The Wrath of the Lizard Lord (24 page)

The reptile bounded off across the field. Blizzard clung to its head, his legs wrapped round its neck, his arm still locked in its mouth. He stabbed and stabbed at its eye and throat with a dagger but couldn’t get free.

‘Dakkar, look out!’ Georgia screamed.

He turned to see a mounted rider, level with the cart, and his keen blade humming down towards him.

Chapter Thirty-four

A Losing Battle

Dakkar ducked and a sword whistled over his head. The rider hacked at him again, slicing his sabre sideways at Dakkar’s legs. Dakkar leapt up but stumbled forward and fell off the cart and on to the rider.

He brought his elbow up, jabbing the rider desperately in the throat. The man gave a gargling cough and Dakkar dragged his helmet over his eyes before shoving him over the back of his mount.

The beast snapped and growled, trying to shake Dakkar from the saddle. Dakkar gripped the reins tightly, rolling with the writhing of the reptile.

‘Grenade!’ he shouted to Georgia.

She lit a grenade and threw it to him. Catching it, he leaned forward so the reptile could see his head. It swung round, opening its wide jaws and giving Dakkar a blast of foul breath.

Dakkar rammed the grenade down its throat and leapt for the cart as the creature erupted in an explosion of red that splattered all around.

Landing awkwardly on the cart, Dakkar grabbed at another rifle. The fight was going badly for the marines even though they had outnumbered the riders two to one. Many had managed to unseat their opponents but that left one marine dealing with the rider and the other with a vicious killing machine. Bodies of marines and Rohaga lay strewn around the carts.

The last few marines huddled around the carts, stabbing with bayonet and sword. Stefan blew a whistle and the remaining riders withdrew, reforming a line some distance away.

Dakkar shuddered. They were getting ready for a final charge.

All he could hear was the panting of the marines and the distant rumble of battle. He counted the reptiles quickly.
Fifteen
, he thought, glancing down with a sinking heart,
and only eight men
.

Stefan blew his whistle again and the reptiles began their walk towards the remaining men.

Dirt and blood streaked the marines’ faces but Dakkar could see the fire in their eyes.

‘Don’t worry, lad,’ one man said, looking up at him. ‘There were fifty of ’em to start with. We can finish them.’

‘I have a better idea,’ Dakkar said, looking down at the boxes of grenades and kegs of powder. ‘I want you to run away.’

‘Don’t be daft,’ said another marine. ‘With all due respect, sir.’

Dakkar grinned. ‘Well, I’m going to blow this cart up when the reptiles come past here, so either you can stay or you can run and bring them here a bit quicker.’

‘Apologies for calling you daft, sir,’ the marine said. He turned to the other seven. ‘Come on, boys. It’s time for a run.’

‘Dakkar! What if it doesn’t work and you’re caught out in the open?’ Georgia said, gripping his arm.

‘If you’ve got a better idea, I’m happy to hear it,’ he replied.

She shook her head.

‘Good,’ he said. ‘Then get running. I’ll catch you up!’

Georgia gave one backward glance and then jumped off the cart.

The Rohaga were nearer now, their pace increasing. Dakkar gave a final salute to the marines and Georgia, and then they began to run across the field.

The Rohaga riders gave a shout and lifted their swords.

‘As I suspected, they couldn’t resist a chase.’ Dakkar smiled as the riders kicked their reptiles on to a sprint.

Stefan hung back with his flag bearer, yelling at them and blowing his whistle. He’d realised the danger, but his cavalry were eager for blood and charged straight at the cart to get to the remaining marines.

They were close now. Dakkar could hear the men hollering and whooping, see their grins as they urged their mounts on. Dakkar lit his grenade and jumped down off the cart. He turned and tossed the grenade back up on to the pile of boxes and ran.

The explosion threw Dakkar across the field, the roar deafening him. It felt as if someone had punched him in the back. He rolled and tumbled like a leaf blown in a gale, his ears ringing. He lay still, blinking in disbelief at the power of the blast.

The ruined cart lay smouldering; an axel leaning on one wheel was all that remained. Smoking fragments and embers littered the ground all around Dakkar. One lone reptile leapt and hopped, trying to stand on a broken leg. The rest lay among the dead on the field.

