The Hidden Relic (The Evermen Saga, Book Two)

by James Maxwell

  Amelia nodded.

  "And you, Amber, are you able to make the journey?" Rogan asked.

  Amber looked up at him with a disturbing amount of steel in her eyes. "You remind me of someone," she said. "He always thought I was just a little girl. Don't make the same mistake."

  "I won't." Rogan grinned.

  He looked around him, at the burning mounds of rubble and the pits in the earth where orbs had exploded. Corpses were scattered at all ends of the prison camp, most wearing black, he was pleased to see. His men had gathered the freed prisoners in a column. They were ready.

  "Move out!" Rogan called.

  40

  THE uprising of Ralanast commenced at dawn.

  Prince Tiesto had scattered his men throughout the city, so that a multitude of armed companies each at least fifty strong ran through the eighteen avenues and twenty-six streets that made up the city's central zone. The uprising began in earnest when the rising sun touched the easternmost spire of the Terra Cathedral and the Halrana patriots began to shout the mantra that would signal the start of the battle for liberation and call their people to arms.

  "Brown for the earth! Green for life! The birth of a new day!"

  Some of the patriots were met by curious citizens, woken by the commotion. All questions were answered: "Meet at the Terra Cathedral! Freedom for Ralanast! Freedom for Halaran!"

  Others were met by the swords of the Black Army's soldiers. The clash of steel broke the morning stillness, blood drenched the dusty streets, and as the call-to-arms rang through the Black Army's barracks and the sound of marching boots was heard in the streets, some of the Halrana chose to stay at home.

  Prince Tiesto, with Marcus at his side, led his men towards the eastern gate and his rendezvous with Marshal Rogan.

  He had never fought in a battle before, and even though part of him was terrified, he also felt the thrill of the uprising course through his veins. With five hundred men at his back — most either boys or old men — Tiesto waved his shining sword over his head and shouted encouragement. The boys' faces were flushed with excitement and even Marcus grinned like a fool.

  They passed unchallenged through the cargo district, heading for the eastern gate in a direct line, and Tiesto felt his heart near-bursting when he saw the twin towers of the gate only a few blocks ahead.

  The Tingaran legionnaires met them in the broad avenue leading to the gate.

  Rogan had tried, but nothing could have prepared Tiesto for the chaos of their first engagement. Both Tiesto and Marcus had been trained in swordsmanship, but Marcus had been a palace guard, and only on border patrols before that. Tiesto had never before had a man try to kill him.

  It was worse than he had imagined.

  For some reason, when he saw that his numbers were greater, Tiesto expected the legionnaires to surrender, or for some kind of discussion to take place.

  Instead, the men of the imperial legion tore into his ranks like a whirlwind, blood spraying through the air as their swords slashed and thrust into Tiesto's men. Ranks of enemy pikemen marched forward in disciplined formation, the front of their column bristling with lowered weapons.

  Tiesto remembered Rogan's advice for dealing with pikemen. He turned to Marcus. "Hit them from the side!"

  Marcus vanished, taking a squad with him, and Tiesto found himself battling both the column of relentless pikemen and the flashing blades of the legionnaires.

  "To me!" Prince Tiesto called, throwing himself into the fray as he launched himself at the legionnaires. He hoped that the pikemen would have difficulty continuing their advance if his men were tangled with the legionnaires.

  Immediately his hunch was proven correct, but it didn't escape his notice that the Tingarans were the superior soldiers, effectively armed, stronger of muscle, and better trained.

  Tiesto thrust his sword at a Tingaran's round face, the point penetrating into the man's mouth as he died with a scream. The prince pulled out his sword with an effort and then quickly raised it to block an attack. He countered with a classic riposte, taking down another of the enemy.

  "To me!" he called again, drawing both the enemy and his own men to him.

  Over a legionnaire's shoulder he saw Marcus take his squad smashing into the side of the pikemen. The enemy pikemen were soon tangled in their gear as they tried to turn their long weapons and Marcus penetrated deep into their ranks.

  Prince Tiesto continued to hack and slash his way through his enemy, narrowly escaping being skewered by the bloody sword of a snarling Tingaran. Then a space opened up in front of him, initially filling him with relief.

