Necromancer Falling: Book Two of The Mukhtaar Chronicles

by Nat Russo

  “We’re letting a bunch of criminals off the hook because they do stuff for us?”

  “The Dawn is ostensibly a shipping guild,” Tithian said. “And they’re highly secretive about their clientele, which is exactly what we need.”

  “I don’t see how it helps them or us if everyone knows who they are and what they do.”

  “The myths surrounding the Azure Dawn are legendary. No one wants to get on their bad side.”

  Nicolas considered for a moment. He wasn’t comfortable with the idea of the Pinnacle—seat of the religious authority on Erindor—climbing into bed with organized crime because it was expedient. Yet, if they didn’t do everything they could to stop the Barathosians, there might not be a Pinnacle to worry about.

  He glanced at the giant map on the wall next to the bed.

  “You said the fragments are in Tildem?” Nicolas said. He traced a finger north along the line that represented the Great Orm River, running through both Tildem in the south, and the Shandarian Union in the north. “By river or land?”

  “River.”

  Nicolas tapped the map. “Why not put them on a boat here at Arin’s watch?”

  “That part of the Sea of Arin isn’t navigable this time of year. The safest path—”

  “Would be here.” Nicolas slid his finger north and tapped again. “Near the city of Dyr Agul off this tributary. Dyr Agul…Odd name.”

  “Religarian. Dyr for small villages, Dar for large cities. Agul for…Agul.”

  Nicolas glanced at Tithian.

  Tithian shrugged.

  “But that tributary leads back out into the Sea of Arin,” Nicolas said.

  Tithian nodded. “A much calmer portion of sea. The shriller crags are farther south.”

  “Any idea where they are now?”

  “Probably north of Three Banks by now.”

  Nicolas stepped away from the map and grabbed his chin. “It looks like I’ll have to help Caspardis the old fashioned way.”

  “Caspardis? I don’t understand.”

  “The Barathosians attacked. I bought them some time, but not much. For all I know, they’re fighting as we speak.”

  “The Lady Kaitlyn!”

  “Finally noticed she’s not here, did you?”

  “The Awakening?”

  “She’s fine now. But I have to go back and help her protect the festering city.”

  Tithian smiled.

  “What?”

  “You’re swearing like a Shandarian fisherman now.”

  Nicolas returned the smile and rubbed his head. The throbbing had lessened somewhat, but it was still there, in the background, making him wish there was time to lie down for a while.

  “I’m just a little jumpy,” Nicolas said. “It’s felt like someone has been following me from the moment I arrived.”

  Tithian looked concerned.

  “I’m sure it’s nothing,” Nicolas said. “Is there a way to make that translocation orb bring me straight back here when I return?” At least he’d have a quick way back to his room.

  “Yes…but…I’m not sure you’d want to do that. You won’t be the only person using it, and…” Tithian gestured at the king-sized bed against the wall.

  “On second thought, let’s not do that,” Nicolas said. He handed Toby’s leash to Tithian. “I need someone to look after him for now. Someone you trust. He can’t be off the leash unless that door’s closed. And if it is, someone should be here with him.”

  “I’ll take care of it.”

  Nicolas reached into his robe for the translocation orb, and his hand brushed against the Barathosian pistol.

  “I almost forgot!” Nicolas said. He retrieved the pistol and handed it to Tithian. “This is what the Barathosians are using for close combat. It’s called a gun. In this case, a matchlock. We have these where I’m from, only much more advanced.

  “What does it do?” Tithian turned the gun over in his hand, held it up to his face, then stared straight into the barrel.

  Nicolas snatched the gun back from him. “For the love of Smith and Wesson! Don’t do that!”

  “Do what?”

  “This thing fires small balls of metal at a very high speed. Never point that open end at yourself or anything you don’t want to destroy. It’s not loaded, but still…best always to treat it like it is.”

  Nicolas took a few moments to explain gun powder, to the best of his ability, and how a controlled explosion would propel a projectile down the barrel. He couldn’t recall exactly how a matchlock was loaded, but he gave Tithian the general idea.