Dakkar staggered to his feet, the marines cheering behind him, but his grin froze as the smoke cleared to reveal the count and his flag bearer racing towards him.

Dakkar glanced around for anywhere to shelter. The overturned cannon lying a few yards away were the only kind of cover. Snatching up a fallen sabre, he sprinted to them. Georgia and the remainder of the marines hurried back towards him. Dakkar realised they had had the chance to reload but Stefan would be on top of him before they could get within decent firing range.

Stefan’s eyes widened as he saw Dakkar. He urged the reptile on towards Dakkar, shouting at the flag bearer, who lowered the flagstaff’s pointed end, turning it into a deadly lance, then charged at the marines and Georgia.

‘I should’ve killed you when I had the chance!’ Stefan shouted as he reached Dakkar.

‘You tried, remember?’ Dakkar said, scurrying round the cannon as Stefan’s reptile snapped at him over the wheel. ‘You pushed me off the tower.’

The beast lunged at him again, planting its claws on the wheels of the cannon. Dakkar jabbed with the heavy cavalry sabre. It felt unbalanced and awkward in his hands but it made the reptile recoil.

Stefan wheeled the creature round so that he could slash down at Dakkar. The gun that lay on its side between them made it difficult for Stefan to hack accurately and Dakkar easily parried the blows. Metal rang on metal as the force numbed his arm.

Stefan slashed again and again, forcing Dakkar to skirt round the cannon and even duck under it.

Somewhere across the field the marines let off a volley at the flag bearer. Dakkar glanced over, seeing the man fall from his mount, but the reptile thundered on towards the marines who stood, bayonets ready, braced for the attack. Georgia was reloading quickly behind them.

‘Just keep still,’ Stefan snapped, clanging his sword off the cannon barrel and sending sparks flying. ‘I promise you a swift end!’

Dakkar scrambled under the cannon and jabbed the sword into the reptile’s leg. The beast hissed and leapt back, almost unseating Stefan. But Dakkar was exposed now and Stefan recovered enough to swipe his blade across, almost taking the top off Dakkar’s head.

Quickly jumping back round the carriage, Dakkar glanced over to Georgia. The other reptile had taken one of the marines in its jaws and the others stabbed at it with their bayonets. He saw its tail lash round and send another soldier stumbling backward.

‘Your reptile cavalry is destroyed,’ Dakkar said, panting as he skipped round the carriage, trying to avoid Stefan. ‘Give up!’

‘You may have stopped my cavalry, but when the French forces win the main battle I will take control,’ Stefan snarled. ‘First, I’ll enjoy feeding you to my little pet here.’

‘You’ll have to catch me,’ Dakkar said breathlessly.

‘I can wait.’ Stefan grinned. ‘You are tiring already.’

He slashed down with his sword again, catching Dakkar’s blade and then sweeping it aside. Dakkar watched in despair as the sabre flew from his numbed grip and landed among the glowing fragments of the exploded cart.

The reptile gave a low, guttural growl and, with a click of encouragement from its master, set one foot on the upturned wheel of the cannon. The big gun rocked and tipped upright as the reptile stood on it.

‘Soon you will join my sanctimonious brother,’ Stefan sneered. ‘I’ve made sure he’s finished, and now I’ll finish you!’

But Dakkar was looking at the reptile’s foot. It rested on the cannon’s wheel and the muzzle was pressed hard against the creature’s chest.

‘Not if I can help it,’ Dakkar said, stooping down and snatching up a red-hot ember from the cart. ‘The cannon crew had just managed to reload when you hit them. They were about to fire. I’ll finish the job, shall I?’

Stefan’s eyes widened and he snagged at the reins of the reptile but Dakkar, ignoring the searing pain from the ember, pressed it against the vent at the back of the barrel.

‘Noooo!’ the count roared, but the deafening boom of the cannon cut short his cry as he vanished in a cloud of smoke and blood, liquidised by the hail of hot metal that spewed from the muzzle of the cannon. Dakkar saw the reptile’s head fly up out of the cloud, closely followed by a human arm.