  Until he saw it.

  A monster stood in front of him, an apparition of man and moulded flesh, with a black sword in place of one arm and a flail held in the grip of the other. The creature's face was a horror of metal and cloth, with red slits where eyes should be. It lurched and twisted as it moved forward, directly into Prince Tiesto's path.

  Tiesto was unable to tear his eyes from the long twists of braided steel that jangled at the end of the flail, each length ending in a spiked ball the size of a man's hand.

  Behind the creature was another, and a third lumbered forward behind that. These were imperial avengers, there were three of them, and Prince Tiesto's ragtag army didn't stand a chance.

  Tiesto thought about Rogan Jarvish, heading in hope for the city's eastern gate, with only a hundred men and a huge number of half-starved prisoners, waiting for the gate to be opened; something that would never happen. He pictured the Alturan Lord Marshal, waiting vainly for the main southern gate to open, and Prince Tiesto realised that all their planning had been in vain.

  Tiesto had tried. Perhaps he had never been cut out to be High Lord. He had never even wanted to be High Lord, only to help his people.

  The prince raised his sword, and with a muttered prayer he prepared to defend himself from the avenger.

  The flail whipped forward and Tiesto ducked, hearing the whistle as it flew over his head. He ran forward, weaving as he went, rolling to the side as the black sword skewered the ground where he had been a moment before, and then thrust his sword at the avenger's body.

  The glowing runes on the metal torso flared and hummed, and the jarring turned Tiesto's fingers numb as his blow was easily deflected by the magic.

  Without an enchanted sword, Tiesto couldn't penetrate the protective power of Tingara's lore.

  Tiesto rolled again as the spiked steel balls smashed into the cobbled street, chips and bits of stone flying in all directions. He coughed as he realised he was lying on his back, and willed his body to raise him up from the ground. A pointed length of black metal whistled through the air, and barely in time, Tiesto raised his sword in front of his face to block.

  The avenger's black sword broke Tiesto's blade in two, the top half clattering to the street. Suddenly the prince was helpless, prone on his back, holding the hilt of a broken blade. The avenger lurched forward, ready to finish the fallen man in brown. The sword arm went up to strike at Tiesto's chest, where the Halrana raj hada was worn proudly over his heart.

  Something moved to Tiesto's right, and a colossal foot planted itself down next to the prince.

  Tiesto looked up at the enormous foot. His gaze continued upwards, higher, until, at a height taller than the avenger's body, the lower leg developed a knee joint.

  Higher still, taller than the tops of the two-storied buildings, the leg forked where it met the other leg. A hand came down from above, plucking the avenger from the ground as easily as a child picking a flower.

  Tiesto stared open-mouthed at the colossus, at the great limbs made of wood and bone, and the matrices of runes, glowing gold and bright, covering its skin. It was a strange design, almost… old-fashioned…

  But it was big.

  High above, the hand holding the avenger squeezed and bright-red blood gushed from the red slit of the avenger's eyes. The colossus dropped the avenger and then, as the remaining two turned to face this new threat
, the colossus lunged forward, and for an instant Tiesto saw the controller cage atop the construct's gigantic head.

  The prince picked himself up off the ground as the next avenger was picked up and then thrown hard to the ground before being stamped on by the huge foot. The last creature leapt up, the length of the flail lashing in the direction of the controller cage, but the animator easily moved the colossus's head back out of the way. As the animator again moved the colossus's hand forward, the avenger swung its enhanced sword, taking off one of the fingers. The animator curled the remaining fingers into a fist, swinging at the avenger's head. Two blows at the avenger's head knocked it to its knees. The colossus's second hand came down, shoving the avenger's torso and then pinning it to the ground on its back. The animator pushed down on top of its head with the heavy fist, and with a terrible squelching sound flattened its skull. The avenger's legs kicked, and then it was still.

  Tiesto finally remembered where he'd seen the colossus. He saw Marcus approaching, his sword dripping red. "It's from the museum!" Marcus cried, laughing. "It must be a hundred years old!"

  Looking up, Tiesto saw High Animator Salvatore Domingo sitting in the controller cage. As dour as ever, the High Animator pulled the colossus back to allow Tiesto's men to regroup.