  “But what does the burning agent consist of?”

  “Charcoal and sulfur, for starters,” Nicolas said. “I seem to recall there’s a third component, but I can’t remember what it is. I’ll try to get some from the Barathosians. In the meantime, is there anyone here capable of researching this? Of really studying it?”

  “We have chemists that may be of help.”

  “Then it’s time I headed back. Take care of Toby.”

  “You have nothing to fear.”

  “We’ll see about that in Caspardis.”

  Nicolas channeled necropotency into the translocation orb and the void surrounded him.

  Aelron’s anxiety rose as a series of thunderclaps came from the west gate of Caspardis.

  But the sound was strange. Short and punctuated, not rolling.

  “We need to hurry,” Aelron said, picking up his pace. Kaitlyn and Nicolas were at the west wall when he’d last seen them. They could be right in the middle of whatever was happening.

  “I told you already,” Morrigan said, running several paces in front of him. “There’s little we can do until they breach the wall. From the sound of those siege weapons, it won’t be long.”

  “That thunder came from siege weapons?”

  “It’s not thunder,” Morrigan said as she came to a stop at the plaza entrance.

  There was too much dust in the air to see into the plaza, but screams and shouts said it all—the militia wasn’t expecting the attack.

  “They use beasts like adda,” Morrigan said. “Larger. With horns. They call them orox. The orox push the weapons into place, and a soldier ignites a thread. A few moments later, there’s a bright flash. Then comes the sound you heard. But by the time you hear it, it’s too late. See for yourself.”

  As the dust in the plaza settled, Aelron could see the countryside west of Caspardis through large holes in the city wall.

  “And this was just the first volley,” Morrigan said. “If they haven’t changed tactics, there’ll be at least two more.”

  Morrigan retrieved a small crossbow from under her cloak.

  “You know how to use this?” She asked.

  Aelron nodded.

  Morrigan handed him a thin quiver of bolts she’d been concealing with the crossbow. She pointed at the roof behind them, just beyond the plaza entrance.

  “Take position up there,” Morrigan said. “Before they destroy the wall, they’ll appear down here. That’s their way of evening the odds before entering the city en masse. You’ll have fifteen seconds. Thirty at most.”

  Aelron stared at her.

  “What?” she asked.

  “How in the hells did you conceal a crossbow and quiver under that cloak? It clings to your back.”

  “How about you start climbing and save the questions for later? Meet me back at the safe house when this is over, regardless of the outcome. Just get close. I’ll find you. There are ruins of a farm not far from the city. We’ll retreat to there and use it as a base of operations.”

  “You’re not coming with me?”

  “I’ll be more useful elsewhere. Take out as many as you can, then head back. Stay alive.”

  Aelron looked at the side of the building to see if it was scalable. When he turned back, Morrigan was gone.

  How in the hells does she move so fast?

  Aelron focused on the building once more. He could probably scale it, but it would be
a lot quicker to go inside and walk up the stairs.

  He ran to the front door and tried to enter, but it was locked.

  Of course. Oh well. No time for elegance.

  He hooked the small crossbow onto his belt and pulled the quiver over his shoulder. With a firm kick, the frail wooden door flew open.

  When he reached the topmost floor, three stories above ground, he ran to a room at the back and crawled onto a windowsill.

  The exterior brickwork was identical to the other buildings. Bricks protruded from the outside wall, some forming columns and others forming a checkerboard pattern.

  Using the windowsill for leverage, he leapt up and to the side, aiming for the checkerboard. He grabbed one of the protruding bricks and pushed off. His momentum, combined with his upper body strength, was enough to launch him toward the roof’s ledge.

  With a final heave, he grabbed the ledge and hauled himself onto the roof.

  The building was higher than the arched plaza entrance, giving Aelron a decent view of the wall about a hundred yards to the west. Toridyn was easy to pick out of the crowd; the cichlos was two feet taller than any other person in the city. Kaitlyn stood next to him, and the older man by her side was probably Kagan.

