriests’ orders, she knew not.
The mud along the river bottom was thick and clinging and twice she had to grab hold of Martil to stop herself falling.
‘Up here!’
The river bank had been strengthened and reinforced with stone over the years, the Tenochs thoughtfully adding a step pattern, to give people access to the water. It meant even Merren could climb out without too much trouble, after being helped up to the first step by Martil. As for the Derthals, they scrambled out in moments, going up the sides of the bank like mountain goats up a path. At the top they all paused, counting numbers.
‘All here,’ Dunner reported.
‘Good luck. See you at the Temple.’ Martil clasped his hand then watched the Rallorans fade into the darkness, using the shadowed alleyways and darkened corners to ease their way towards the massive gates, which alone of this part of the city stood in torchlight.