  "What about them?" Marcus said, pointing.

  The legionnaires and those of the pikemen still remaining were fleeing, scattering to the streets. Tiesto looked at the twin towers of the eastern gate. His objective was just ahead, and with no prearranged signal there was no way to tell if he was early or late. Marshal Rogan could be just outside, his small force being slaughtered by the enemy.

  "Leave them," Tiesto said. "We need to get the gate open."

  He waved his arms to get the High Animator's attention. The colossus tilted its head forward, until Prince Tiesto was nearly eye-to-eye with the animator. He wanted to shake the stern High Animator's hand, or pound him on the back. Instead Prince Tiesto pointed at the gate.

  "We need that open!"

  High Animator Salvatore nodded, turning the colossus towards the gate.

  Marcus and the prince regrouped their forces, neither commenting on the fact that barely half of their five-hundred men were still standing.

  "Men!" Prince Tiesto cried. "Your countrymen are on the other side of that gate!"

  With a resurgence in strength they ran forward, those alive realising they had survived their first engagement, and their goal lay ahead.

  The High Animator led the way, eating up the distance with ground-eating strides. Orbs flew at the colossus from the two towers, but the animator looked eye-to-eye with the soldiers manning the towers, before smashing the construct's fists into first one, then the other.

  Then Tiesto saw the colossus's left arm suddenly drop as the runes went dark. The right arm followed. The symbols on the construct's back, feet and legs began to fade.

  As the ancient colossus reached the gate to stand towering over it, the animator brought back the construct's right leg, but before the High Animator could bring the leg smashing into the gate, the limb went limp.

  Black-clad soldiers started to pour out of the doors at the base of the towers.

  "Lord of the Earth, please," Prince Tiesto prayed.

  Prince Tiesto had been told the High Animator was skilled, more skilled even than his predecessor. He didn't know how Salvatore Domingo did it, but in one final burst the symbols on the colossus flared red. The colossus began to rock, and then tilt, and finally Tiesto realised what the High Animator was doing.

  The colossus leaned forward, tipped over, and crashed its great mass through Ralanast's eastern gate. Stone flew in all directions as the gate was flattened, the colossus leaning at an awkward angle, the controller cage torn open.

  Prince Tiesto waved his men forward. High Animator Salvatore was still in the controller cage, dazed and unarmed, with the soldiers in black swarming forward to man the breach in the gate.

  Tiesto ran as hard as he could, but the enemy reached the High Animator first, two legionnaires climbing up to the torn cage. One raised his sword above his head, preparing for the death stroke that would end the High Animator's life.

  Then a blazing shadow shot through the breach, moving so fast it was like trying to focus on a ray of light. The legionnaire standing over the High Animator exploded in a wave of blood and gore; the second followed straight after. Tiesto caught a flash of green as the newcomer leapt down from a block of stone to launch himself into the place where the enemy were thickest.

  It must be a bladesinger. Tiesto had never seen one in combat, but watching this one fight, he knew the stories were true: they were the world's finest swordsmen, each worth a thousand men in battle. The bladesinger pirouetted and thrust at a legionnaire, taking out the warrior's throat, before ducking a swing and cutting another swordsman in two. A blow was deflected by the bladesinger's armoursilk, and now Tiesto and his men were close enough that the prince could hear the deep baritone of the man's singing, an eerie sound that sent a chill up his spine.

  Tiesto's men cheered. "Blademaster!"

  Prince Tiesto blinked. His men were telling the truth — it was Rogan!

  More men in brown joined the bladesinger, coming in from the other side of the gate, and soon the black-clad soldiers were under heavy attack. When Prince Tiesto's men joined the fray, it was too much for the enemy, and they were swiftly overwhelmed, most choosing to die by the sword.

  More people were pouring through the gate all the time: soldiers in brown, thin but determined former prisoners holding swords, and even a few women with clubs. They kept coming, and Tiesto gasped when he saw how many prisoners had been freed.

  "Well met, Your Highness," a hoarse voice said, panting and wheezing.

