Dragons' Onyx (27 page)

“You Alceans are a remarkable people,” the king shook his head.

“Don’t you mean WE Alceans?” smiled Lieutenant Montbalm.

“I guess I do,” smiled the king.

A loud horn blared through the air as the group reached the far ramparts.

“The third battlement has fallen,” sighed Lieutenant Montbalm. “I must get down there and aid my people.”

“Jami,” ordered Alex, “Take your men and go with him. Use the fire glue on the exterior climbers only. Ration it, as we may have need of some later.”

Jami nodded and signaled to Bart and Stan. The four men ran to the stairwell and disappeared down the stairs.

Jenneva and Tanya gazed out over the city of Tor and the forests beyond. “There is not much happening on this side,” commented Tanya as she tossed a fireball down at a dark figure running for the castle.”

The Black Devil barely dodged the fiery projectile. He gazed upward and immediately tossed his own fireball back at Tanya. The fireball streaked skyward, but it failed to rise more than half way up the side of the Castle of Man. Tanya grinned and threw another fireball down at the man.

“His fireball didn’t reach us,” noted Alex. “Does that mean that he is a weak magician? Or is there something about magic that it adheres to gravity?”

“Gravity affects it,” answered Jenneva. “While there are some spells, like the fairy’s levitation spell, that appear to violate the laws of nature, magic is subject to the physical laws. People without magical skills just do not totally understand the laws of nature.”

“Does that pertain to all spells?” Alex questioned with excitement. “What about the spell that the Black Devils use to down the unicorns?”

“It would be affected by gravity as well,” puzzled Jenneva. “What are you thinking?”

Alex turned his head and looked at Bantim who was standing on his shoulder. “Kaz, Yorra, and Frea are on the first level of the castle,” Alex said to the blue fairy. “I want you to tell them to come up here. Be careful of the ogres on the way down, and warn the unicorns of the danger of flying low around the Black Devils.”

Bantam nodded her understanding and leaped over the side of the castle.

“You are thinking that the three of us can escape?” Jenneva whispered to Alex. “That hardly seems fair to the others.”

Alex ignored Jenneva’s comments and peered down at the city of Tor and the forest beyond.

“I want the two of you to make life miserable for any Black Devils in Tor,” he said to Jenneva and Tanya. “I want them so busy trying to stay alive that they do not have time to harm the unicorns. If you have to destroy every building in Tor, do so. Buildings can be rebuilt.”

“You have that look in your eye,” commented King Devon as Tanya and Jenneva began bombarding the town of Tor with magical spells. “I could not help overhearing Jenneva’s words. I have no problem with you escaping, even if the rest of us cannot. In fact, I think it is important for someone to live to tell the story of what transpired here today.”

Alex did not respond to King Devon’s words as he watched the magicians work. Tanya sent a roaring wind through the city of Tor. Anybody that was caught outside a building was swept along the streets and into the forest beyond. Jenneva brought down lightning upon the city. The air crackled and hissed as the lightning bolts slammed into the buildings. As roofs buckled and walls collapsed, Back Devils raced out of the buildings into a waiting windstorm. Street after street of the city of Tor was smashed down and swept away.

“The power of magic is awesome,” commented King Devon. “We may actually win this battle.”

“Not a chance, my friend,” replied Alex. “There are already thousands of Sarac’s creatures inside this castle. There will never be an opportunity for such a wide field of battle as they climb up this tower. With only two magicians, we could only kill so many.”

“Plus the Black Devils have started their routine with fireballs and ice balls again,” added Jenneva as she pointed towards the forest behind the city. “See at the edge of the woods. They are willing to bring down the Castle of Man even with their allies inside.”

“It was a hope,” sighed King Devon as three unicorns swept over the merlons and landed on the roof.

The horns on the unicorns were bloodied and several gashes dotted their bodies. Jenneva and Tanya hurried to the unicorns and began healing their wounds.

Sorry to cause you pain, my friend. I have a difficult task for you, Kaz.

Your sorrow is ill placed, Alex. The ogres that got in our way have more need of it. What task do you require of me?

