A Darkness at Sethanon (45 page)

“Here,”
said the Protector, indicating one of several green spots on the map,
“are where the horses are hidden.” He said to Arutha,
“They were moved out of the city during the second phase of
evacuation.” He addressed the entire company. “We don’t
know if the goblins have stumbled across any or all of them. But we
hope several have remained safe. I think they assumed we had pulled
back behind our redoubts up there at last, and felt no need to stay
vigilant behind us. The secret tunnel out of the city is still
secure; only one patrol of Dark Brothers has come remotely near it,
and they were observed to have walked away without investigating that
area. The general order is as follows:

“Each
company will quit the city in turn, from First to Twelfth, with
whatever auxiliaries were assigned to that company. They are to quit
the tunnel only after it is clear the area around is secured. I want
First Company to act as a perimeter unit, until the Second begins to
replace it. When the Twelfth begins to leave the tunnel, the Eleventh
will move out as well. Only those soldiers designated to remain here
as the rear guard will be permitted to stay. I’ll have no
last-minute heroics jeopardizing this evacuation. I don’t want
any misunderstandings. Is everyone clear upon what they are to do?”

No one made any
comment, so Guy said, “Good. Now, make sure it is understood by
everyone that once outside the city it is every man for himself. I
want as many to reach Yabon as possible.” With cold anger in
his voice, he said, “Someday we shall rebuild Armengar.”
He paused, as if the words were difficult. “Begin the final
phase of evacuation.”

The commanders
left the room and Arutha said, “When do you leave?”

Guy said, “Last,
of course.” Arutha looked at Amos, who nodded.

“Do you
mind if I stay with you?”

Guy looked
surprised. “I was going to suggest you go out with the Second
Company. First may find surprises, and the later ones may run into
reinforcements called into the mountains. The last to leave stand the
biggest chance of being overtaken.”

Arutha said, “I
don’t know if I believe I’m some sort of champion
destined to destroy Murmandamus, but if I am, I think perhaps I
should stay.”

Guy pondered for
a moment. “Why not? You can’t do more than you’ve
done. Help is on the way or it isn’t. Either way, it will come
too late to save the city.”

Arutha glanced
at Jimmy and Locklear. Jimmy seemed upon the verge of some quip, but
Locklear simply said, “We’ll stay.”

Arutha was about
to say something, then saw a strange expression on the face of the
squire from Land’s End. There was no longer the boyish
uncertainty that had always lurked behind Locklear’s ready
smile. Now the eyes were older, somehow less forgiving, and, without
any doubt, sadder. Arutha nodded.

They waited for
some time, drinking a little ale to wash away the stench of the fire
and to cool them from the heat. Occasionally a messenger would report
back that another company had left the citadel. The hours dragged on,
as night deepened, punctuated only by an occasional dull explosion as
another basement was at last ignited. Arutha wondered how any could
have lasted so long, but each time he thought the entire city burned
out another explosion would announce the destruction still in
progress.

When the Seventh
Company had been reported safely away, a soldier entered the room. He
was dressed in leather, but it was clear he was an auxiliary, one of
the herders or farmers. His red hair was tied back, falling past his
shoulders, and his face was covered by a full red beard. “Protector!
Come, see this!”

Guy and the
others hurried out after the warrior to a window in the long hall,
overlooking the burning city. The insane inferno had subsided, but
fires still burned out of control throughout the city. It was
supposed that it would be another hour before Murmandamus could send
more soldiers in to make their way along the gutted streets. But now
it seemed they had misjudged. Between the still burning buildings
near the market, figures could be seen moving toward the citadel.

Guy quit the
balcony, hurrying toward the wall. When he reached it, he could see a
company of soldiers in black silhouette against the flames. They
moved at slow pace, as if they were being careful to stay within a
clearly denned area. While they watched, another courier reported
that the Eighth Company was beginning to move out of the citadel. The
approaching figures came to the edge of the outer bailey, and Guy
swore. Large companies of goblins stood within protective fields,
invisible except for an occasional glint of reflected light upon the
surface. Murmandamus came riding into view.

