Sunset of Lantonne (85 page)

“Why all this for a staff?” Ilarra asked, finding Dorralt had released the hold on her jaw, though her limbs still would not budge. “Tens of thousands of people are going to die…for what?”

Therec—or his body—laughed and came around Ilarra to face her. “Some things are worth more than the lives of a bunch of ignorant foreigners. What we are doing to these people is insignificant in the scope of what we can do once the world stops resisting us. This is my birthright and my destiny, and no one will stand in my way…after Lantonne, none will want to.

“There is no lofty goal or great prize we seek, Ilarra. I am taking back what once belonged to us. These people took our lands from us, pushed us into the far north. Their lives do not matter because they were already borrowed from me. I gave them two millennia. I will give them no more. This farce ends today.

“This staff is only one of many things I am taking back. By rights, this staff is mine as much as these lands and so many others. I can conquer nations with an army, but with this, I can destroy the hope of anyone who still resists.”

Therec leaned close to Ilarra, his face coming close to touching hers. “Tell me about the person that gave you the power to resist me,” he insisted. “You were the first to do so. Where one manages, others will come. I wish to know what to expect. What being could manage it?”

Ilarra could feel Dorralt’s influence pressuring her, making her want to tell him what he asked. She strained to keep quiet, clamping her mouth shut. “My brother,” she lied through clenched teeth, struggling to keep control over her own thoughts. “A wildling. He’s stronger than both of us. He’s a hell of a lot stronger than you.”

“Lies do not become you. No beast was able to do this, nor will there be any left when I leave these lands. I have already sent my agents after the last holdouts, and I can assure you, your so-called brother will die with the rest. We have all the time we need to discuss this, Ilarra. I will break you, sooner or later, have no doubts. Make it easier on yourself and speak the truth.”

Her jaw aching with the effort of holding it shut, Ilarra reached up and put a hand to her chin…then realized what she had done. Therec stared at her hand in surprise. Clearly, he had not released her.

“How…?” he demanded, backing away with the staff held in front of himself. “I command you, fall to your knees!”

Ilarra stood, lifting both hands to look at them. The weight of Dorralt’s control was almost entirely gone. She could still feel the desire to kneel as he ordered, but she could ignore it as easily as a nagging thirst.

Looking around for what could have changed matters so abruptly, Ilarra’s eyes fell on a spec coming down off the mountains off to the west, growing larger by the second. At first, she thought it to be a bird, but realized how impossibly large it had to be to be visible so far away. Only one creature in any legend she had heard looked like that. She soon spotted two more like it, flanking that first creature.

“You asked how,” she told Therec, smiling as she stared off to the west. “You’ll meet him in a few minutes, whether you like it or not. The old gods have heard this city’s prayers.”

“Ignorant religious babble,” Dorralt replied through Therec, squinting at the horizon. “Even so, we should make this quick. It appears I have other concerns to deal with.” Magic raced through the air at Therec’s call, condensing into a ball of flame in the hand that did not hold the staff. As Ilarra frantically drew magic like a cloak around her body to defend herself, Therec began a second spell, lighting the staff ablaze as well.

“Let us see how well you learned from us before you die, Ilarra. I can assure you I have given you access to impressively little of our capabilities.”

Sliding along the wall, Raeln kept a close watch on the soldiers near the north gate. They were not looking for him, but he wanted to be sure the distraction he and Greth were working on would be a complete surprise. Being spotted early would lessen the chances of drawing enough attention to the gates to allow Ilarra enough time to get into the keep.

Raeln peeked around the lip of the wall where the stones supporting the gate helped block him from the soldiers there. On the far side, he caught the faint movement of Greth’s tail as he hid in roughly the same spot there.

The plan was simple, almost childish, and Greth had been proud to be the one to think of it.

Initially, Greth had pushed for walking up to the city guards and punching one of them, thinking it would cause a near-riot. This had been largely due to a misunderstanding of the laws in Lantonne, as in Altis such an act would have started a riot. There, Raeln understood the reaction was primarily because wildlings were to be caught and killed or sold as slaves, regardless of who they were. With the more liberal rules in Lantonne, attacking a guard would not have done much more than gotten Greth arrested for harming a city official, if that. More likely, the other guards would have bought him a drink at a nearby pub.

What would draw attention were weapons. Though every citizen of Lantonne was allowed to carry swords, bows, and the like, the laws prohibited the drawing of any such weapon in public. Doing so near a group of soldiers would be viewed as an act of war, especially with the ongoing fear of Altisian attacks in the region. The law allowed soldiers to react “as needed” to any armed citizen who presented themselves as a threat during a time of war.

Thus, their plan was born. They would leap out at the soldiers near the city’s largest barracks, weapons drawn, then run. With luck, several dozen men would be chasing them in minutes. If they could direct the chase through specific parts of the city, they might have a somewhat comical horde of soldiers in pursuit. When they were caught, there would be a long stay in the city dungeons, but they were both willing to take the risk.

Leaning out far enough he knew Greth might be able to see his ears, Raeln waited for the signal to attack. He drew his sword slowly, trying not to make much noise. As close as they were to the barracks, timing was essential, or he would get jumped by men that had no idea he was no threat.

At last, Greth poked his own head out and gave Raeln a sharp nod to say he was ready.