King Devon stared as Alex and the black unicorn gazed at each other. He knew that some form of communication was going on between them, and he wondered what was being said. Alex turned abruptly away from Kaz.

“I am going down to talk to Lieutenant Montbalm,” he announced. “Let the men on this level relax. There is no longer any need for them to man their trebuchets. They will need their strength later.”

Alex turned and ran to the stairwell. He raced down to the twentieth level and out onto the fourth battlement. He found Lieutenant Montbalm there shouting orders. The three Rangers were using bows to shoot at the increasing number of goblins that were climbing through the crenels.

“The men are getting tired,” sighed the lieutenant. “We can not hold them off much longer.”

“I agree,” Alex nodded sadly. “I want you to arrange an evacuation of your troops.”

“Evacuation?” echoed the lieutenant. “To where?”

“I want five hundred men sent to the roof,” explained Alex. “They must be among your best. After that, I want all of your women and children sent up. After that, the rest of the men need to be fed up to the roof systematically.”

“I am not sure that the roof will hold everyone,” frowned Lieutenant Montbalm. “Are you planning mass suicides?”

“No,” smiled Alex, “we are going to abandon this castle. As you send men up, you may need to concede levels to the enemy. I know that will be hard for you to do, but it must be done. I want you to picture a bridge from the roof to some place safe. Only so many people can cross it at a time, which means that others must fall back and defend while some cross. Can you do it?”

“I will do it,” nodded the lieutenant. “I just hope that you know what you are doing.”

“I know more than you think I do, Prince,” grinned Alex.

“How did you know?” asked the lieutenant.

“The king gave it away,” smiled Alex. “I suspected when a lieutenant held so much authority, but he called you son up on the roof. It is also why you knelt alongside your father. You acted instinctively to the role of a monarch. Make this evacuation orderly and safe. I will see that your father is kept safe.”

Alex rushed back up to the roof. He waved his arms to gather all of the defenders around the king and himself. Jenneva and Tanya crowded in to hear what was going on.

“You men are to secure this roof against the enemy,” he said loudly. “You are the last line of defense. In the meantime, some of your people are going to be coming up here. I need you to help me organize things and make this evacuation go smoothly.”

“Evacuation?” asked more than one voice in unison.

“Let me finish,” Alex said. “There is little time to waste if we are to maximize survivors. Soldiers will be the first to arrive and the first to depart. After five hundred of them have left, the women and children will start coming. Your help will be needed most at this point. They will be frightened and confused. Reassure them and help them. The rest of the men cannot start leaving until the women and children are safe, so speed is essential. You men will be the last to leave, so every minute you save by getting the others out of here safely and quickly, means a better chance at survival. Do you understand?”

“I understand everything that you said,” spoke one of the soldiers, “except the method of our escape. How are we getting off this roof?”

Alex turned and scanned the skies. Silent seconds dragged on as Alex peered into the dark brown cloud drifting over the pass.

“There,” shouted Tanya as she pointed towards the mountain peaks east of the pass. “Kaz brought others with him.”

The soldiers turned and stared at the moving rainbow. It appeared as a moving wave, thousands of sparkling colors shifting and merging together. As the rainbow moved swiftly closer, individual unicorns became visible.

“There are thousands of them,” shouted one of the soldiers as other soldiers started pouring onto the roof from the levels below.

“Clear a wide berth for the unicorns,” instructed Alex. “People get on as they enter the rooftop. Nobody needs to try to steer the unicorns. They already know where they are taking you. Just get the people on them quickly and proceed to the next.”

“Should children be strapped on?” asked one of the soldiers.

“No,” replied Alex. “The unicorns are intelligent creatures. They will adjust if the children start to slide or fall. Just load them on.”

Cheers roared from the soldiers as the first of the unicorns touched down on the rooftop. The first five hundred men mounted swiftly, if apprehensively. Hundreds of unicorns circled the Castle of Man as they waited their turns to land and carry humans away. Alex watched the initial loading and then turned to smile at Jenneva.

“Where are they going?” asked King Devon. “And will there be enough of them for all of the people?”

