Alutar: The Great Demon (50 page)

“And the black-cloaks are having great effect,” Colonel Hildon commented. “No one is shielding the Alceans today. Perhaps General Askor is wiser than we thought. He said that we would be dining in the Royal Palace for the midday meal. I thought he was crazy, but this battle is going well.”

“The Alcean archers are still taking their toll,” retorted Colonel Maxwell. “If they manage to make a safe retreat to the next wall, this scene will have to be played out over again.”

“True,” agreed Colonel Hildon, “but they will lose half of their men each time they retreat. Taking the next wall will be much easier than this one, and the third wall might not even be much of a battle at all.”

Suddenly, a dark shape soared over the heads of the colonels. Colonel Hildon snapped his head upward and gasped as he saw the dragon. The creature glided soundlessly into the battlefield. The colonel watched in horror as the massive creature descended to just over the heads of his men. With amazing speed, the dragon’s talons streaked downward and impaled the shoulders of one of the battle mages. With powerful strokes of its wings, the dragon shot nearly straight up, the black-cloak hanging from its talons like a limp doll. Nearby soldiers brought their bows to bear on the flying creature, but it was a useless maneuver. The dragon was out of range before the first arrow shot skyward.

“There are more of them!” shouted Colonel Maxwell as he pointed up.

Colonel Hildon looked up and saw more dragons both north and south of him. He watched in awe and horror as each of the dragons snared one of the battle mages and then shot upward. He watched, mesmerized by the sight, as the dragons flew over the city of Tagaret and disappeared into the distance.

“It is as if the dragons knew right where to find the battle mages,” offered Colonel Maxwell. “Do you think they are intelligent creatures?”

“They were sent specifically for the black-cloaks,” frowned Colonel Hildon. “Whoever gives them their orders knows how to communicate with them. I guess that makes them intelligent in a manner of speaking.”

While the colonels were watching the five dragons disappear, the sixth and largest one flew overhead. Upon its back sat the Warrior King, and it did not fly low at all. The dragon maintained a height that made shooting arrows at it a waste of time. The dragon banked into a circular pattern over the siege engines, and Colonel Hildon saw the king drop something. Suddenly, one of the catapults burst into flames. Twice more the king dropped something, and twice more a catapult erupted in flames. The men in the area of the siege engines ran to put distance between the burning catapults and themselves. With all three catapults destroyed, the dragon carrying the Warrior King turned out of its circular pattern and glided over the walls of Tagaret.

“So that is where the king was,” commented Colonel Maxwell. “I noted his absence from the wall before the battle started. I thought he was trying to avoid the bloodshed.”

“He is called the Warrior King,” replied Colonel Hildon. “I do not think he got that name by avoiding bloodshed. His pet dragons have managed to slow down our assault, but it will take more than that to stop us from taking his city.”

“Are you sure?” questioned Colonel Maxwell. “Too many of the men are now looking over their shoulders.”

The soldiers in the first waves seemed to be oblivious of the dragons, but those near the rear kept looking up to see if other dragons were coming. The structure of the attack formation began to crumble, and Colonel Hildon signaled for nearby runners.

“Tell the unit commanders to keep their men’s focus on the wall,” he ordered the runners, “especially those in the rear ranks. If I see men looking over their shoulders, I will hold the unit commanders responsible.”

The runners took off in all directions, and Colonel Hildon watched as the formation began to unify once more. Even without the mages and the catapults, the Federation troops were making satisfactory progress. Colonel Hildon turned to look towards the large command tent far behind him and he saw General Askor and General Eylor observing the attack. General Askor looked at Colonel Hildon and nodded his appreciation of the colonel’s handling of the attack. Colonel Hildon smiled with satisfaction and turned his attention back to the battle.

“Is that the queen?” asked Colonel Maxwell as he pointed to the ramparts near the center of the wall.

A women wearing white and gold armor similar to the king’s stood with her arms outstretched. Even as Colonel Hildon began to nod in answer to Colonel Maxwell’s question, he felt a trembling of the ground. His brow creased in confusion.

“Is the queen a mage?” he asked with a tone of urgent concern.

“I do not think so,” answered Colonel Maxwell. “She is known as the Warrior Queen.”

The trembling increased until it became hard to keep one’s balance without thinking about it.

