The Wrath of the Lizard Lord

by Jon Mayhew

  ‘Fire!’ Blizzard yelled.

  All five cannon roared at once, leaping back on their wheels with the recoil. As the smoke cleared from around them, Dakkar watched the cannonballs carve a bloody path through the middle of the reptile cavalry. The creatures stumbled and careered into each other, crushing their riders or throwing them under the trampling feet of the others. One evaporated in a red mist as the cannonball went straight through it.

  ‘That had to be ten down!’ Dakkar yelled, punching the air.

  Another round tore into the rear of the pack. Once more the cannonballs went skittering across the field, churning up the earth and sending the reptiles screaming into each other. More riders fell, their mounts turning on other loose and wounded reptiles.

  But Dakkar watched in horror as the remaining reptile cavalry fell upon the Dutch ranks. Men screamed, firing their muskets randomly before falling to tooth and claw. The riders swung heavy sabres which lopped limbs and heads while the soldiers tried to escape. A lone officer dropped his sword and stumbled across the field, crying for help as a rider closed in on him.

  A marine sergeant looked back at Blizzard, who gave a nod.

  The marine raised his rifle, took aim and shot the reptile in the head just as it was about to lay its claws into the officer’s back.

  ‘Look to, men,’ Blizzard shouted.

  ‘We’ve gained their attention!’ Dakkar frowned, wondering what Blizzard could mean, until he looked back at the field.

  Not wasting time to tear at the fallen soldiers, the reptiles had turned and were reforming, ready to charge at the marines.

  ‘Canister!’ Blizzard cried, and the cannon crew dragged some strange cylinders and rammed them into the cannon.

  Dakkar looked puzzled.

  ‘Chains, lead shot, nails, anything,’ Georgia muttered to him. ‘It’s all in those cylinders, and when they come out of the cannon, red hot . . .’

  Dakkar shuddered. ‘Against ordinary men, it seems a cowardly way to fight.’

  ‘Against these beasties, it might just even the odds,’ Blizzard cut in. ‘You’d best arm yourselves.’ He turned to his men and commanded them to stand ready.

  Dakkar marvelled at Blizzard’s presence. He would fight alongside his men and die with them if needs be. For a moment, Dakkar thought of Gog and of the real Napoleon, leaping in to save him. They were real leaders – not like the count, who ruled by fear.

  ‘Come on!’ Georgia yelled, grabbing him and dragging him over to the carts that stood behind the ranks.

  They climbed up on to the nearest cart, grabbing two rifles from the supplies and hastily loading them. Glancing up, Dakkar saw the reptile riders getting nearer and nearer. There had to be thirty left. He could see the flag and the count, pointing his sabre at the lines of red-coated marines before him.

  ‘What’s this?’ Georgia said, pulling the lid off a wooden crate to reveal what looked like a pile of iron cricket balls with fuses.

  ‘Hand grenades.’ Dakkar grinned, pulling out a tinderbox from his pocket. ‘Light that lantern there but keep it away from the explosives!’

  ‘I know, I know,’ Georgia said, striking the tinderbox and kindling a flame.

  Blizzard ran over. ‘Stay on the carts,’ he said. ‘It’ll keep you safe and give you height when they break through the lines. Do as much damage as you can!’

  ‘Aye, sir,’ Georgia said, giving a mock salute.

  Blizzard raised an eyebrow and turned back to his soldiers.

  The reptiles were close now, kicking up great clods of earth as they skittered across the field, their riders giving a bloodthirsty roar.

  ‘Ready, lads. Aim for the reptiles,’ Blizzard said, readying his own rifle. ‘We can deal with the scum on top when they’re pinned under their dead mounts!’

  The marines’ first volley fired and Dakkar watched, dismayed, as the bullets pinged off the armour. Only one or two caught a vulnerable spot, sending the reptiles crunching into the dirt and throwing their riders headlong towards the line.

  The cannon fired next, drowning the whole company in a fog of gun smoke. Five canisters of red-hot metal spat through the advancing ranks. Dakkar heard screams and men’s cries, growls of agonised rage. But Blizzard didn’t flinch.

  ‘Fire!’ he cried, and the second rank of marines let their rifles roar into the mass.