  Tiesto turned to Rogan as the symbols on the man's armoursilk dimmed with the halting of his song. He saw the hollowed pits under Rogan's eyes, the drawn skin and heaving chest.

  "You came at an opportune time," Rogan said.

  "As did you." Tiesto gripped Rogan's shoulder.

  "You must be Prince Tiesto," a woman's voice said.

  A young woman, battered and bruised, with auburn hair that curled at the ends, stood looking at Rogan with concern before turning back to Tiesto.

  "I am," Tiesto nodded.

  "There is an army outside that needs us," she said.

  Tiesto glanced up at the sky. Morning was well underway.

  "Marcus?" Tiesto looked around. "Marcus?"

  A Halrana soldier came forward. "I'm sorry, Your Grace," the soldier said, shaking his head. "A sword took him in the thigh. Unlucky hit; he bled out. He didn't say a word, just kept fighting until he fell."

  Tiesto looked into the distance, and the grief came to him all at once. Surely the soldier must be wrong. He looked at his men, expecting to see Marcus's face among theirs.

  Tiesto hadn't even known the young palace guard when Marcus had spirited the Halrana heir out of Ralanast's Rialan Palace. For a long time it was just the two of them, and then a small network of defiant townsfolk, before Rogan came. Marcus had been the rock by Tiesto's side. The prince realised he hadn't even given the man a title. What did you call the soldier who was simply there when you needed him to be? Captain? Marshal? Lord? Friend?

  Tiesto felt a hand grip his shoulder. "We need to move on," Rogan said. "He was a good man, and we will mourn him later. Your men in the city need you. Until a plume of green smoke rises from Terra Cathedral, Miro won't attack."

  Tiesto nodded.

  Rogan called out to the men. "I need fifty men to escort the prisoners who can't fight to safety. They've had a long journey. Spread the word, the prisoners have been freed. I want every Halrana to know it. You hear me?"

  "Yes, Marshal." Men leapt in response to Rogan's orders.

  "I want these two groups combined, and formed up into order. We're the only sizeable force inside the city, and the army outside is relying on us to open the main gate. When we encounter the Black Army — whi
ch we will — and when you take on imperial avengers, hold fast. Do you hear me, men? Hold fast."

  "Yes, Blademaster."

  Tiesto felt a hand clap his shoulder as Rogan met his eyes. Tiesto knew they were red. He expected Rogan to say something about how he must fight on, or Marcus's sacrifice would have been in vain.

  Instead, Rogan squeezed his arm. "You did well, High Lord. You did well."

  41

  MIRO paced back and forth, doing his best to ignore Marshal Beorn. From below their vantage, the city of Ralanast appeared tranquil and calm in the morning light. The allied army waited on the broad hillside in rigid formation, any protest or wavering met with instant discipline, as Miro waited for the signal that would herald the start of the battle to liberate Ralanast.

  "We should attack now," Marshal Beorn said again.

  "No," Miro said shortly. He had rarely had such a contest of wills with the veteran commander before.

  "Something has gone wrong. Look at the city — does it look like a city in revolt to you?"

  "We can't see the whole city from here," Miro said.

  "You know they'll be sending reinforcements from the east. We can't afford to wait here like this, so close to the city, with our flanks and rear vulnerable to attack."

  "I've told you my reasons," Miro said. "How many lives do you think will be lost if we attack with the gate closed, compared to with it open?"

  "How many lives will be lost if we're attacked here? We're like a hunter who has moved so close to his prey that he can no longer guard his back."

  "We wait for the signal," Miro said.

  "For how long?"

  "As long as it takes."

  Beorn took Miro roughly by the arm. "You trust your old teacher, I respect that. But Rogan Jarvish is just a man like any of us; he is no miracle worker. If the uprising has been crushed, then the best thing we can do is attack now, while the enemy is distracted. If the Halrana come through and open the gate while our attack is underway, even better."

  "Beorn, you've seen how well-defended that gate is. Even our colossi can't touch it. Without siege weapons, we'd be dashed against the gate like a wave on the rocks. The wave breaks, but at the end of it all the rocks are still there. I won't be responsible for losing that many of our men. This war doesn't stop in Ralanast. You know as well as I do that it won't be over until our army marches into Seranthia."