The War of the Grail (45 page)

A gun roared nearby, the sound shuddering through the wall beneath Jack’s feet and making his ears ring for a second.

A gunner stepped up to him and bowed slightly. ‘Master Casey, sir. I’m in command here.’

Jack was startled to see that the man was wearing a European Army uniform.

‘Used to be in the army.’ The gunner smiled. ‘3rd Native Heavy Artillery.’

Jack was strangely pleased to hear this. It was reassuring to know the man in charge of the west wall had been trained in the army.

‘What’s your name?’ Jack asked.

‘Patrick Fletcher, sir.’ He cleared his throat. ‘I was once a sergeant.’

‘All right, Sergeant Fletcher, tell me what’s going on here.’

An artilleryman touched a portfire to the vent of a gun nearby. The piece gave a pummelling boom, rocked back on its wheels and disgorged a cloud of sulphurous smoke that coiled along the ramparts and blocked the view for a moment.

Fletcher led Jack over to the parapet. The acrid smoke scratched Jack’s eyes for a second before it was whipped away by the breeze. Now he could see the steep slope leading down the western side of the hill. Beyond this, the open countryside rolled away towards the hazy mountains in the distance. The enemy troops still encircled the fortress – he could see the line of them spreading out across the broken landscape.

Fletcher pointed down the incline. ‘A few companies of heathens are hiding over there, behind those hills.’

Jack peered down. A knot of smaller peaks, mounds and spurs rose from the bottom of the western side of the hill. From this angle it was impossible to see the ground beyond.

Fletcher lowered his voice. ‘That big demon was with them. Spitting fire and smoke, it were.’

‘The giant avatar?’

‘Aye, sir.’

Several more of the guns further down the wall blasted, the sound reverberating about the slopes.

‘We were firing at them as they marched up,’ Fletcher said. ‘Can’t see them now. We’re just letting them know we’re still here.’

Jack wasn’t happy to hear the avatar was being moved closer to the fortress. That could only mean Jhala was planning a major assault. At the same time there was no point in the artillerymen wasting their ammunition. He was about to tell them to stop firing, when one of the gunners nearby started waving his arms and shouting.

Fletcher stared at the knot of hillocks. ‘There’s something there.’

Jack raised his glass and searched the collection of low peaks. At first, he saw nothing. But then he spotted figures slipping between copses and rocky outcrops. The soldiers had climbed up the far side of the hillocks and were creeping towards the fortress.

And now, as Jack stared, he saw the black bulk of the giant avatar lumber over the crest of one of the hills. Smoke swirled about it, and its green eyes blazed on top of its head.

He shoved the spyglass into his belt and turned to Fletcher. ‘Train all the guns on that avatar down there. And tell anyone else with a musket to line up along this parapet. We’ve got a fight on our hands.’

‘There are still those creatures.’ Fletcher motioned to where one of the men was knocking a centipede off the wall. The beasts were still constantly scuttling up.

‘All right,’ Jack replied. ‘Leave a few men to keep those avatars back.’

Fletcher blew a whistle he must have kept from his army days. Then he waved his arms about and barked orders to the men dotted along the wall.

Jack faced Elizabeth and Saleem. ‘Get your muskets ready. The enemy are coming up.’

The three of them slung their firearms from their shoulders and Elizabeth placed Cecily down beside her feet.

Jack felt his eyes moistening. It wasn’t right that Cecily was here, up on a wall, in the middle of what was soon to be a battle. But there was nowhere else he could put her. He couldn’t tell Elizabeth to take Cecily down into the fortress again. There were too many centipedes about. There was nowhere else for any of them to go. They would have to stand here and fight and defend the child as best they could.

He glanced along the ramparts and saw the rebels lining up with their muskets. A few of them were loading their firearms directly from powder flasks – they must have run out of cartridges.

He shifted his gaze over to the south wall for a moment and made out figures congregating along the battlements. It appeared the army were approaching on that side of the fortress as well. The rebels were caught in a vice.

He turned back to the parapet and stared down the incline. The enemy soldiers were advancing into a saddle between the hillocks and the main hill. The avatar had surged ahead and had already reached the far side of the saddle, battering aside shrubs that got in its way.

Elizabeth and Saleem could see the beast clearly now. Elizabeth stared transfixed, while Saleem was breathing heavily.

‘You both keep your heads,’ Jack said. ‘We can get through this, all right?’

Saleem swallowed and drew himself up taller. He’d been through the Siege of London and managed to keep his nerve then. Jack was sure the lad would do the same now.

Jack could hardly bear to meet Elizabeth’s gaze. He wanted his daughter to be far away, somewhere safe. If he had been a better father, that’s what he would have arranged. But he hadn’t been able to do that, and so now she would have to fight alongside him.

Tears were brimming in her eyes.

‘Empty your mind,’ he said. ‘Don’t think about anything but firing your musket. And once you’ve fired, don’t think of anything apart from reloading. If you think about anything else, you’re lost.’

Elizabeth nodded, blinking away tears and pushing up her bottom lip, her chin puckering.

Fletcher returned to Jack’s side. ‘The guns are ready, sir.’

‘Then fire,’ Jack said. ‘And keep firing. Don’t let that thing get up here. And tell everyone else to be ready with their muskets.’

‘Right, sir.’ Fletcher bowed slightly. It almost looked as though he were going to do a namaste for a moment, but he stopped himself and instead began bellowing orders at the gunners.

There were only five guns along the west wall, but there would have been even fewer if Jack hadn’t ordered more artillery to be moved here two days ago.

The artillerymen touched their portfires to the guns at almost the same time. The vents smouldered for a second and then the weapons punched in unison, the serpent-headed muzzles blazing like fire-breathing dragons. The snake eyes glared angrily as the pieces kicked back.