  The smoke had cleared somewhat and through the thin veil of mist Dakkar saw reptiles clambering over a wall of dead. Riders lay trapped under their mounts and more of the creatures piled on top of them. But the line behind leapt over their fallen comrades. The cannon crew reloaded, but the reptiles crashed through them before they could fire, overturning the guns, slashing at men, biting and ripping.

  With a shiver Dakkar realised they were right in the path of the oncoming horde.

  Georgia grinned, shouldering her rifle. ‘Better get shootin’, Dakkar.’

  The mass of reptiles swarmed around the carts, rocking them. Dakkar fired his first rifle, catching a rider in the shoulder and sending him spinning down from his mount.

  Snatching up a grenade, he lit the fuse from the lantern and waited a second before hurling it blindly into the press of scaly bodies. A muffled thump told him that it had exploded. A reptile screamed, sank to its knees and was quickly engulfed by its trampling companions.

  The cavalry charge swept past them so quickly that Dakkar almost lit another grenade before he realised they had vanished up the field. Two or three dead reptiles lay scattered around the cart but the cavalry were wheeling round. He could see them reining in their two-legged mounts, readying them for another charge. The cannon lay useless, most of the crew dead on the ground. A few tried to right one of the guns, heaving at its wheels.

  Blizzard barked an order and the marines sprinted forward, forming a new line to face the next charge. The Rohaga thundered back across the field, the count’s face a mask of cruelty, grinning as he pointed his sabre.

  ‘Ready,’ Blizzard said. ‘Give ’em hell!’

  The marine line exploded again, sending more reptiles to the ground, but this time the cavalry pulled their mounts up and slashed with their sabres.

  Dakkar snatched up his rifle and fired at a rider who slashed at a marine. The bullet took him in the thigh, making him drop his sword and grip his leg. But before the marine could react, the rider’s mount snapped down, sinking razor teeth into the marine’s shoulder.

  Human yells and screams mingled with reptilian roars and hisses. Grabbing a grenade, Dakkar lit and hurled it under a passing rider. It exploded, opening up the creature’s belly and sending the rider crunching to the ground.

  Georgia took another rider down with her second rifle.

  ‘Better load up again,’ she yelled. ‘Keep throwing those grenades.’

  Dakkar went to hurl another but the battle had become compacted around the carts and the explosion would kill as many marines as Rohaga.

  Blizzard stood on the carcass of a dead beast, desperately parrying the sabre hacks of its rider. Georgia had loaded the first rifle and passed it to Dakkar, who took aim and fired at the man attacking Blizzard.

  The bullet careened off the man’s silver helmet, dazing him. Blizzard knocked the sword from his hand and stabbed, sending the rider to the ground. He turned and nodded to Dakkar, but a loose beast clamped its jaws on to Blizzard’s arm, yanking him off his feet.

  ‘No!’ Dakkar yelled, as Blizzard disappeared into the melee.

  The reptile bounded off across the field. Blizzard clung to its head, his legs wrapped round its neck, his arm still locked in its mouth. He stabbed and stabbed at its eye and throat with a dagger but couldn’t get free.

  ‘Dakkar, look out!’ Georgia screamed.

  He turned to see a mounted rider, level with the cart, and his keen blade humming down towards him.

  Chapter Thirty-four

  A Losing Battle

  Dakkar ducked and a sword whistled over his head. The rider hacked at him again, slicin
g his sabre sideways at Dakkar’s legs. Dakkar leapt up but stumbled forward and fell off the cart and on to the rider.

  He brought his elbow up, jabbing the rider desperately in the throat. The man gave a gargling cough and Dakkar dragged his helmet over his eyes before shoving him over the back of his mount.

  The beast snapped and growled, trying to shake Dakkar from the saddle. Dakkar gripped the reins tightly, rolling with the writhing of the reptile.

  ‘Grenade!’ he shouted to Georgia.

  She lit a grenade and threw it to him. Catching it, he leaned forward so the reptile could see his head. It swung round, opening its wide jaws and giving Dakkar a blast of foul breath.

  Dakkar rammed the grenade down its throat and leapt for the cart as the creature erupted in an explosion of red that splattered all around.

  Landing awkwardly on the cart, Dakkar grabbed at another rifle. The fight was going badly for the marines even though they had outnumbered the riders two to one. Many had managed to unseat their opponents but that left one marine dealing with the rider and the other with a vicious killing machine. Bodies of marines and Rohaga lay strewn around the carts.