  Something changed in the periphery of Aelron’s vision.

  Three Barathosians in white uniforms and black feathered hats appeared at the eastern plaza entrance, less than fifty feet away. It was disorienting, seeing them appear from nowhere.

  Bloody hells! Morrigan said I’d have fifteen seconds!

  He unhooked the crossbow and laid the quiver on the roof.

  Ten seconds.

  He placed the stirrup of the crossbow—a metal loop at the head of the bow—onto the ground, knelt, and placed his foot into it for leverage. Taking the string in both hands, he spanned the bow by standing until the string locked on the nut.

  Low-pitched popping noises were followed by screams in the plaza.

  Five seconds.

  He placed a bolt in the groove and took aim, using the ledge for stability.

  The Barathosians vanished.

  Festering hells! I should have spanned the bow sooner!

  Morrigan had called it down to the second.

  Aelron glanced up the street toward the circular fortress, wondering if more Barathosians were farther into the city.

  Thunderclaps resounded from the plaza.

  When Aelron turned, a cloud of dust and dirt was rising from a missing section of wall. The portcullis was gone, and the arch that supported it had been reduced to rubble. The gate tower had a hole in it large enough for a person to walk through.

  Three Barathosians appeared in the boulevard, but this time the crossbow was loaded and ready.

  He took aim and fired.

  The bolt punched through a Barathosian’s armor.

  The soldier clutched the bolt as he fell, and the other two Barathosians looked around frantically.

  Aelron stepped back from the ledge and spanned the bow once more.

  By the time he stepped forward, the remaining Barathosians were gone.

  He swore.

  I’m useless here.

  He needed to find Nicolas and Kaitlyn. He’d be a lot more effective in melee than hiding on this festering rooftop waiting for targets of opportunity.

  Aelron dropped the crossbow next to the quiver and ran toward the rear ledge. Without looking, he hopped off and spun, grabbing the protruding column of brick on the way down.

  In moments, Aelron was on the ground and running toward the wall.

  Dead Caspardis soldiers lay strewn about the plaza, next to abandoned merchant tents. A few opportunists thought the battle would be a good chance to pilfer some wares, but the Caspardis militia was treating them every bit as hostile as the Barathosians. There were no prisoners, only the living and the dead.

  Three Barathosians materialized ten paces away, facing the gate. The rightmost raised his arm, and light glinted off the metal tube in his hand.

  Aelron drew his daggers from his cloak. The first he grasped by the blade and threw at the Barathosian with the tube.

  The handle struck the back of the Barathosian’s head and bounced off.

  Aelron swore again. With luck like this, it was amazing he hadn’t tied his own boot laces together.

  The Barathosian reached for the back of his head, but when he swung his arm around, a boom went off, and the Barathosian in the middle dropped to the ground.

  Maybe Aelron’s luck was holding after all.

  Before the remaining Barathosian could turn, Aelron plunged his other dagger into the base of the man’s neck. In a single motion, he withdrew the dagger and flung it toward the Barathosian with the tube.

  The man vanished, along with the two corpses, and the dagger passed through empty air.

  Toridyn yelled something unintelligible. He was twenty yards away, near the base of the wall, standing next to his three cichlos penitents.

  “Thank god,” Kaitlyn said. “Where have you been?”

  Kagan followed her as she ran toward Aelron.

  Toridyn spotted Aelron and yelled something else, but Aelron couldn’t make it out.

  She pointed at the tower with the missing side.

  Aelron shook his head. “Not a good idea. It’s unstable. And when they fire those siege weapons, you’ll be an easy target.”

  “I must agree with Aelron,” Kagan said.

  “That’s why I need to get up there,” Kaitlyn said. “I think I can do something about the cannons.”

  “Cannons?”

  “The siege weapons you’re talking about.”

  “Your power can defeat them?” Aelron asked.

  “I don’t know. But I have a better chance than anyone else here.”

  “This isn’t a good idea,” Toridyn said as he drew closer.

