A Crown Imperiled (19 page)

As the men in the commons pressed toward the door, the four silent men in the rear of the inn stood and as one reached up to unfasten their hooded robes. The robes fell away. Beneath, each man was dressed alike, in a deep red tunic and black trousers ending in black ankle boots. Around each man’s neck hung an amulet and in its centre a red jewel glowed.

‘Oh, my,’ said Nakor. He felt the hair on his arms, neck, and head prickle with gooseflesh, and he was sure he could smell a very familiar magic stench. To Arkan and Calis he said, ‘Please, kill those four men. Quickly!’

Calis took a moment to consider, but Arkan acted without hesitation. Whatever else these annoying humans might be, he had been around beings of power enough times in his life to recognize that the little man and the tall woman were far more formidable and dangerous than they appeared to be. Moreover, he had been watching those four men on the other side of the room more closely than the others had and by now possessed a firm sense that they were not only dangerous, but that there was something wrong with them. It was like running across a sick animal in the wild. You might not at first be able to judge what the problem was, but in an instant you knew it wasn’t a healthy bear or deer. It didn’t matter if the animal was rabid, poisoned, wounded from an earlier struggle, you just knew you had to kill it as quickly as possible before it infected other animals.

Arkan’s second arrow was back to his ear by the time the first one struck one of the four men in the neck, killing him instantly. He let it fly as Calis loosed his first and two more men died. The last man began an incantation, uninterrupted by the death of his companions. They must be spell-casters! Arkan’s third arrow finished his chant.

Bedlam erupted as those nearby dived for cover and shouts of anger and fear filled the room. Brendan wisely stepped aside as the second surge of the crowd towards the door threatened to overwhelm him.

Miranda grabbed the nearest man, a very drunk teamster by all appearances, and with little apparent effort picked him up by the front of his tunic and threw him into the crowd, causing a general collapse of bodies. ‘Outside!’ she shouted at Brendan, who took no pause in turning, opening the door, and leaping through.

The two city watchmen posted at the door were turning to investigate the noise as Brendan made his exit, almost knocking them down.

‘Sir?’ asked one, a youngster barely big enough to hold the pike he’d been given.

‘Let them through,’ said Brendan, stepping to one side, followed a moment later by Miranda. Then there was an explosion of bodies out of the door, as those who had been trapped inside for days came flooding outside to scatter in all directions.

The other watchman, an elderly, toothless man, said, ‘What are we to do, young sir?’

‘Don’t get trampled,’ said Brendan.

The bellow that had begun the ruckus was repeated, clearly coming from the direction of the harbour. ‘And that, young sir?’ asked the old watchman.

‘We’ll see to that,’ said Miranda.

Brendan said, ‘You know what it is?’

She nodded. ‘Only too well.’ Her tone left no doubt that Brendan wouldn’t care for the revelation.

‘What about these blokes, sir?’ asked the young watchman as the last of the inhabitants of the inn who didn’t wish to remain exited the building.

‘Let them scatter as long as they don’t cause trouble. We’ll round them up later, if we survive what’s coming,’ said Brendan. ‘They’ve nowhere else to go, so it’s either to the wall to fight, or back here to drink. Just make sure no one tries to go out the northern gate.’ The young soldier saluted and ran off in that direction.

Nakor and the two elves exited, and Nakor said, ‘Keshian Demon Masters.’

Miranda nodded. ‘Dead?’

‘Yes,’ said the little man. ‘Our elf friends are very efficient.’

‘Well, one problem solved, and another begun,’ said Miranda. ‘Come, to the wall!’

Nakor said, ‘Yes, I can feel it,’ as if answering an unasked question.

‘Feel what?’ asked Arkan.

‘Don’t worry,’ said Nakor. ‘You’ll get to kill a lot of humans shortly!’

‘Just make sure they’re on the other side of the wall,’ said Calis, as the group broke into a trot.

The wall and main gate hove into view as they rounded a corner. Brendan sprinted the last ten yards and took the steps two at a time. Reaching the wall, he could barely negotiate the press of bodies gathered there and as he moved past Bethany and Lily, who were now stationed with the archers nearest the steps to safety, pushing through a knot of soldiers, towards his brother, he began shouting, ‘Back to your posts! There could be more than one—’

He stopped as he saw what everyone on the walls was staring at. A nearby soldier in a Crydee tabard said, ‘I pray there’s not more than one, m’lord.’