  The last few marines huddled around the carts, stabbing with bayonet and sword. Stefan blew a whistle and the remaining riders withdrew, reforming a line some distance away.

  Dakkar shuddered. They were getting ready for a final charge.

  All he could hear was the panting of the marines and the distant rumble of battle. He counted the reptiles quickly. Fifteen, he thought, glancing down with a sinking heart, and only eight men.

  Stefan blew his whistle again and the reptiles began their walk towards the remaining men.

  Dirt and blood streaked the marines’ faces but Dakkar could see the fire in their eyes.

  ‘Don’t worry, lad,’ one man said, looking up at him. ‘There were fifty of ’em to start with. We can finish them.’

  ‘I have a better idea,’ Dakkar said, looking down at the boxes of grenades and kegs of powder. ‘I want you to run away.’

  ‘Don’t be daft,’ said another marine. ‘With all due respect, sir.’

  Dakkar grinned. ‘Well, I’m going to blow this cart up when the reptiles come past here, so either you can stay or you can run and bring them here a bit quicker.’

  ‘Apologies for calling you daft, sir,’ the marine said. He turned to the other seven. ‘Come on, boys. It’s time for a run.’

  ‘Dakkar! What if it doesn’t work and you’re caught out in the open?’ Georgia said, gripping his arm.

  ‘If you’ve got a better idea, I’m happy to hear it,’ he replied.

  She shook her head.

  ‘Good,’ he said. ‘Then get running. I’ll catch you up!’

  Georgia gave one backward glance and then jumped off the cart.

  The Rohaga were nearer now, their pace increasing. Dakkar gave a final salute to the marines and Georgia, and then they began to run across the field.

  The Rohaga riders gave a shout and lifted their swords.

  ‘As I suspected, they couldn’t resist a chase.’ Dakkar smiled as the riders kicked their reptiles on to a sprint.

  Stefan hung back with his flag bearer, yelling at them and blowing his whistle. He’d realised the danger, but his cavalry were eager for blood and charged straight at the cart to get to the remaining marines.

  They were close now. Dakkar could hear the men hollering and whooping, see their grins as they urged their mounts on. Dakkar lit his grenade and jumped down off the cart. He turned and tossed the grenade back up on to the pile of boxes and ran.

  The explosion threw Dakkar across the field, the roar deafening him. It felt as if someone had punched him in the back. He rolled and tumbled like a leaf blown in a gale, his ears ringing. He lay still, blinking in disbelief at the power of the blast.

  The ruined cart lay smouldering; an axel leaning on one wheel was all that remained. Smoking fragments and embers littered the ground all around Dakkar. One lone reptile leapt and hopped, trying to stand on a broken leg. The rest lay among the dead on the field.

  Dakkar staggered to his feet, the marines cheering behind him, but his grin froze as the smoke cleared to reveal the count and his flag bearer racing towards him.

  Dakkar glanced around for anywhere to shelter. The overturned cannon lying a few yards away were the only kind of cover. Snatching up a fallen sabre, he sprinted to them. Georgia and the remainder of the marines hurried back towards him. Dakkar realised they had had the chance to reload but Stefan would be on top of him before they could get within decent firing range.

  Stefan’s eyes widened as he saw Dakkar. He urged the reptile on towards Dakkar, shouting at the flag bearer, who lowered the flagstaff’s pointed end, turning it into a deadly lance, then charged at the marines and Georgia.

  ‘I should’ve killed you when I had the chance!’ Stefan shouted as he reached Dakkar.

  ‘You tried, remember?’ Dakkar said, scurrying round the cannon as Stefan’s reptile snapped at him over the wheel. ‘You pushed me off the tower.’

  The beast lunged at him again, planting its claws on the wheels of the cannon. Dakkar jabbed with the heavy cavalry sabre. It felt unbalanced and awkward in his hands but it made the reptile recoil.

  Stefan wheeled the creature round so that he could slash down at Dakkar. The gun that lay on its side between them made it difficult for Stefan to hack accurately and Dakkar easily parried the blows. Metal rang on metal as the force numbed his arm.

  Stefan slashed again and again, forcing Dakkar to skirt round the cannon and even duck under it.