Jimmy said,
“What is he?”

Without any
apparent difficulty, the moredhel leader rode unprotected, ignoring
the still-intense heat, and the beast upon which he rode was
terrifying to behold. Shaped like a horse, it was covered in red
glowing scales, as if some serpent skin of steel had been heated to
near-melting. The creature’s mane and tail were dancing flames
and its eyes were glowing coals. Its breath seemed explosive steam.
“Daemonsteed,” said Amos. “It’s a legend.
It’s a mount that only a demon may ride.”

The creature
reared and Murmandamus pulled out his sword. He waved it, and before
the first companies of his army a black something came into
existence. It was an inky darkness that obliterated light. It formed
a pool on the stones of the bailey, flowing like quicksilver, then it
ceased movement, forming a rectangle. After a moment it was apparent
to those on the citadel wall that it had become a ten-foot-wide
platform of jet blackness. Then it slowly rose, foot by foot, forming
an ebon ramp above the moat. A piece of blackness broke away from the
base of the ramp and flowed a short distance from the rising bridge.
It stabilized into another block and began to grow. Another bridge
began to form from it. After another wait, a third, then a fourth
span began to form. Guy said, “Damn! He fashions some sort of
bridges to the wall.” He shouted, “Pass word to hurry the
evacuation.”

When the ebon
bridges were near the midpoint of the moat, the first companies of
goblins mounted them and began to move slowly toward the leading
edge. Foot by foot the black bridges advanced toward the defenders.
Guy ordered the archers to fire.

The arrows sped
across the gap but were deflected away, as if hitting a wall.
Whatever protected the attackers from the heat also protected them
from bow fire. Lookouts atop the citadel reported that the fires in
the outer city were dying and more invaders were entering Armengar.

Guy shouted,
“Off the wall! Rear guard to the first balcony. All other units
to evacuate at once! No one is to wait!”

The now orderly
evacuation would soon turn into a headlong flight. The invaders were
going to breach the last defence an hour or more before Guy had
thought possible. Arutha knew it possible there would be room-to-room
fighting within the citadel, and he made a mental promise to himself
that if it came to that he’d wait to face Murmandamus.

They dashed
across the courtyard and hurried up the inner stairway to the first
of the three balconies, to the sound of windows and doors being
shuttered and barred. As they left the long front hallway, Arutha
noticed a stack of barrels placed before the lift opening. More
barrels were placed at each doorway, and everything that could burn
had been left in doorways, all blocked open. Arutha knew that the
last act of Guy du Bas-Tyra would be to fire the citadel in the hope
that more of Murmandamus’s army would be taken. For the sake of
the Kingdom, Arutha hoped there was some limit on Murmandamus’s
ability to shield his soldiers from fire.

Soldiers came
running down the hall, smashing odd-looking panels in the wall,
covered by simple boards painted to match the white stones. Behind,
black holes could be seen. The faint odour of naphtha could be
detected as the breeze from the open bolt-hole pushed the pungent
fumes up the vents. As they walked out upon the balcony, Amos noticed
Arutha looking back. “They run from the basement to the roof.
More air to feed the flames.”

Arutha nodded
and watched as Murmandamus’s first wave breasted the wall to
the citadel. As soon as they stepped upon the wall, the field about
them vanished and they spread out, ducking for cover as the archers
upon the balcony opened fire. The catapults were useless, for the
range was too short, but a dozen ballistae, looking like giant
crossbows, hurled huge spearlike missiles at the foemen. Guy ordered
the ballista crews to quit the balcony.

Guy watched as
his bowmen held the invaders at bay. Arutha knew he counted every
minute, for as each passed, another dozen of his people were leaving
the city.

Behind the
advancing goblins, more could be heard scaling the walls.
Murmandamus’s soldiers overran the gatehouse, extended the
bridge, and opened the gate and an army came flooding in. The fires
in the city were dying, so more companies of invaders were rapidly
approaching the citadel. At the last, Guy shouted, “It’s
over! Everyone to the tunnel!”