Another soldier in the city militia said, ‘One is more than likely enough, m’lord.’

What they saw was a monster, looming twenty feet above the water as it slowly walked towards the gate. The head looked like a cross between a lizard and monkey’s, but it was covered in scales and possessed fan-like ears that swept back from the side of its head. Down its back ran a ridged fin, like a sailfish. The body was roughly humanoid in shape, though the shoulders and chest were massive and each hand ended in talons as long as swords. The reek of the thing was nearly overpowering even from this distance, as if every dead thing on the sea floor had been scooped together and somehow fashioned into the creature. As it slowly rose up out of the bay, sheets of water poured off it, the sun glinting off its scales. Reaching the shallowest part of the bay, which was still deep enough for large boats to ferry cargo to the quay, the monster now walked in water barely reaching mid-thigh.

‘My gods,’ said Martin. ‘What is it?’

Far behind the thing, boats were coming into view. Brendan estimated at least fifty. He looked to the western road to Crydee and saw dust and banners in the distance. ‘Looks as if the Keshians have got tired of waiting.’

Martin said, ‘They want that thing to knock down the gates, then they plan on hitting us head-on; not a lot of subtlety there.’

‘None needed,’ said Brendan.

Martin glanced past Brendan and saw the woman moving up to his brother’s shoulder. ‘Miranda?’

‘You remember me?’ she said.

‘Yes, and your timing is excellent.’ He pointed at the massive creature approaching the city. ‘Can you do anything?’

‘It’s a water demon!’ shouted Nakor with a tone approaching delight.

‘Water demon?’ asked Brendan. ‘I didn’t know they existed.’

‘All sorts of demons exist,’ said Nakor in an almost jocular tone. ‘Water, air, earth, fire, animal, bird. Some are very smart, others very stupid. The demon realm is a very confusing place, even for demons.’

‘You sound as if you know a lot,’ said Martin, glancing at Miranda.

‘Nakor,’ she supplied.

‘Nakor,’ continued Martin. ‘What are we to do with this one?’

The creature was starting to rise up near the burned-out docks. It bellowed again and this time those on the walls crouched lower as the stones beneath their feet vibrated. The creature looked first one way, then another, as if seeking something or someone.

‘If we had a summoner, he could control it or banish it, but unfortunately we just killed whoever that was,’ said Nakor.

‘What?’ asked Brendan.

‘There were four Keshians of some order or cult.’

‘I saw them.’

‘One of them was a summoner, certainly. The other three were his acolytes or guardians.’

‘Archers!’ shouted Martin.

Those with bows rose up, nocking arrows and taking a bead on the creature.

‘Save your arrows,’ said Miranda. ‘They’ll only annoy it.’

The creature took another step, raised a foot as if contemplating stepping up onto the quay, then slowly lowered it back to the water, hesitating. It bellowed, stopped and looked around, as if confused.

‘What’s it doing?’ asked Martin.

‘It’s looking for whoever summoned it,’ said Nakor. ‘Four men, even if only one is a summoner, means very powerful skill is needed to bring it here and control it. It was conjured out there—,’ he pointed at the harbour, ‘—because it was the only water deep enough.’

‘Under the mud,’ said Brendan.

‘Even the water wasn’t deep enough,’ amended Nakor. ‘It doesn’t like being up in the air, likes land less, and hates fire.’

‘Should we use fire arrows?’ asked Martin.

‘Only if you
really
want to annoy it,’ said Miranda.

The summoned demon waited, looking from one side of the harbour mouth to the other.

‘What happens next?’ asked Martin of Miranda.

‘When it gets tired of waiting to be told what to do, it will decide if it’s more irritated by being here or hungry. If the first, it may decide to come here and rip up the city out of spite, or it may turn around and start swimming out to sea, looking for food.’

‘This one is pretty stupid,’ said Nakor. ‘If we don’t annoy it, it may just look for food. It will probably eat half the fish in the Bitter Sea and any ship it happens across.’ He pointed to the longboats that were hovering just beyond the creature. ‘If there’s another Demon Master out there in a boat, we’ll know soon.’

‘Can’t it be banished magically, back to wherever it came from?’ asked Brendan.

‘Only by a Demon Master,’ said Nakor.

‘Or if you kill it.’ added Miranda.

‘Can
you
kill it?’ asked Martin, ‘with magic?’