  Somewhere across the field the marines let off a volley at the flag bearer. Dakkar glanced over, seeing the man fall from his mount, but the reptile thundered on towards the marines who stood, bayonets ready, braced for the attack. Georgia was reloading quickly behind them.

  ‘Just keep still,’ Stefan snapped, clanging his sword off the cannon barrel and sending sparks flying. ‘I promise you a swift end!’

  Dakkar scrambled under the cannon and jabbed the sword into the reptile’s leg. The beast hissed and leapt back, almost unseating Stefan. But Dakkar was exposed now and Stefan recovered enough to swipe his blade across, almost taking the top off Dakkar’s head.

  Quickly jumping back round the carriage, Dakkar glanced over to Georgia. The other reptile had taken one of the marines in its jaws and the others stabbed at it with their bayonets. He saw its tail lash round and send another soldier stumbling backward.

  ‘Your reptile cavalry is destroyed,’ Dakkar said, panting as he skipped round the carriage, trying to avoid Stefan. ‘Give up!’

  ‘You may have stopped my cavalry, but when the French forces win the main battle I will take control,’ Stefan snarled. ‘First, I’ll enjoy feeding you to my little pet here.’

  ‘You’ll have to catch me,’ Dakkar said breathlessly.

  ‘I can wait.’ Stefan grinned. ‘You are tiring already.’

  He slashed down with his sword again, catching Dakkar’s blade and then sweeping it aside. Dakkar watched in despair as the sabre flew from his numbed grip and landed among the glowing fragments of the exploded cart.

  The reptile gave a low, guttural growl and, with a click of encouragement from its master, set one foot on the upturned wheel of the cannon. The big gun rocked and tipped upright as the reptile stood on it.

  ‘Soon you will join my sanctimonious brother,’ Stefan sneered. ‘I’ve made sure he’s finished, and now I’ll finish you!’

  But Dakkar was looking at the reptile’s foot. It rested on the cannon’s wheel and the muzzle was pressed hard against the creature’s chest.

  ‘Not if I can help it,’ Dakkar said, stooping down and snatching up a red-hot ember from the cart. ‘The cannon crew had just managed to reload when you hit them. They were about to fire. I’ll finish the job, shall I?’

  Stefan’s eyes widened and he snagged at the reins of the reptile but Dakkar, ignoring the searing pain from the ember, pressed it again
st the vent at the back of the barrel.

  ‘Noooo!’ the count roared, but the deafening boom of the cannon cut short his cry as he vanished in a cloud of smoke and blood, liquidised by the hail of hot metal that spewed from the muzzle of the cannon. Dakkar saw the reptile’s head fly up out of the cloud, closely followed by a human arm.

  At the same time, the cannon kicked back, crunching into Dakkar and sending him breathless and dazed to the ground.

  The world tilted on its side as Dakkar lay there, staring across the field. He felt detached and hazy as he watched the one remaining reptile closing in on Georgia and the last few marines, who jabbed with their rifles and bayonets.

  And then he heard a chilling scream as if all the demons of Hell had been focused into one voice and unleashed across the battlefield.

  Chapter Thirty-five

  An End to Everything

  Sitting up on the ground, Dakkar watched, his mouth hanging wide open as a second reptile stormed across the field. Blizzard sat on its back, his arm flapping like a shredded piece of red cloth, his good hand gripping the reins tightly.

  Gore streamed from the reptile’s eyes down its face and it was clear that it was blind. Blizzard pointed it straight at the monster harrying his marines and as it collided with the other reptile, he leapt off, rolling on the ground to safety. The blind reptile, in a fury of pain and confusion, tore into the neck of this new enemy. Together they bit and scratched, ripping huge chunks of flesh from each other until, at last, the blind reptile fell.

  Mortally wounded, the surviving beast turned, hissing at the marines who had taken time to load their rifles. The volley fire crackled over the field and the reptile fell dead.

  Dakkar dragged himself to his feet and stumbled over to Georgia, who was busy helping Blizzard up.

  If it were possible, the man looked paler than ever. Dakkar winced at Blizzard’s arm, seeing torn flesh, bone and muscle tissue exposed.

  ‘I think I might lose that,’ Blizzard said, grinning at Dakkar. ‘Well done, lad. We did it.’ And with that he collapsed backward on to the ground.