Balls swooped down from the wall. They overshot the avatar but battered the troops marching behind. When Jack peered through the spyglass, he saw several men lying dead in the grass.

The gunners were already sponging out the pieces, reloading and twisting screws to adjust elevation. But now the enemy came alive. Horns blared, drummers bashed on kettledrums strapped to their waists and a sergeant raised a standard. The soldiers, who’d been advancing cautiously up until now, roared and charged across the saddle, heading towards the final incline.

The change in the avatar was even more dramatic. Before, it had been ambling slowly. But now it expelled a jet of steam and bounded like a dog towards the west wall. It gave a high-pitched wail that sent shivers down Jack’s spine. The cry seemed to unnerve the men along the ramparts, as many of them lowered their muskets and began muttering amongst themselves.

‘Get ready to fire!’ Jack shouted. ‘Present!’

The five guns thundered again, spewing smoke and flame, and hurling balls at the beast charging up the hill.

Two balls struck the ground immediately in front of the creature and bounced over its head. A further three clanged into its rounded back, but glanced off, doing no more damage than denting the carapace slightly. The avatar howled, but it didn’t even slow its pace.

Jack cursed under his breath. Kanvar had said the creature’s armour was strong. But the beast had just been hit by three round shot and had barely been harmed.

The enemy soldiers had reached the edge of the saddle and were scrambling up the final scarp. But the avatar was racing ahead. It was now only around a hundred yards away from the wall.

Jack lifted his musket, stared along the sights and aimed at the creature. ‘Fire! Fire at the demon!’

Jack’s command rippled along the battlements as it was passed between the men. Jack waited for a second and then pulled the trigger. At the same time, the line of rebels along the parapet fired their muskets. The firearms popped and coughed, and bullets rained down on the avatar. Scores of balls rattled against its armour. But as the smoke cleared, Jack saw the creature was again undamaged and still charging up the slope.

The artillerymen were firing out of time now. One gun blasted a ball at the avatar’s head, but the beast batted it away with its claw. Another round shot chimed against its side, leaving a small scrape but nothing more.

The beast screeched and raised its claws. It was close enough now for Jack to make out its whirring mandibles.

Jack joined the rebels along the wall as they reloaded their muskets and fired. The weapons flared and spluttered, and bullets teemed in the air. The hail of musket balls clattered against the avatar. But again, they did no damage.

Jack bit open another cartridge and reloaded his musket. He was feeling weak with hunger and thirst, but he pushed his discomfort aside. He was about to fire again, but then he realised there was no point. Because now the creature was just a few feet away from the wall.

Soon it would be at the fortress. There was no stopping it.

W
ith an iron squeal, the creature leapt. It clattered against the wall about twenty yards from Jack, scrabbled to grasp the battlements and hauled itself up to the parapet. Its lurid green eyes, contorted head and flickering maw popped up over the crenellations. The artillerymen standing nearby cried out and abandoned their gun. The other soldiers fled along the wall.

The beast dragged itself over the battlements and kicked aside the gun, which rolled back, careered off the wall and cracked apart on the ground below. The creature slid over the parapet and straddled the walkway for a moment. It was so large that its abdomen hung outside the fort, while its front legs scraped at the inner edge of the ramparts. Then it launched itself off the wall and plunged down to the ground inside the fortress.

Jack cursed. The avatar would wreak havoc amongst the rebels.

He swung his musket onto his shoulder, shut his eyes and called the Lightning yantra to mind. In a second, he had the design glowing in his head. He flung his eyes open and raised his hand. The avatar was clambering up the side of a ruined tower, perhaps in an attempt to get a better view of the rest of the fortress.

Jack voiced the mantra and his arm shook as the lightning wriggled through it and shot out of his fingertips. The bolt snarled through the air and gave a metallic ring as it struck the avatar in the back. The creature jolted, bellowed and immediately swung itself back down to the earth. It circled round and charged back towards the wall, giving a deafening shriek.

It was bounding straight towards Jack.

Jack went cold for a second, but he composed himself and brought the yantra to mind again. He flung another bolt at the beast, smacking it just below its mouth. The creature skidded to a halt and shook its head, as if in agony. But this only lasted for a second, before it sprang forward, slammed into the wall and scrambled up the stonework.

The people about Jack shouted and ran along the wall to escape. Jack grasped Cecily and shoved the child into Elizabeth’s arms, saying, ‘Get out of here!’

Elizabeth backed away, but only a short distance.

Jack grasped his musket as the avatar’s head leered over the top of the wall. It scratched with its legs as it heaved itself up.

Jack’s heart battered in his chest. He was, once again, looking into the beast’s eyes. Did it remember him? Was it determined now to kill him?

He lifted his musket. Perhaps he could hit one of those eyes and drive the creature back – for a moment, at least.

But before he could pull the trigger a pulverising blast sounded to his left. Fletcher had wheeled a gun round, and now fired at the avatar. The muzzle flashed, kicked and launched a ball at the creature. The round shot pounded the avatar in the head, snapping off a stalk and bashing a large indentation in the creature’s crown.

Sulphur-scented smoke blurred Jack’s view for a moment, but as it cleared he saw the creature groaning and shaking its head violently. Being pummelled at such short range seemed to have hurt it at last. It scratched wildly at the edge of the walkway, roared and thrashed about for a moment, then sprang down to the ground and bounded off into the fortress.

Jack breathed out sharply. His heart was still racing.

He glanced across at Fletcher, who was standing beside the gun.

‘We got the bastard.’ Fletcher grinned.

That was true, up to a point. But Jack saw that the creature was now charging down the boulevard towards the courtyard. In one claw it held a struggling man. It lifted the figure up high in the air, then snapped its claw shut. The man was severed in two.