At the same time, the cannon kicked back, crunching into Dakkar and sending him breathless and dazed to the ground.

The world tilted on its side as Dakkar lay there, staring across the field. He felt detached and hazy as he watched the one remaining reptile closing in on Georgia and the last few marines, who jabbed with their rifles and bayonets.

And then he heard a chilling scream as if all the demons of Hell had been focused into one voice and unleashed across the battlefield.

Chapter Thirty-five

An End to Everything

Sitting up on the ground, Dakkar watched, his mouth hanging wide open as a second reptile stormed across the field. Blizzard sat on its back, his arm flapping like a shredded piece of red cloth, his good hand gripping the reins tightly.

Gore streamed from the reptile’s eyes down its face and it was clear that it was blind. Blizzard pointed it straight at the monster harrying his marines and as it collided with the other reptile, he leapt off, rolling on the ground to safety. The blind reptile, in a fury of pain and confusion, tore into the neck of this new enemy. Together they bit and scratched, ripping huge chunks of flesh from each other until, at last, the blind reptile fell.

Mortally wounded, the surviving beast turned, hissing at the marines who had taken time to load their rifles. The volley fire crackled over the field and the reptile fell dead.

Dakkar dragged himself to his feet and stumbled over to Georgia, who was busy helping Blizzard up.

If it were possible, the man looked paler than ever. Dakkar winced at Blizzard’s arm, seeing torn flesh, bone and muscle tissue exposed.

‘I think I might lose that,’ Blizzard said, grinning at Dakkar. ‘Well done, lad. We did it.’ And with that he collapsed backward on to the ground.

In the distance, the battle still raged on, the roar of men intensifying and cannon thundering in the background.

‘The battle isn’t finished,’ Dakkar said, his voice quiet. ‘Our part is done but only time will tell if Wellington can stop the French.’

‘Just like to say, I admired the quick thinking on your part, sir,’ one of the marines said to Dakkar, giving him a smart salute.

‘It was an honour to fight alongside you, sir,’ said another. He turned to Georgia. ‘And you, miss.’

‘Same to you.’ Georgia gave a tight smile. ‘I never thought I’d be saying that to a redcoat!’

They found some stray horses in the next field. Their saddlecloths and equipment identified them as French.

‘Their riders shouldn’t have been so careless as to leave ’em lyin’ around,’ said one of the marines, laughing.

Harnessing a horse to one of the remaining carts, they lay Blizzard down gently next to the boxes of arms and powder.

‘We’ll come back and clear the dead reptiles up when we’ve got the commander to a field hospital,’ said a marine, taking one last look across the carnage.

Dakkar shook his head at all the death. The count was dead but he felt no elation – he just felt hollow.

They journeyed back towards the port in silence, nobody wanting to think about what they had just witnessed. Blizzard lay on the back of the cart, groaning at every bump and rut on the track. Finally, they found a small village church where red-coated soldiers stood sentry and blood-spattered orderlies hurried from table to table. Dakkar watched as they carried Blizzard into a side chapel.

‘Looks nasty,’ the doctor said. ‘Caught in grapeshot or something? It looks chewed off.’

‘Something like that,’ Dakkar said, wincing. ‘Will he be all right?’

‘Who knows?’ The doctor shook his head. ‘We’ll do our best but if it goes nasty on him, he’s done for. The next twenty-four hours will tell.’

The orderlies hurried Dakkar and Georgia out of the church and Dakkar sat heavily on a barrel by the wooden doors.

‘I really hope he pulls through,’ Georgia said, laying a hand on Dakkar’s shoulder.

‘I don’t know what to do.’ Dakkar looked down at his boots. His whole body ached. ‘I should rest but I can’t help thinking about Oginski. I don’t know if I should get back to Lyme or wait here for Blizzard.’

‘We need to rest,’ Georgia said. ‘We can wait for twenty-four hours.’

Two of Blizzard’s men stayed to guard him while Dakkar and Georgia settled themselves in a barn not far from the church. Dakkar dozed in the straw, unable to sleep for thinking about Oginski and Blizzard and the events of the day.