Miranda looked at Nakor and they both knew the answer. The real Miranda could almost certainly have disposed of this creature, if not quickly and cleanly, eventually, but Child only knew what Miranda knew in the abstract. She knew the spells Miranda would have employed, but she could not use them. But as Child she had learned her own combat magic.

‘No,’ said Miranda, jumping up into a crenel. ‘I’ll have to do it the hard way.’

‘What?!’ Martin reached out as if to stop her, but she was over the wall.

‘Is she mad?’ exclaimed Brendan.

‘Most of the time,’ answered Nakor, looking down to where Miranda had landed without injury.

‘Amazing,’ said Martin. ‘She should be dead.’

‘Almost certainly,’ agreed Nakor.

Miranda reached down, grabbing the back hem of her dress, pulling it up and hiking the hem of her dress up to the top of her thighs. She tucked the extra fabric into the leather belt she wore, in the fashion of fisherwomen along the coasts in any country.

‘Not fighting togs,’ said Nakor, ‘but they’ll do.’ Then with a grin he added, ‘I always thought she had wonderful legs.’

Both brothers looked at the short gambler with expressions that indicated they both now regarded him as completely mad.

Miranda stood upright and held her hands aloft, incanting a spell. Then she stepped forward. As she strode towards the demon she began to draw energies around her. The hair on the arms and necks of all on the wall stood up at the charged feel of it, as if lightning had been discharged nearby. Miranda held up her hands, palms outward, flexing her fingers, as her nails started lengthening, apparently growing into claws.

‘What is she . . . ?’ asked Martin.

‘It’s a good trick. Watch,’ suggested Nakor.

The water demon ceased scanning the horizon for its summoner, and fixed its eyes on Miranda, as she strode towards him. Here was something he definitely recognized. The shape was alien, but the scent and the power exuding from it were familiar. Another demon approached and not of the water kind.

‘He’s big, but his kind are stupid,’ said Nakor from the wall. ‘He doesn’t know where he is or why he’s here, but he’s forgotten anything else now that he has someone to fight.’

‘He’s still five times bigger than she is!’ said Brendan.

‘Watch,’ said Nakor. ‘She’s smaller, but she’s a lot smarter, and she has lots of tricks.’

As he said that, Miranda leapt upward and in an impossible arc sped through the air straight at the water demon’s throat. She landed and seemed to dig in with both hands and feet, ripping and tearing and even bringing her teeth to bear.

The blow shocked the demon, who staggered backward a few steps, almost losing his balance. He bellowed as he began pummelling his smaller opponent.

‘Once she digs in, she’s like a bulldog,’ said Nakor.

At last the dim-witted monster got one hand completely around one of Miranda’s arms and yanked hard. He dislodged her claws and sent a fountain of blood spurting across the water and the quay beyond. Then he used his other hand to pull her away, and before she could grab his hand, he flung her into the stones of the street where she slid all the way to the gate, striking it hard enough to be felt by those above it.

‘Gods!’ exclaimed Martin. ‘He’s killed her!’

‘I don’t think so,’ said Nakor with a grin. ‘She is very tough, and has some tricks, remember?’

The water creature hesitated, bringing his hand up to the wound Miranda had caused in his neck. He touched it, winced in pain, and brought away blood-covered fingers. He sniffed at them, looked at them, then bellowed again in rage.

Astonishingly to those watching from above, Miranda stood up, took two steps, then started a run at the water demon. With a sudden jump, she flew through the air at the monster for the second time.

Nakor said, ‘This may take a while.’

Martin replied, ‘I don’t know if we have a while. Look.’

The Keshians on the ridge of the western road were now moving forward in orderly fashion, while the longboats were moving in a long arc which would land them on the south-east shore, next to the road.

‘How are they doing that?’ asked Martin, indicating the boats. Each was unmanned by rowers, somehow moving without apparent means.

Brendan pointed to the rear of the lead boat and said, ‘Those frog-things I told you about!’

Martin couldn’t make out specific features as they were splashing wildly, but took his brother’s word for it. All he could see was a splashing at the rear of every boat as if someone was in the water pushing it along.

‘Archers!’ shouted Martin. ‘One man in three over to the south-east wall!’ He motioned for George Bolton. ‘Take charge of the other wall. Do not fire until the Keshians get into range, then give them everything you’ve got!’