“Perhaps that is just a title to match her husband’s,” commented Colonel Hildon. “I might be wrong, but I think she is a mage. Do you see anyone else on the ramparts who might be casting magic?”

The trembling grew until the broad plain began to ripple. Men fell down, and the formation disintegrated.

“No,” cried Colonel Maxwell as he lost his footing and tumbled to the ground.

Colonel Hildon dropped to his knees to avoid falling. He watched in horror as every wave except the first one fell to the ground. Those already climbing the scaling ladders and those near the wall were the only ones unaffected by the spell. Unexpectedly, the trembling stopped abruptly.

“I cannot conceive of such power in a single mage,” gasped Colonel Maxwell. “She made this plain have waves like the sea. We should order a retreat while we can.”

“Because she can make us fall down?” scoffed Colonel Hildon. “It will take more than that to break our attack.”

“Do not fool yourself, Hildon,” warned Colonel Maxwell. “She brought us to our knees for a reason. She successfully broke our charge, but I suspect that it is more than that. We need to tell the generals to sound the retreat.”

Colonel Hildon frowned and shook his head as he rose to his feet. He had known Maxwell a long time and had never known him to be a quitter. He turned around to see what the generals thought of the situation and gasped. Colonel Maxwell, who was in the process of getting to his feet, jerked his head to see what had caused Hildon’s reaction. Together they stared in terror as the Men of Tor rode through the Federation encampment.

“That is why she brought us down,” Colonel Maxwell said in alarm as he viewed one thousand men charging towards him on the backs of unicorns.

Each of the charging horsemen held a horse bow with an arrow already nocked. Two arrows streaked out from the vanguard, and the two Federation generals died on the ground where they had fallen moments before.

“Our cause is lost,” Colonel Maxwell declared. “The men will be slaughtered from behind. They will just be getting to their feet when these men charge into their ranks.”

“We won’t be here to see it,” scowled Colonel Hildon. “We have only seconds to live.”

“Perhaps,” murmured Colonel Maxwell as he drew his sword. “It is time to see what kind of men the Alceans really are.”

Colonel Hildon’s face held a puzzled frown as he drew his own sword. He glanced at Colonel Maxwell questioningly. “How many do you think we can actually kill before they shoot arrows into our hearts, Maxwell? Our swords will not slay a single one of them.”

“That is not why I drew my sword, Hildon,” replied Colonel Maxwell as he stabbed his sword into the ground and knelt next to it. “I am not ready to die in a battle that is already lost.”

Colonel Hildon stared at the approaching horde, his thoughts confused, and his mind not yet made up. He watched several of the enemy draw back on their bowstrings, and he made his decision in that instant. He shoved his sword into the ground next to Maxwell’s and swiftly knelt. The charging Alceans parted slightly and rode around the two colonels. Both colonels let out loud sighs of relief as tremors raced through their bodies. Unexpectedly, a magically amplified voice filled the air.

“I am the Warrior King,” stated King Arik, “Your generals are dead. You will surrender right now, or you will die. There will be no further offer given. Any man holding a weapon will be killed. Once you have discarded your weapons, kneel.”

Some of the Federation soldiers immediately threw down their weapons, but many did not. Many of the men first turned to gaze back at the command tent as if to verify the Warrior King’s claim. When they did, they saw the charging Men of Tor. Thousands of Federation soldiers threw their bows away and stabbed their swords into the ground. They swiftly knelt. Other soldiers were frozen by panic and fear. Some were stubbornly resistant to surrender. The Alceans could not distinguish between them. The Men of Tor shot any man standing, as did the Alcean regulars upon the wall. Sporadically, bolts of lightning lanced down out of the clear sky to strike Federation soldiers who tried to band together to continue the battle. In moments, it was all over.

Colonel Taerin walked across the lawn of the Imperial Palace in Despair. When the bench overlooking the harbor came into view, he saw a figure sitting on it. Hoping that it would be General Forshire, he hurried towards it. As he got closer, the figure stood up and turned around, locking his gaze on Colonel Taerin. Colonel Taerin sighed when he recognized Colonel Donil of the A Corps, but he continued towards the bench.

“You are disappointed,” Colonel Donil said with a hint of a sympathetic smile. “I can hardly blame you. I wouldn’t mind seeing General Forshire myself right now.”