  “Where’s my brother?” Aelron asked

  Kaitlyn massaged her temples. “We can catch up later. Can you help me get up there or not?”

  “If the ladders are intact, it won’t be a problem.”

  “It’s not the climbing I’m worried about. It’s the Barathosians. I’d feel better with you and Nick’s father to help.”

  “Let’s go,” Aelron said. “But don’t let Nicolas hear you talk like that. About dead Kagan, that is.”

  “What am I supposed to do?” Toridyn asked.

  “Just keep doing what you’re doing,” Kaitlyn replied.

  “What is he doing?” Aelron asked.

  “Risking his life for a friend,” Kaitlyn said as she ran toward the tower.

  The hole in the gate tower was so large, they didn’t need to bother with the door. But several ladders ran from the ground to the top of the tower, broken only by small platforms every ten feet or so.

  “I need to see all of the cannons,” Kaitlyn said.

  “What are you going to do?” Aelron asked.

  “Whatever I can.”

  “Kagan should stand guard down here,” Aelron said. “I’ll climb up with you. If anything happens, he can raise an alarm.”

  They climbed three ladders to a platform just beneath the parapet. Kaitlyn stopped.

  “This is good enough,” she said, looking through a hole in the wall.

  When Aelron joined her, he saw what she was looking at.

  Several large, rectangular military tents stood outside what remained of the west wall of Caspardis. Beyond the tents, in a large field farther west, several dozen Barathosians gathered in formation.

  But the most ominous part of the scene below were the six large metal tubes, suspended on square, wheeled racks, aimed at the city wall. The racks were constructed of metal, and behind each was an orox like Morrigan described. It was like an adda—bulky, six muscular legs ending in cloven hooves. But these beasts had four horns facing forward.

  Kaitlyn’s brow furrowed in deep concentration as she extended her arm toward the Barathosians.

  Lucan saw the woman on the tower with her arm reaching to
ward him, but he put it out of his mind. He had to prepare his cannon.

  He was one of six elite Barathosian crewman whose mission was to support the invasion of Caspardis. A single volley would demolish the sandstone wall, allowing the ground force to sweep into the city unopposed.

  A violent dizziness came unexpectedly, but he steadied himself against the cannon for support, closing his eyes until the nausea passed. When the dizziness ebbed, the ground shook and Lucan opened his eyes.

  Blood drained from his face as he saw the source of the quake.

  Across the field to his right stood a reptile nearly four hundred feet tall, upright on hind legs. Stone-like spikes ran down the length of its back and out onto its massive tail. Its feet were larger than any of the command tents they’d brought with them, and it stood amidst a frantic group of Barathosian soldiers.

  The creature threw back its head and roared, high-pitched at first, then tapering off into a deep base that rolled across the plain. But when it lowered its head once more, the stone-like spikes began to radiate a bluish-green light.

  A beam of energy came forth from the creatures maw and sliced through the Barathosian siege camp, destroying any structures it touched and igniting the rest into columns of flame.

  A thought pressed into his mind. Turn the cannon and fire it!

  Lucan pulled the stoppers from behind the wheels of the cannon and signaled his orox to turn the massive barrel of metal.

  Aelron watched as the Barathosian on the rightmost of the six tubes pulled a stopper from behind the wheels of the rack it rested upon.

  The beast behind it—the orox—stepped forward and inserted its four horns into the back of the rack. With a powerful thrust of its legs, it rotated, turning the entire rack, until the tube faced the other five. When it withdrew its horns, the operator replaced the stopper behind the carriage wheels.

  As the operator touched the side of his tube with a torch. The other Barathosians dove away.

  A flash and burst of smoke was followed by a resounding boom, and the closest tube to the blast blew apart as it slammed into the next, sending shards of metal and wood in all directions. The third tube split in half as it crashed into the fourth, tearing through its carriage and knocking it into the fifth. When the smoke settled, the tube operators hadn’t faired any better than the tubes. Except for the soldier who had fired it, who was running toward the largest command tent.