“There are not enough of them,” answered Alex, “but everyone will be evacuated. Some of the unicorns will come back for a second rider. The only way to make this happen was to let the unicorns choose what appeared to be a safe place to drop off their human cargo. That is why I sent five hundred warriors first. They will need to secure the area while the women and children are being transported. It may be a rough time for a while, but I think we can get to Tice unmolested.”

“And the Castle of Man?” asked the king. “What will become of it?”

“When we are all gone,” explained Alex, “Sarac’s men will no longer have a need to destroy the Castle of Man. Hopefully, your people can come back here some day and rebuild your lives. I need to go down and help your son.”

“I am going with you,” declared Tanya as a teary-eyed king hugged Alex.

The bloody boulder bounded out of the narrow twisting stairwell and rolled across the floor until it struck several other boulders. Pieces of fur and flesh fell to the floor as the boulder bounced away. The yaki had been waiting for it to emerge and dashed into the stairwell. Several goblins charged after the yaki, but the large fox-like creature swiftly outpaced them. The yaki heard the shouts of the defenders as they struggled to move the next boulder to the top of the stairwell. Its tongue drooped between its sharp pointed teeth as its legs powered up the stone steps. The yaki’s eyes narrowed and its nostrils flared as it caught the strong scent of the humans. Its paws pushed off the wall as the stairwell bent around a corner. An involuntary yelp escaped from between its teeth as it heard a new boulder bouncing its way down the stairwell.

The yaki rounded another bend in the stairwell and saw the humans at the top. It also saw a boulder bouncing down the steps of the stairwell towards it. The yaki hesitated in mid-stride as it adjusted its gait to leap over the swiftly descending boulder. The yaki leaped high in the air over the path of the approaching rock. Its mouth opened in a broad toothy grin as it saw the stairs beyond the boulder. Suddenly, the boulder bounced off a step, its path altered higher. The yaki howled in pain as the rock slammed into its belly, carrying it backward. The yaki’s narrow eyes stared at the humans just a few paces away as the boulder carried it downward. As the yaki’s body was carried under the rolling stone, it heard the humans shouting.

“They are getting closer,” shouted one of the defenders of the Castle of Man. “We have to feed the stones quicker, or one of them is going to make it up here.”

“We have few stones left,” Lieutenant Montbalm replied. “We must prepare to abandon this level. When you release the last boulder, retreat immediately. I am going to notify the men at the next level to be prepared to defend their level. Last man up the stairs is to announce that he is the last so the first boulder can be released as soon as he exits the stairwell.”

The men grunted in acknowledgement as Lieutenant Montbalm raced up the next set of stairs. As he emerged from the stairwell, he shouted orders to the defenders. He gazed at the level marking on the floor and realized that he was on a battlement level, which occurred every five levels. He turned and ran along the corridor to the battlement, fatigue making his movements somewhat erratic. He promised himself that he would take a break soon before his fatigue caused him to make a serious error. As he stepped out onto the battlement, the lieutenant noticed that the sky was beginning to lighten. Dawn was fast approaching, and Lieutenant Montbalm realized why he was feeling tired. He had had no rest in over a day.

Lieutenant Montbalm halted when he reached the battlement. His eyes scanned the parapet and noted the men dislodging hooks from the crenels that had been thrown up from the lower battlement by ogres. Archers stood away from the wall ready to shoot any goblins that succeeded in climbing up. The Lieutenant frowned as he saw that his men appeared to be as tired as he felt. He sighed and shook his head as he spotted the Alceans repelling goblin climbers. He hurried over to them.

“We are evacuating the level below this one,” he said to the Alceans. “It won’t be long before you need to move up to the next battlement.”

“The next battlement is the roof,” advised Alexander Tork. “We are at the end of this siege.”

A surprised look fell over the lieutenant’s face. He shook his head and sighed again.

“I have been doing this too long,” he said. “When I cannot keep track of the levels in my own castle, you know that I am not functioning well.”

“You have been through a rough day and a harder night,” Alex smiled compassionately. “You take too much onto your own shoulders. You have good men under you. You must learn to rely on them from time to time.”