“I did expect him to come,” admitted Colonel Taerin. “Have you had no word from him regarding the emperor’s family?”

“I have had word from him,” Colonel Donil frowned, “but it makes no sense to me.”

Colonel Taerin tensed with concern. “Out with it, Donil,” he demanded. “You know that I am anxious to learn of their safety.”

“General Forshire said that the emperor’s wife and daughters are safe,” replied Colonel Donil, “but he will not bring them to Despair at this time. He said that if you were truly concerned, pose a question that only Janay could answer. He promised to speed the answer to you.”

Colonel Taerin frowned and stared at the ground in front of the bench. He pondered what question could be sent that would prove that his mother was still alive. It had to be a question that she would have the answer to, but also one that others could not determine the correct answer. As all of the soldiers from the hidden estate were now dead, it could be anything that transpired there before he left for Despair, but what would he ask? Finally, it hit him.

“When her son was ten years hold,” Colonel Taerin began, “he built something. What was it?”

Colonel Donil appeared confused. He had expected Colonel Taerin to run to the emperor to get the question to ask, but the colonel posed a question of his own. If the question was meant to be a secret that only Janay could answer, how then could Colonel Taerin pose it without knowing the answer himself? It took only a moment for Donil to understand, and he inhaled sharply. Colonel Taerin immediately realized that he had slipped up. After years of guarding his identity, he had just inadvertently given it away because of his fear for his family’s safety. He sighed deeply as he mentally berated himself for his carelessness. He hurried to try to correct the situation.

“I heard the emperor mention that his son was proud of his achievement,” Colonel Taerin lied. “Whatever it was that he built, the telling of the story was halted before he could finish it. Attempts to get him to complete the story proved futile, but I am sure that the answer to such a question will ease his mind. Surely, his wife will know the answer.”

“Then the question will be put to her,” Colonel Donil replied. “You may expect an answer in a day or two.”

“Then she is close by?” asked Colonel Taerin. “I would like to see her to verify her health.”

“I truly do not know where she is,” stated Colonel Donil. “Were it up to me, Taerin, I would take you to her myself, but I have learned that General Forshire will let me know only what he thinks I need to know. I do not press him on his secrets, and I never divulge the secrets of my friends.”

Colonel Taerin knew that Donil’s words were meant to include to him as well as General Forshire. He understood that Donil had not been deceived by his attempt to cover up the truth, and he was grateful that Donil was not pursuing the matter further. He nodded his thanks to the A Corps colonel. “Will you relay my desire to the general?” he asked.

“I will,” promised Colonel Donil.

The two colonels sat silently for a while, each of them pondering the implications of Colonel Taerin’s misspoken words. Colonel Taerin realized that he could not unspeak the words and decided to change the subject.

“I have had men searching the palace grounds for the portal door since the tent collapsed in that flood,” Colonel Taerin said. “You didn’t happen to see where it went that night, did you?”

“That was quite a flood,” Colonel Donil smiled inwardly. “I do think that I saw a door floating on the waters that night, but there was a lot of debris floating. Most of it flowed into the Sea of Tears with the floodwaters. Why would you want to find it? Are you looking for a way into Alcea?”

“I have been ordered to find it,” answered Colonel Taerin. “Truthfully, I hope that it did float into the sea. Maybe that would be the end of the emperor’s follies into places where he does not belong.”

“It would be a handy thing to have when the war between Alcea and the Federation is finally over,” smiled Colonel Donil. “I think you would enjoy a trip to Alcea, Taerin. I wouldn’t mind going back there myself when this is all over. Maybe we could go together.”

“You are a dreamer,” chuckled Colonel Taerin. “Were you really that impressed with Alcea? I seem to remember that you told me that you were arrested and thrown into prison.”

“I was,” laughed Colonel Donil, “but I wasn’t tortured. They thought I was a runaway enemy soldier, yet they treated me well enough, other than a crack on the head.” The A Corps colonel turned serious as he looked at the heir to the Baroukan throne. “I think that one could learn an awful lot on a trip to Alcea, Taerin. The Alceans are excellent warriors, yet they yearn for peace. They are a civil society where people of all classes and races have learned to live with one another. I hope that one day the countries of Zara will be the same as Alcea. Don’t you?”