Raeln leapt from the shadowed corner of the wall and ran as hard as he could into the open area where five soldiers were lingering near the barracks door, less than fifty feet from the north gates. The men turned and looked between him and Greth, not one of them drawing their weapons or reacting anything like Raeln had expected.

The closest of the soldiers, clad in heavy armor with a full helm, pulled off his helmet and revealed an old human with a long mane of white hair. Wrinkles blended evenly with scars as he stared Raeln down. “Raeln? What in seven of the nine hells are you doing here?” the man demanded, giving Greth a sharp glare that took the momentum out of his step. “You picked a damned good time, boy. We’ve been looking for more trained men.”

Raeln stared in disbelief at the man that had been instrumental in his early combat training back in Hyeth. He had not seen the old man in years, but knew his face anywhere. “Phillith?” he asked, his sword arm dropping to his side. “You retired…”

“Not anymore,” the soldier answered, smiling. “Look out at the plains and anyone can see why. King and country, and all that.”

Raeln looked out toward the flats of the plains through the open gate and saw an army waiting there. There were thousands of figures less than a mile outside the farthest building, waiting near the old quarry town.

Phillith walked up to Raeln and grabbed his wrist to look at the sword in his hand. “Altisian weapon,” he noted, then eyed Raeln up and down. “You’ve lost weight, but you look like you’ve been pushing yourself. That’s good if we’re going to win this. I’d worried that you let yourself get killed when Hyeth fell, but I’m glad to see you and even more glad you brought help. My men will arm you, and then I’ll brief you on the situation and our plans.”

“We…we’re supposed to be running now,” Greth said forlornly as he walked over beside Raeln, his ears drooping in confusion. “That distraction thing…”

“Don’t know what you’re trying to distract anyone from, but I’m drafting you both into service,” Phillith told Greth firmly, releasing Raeln’s hand. “Straighten your back, boy. You look sloppy, and I won’t have any slop in my troops. You could learn something from Ralen. Do you even know how to use those weapons?”

Greth glanced down at his sword, and then at the axe at his side and the bow slung across his shoulder. “I’ve been hunting since I was old enough to walk,” he answered, giving Raeln a look of utter confusion. “What’s going on?”

“This is Captain Phillith,” Raeln explained.

“Commander. I got promoted to convince me to come back and lead these pathetic wretches.”

“Commander Phillith,” corrected Raeln. “He taught me to fight until I was about ten, then I had several other teachers.”

“Lower that damned weapon, boy!” snapped Phillith, glaring at Greth, who hurriedly brought his weapon to his side even though he seemed torn about it. “Fall in with the armored infants they assigned to me over there. When the attack comes, you’ll be the last man standing on that corner of the gate, or you’ll get my boot in your ass. Understood?”

Greth’s mouth moved, but no words came out. He inched away, moving toward the indicated position, not taking his eyes off of Phillith.

“Good kid,” Phillith told Raeln once Greth was far enough away he could not hear, standing uncomfortably alongside several of the soldiers. “You trust him?”

“With my life.”

“Can he fight?”

“At least as well as I can, depending on the situation. He’s better in the wilds, but he’s good.”

“Excellent. Do you know what we’re facing here?”

Looking out at the plains, Raeln answered, “Maybe four or five thousand. How many do we have in reserve?”

Laughing, Phillith replied, “The seven of us, plus a hundred or so archers up on the walls, spread around the whole city. There’s maybe an equal amount at the other gate. A hundred up in the keep, but they’re no help until we’re dead or fall back. Idiot king sent thousands of our men on a romp through the foothills after a legend.”

“That’s all we have left? Does the enemy know?”

“Doubt it,” the old man answered, shrugging. “Even if the whole army was here, we’d be outnumbered. I don’t even have enough men to keep the enemy off the walls, let alone push them back. This is a battle already lost, make no mistake. I intend to prove myself wrong, though.”

Raeln turned to look back into the city, eyeing the wide street leading up to the gates. Several large wagons had been left near the closest shops, pushed off to either side of the street to keep them out of the way.

“Narrow the entrance,” he told Phillith, pointing at the wagons. “We’re facing undead. They don’t think, they just go for a target until either they die or it does. Closing the gate won’t stop them, but leaving it open with a gap large enough they have to come in single-file would give us an advantage and allow more of our men to remain on top of the wall. Two or three competent soldiers could hold the entrance for hours.”

“If I get that built, are you volunteering, Raeln?”

Nodding, Raeln continued to search for ways to make the gate more defensible. “Leave Greth and I down here. The rest of you, get up top and keep them from climbing the walls. Be ready to send men down to help us if we’re overrun. I’ll need reserves who can switch with us if we get tired.”

“Don’t get overrun. These kids aren’t ready for this. I know you, Raeln. You can hold your own, but don’t depend on any of my men to save you. They’re going to run if the gate falls…wagered as much at the tavern. Figure if I win, nobody gets to collect and if I lose, I won’t be around to.”

Phillith turned and barked orders to several of the soldiers, ordering them to seize the wagons and use them to build up a barricade around the inner portion of the gate, narrowing it considerably. Once those men ran off, he shouted to those atop the wall to lower the gate to a little more than head-height, which left it low enough that Raeln would have to duck under it.