Each bowman took
one last shot, then all turned and fled inside. At his word, Guy
waited until everyone was inside before he came in, bolting the last
door behind.

Shutters covered
every window on the balcony. The sound of pounding came from below as
the invaders struggled with the bolted doors to the courtyard.

“The lift
is rigged,” shouted Amos. “We’ll have to take the
stairs.”

They rounded a
corner into another corridor, slammed and barred a door, then ran
down a narrow flight of stairs. At the bottom they reached the huge
cavern. Every one of the special lanterns had been lit, illuminating
the cavern with ghostly light. Arutha’s eyes smarted from the
sting of fumes, stirred up by the breeze from the bolt-hole tunnel,
where the last of the reserve company was entering. Guy and the
others ran toward the door and had to halt, for the tunnel could
accommodate only two abreast. From above came the sound of shouting
and pounding on the door at the top of the stairs.

Again Guy
insisted on being the last to enter, and he closed the door behind,
placing a huge iron bar across it. “This should take them a few
minutes to get past.” As he turned to flee up the tunnel, he
said to Arutha, “Pray none of those bastards brings a torch
into that cavern before we clear the tunnel.”

They hurried
along, closing several intervening doors, each being locked by the
Protector. At last they reached the end of the tunnel, and Arutha
entered a large cavern. A short way off, the yawning mouth of the
cave revealed night. As Guy bolted this door a dozen bowmen of the
rear guard remained ready against the possibility of the Protector’s
having been overtaken. Another three or four dozen soldiers were
moving off, attempting to wait a minute or so before leaving, so that
each group of men might not stumble upon the heels of those before.
From the odd noises in the night, it was clear that a few of those
fleeing had encountered units of the enemy. Arutha knew it was likely
that most of those leaving the city would be spread throughout the
hills by sundown tomorrow.

Guy waved the
bowmen out of the cave, and soon the last of those not with the rear
guard were off, and only they, Locklear, Jimmy, Arutha, and Amos
stood with Guy. Guy then ordered the rear guard away, and soon only
the five were in the cave. Another figure came out of the gloom, and
Arutha could see it was the redheaded warrior who had brought news of
Murmandamus’s approach through the flames. “Get away!”
ordered Guy.

The soldier
shrugged, seeming unconcerned with the order. “You said every
man for himself, Protector, I might as well stay.”

Guy nodded.
“Your name?”

“Shigga.”

Amos said, “I’ve
heard of you, Shigga the Spear. Won the Midsummer’s games last
year.” The man shrugged.

Guy said, “Did
you see de Sevigny?”

Shigga pointed
toward the cave entrance with his chin. “He and some others
left just before you came out, as you ordered. They should be well
past the highest redoubt, about a hundred yards down from here.”

The sound of
wood tearing came faintly through the tunnel.

Guy said, “They
have reached the last door.” He grabbed a chain that ran from
under the footing below the door, saying, “Help me with this.”
They all picked up the chain and helped him pull it taut, until he
could attach it to a ballista pointing away from the door. The
ballista had been fastened to the rock floor of the cavern. There was
no bolt set in the war engine, but as soon as the chain was attached,
Arutha saw its purpose.

“You fire
the ballista and collapse the tunnel behind?”

Amos said, “The
chain runs under the supports of the tunnel, all the way back to the
cavern, connecting them. It should all come down with several hundred
of the scum covered rats inside. But there’s more.”

Guy nodded.
“Start running from the cave, and when you reach the mouth, I’m
going to pull this.”

A rhythmic
pounding sounded on the last door; some sort of ram was being brought
to bear. Arutha and the others hurried outside the cave mouth and
halted to watch. Guy triggered the ballista and it seemed to
hesitate, then with a jerk it snapped the chain forward only a few
inches. It was enough. Abruptly the door erupted outward as Guy
sprinted for the cavern mouth, a rolling cloud of dust behind. A few
bloodied and pulped goblin bodies fell out as rocks came rushing out
of the tunnel.

They all ran
with Guy away from the cavern. He pointed up, where a path led above
the cave. “I want to go up there awhile. If you want to head
out now, go, but I’m going to see this.”